Outlook Mixtape: Heavens above
A grieving father who sees his son dancing in the Northern Lights, a Mississippi crack-addict turned astrophysicist and a writer who made a compilation tape for aliens.
A galaxy of personal stories which might lead you to see the sky in a whole new way.
Javier Rua Restrepo was so captivated by the skies over Colombia's Tatacoa desert that he decided to build his own observatory there. Zoe Gelber went to meet him in 2023.
James Plummer Jr. grew up navigating poverty but ended up studying astrophysics at Stanford. After overcoming drug addiction James, now known as Hakeem Oluseyi, became one America’s best-known cosmologists. Hakeem spoke to us in 2021.
Hugo Sanchez is from El Salvador but lives in Canada now where he heads to remote places to see the amazing night-time displays of the aurora borealis, the Northern Lights. As he explained to Emily Webb in 2022, they help him to connect with a lost loved one.
Ann Druyan is the driving force behind the Voyager Golden Records aboard the Voyager 1 and 2 space probes. Ann was in charge of choosing the playlist and told us in 2022 how she decided on humanity’s message to our celestial neighbours.
Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: A transparent 60-minute cassette tape spooled halfway through and lying on a white background. It bears a slim white label with the words ‘THE OUTLOOK MIXTAPE’ written in black. Credit: Getty Images)
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- Fri 14 Nov 202512:06GMTBBC World Service
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