Kathy Sullivan Explores

Latest Episodes:

She's an Impostor! Sep 16, 2021

Show notes

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. When people live their lives according to yours, it means you’ve made a name for yourself. However, there is a crucial difference between someone imitating you and blatantly attempting to con people using your name—I have firsthand experience of the latter. Twice. It was funny the first time, and then the FBI got involved.

In this episode, you’ll hear about the time someone pretended to be me to ride an F-16. I share my reaction and how my superiors were quick to catch the impostor. You’ll get to know the second time the impostor conned people and what she got after she succeeded. I talk about how the FBI got involved and why they couldn’t do anything the first time it happened. You’ll also learn about the name of my inner impostor and how I manage to shut her up each time she tries to speak.

\"It was an attempted con, but an unsuccessful one.\"

- Kathy Sullivan

This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:

● My initial reaction when someone used my name to ride an F-16

● How the impostor\'s teeth became her downfall

● The con the impostor managed to pull off

● The inner impostor that women wrestle throughout their career

● What I learned about fighting my inner impostor and what I named her

Spaceship Not Required

I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.

I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.

In this podcast, you can explore, reflecting on lessons learned from life so far and from my brilliant and ever-inquisitive guests. We explore together in this very moment from right where you are--spaceship not required.

Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.

Visit my website at kathysullivanexplores.com to sign up for seven astronaut tips to improving your life on earth and be the first to discover future episodes and learn about more exciting adventures ahead!

Don’t forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts!

Spotify I Stitcher I Apple Podcasts I iHeart Radio I TuneIn I Google I Amazon Music.

Facilitating Breakthroughs with Adam Kahane Sep 09, 2021

Show notes

Adam Kahane holds the position of Director at Reos Partners, a multinational social enterprise that helps bridge the gaps between businesses, governments, and other organizations to solve complex challenges. He is a world-renowned facilitator, facilitating discussions and political talks with politicians, guerrillas, activists, executives, and trade unionists in over 50 countries. Adam is also the author of Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities, which conveys his experience facilitating in high-conflict and high-stakes situations—including Colombia during the civil war and Argentina during the collapse—as well as his critical takeaways for solving complex problems.

In this episode, you’ll listen to Adam describe an event in South Africa that impacted his views about the importance of uniting to remove the stigmas and barriers that separate people. He provides his perspective on the art of facilitation and why it’s not just about “getting people to do things.” He tells us briefly about his passion for writing and his motivation for writing books about his life experiences. You’ll learn the necessary steps to facilitate breakthroughs and why it’s simple but never easy. You’ll also receive actionable advice for facilitating conversations, whether casually or professionally.

\"The essence of facilitating breakthrough is to move back and forth between two poles.\"

- Adam Kahane

This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:

● Where Adam grew up, his educational background, and why he’s always loved the sciences

● Adam\'s professional experience and the scenario planning methodology

● Why facilitation is not about getting people to do things

● Adam\'s work in South Africa and the event he considers “the hinge of his life”

● The actual meaning and implications of apartheid in Africa

● Why there is a \"wound that wants to heal\" in South Africa

● The complex political situation of South Africa

● How Adam came to loving the art of writing books

● What readers can expect from his latest book

● Adam\'s advice to those who want to play the role of facilitator in general conversations

● Adam\'s thoughts on authoritarianism

● The simple but not easy way to facilitate breakthrough

● The two important definitions of the word \"group\"

Resources Mentioned:

● Book:Scenarios: The Art of Strategic Conversation by Kees van der Heijden

Connect with Adam Kahane:

● Reos Partners

● Reos Partners on Facebook

● Reos Partners on Twitter

● Reos Partners on LinkedIn

● Adam Kahane on Twitter

● Adam Kahane on LinkedIn

● Book: Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together

● Book: Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities

Spaceship Not Required

I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.

I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.

Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.

Don’t forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts!

Spotify I Stitcher I Apple Podcasts I iHeart Radio I TuneIn I Google I Amazon Music.

Chasing a Very Speedy Blackbird Sep 02, 2021

Show notes

One of the best parts of life is witnessing unique events for the first time and remembering them forever. As an astronaut, I have seen many things I am sure I will never forget, even if I tried. However, one of the most exciting memories I have is of the time when I was part of a crew tasked to chase a speeding Blackbird. You don’t always get told to run after one of the fastest planes on Earth, and it wasn’t even the most memorable part of the mission.

In this episode, I describe the mission involving the space shuttle, Columbia, and a Blackbird in 1981. I explain what the mission was about, our goals, and what made the mission particularly difficult to pull off, despite numerous flight simulations. I discuss how the mission went and my takeaways from it. I also share my favorite Blackbird sightings and why this one is the best among all of them.

