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« back — written by Brent on July 31, 2019

13 Minutes to the Moon

If you've been around the internet for the past month or so, you probably know about the 50-year anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. That's the one with the first man on the Moon, Armstrong and such.

If I can name one thing I especially liked about this podcast, is that I actually learned new stuff. The famous "small step for men" quote isn't even mentioned once.

Instead, this podcast focuses on the 13 final minutes of descent, the 13 final minutes before touchdown on the Moon.

I was happily surprised by the pace and quality of this podcast. Each episode highlights one aspect of the lunar module's final descent, and tells the story behind it.

For example there's an episode on how the lunar module is piloted by Neil and Buzz; one about how the third crew member, Michael Collins, experienced the descent from the command module; one about how program alarms were handled, minutes before touchdown; and lots more.

I should also mention that this podcast came to be as a collaboration between the BBC and NASA, meaning you can expect a rather high-quality listening experience, with content straight from the source.

One last thing that stands out: you already know how the story ends. There's no need for cliffhangers, unnecessary teasers or — can you image — a second season; this podcast can be straight to point, and that's something I, personally, appreciate.

In summary, 13 Minutes to the Moon is a high quality, no nonsense podcast, an amazing listening experience, and surprisingly informative.

Are you intrigued yet? I'd say, go give it a listen.