Aiming for the Moon

Send a text While the events of now may seem unique and brand new, for the most part, history always repeats itself. This is the case with the Covid-19 pandemic and the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, also known as the Great Influenza. This dystopian setting has happened before. However, that should give us hope because it means we can overcome it. In this week's episode, Prof. John M. Barry, p...

Send a text Often, we glance over things we are used to seeing. We miss the complexity of our phones, our pets, and our sky. And, most definitely, our gardens. In this week's episode, we discuss the surprisingly fascinating and unique world of plants with Dr. Matt Candeias, host of the "In Defense of Plants" podcast and author of "In Defense of Plants: An Exploration into the W...

Send a text After being diagnosed at age seven with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura, Ella Casano realized how frightening looking at an I.V. bag can be. A couple years later, Ella decided that she didn't want other kids to have to stare at the daunting medicine, so at age 10 she decided to create the non-profit Medi Teddy! This clever organization creates free teddy bear pouches that are...

Send a text We often wonder what it's like being a fiction author. How do they come up with their original ideas? What is their daily routine like? Does word count even matter? In this episode, we sit down with Stuart Gibbs, bestselling author of five children's series including "Spy School," "Moon Base Alpha," "FunJungle," and more, and discuss these fascin...

Send a text Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Leonardo De Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, and Bill Gates all have something in common. They are all innovators. Without them, human history would be very different. Are there any traits that these creators all carry? At first glance, they appear to have very distinct niches. That is the question we asked Professor Walter Isaacson, author of many bestselling boo...

Send a text We've talked about the theory behind filmmaking in the first part of this series. But, how do you use these ideas to create your masterpiece? That is the topic of today's episode with Olaf De Fleur. Listen in as we discuss Taylor's weird (and possibly cool?) idea for a movie.   Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moo...

Send a text Often, we don't pay enough attention to our surroundings. Take a minute. Sit. Listen to the cars on the road or the birds in the trees. In some ways, movies are taking this world and looking at it from a different perspective. What makes a good movie? It depends. Mr. Olaf de Fleur has spent his life writing and creating these works of art. Now, he wants to share his knowledge with...

Send a text Successful and interesting people's careers may seem simple and practical when they are reverse engineered and deconstructed from hindsight. However, to the people in the driver's seat, it doesn't often feel that way. Guy Kawasaki, evangelist marketing specialist, author, Silicon Valley venture capitalist, and now host and creator of " Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable...

Send a text Any podcaster who is trying to grow his burgeoning show, dreams of his production hitting the top charts in Apple Podcasts and other lead platforms. Mr. Charles "Chuck" Bryant, who co-hosts the Stuff You Should Know  podcast with Josh Clark, is one of those rare folks whose dream has come true. Now with around 1 billion downloads, Stuff You Should Know is one of the leading p...

Send a text Josh Sakahi, a co-founder of Ephemeral Tattoos and Thiel fellow, grew up asking why. Why is the sky blue? Why is removing tattoos so painful and expensive? After one of his friends (and one of his future partners) had a horrible experience getting a tattoo removed, Josh and other grad students began working on a tattoo that would naturally disappear. After much research and development...

Send a text Eric Nuzum is a successful podcast creator, author of "Make Noise," and co-founder of Magnificent Noise. Over his career, he has accumulated decades of advice for starting podcasters who are just sticking their toes in the water. Instead of focusing on the technology aspect of podcasting in his book, he centered it on the art of audio storytelling in order that it would never...

Send a text STEM education is a great thing. It allows students to developed problem-solving skills and experiment with their own inventions. However, it is often very hard to learn alone. Educators in schools who don't have a science background often struggle to teach their students. Teens and kids who don't live in centers of innovation can have a difficult time learning about STEM wit...

Send a text Ever since Dr. Ken Kamler, an orthopedic microsurgeon and Fellow in the Explorers Club, found a random book with a weird name on his dad’s bookshelf that just so happened to inspire him, his life has been the definition of adventure. From Everest to Peru, he has traveled all over the world on various expeditions. Dr. Kamler has documented many of his adventures in his books. In one of...