\"Blackbirds are spectacularly sleek, almost ominous-looking airplanes.\"

- Kathy Sullivan

This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:

● My role in Columbia\'s second flight in 1981

● The trick to intercepting a shuttle zooming back from Mach 25

● How we solved the problem of intercepting Columbia

● Why mission simulations are often flawed

● What Blackbirds are and why they\'re amazing

● What I\'ve learned from chasing a Blackbird

● My favorite Blackbird sighting

Resources Mentioned:

● Columbia: The First Shuttle in Space

Spaceship Not Required

I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.

I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.

Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.

Don’t forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts!

Spotify I Stitcher I Apple Podcasts I iHeart Radio I TuneIn I Google I Amazon Music.

Comic Art, Being a Cartoonist, and Life on the Funny Pages Aug 26, 2021

Show notes

Jan Eliot is the cartoonist behind the Stone Soup series, an internationally syndicated comic strip that ran for over 25 years and ended in July of 2020. The series portrays the life of a family headed by a single mother, Val Stone—who is not just as a character insertion of Jan, but also her way of representing single and working parents. Jan drew panel after panel based on her humorous experiences that empathized with those who often get overwhelmed with life’s daily grind. More than just a source of a few giggles, Jan also used Stone Soup for charity, notably raising awareness for Habitat for Humanity International.

In this episode, Jan describes what it was like growing up with a passion for doodling that led to professional cartooning. She shares how we met and what the cartoon industry was like for women when she was just getting started. She describes how Stone Soup allowed her to have an outlet for feminist advocacies. She explains how she turned life’s everyday struggles into something to laugh about. Jan also shares what new artists should do to turn their doodles into something they can use as a source of income.

\"Having a lot of frustration and difficulty in your life? If you can find a way to make fun of it, that is a very wonderful survival skill.\" - Jan Eliot

This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:

● Who Jan is, the Stone Soup cartoon, and what she learned about the creative self

● The fascinating story of how Jan and I met

● Jan\'s childhood and when she realized her penchant for art

● The role of women in art at the time when she was still searching for her path

● Creative writing and feminism in Jan’s comics

● Transforming negative experiences into art

● The learning curve between doodling and the craft of cartooning

● What Jan says would have made her love for cartooning come out sooner

● The story of how she became Jan Eliot and why she didn\'t like her maiden name

● What it was like finding out Jan has been syndicated

● Jan\'s career in advertising and graphic design

● The milestones that made Jan a household name

● How newspapers treat cartoonist freelancers and how they treat syndicates

● How Calvin & Hobbes helped Jan and other cartoonists get a boost

● The mindset of a typical cartoonist with every panel

● Jan\'s advice to those who have dreams of cartooning

● Why Jan advocates for online cartooning for upcoming cartoonists

● Jan\'s travel and doodling plans in the future

● Why Jan sometimes hated working on her cartoons

Resources Mentioned:

● Habitat for Humanity

Connect with Jan Eliot:

● Stone Soup Cartoons

Spaceship Not Required

I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.

I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.

Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.

Don’t forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts!

Spotify I Stitcher I Apple Podcasts I iHeart Radio I TuneIn I Google I Amazon Music.

The Lady Astronaut's Toiletries Kit Aug 19, 2021

Show notes

Living in a male-dominated society means you’ll likely work in a male-dominated field. That was the situation I was in at NASA, before the first women flew to space. Naturally, many of the decisions concerning what astronauts needed in space were made based on men. This made for an exciting story regarding what men thought were the basic needs of a woman in space.

In this episode, I share the story of how NASA initially made the lady astronaut’s toiletries kit. I describe what women would need in space and what the men back then thought women needed. I also discuss the day when Sally and I made our toiletries kit inspection, why it made our eyes roll, and how they could have done better.

\"If you were heading off on a 7-day spaceflight, what sort of things would you want in your toiletries kit?\"

- Kathy Sullivan

This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:

● What a typical toiletries kit for a female astronaut would be composed of

● Why NASA initially got female toiletries kits wrong

● My thoughts on what NASA packed for their first flight with female astronauts

● What in NASA\'s female toiletries kit made my eyes roll

● Why the issue could have been prevented if they simply asked us first

Resources Mentioned:

● Sally Ride

Spaceship Not Required

I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.

I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.

Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.

Don’t forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts!

Spotify I Stitcher I Apple Podcasts I iHeart Radio I TuneIn I Google I Amazon Music.

The Unknown North with Jennifer Kingsley Aug 12, 2021

Show notes

Jennifer Kingsley is the founder and project lead for Meet The North, a project that emphasized the lives of the people who call the Arctic their home. The project\'s focus was to allow the world to know the four million people living at the top of the world: their culture, their stories, and how climate change is affecting the way they live. The project ran from 2015 to 2018 and investigated the parts of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Alaska, and Svalbard that have been rarely explored. Jennifer is also the author of the book, Paddlenorth: Adventure, Resilience, and Renewal in the Arctic Wild, which tells the story of her adventures as she and five companions canoe through the icy and harsh―yet breathtaking―Arctic landscape.

