16 episodes

“Truer, but also darker.” This is the real origin story behind America’s decision to go to the moon. The story we learn starts with Sputnik, then President Kennedy’s challenge, and ends with triumph: an American flag on the lunar surface. But in the 50 years that have passed since the moon landing, as presidential documents have been declassified and secret programs have been revealed, a wilder story has begun to emerge. “Moonrise,” a new Washington Post narrative mini-series, digs into the nuclear arms race of the Cold War, the transformation of American society and politics, and even the birth of science fiction, to unearth what really drove us to the moon. Join host Lillian Cunningham (of the Presidential and Constitutional podcasts) as she uncovers a story that has so much to reveal about America -- and about the dreams and nightmares of being human on this Earth.

Moonrise The Washington Post

    • History
    • 4.0 • 2.8K Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
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“Truer, but also darker.” This is the real origin story behind America’s decision to go to the moon. The story we learn starts with Sputnik, then President Kennedy’s challenge, and ends with triumph: an American flag on the lunar surface. But in the 50 years that have passed since the moon landing, as presidential documents have been declassified and secret programs have been revealed, a wilder story has begun to emerge. “Moonrise,” a new Washington Post narrative mini-series, digs into the nuclear arms race of the Cold War, the transformation of American society and politics, and even the birth of science fiction, to unearth what really drove us to the moon. Join host Lillian Cunningham (of the Presidential and Constitutional podcasts) as she uncovers a story that has so much to reveal about America -- and about the dreams and nightmares of being human on this Earth.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Introducing Moonrise

    Introducing Moonrise

    You’ve heard about how we landed on the moon, now find out why we went there. Host Lillian Cunningham introduces a new podcast that explores the real story behind the moonshot. Coming summer 2019.

    • 4 min
    The Tale of the Blue Light

    The Tale of the Blue Light

    A man who meets himself on the moon. A blue orb that bursts into flames. The quest to explain the unexplained. In the first chapter of "Moonrise," the journey to space begins.

    • 20 min
    Visionaries of the Void

    Visionaries of the Void

    A tiny New York office fills with big ideas. A group of sci-fi writers bring space travel into popular culture. American rocketry begins to take flight. On this episode of Moonrise, the dream of the moon starts to become reality.

    • 36 min
    The Shapeshifter

    The Shapeshifter

    A German rocket scientist with a secret mission and dark past. A science fiction editor under the watch of the FBI. In the third chapter of Moonrise, weapons of war lay the groundwork for space travel.

    • 41 min
    Inside the Gulag

    Inside the Gulag

    A Russian rocket dreamer is sent to a Siberian prison. And the road to redemption stretches more than 5,000 miles. On this episode of "Moonrise," a look at the maestro behind the Soviet space effort.

    • 38 min
    The Bomb and the Saucer

    The Bomb and the Saucer

    Nuclear fears haunt the American psyche. Fascination with aliens is on the rise. And the U.S. government begins secret rocket experiments. In the fifth installment of "Moonrise," the best and worst of science fiction's predictions start to spring to life.

    • 38 min

Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5
2.8K Ratings

2.8K Ratings

curious2! ,

Great story, distracting tone

Really enjoying the story. Very interesting. I find the reporter’s tone a challenge. Slow, disinterested and a lot of pausing between words in an manner that is distracting.

TaraBaccus ,

Host Needs Lessons

Why does the host keep saying her Ts as Ds? It’s tiTan, mounTain, and curTain.

SumwareNJ ,

Listened years ago but will relisten

I learned about Lilian Cunningham from American History Tellers last prohibition podcast and looked her up. Found she had done Moonrise, which I had listed to, learned from and enjoyed years ago. I’m bing listening to her all her Constitutional - it’s great- and when I’m done I do all 44? Episodes or presidential. You need to know the face and UNDERSTAND the emotions behind history because I does repeat itself.

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