Send a text  Many people wonder how bad social media really is for us. Dr. Adam Alter, a previous guest of ours (Ep. 18), was one of those people. However, tech experts have also been asking those questions.  As the engagingness of Facebook grew and its negative effects were more pronounced, people like Tim Kendall, former president of Pinterest, former director of monetization at Facebook, and cu...

Send a text W.A.S.P, a U.S. military program designed for women to participate in the war effort where they perform different tasks one of which included training future male pilots, is one of the many amazing projects that women participated in during WWII that has been covered up. When Noelle Salazar uncovered these testimonies of silent bravery, she couldn't stop sharing them. She began wo...

Send a text "Try lots of things" has been the leading advice on this podcast. But, why should we listen? David Epstein, NYT bestselling author of “The Sports Gene” and “ Range ,” finally gives us the answer. In his research, he has uncovered that, contrary to popular opinion, we should generalize, not specialize. But why? Learn the reasons behind this seemingly illogical advice in this w...

Send a text There is more going on than you realize. The man with the ladder and the woman with the clipboard aren't who you think they are. They are not supposed to be there. Jeremy N. Smith, investigative journalist, podcast host, and author of the non-fiction book Breaking and Entering: The Extraordinary Story of a Hacker Called "Alien," learned this on his journey into the hacki...

Send a text "You are no genius" was a line often quoted to young Dr. Angela Duckworth, NYT's bestselling author of "Grit" and professor of psychology at Pennsylvania University. With this depressing phrase reverberating in her mind, Dr. Duckworth attacked her work. She knew that, if that line was true and she really wasn't the smartest kid in her class, she was going...

Send a text Need more money? Sarah Catherine Gutierrez knows where to find it. She is the owner of Aptus Planning and the author of But First, Save 10 . Ms. Gutierrez is a very successful, passionate financial planner who is spreading the word on how important saving really is. She is refuting the stereotypical dull and boring financial planning business and working hard to transform lives for the...

Send a text Adventure races are not for the faint of heart. They are grueling, timed expeditions that involve a multitude of skills and activities from navigating, rowing, hiking, and climbing. And all without the help of technology. In order to compete, each team must have an array of skills. This week, Taylor and Mattie sit down with Nathan Fa'avae, 6x world adventure race champion and winn...

Send a text We all know that technology is addictive. What you might not know is that it is designed to make addicts out of us all. Behind our screens, there are many complex algorithms wrestling for our attention. When one of them wins, it tries to pin our attention to it for as long as possible. The problem is the algorithms are very successful. In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Adam Alter,...

Send a text We are all superheroes. Our power is walking. Why is walking so good for us? In this episode, Dr. Shane O'Mara, the author of "In Praise of Walking" and professor of experimental brain research at Trinity College Dublin, explains its benefits and what differentiates it from normal exercises.  Check out our website for more info on Dr. O'Mara: https://www.aimingforth...

Send a text Amy Hopper is the program officer of the  Winrock International's I-Fund, which strives to "provide a platform for the creation and launch of high-growth companies, spurring economic development and job creation (https://www.ifundatwinrock.com/ )" in Arkansas. She teaches us what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. (Spoiler Alert: It involves having grit.) Check ou...

Send a text Even while young, Mrs. Anna Beth Gorman talked of empowering women. Now, she is fulfilling that dream. Mrs. Gorman has led the Women's Foundation of Arkansas (WFA) to promote STEAM and other useful skills for women to learn. She believes that the best way to change society is by empowering women through marketable skills. Along with explaining her interesting career, Mrs. Gorman a...

Send a text Leave room for life! Mr. Paul Jarvis's message is clear. How can one run a business like that? Well, that's what Mr. Paul explains in his book, Company of One, which has been translated into 18 different languages and continues to disrupt the business world. While money is great and can get you far in life, it isn't the point. "It comes down to your ego," argue...