Jennifer joins me to share what drives her to explore the northernmost regions of the planet and the events and people who fueled her adventurous spirit. She describes what the Canadian North is like and why she recommends it for group adventures. She explains the reason behind the book, Paddlenorth, and where her passion for writing started. She discusses how the pandemic made her look at her life choices. Jennifer also shares the beauty of listening to a person’s story and what she’s been doing recently.

\"We have no idea what extraordinary things people have been through.\'\"- Jennifer Kingsley

This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:

● Who Jennifer Kingsley is and her adventures around the world

● Jennifer\'s earliest memories and her most significant influences

● Jennifer\'s passion for journaling and her writing habits

● Why Jennifer recommends the Canadian North for adventurers

● The craziest bear encounter Jennifer\'s ever had

● What made Jennifer write Paddlenorth

● The life lessons Jennifer learned from the pandemic

● Phone calls and the anxiety they brought Jennifer all her life

● Why listening to someone\'s story can be a gift

● The first time Jennifer ran away from home

● Jennifer\'s thoughts on climate change and how it affected countries differently

● Why Jennifer was accused of avoiding the topic of climate change

● What the pandemic has been like for Jennifer

● What is next for Jennifer in the coming months

● Jennifer answers my lightning round questions

● The one thing Jennifer wants everyone to understand about the Arctic

Connect with Jennifer Kingsley:

● Book: Paddlenorth: Adventure, Resilience, and Renewal in the Arctic Wild

● Meet The North

● Official Website

Spaceship Not Required

I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.

I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.

Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.

Don’t forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts!

Spotify I Stitcher I Apple Podcasts I iHeart Radio I TuneIn I Google I Amazon Music.

You Call Yourself an Astronaut? Aug 05, 2021

Show notes

There is a difference between getting a title and earning it, that being the time and effort spent along the way. Recently, billionaires Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson effectively went up to space, and some are calling them astronauts. It appears we’ve arrived at a point in time when people can simply buy their way into a rocketship. Understandably, NASA has had to revisit the definition of the term “astronaut” in the face of this dilemma.

In this episode, I share my thoughts on the word “astronaut” and the different hurdles we had to jump over to earn this title. I discuss recent events involving billionaires having the resources to buy their way into space as well as why it hurt my pride when they felt entitled to call themselves astronauts. I explain what the standards were back in the day and why our society is slowly discounting expertise when it comes to titles and roles.

\"It puts me on edge to think that someone can just write a big check and go \'buy\' the same title I had to earn.\"

- Kathy Sullivan

This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:

● What it means to be an astronaut

● Who can be called an astronaut within NASA’s new standards

● How I feel about how billionaires buying the title of \"astronaut\"

● The definition of “astronaut” back when I was training to be one

● What we should call Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson

● Disregarding expertise in this era

Resources Mentioned:

● The FAA just updated its definition of \'astronaut.\' These two billionaires don\'t qualify.

Spaceship Not Required

I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.

I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.

Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.

Don’t forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts!

Spotify I Stitcher I Apple Podcasts I iHeart Radio I TuneIn I Google I Amazon Music.

Life's Fabulous Lessons with Dayna Steele Jul 29, 2021

Show notes

Dayna Steele is a Hall of Fame rock radio personality, best-selling author, and host of the Rock Star Principles podcast. In this show, she introduces listeners to the rockstars of business and entertainment. Dayna is also the author of the book, Surviving Alzheimer\'s With Friends, Facebook, and a Really Big Glass of Wine: A caregiver\'s guide to love, humor, patience, confusion, anger, and wine, in which she shares the story of her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and the struggles and joy associated with caring for someone with the condition. She has turned “Surviving Alzheimers” into a 10-part video series as well as the one-woman show, “The Woman in the Mirror,” both on YouTube.

Dayna joins me today to discuss how she’s coping throughout the pandemic and her thoughts on the theater industry post-Covid-19. She describes her youth, time as a student, and realization that she wanted to have a career in radio. She explains why women are programmed to worry about the worst things that can happen at any given moment, especially when following their dreams. She shares stories of when her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Dayna also describes the feeling of seeing your child achieve the goals they set out for.

