It's easy to get lost in something as big and vast as space itself. Even easier when you have to plan a whole hour going through it. And though this episode of Radio Lab does take a few "long cuts" and diverge into the realm of the "merely interesting" from time to time, overall the show presents as enjoyable an exploration of our fascination with outer space, our forays into it and our deepest questions -- philosophical, physical, mechanical -- about it.

And something interesting happens along the way. Amid all these voices, all these theories, the science fiction and the science fact, it became clear to me in listening to this episode of Radio Lab that the challenges we face in approaching, exploring and conquering space are the same ones we face here on earth -- in international politics, domestic affairs, even in our interpersonal relationships. These are questions of will and ambition; courage and fear; our own abilities as individuals and people to rise above the quotidian and do something great.