Former NASA scientist wrestles with Blue Origin backlash

Today we’re going to listen to a conversation between our colleague Lizza Dwoskin and her friend Aisha Bowe, an aerospace engineer who was on the all-female Blue Origin flight that went to space in April. It’s about navigating what happens when a dream comes true — and then sparks public outrage. Blue Origin, the space company, is owned by Jeff Bezos. He also owns The Washington Post and is the co-founder of Amazon.

Some of the other crew members were celebrities, including pop star Katy Perry and broadcast journalist Gayle King.The flight became a flash point for anger from the political left directed at billionaires associated with the Trump administration. Bezos was among the tech moguls who attended Donald Trump’s second inauguration.

Now that some time has passed, Aisha was ready to sit down and talk about what this has all been like for her.

Today’s show was edited by Renita Jablonski, Maggie Penman and James Graff. It was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon.

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