Yuri Gagarin - The first human in space (172)

Apr 9, 2021

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9.07 a.m., April 12, 1961. A top-secret rocket site in the USSR. A young Russian sits inside a tiny capsule on top of the Soviet Union’s most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile and blasts into the skies. His name is Yuri Gagarin. And he is about to make history.

We speak with Stephen Walker author of “Beyond” a new book that tells the thrilling story behind that epic flight on its sixtieth anniversary.

Drawing on extensive original research and the vivid testimonies of eyewitnesses, many of whom have never spoken before, Stephen unpacks secrets that were hidden for decades and takes you into the drama of one of humanity's greatest adventures. Now I thought I knew Gagarins’s story, but discovered so much more after reading this book. The episode just scratches the surface and there is so much more in the book itself, Stephen and I could have talked for hours.

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I am delighted to welcome Stephen Walker to our Cold War conversation…

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0:00 Introduction

4:19 The significance of the first man in space and misconceptions

10:14 The Soviet Union’s involvement in the space race

18:37 The KGB's insistence on having a bomb onboard the spacecraft

27:58 The secrecy of the Soviet space program

33:44 The Myth of the Lost cosmonauts

38:22 Gagarin's landing and the unravelling of decades-long lies

52:20 Gagarin's demeanour during the launch and the aftermath of the landing

1:02:01 The decision to leapfrog the Soviets in the space race and Gagarin's life post-space mission

1:10:21 Closing and acknowledgements of patrons

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