\"It\'s hard to tell somebody \'oh, this is great, you\'re going to look back and this is going to be a fabulous lesson.\'\"- Dayna Steele

This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:

● The exciting backstory for today\'s episode

● How Dayna influenced my podcast

● How Dayna started her radio career on a dare

● Dayna\'s experience in school and how she graduated earlier than her peers

● How Dayna got over her imposter syndrome at a young age

● Dayna\'s advice to those who are scared to follow their dreams

● Why women worry more about the worst-case scenarios

● Dayna\'s experience running for congress and her love for her country

● Why Dayna encourages everyone to run for congress once

● The selfless people of Texas and Dayna\'s hope for the country

● The time Dayna\'s mom got Alzheimer\'s: its highs and lows

● What it was like to watch her son find his footing in theater

● The one thing Dayna learned from running for congress

● What Dayna expects to happen to broadway post-pandemic

● The two things Dayna never really succeeded in

● Why Dayna likes to talks to strangers

Resources Mentioned:

● Podcast Network Solutions

Connect with Dayna Steele:

● Book: Surviving Alzheimer\'s With Friends, Facebook, and a Really Big Glass of Wine: A caregiver\'s guide to love, humor, patience, confusion, anger, and wine

● Podcast: Rock Star Principles

● The Woman in the Mirror on YouTube

● Dayna Steele on LinkedIn

Spaceship Not Required

I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.

I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.

Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.

Don’t forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts!

Spotify I Stitcher I Apple Podcasts I iHeart Radio I TuneIn I Google I Amazon Music.

Modesty in Space Jul 22, 2021

Show notes

Socially accepted norms change with time. What was standard in the past may be taboo now. Likewise, the taboos of the past may be normalized today. What doesn’t change, however, is our concept of modesty—especially when changing clothes in front of other people. While some people are comfortable with this idea in a professional setting, others would rather walk out of the room. Regardless of their feelings about the situation, what matters in the end is that both parties respect each others’ personal space.

In this episode, I share the story of a spacewalk session that got a little awkward in the end. I discuss what the session was for and what happened when we trained for it. I explain what a Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG) is and how it works. I also describe what happened when the rest of the crew found out I would be changing into my LCVG in the same room as them.

\"One of the big milestones in training for a spacewalk is a full dress rehearsal of all the things you\'ll do in orbit leading up to your spacewalk.\" - Kathy Sullivan

This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:

● One of the prominent milestones for a spacewalk

● What happens during a spacewalk session, and how busy it gets

● What an LCVG is, how it works, and what it made us look like

● Why wearing an LCVG was awkward

● How the crew eventually adopted the same mindset I had about suiting up

Spaceship Not Required

I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.

I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.

Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.

Don’t forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts!

Spotify I Stitcher I Apple Podcasts I iHeart Radio I TuneIn I Google I Amazon Music.

Mid-Ocean Ridges and Interesting Deep Sea Creatures with Cindy Van Dover Jul 15, 2021

Show notes

Cindy Van Dover is an oceanographer, explorer, and deep-sea biologist who has traversed the deepest parts of the ocean since 1985. She specializes in the ecology of deep-sea vent communities, especially vent invertebrates, food webs, and the taxonomy of newly discovered species. She is the first female pilot of the deep-diving submersible ALVIN and has commanded 48 dives. Cindy is also the author of the book, Octopus’s Garden: Hydrothermal Vents And Other Mysteries Of The Deep Sea, where she dissects how hydrothermal vents paved the way for marine life to thrive in the bottom of the ocean.

Cindy joins me today to share some of the fantastic things she saw while exploring the deepest parts of the ocean. She describes what her school career was like and how she found her passion for oceanography. She explains how deep-sea vents allow temperatures warm enough for a wide array of creatures to endure the ice-cold depths. She discusses her experience as ALVIN’s pilot and what some of their explorations were like. Cindy also shares her thoughts on deep-sea mining and what we should be prepared to do if it becomes an environmental concern.

\"It is not a homogeneous environment in any sense of the word, not on these mid-ocean ridges.\" - Cindy Van Dover

This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:

● Cindy’s experience exploring the deepest parts of the ocean

● Cindy\'s dives as the pilot of ALVIN

● What makes ALVIN a unique submersible

● The changes made to ALVIN that improved the diving experience

● What made Cindy want a career in deep-sea exploration

● Why Cindy\'s academic life was not a typical school experience

● The experiences of ALVIN pilots walking on the seafloor

● What you would expect to see on the seafloor

● Cindy\'s thoughts about data gathering missions and exploring the seabed

● The difference between doing ROV work and piloting ALVIN

● Unusual and fascinating tube worms

● Why most animals on the seabed are white or transparent

● Cindy’s interesting red shrimp story

● What Cindy wants people to consider about seafloor mining

● Some of Cindy\'s favorite deep-sea creatures

Connect with Cindy Van Dover:

● Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment

● Book: Octopus\'s Garden: Hydrothermal Vents And Other Mysteries Of The Deep Sea

● Cindy Van Dover on LinkedIn

Spaceship Not Required

I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.

I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.

Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.

Don’t forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts!

Spotify I Stitcher I Apple Podcasts I iHeart Radio I TuneIn I Google I Amazon Music.