Episode 98: First Man with James R. Hansen and Kevin Rusnak

Historians At The Movies

This week we talk about the life and legacy of Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 mission. Joining us is Jim Hansen, who wrote the book First Man and served as a consultant on the film, along with HATM space expert Kevin Rusnak. We talk about the Armstrong's inward journey into outer space, his relationships with his fellow astronauts, and the role his wife Janet played in Armstrong's journey. We also get some inside details on the making of the film, including Ryan Gosling and Damien Chazelle's work to get this movie made. This is a podcast on NASA, Neil Armstrong, and an absolutely brilliant film unlike any you've heard before.
About our guests:
James R. Hansen is a professor emeritus of history at Auburn University. A former historian for NASA, Hansen is the author of twelve books on the history of aerospace and a two-time nominee for the Pulitzer Prize in History. His 1995 book Spaceflight Revolution was nominated for the Pulitzer by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the only time NASA ever nominated a book for the prize. He serves as coproducer for the motion picture First Man, which is based on his New York Times bestselling biography of Neil Armstrong.
Kevin J. Rusnak is the Chief Historian of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center History Office, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, in Dayton, Ohio. He is responsible for leading the professional research, collection, preservation, analysis, writing, and dissemination of AFLCMC's history and heritage to the organization’s leadership and workforce, as well as to a public audience.
Mr. Rusnak graduated with a degree in History from the University of Dayton, Ohio, in 1995, and subsequently entered the History of Technology graduate program at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia. His thesis focused on the production of B-29 bombers in Marietta, Georgia, during World War II, while his dissertation explored the development of Air Force and NASA pressure suits and space suits from the 1930s through the 1960s. He spent over four years as a historian at the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where he researched and interviewed dozens of pioneering engineers, managers, and astronauts from the early years of human spaceflight.
Mr. Rusnak joined the Air Force History and Museums program in 2002 as the Senior Historian for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson AFB. Over the next 18 years, he researched and wrote numerous annual histories, biographies, reports, heritage products, and special studies. In 2017, he was the primary author for AFRL’s award-winning 100-year history compendium, Aiming Higher: A Century of Research in Science and Technology by the Air Force Research Laboratory and its Predecessors, as well as for its companion photo essay volume. He also pioneered AFRL’s leveraging of history on modern platforms, such as social media, to provide a broader audience with access to AFRL’s significant legacy.