Dan and Josh begin a new countdown of the top 10 most important space missions of all time, starting with the back half of the list. They open, as always, with what they’ve been reading—this time a detour through 19th-century travel writing, American manners, Flashman, and George MacDonald Fraser’s gleefully irreverent view of empire, history, and literary adventure. From there, they move into a debate over how space missions should be ranked: technical difficulty, historical importance, astronaut performance, or just excitement.

Missions Discussed in This Episode
10. Faith 7 — 00:25:05 — Manual Mercury reentry
9. Apollo 7 — 00:27:59 — Apollo's first manned flight
8. Apollo 9 — 00:31:59 — First LEM flight
7. Apollo 17 — 00:39:39 — Perfect lunar mission
6. Gemini 8 — 00:46:05 — First space docking
5. Gemini 6A / Gemini 7 — 00:49:48 — First space rendezvous

#Podcast #SpaceHistory #NASA #Apollo #Gemini #Mercury #Faith7 #Apollo7 #Apollo9 #Apollo17 #Gemini8 #Gemini6A #Gemini7 #GordoCooper #WallySchirra #NeilArmstrong #DaveScott #SpaceRace #MoonLanding #SpaceExploration

Dan and Josh continue their “most beautiful man-made objects in history” series with a wide-ranging honorable-mentions episode. They open with Franz Ferdinand’s travel diaries, hunting, Teddy Roosevelt, Hemingway, Ian Fleming, and Salinger, then return to the beautiful-objects list to cover the great things that did not quite make the top ten. The conversation moves from the Sistine Chapel and Venice to Calder mobiles, cars, aircraft, cathedrals, telephones, firearms, locomotives, gemstones, and Art Deco—arguing throughout about whether beauty comes from proportion, engineering, movement, history, usefulness, or sheer visual power.

If you have an interesting item you'd like to donate to the Museum of Everything, please reach out to us at donate@museum-of-everything.org

Sistine Chapel — 00:06:51
Venice — 00:24:50
Calder mobile — 00:28:07
Jaguar E-Type — 00:34:31
SR-71 — 00:37:42
X-15 — 00:40:36
Hamilton Standard Propeller — 00:48:13
Wells cathedral — 00:55:40
Chartres — 01:01:52
Hagia Sophia — 01:02:15
AE34 telephone — 01:03:25
Fallingwater — 01:04:57
1911 pistol — 01:06:07
Chevelle — 01:08:48
Big Boy — 01:11:22
Gemstones — 01:13:47
Chrysler Building — 01:15:41

#Podcast #MuseumOfEverything #BeautifulObjects #ArtHistory #Architecture #Design #Engineering #SistineChapel #Michelangelo #Venice #Calder #JaguarEType #SR71 #X15 #P51Mustang #Spitfire #GothicCathedrals #HagiaSophia #Fallingwater #JohnBrowning #Chevelle #UnionPacificBigBoy #ArtDeco #ChryslerBuilding #HistoryPodcast

Dan and Josh continue their series on the ten most beautiful man-made objects in history. This time they open not with books but with music—Glenn Gould, Bach, temperament, Beethoven, and the limits of describing music in words—before returning to their lists. The episode ranges from Duccio and Fra Angelico to Bernini, firearms design and engineering, crayons, Gothic glass, and the Saturn V’s mighty F-1 engine, with the usual mix of aesthetic argument, historical digression, and sibling combat.

If you have an interesting item you'd like to donate to the Museum of Everything, please reach out to us at donate@museum-of-everything.org

Dan’s Picks Discussed in This Episode
Maestà Altarpiece — 00:05:30
Cloister of San Marco — 00:32:45
M1 Garand — 00:47:46
Spitzer boattail bullet — 00:56:37
Caran d’Ache box of Aquarelles crayons — 01:02:26
Rocketdyne F-1 Engine — 01:18:32

Josh’s Picks Discussed in This Episode
Bernini’s Bust of Costanza Bonarelli — 00:21:30
Filippino Lippi’s Virgin and Child — 00:44:08
Hans Hofmann’s Autumn Gold — 00:57:51
Sainte-Chapelle — 01:05:35

#Podcast #MuseumOfEverything #BeautifulObjects #ArtHistory #Design #Architecture #Engineering #Maesta #Duccio #FraAngelico #SanMarco #Bernini #CostanzaBonarelli #FilippinoLippi #HansHofmann #SainteChapelle #M1Garand #RocketdyneF1 #SaturnV #CaranDAche #Bach #GlennGould #Space