Speaker 1: Hello, Arrow, How you doing doing fantastic? How are you doing? Leland?
Speaker 2: I'm great. Too much screaming last night.
Speaker 1: For the super Bowl, though, That's what it's all about. Though,
That's what it's all about.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 1: We got to start things off by by speaking directly
to young adults and in the way of saying, if
you if your imagination is creating it, be like Leland
and follow it, build upon it, you know, explore because
that's the one thing that I love about studying you
is the fact that you just don't say no.
Speaker 2: I mean, that's funny, erro. I mean, my parents were
middle school teachers, but they gave us everything, panel lessons,
clarinet lessons. My mom gave me a camera when I
was a kid, and I made her laundry room into
a development area that's made all the clothes smell like fixer.
So they feel that curiosity to me at a very
early age, and I think more kids need to have them.
But if they don't have that at home, maybe they
can get it with Space Chasers. Maybe they can see
themselves on the cover and say, maybe I can do
this too.
Speaker 1: Even as an adult, I can relate with this book
Space Chasers because It reminds me so much of my
own childhood, and to me, this book right here is
going to open up imaginations in the way of saying,
I want to go to space, and these people are
just real, down to earth, everyday people, and they're gonna
go exactly.
Speaker 2: And I think having the dog element in there too.
Kids love dogs and cats and animals, So having them
go up to the International Space Station and pick up
my dogs and he'll bring them back home, it's pretty
cool too.
Speaker 1: So now one of the things that instantly I think
of when I was reading the book is I go,
this would make a great series on Netflix, Hulu or
even Nickelodeon. Are you in the toxic for something like that.
Speaker 2: I haven't got to that point yet, but I'm ready
Aero if you want to sign me up, all ready
to go.
Speaker 1: Did it feel like that you were stepping back into
space by sharing this story?
Speaker 2: I really did, because you know, Joe my co co writer,
and and Alison Acton, who's the illustrator, you know, when
we have these conversations, these email threads, it really did
take me back. And one of the pictures in the
book is of a sunrise and the kids are out
doing a space walk looking at the sunrise, and you know,
you see a sunrise in the sunset every forty five minutes,
and it just really blows your mind when you think
about how fast you're moving in our planet below us,
and how we're all connected.
Speaker 1: See, and it's so fascinating because I was that kid,
and I would love to find out what you were
like as a kid in the way I would tip
the doghouse over step inside was headed to the moon,
dude Snoopy style, right, That's exactly it, man, How did
you move through the desire to be up in space?
Speaker 2: My mom gave me an agent appropriate non oshous certifying
chemistry set and I blew up her living room. So
that got me into chemistry. And then my dad drove
her a bread truck into our driveway and he said,
this our camper and it was just a hollow branch trug.
And that summer we turned it into a recreational vehicle.
So building bunk bed to flip down. Mechanical engineering Coleman
Stove's chemical engineering. I was learning all this stuff as
a kid, and you know this got me on a
path to thinking about science and engineering. I played some
NFL time pulled a hamstring. So I didn't follow that journey.
But the whole teamwork thing working with other people at
NASA led me to applying to become an astronaut, and
I got in.
Speaker 1: Speaking of that teamwork that is very evident in this book.
Right here, in this age where we want to do
things all by ourselves around some sort of gaming thing
where we just speak to each other, this book is
about working together as a team.
Speaker 2: Yeah, a lot of the kids in this book, they
are believe in themselves at times, and you know that
aposture syndrome, especially Tia, who doesn't really go to school
much because her parents aren't in her life and she
works as a mechanic in her brother's auto mechanic shop.
But you know, with the other kids and me trying
to tell her that you do have the right stuff,
she ends up saving the day on the International Space Station.
So enough of that, you know, grit and resilience that
you can drive into kids now is shown through this book.
Speaker 1: There's so much simplicity in it, and yet I honor it.
One of the scenes that really kind of opened up
my heart was the fact that the girl who doesn't
have a pencil and a friend lends her the pencil.
That to me warmed my heart because I don't see
a lot of that anymore.
Speaker 2: It's so much competition to be the best and we
and you know, as astronauts, you have to share. You
have to work together or it's perilous in space, and
so you don't maybe make it home if you don't share.
And I think that's something that I want kids to
see in this book, that they become close knit friends,
team members, and they look out for each other.
Speaker 1: I recently did an interview with a woman who wrote
a books talking about how important it is to just
be weird, and one of the things that really caught
me off guard was the the fact that she said
astronauts are weird people and happy about that because they're
weird about space. They're weird about science, they're weird about
being up in space because why do you go to
the bathroom up there? I mean, it's just do you
feel weird?
Speaker 2: I started out being weird when I blew my mother's
living room up because I live a scientist, you know,
and and nerds back in the day, you know that
we get they would get you know, I don't know
if you know what a melvin is. But when someone
grabs your underwear, pulls about because you're a nerd, and
they mess with you and do things with you. But
nerds rule the world, and so being a nerd back
then it was a blurred, a black nerd. But being
a nerd is cool these days. And I think kids
realize that you know, knowing how to solve problems, do
tech things, play video games. All this stuff has a
tech edge to it, and that's what we use to
go to space and go to the moon of Mars,
and so that's that's the future being being a weird nerd.
Speaker 1: The book we're talking about is Space Chasers. I know
that Jeff Bezos of those guys are trying to put
real people up there into into space. But the thing is, though,
is that your book allows kids to believe in themselves.
Because I'm not seeing too many young adults coming off
from jeffsa and little Jets. So I mean, you you
at least give us belief and hope to be up there.
Speaker 2: Well that's what we all need, right that belief and
hope and a more positive and enlightened future for everyone.
Speaker 1: What about AI technology, because I've heard that rumor that
they're going to put robots on Mars before. Man, I
would rather see a man or a woman up there first.
Speaker 2: Well, we've had robots up there for a very long
time curiosity, sojourner, and you know, they're the emissaries for
getting us to see where the places are that we
want to live. And so that's fine to send them
out first. I mean, that's great, but we need the
heart and the mind and the soul of people to
make decisions real time without you know, without a machine
doing it. And there's no way the machine can give
us what it feels like, what it tastes like, what
it smells like, a human being.
Speaker 1: Can even with my it makes it makes you I
get it, but I don't when I listened to it though,
I just feel like this sounds windy all the time,
and to me, it's just falsifies the situation.
Speaker 2: And you can't get the Martian dust on. You have
to clean yourself off with the v r agg.
Speaker 1: So true, But you do believe that that young adults
are interested in space, right, because I mean so many
times people say, ah, no, people don't believe in space anymore,
and it's like, are you kidding me?
Speaker 2: Well, all the flat earthers that come up to me
and I have to tell them, you know, we did
a face or the distance face. But I think kids are,
you know, innately curious, especially at these middle grade ages,
and you don't want them to get turned off to
the tech and science and things. But have them see
what it's possible for even kids to go to space
one day with dogs.
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, especially you know because I was a child
when those dogs went up by themselves, and I realized
the full story of that. But the fact of the
matter is it told me as a kid that we
can all go up into space exactly.
Speaker 2: And that's the message from space chasers. We're all possible
and capable of doing these incredible things if we work
together as a team.
Speaker 1: Did you feel like a kid when that drone was
flying around up there on Mars.
Speaker 2: I've always thought a kids, big kids, don't you feel
the way? Yes, we have to, because if a kid
sees an adult acting like a kid and doing stupid things,
fun things, it will bring them along and let them
know that it's okay to be weird and to be
a nerd and all of that, and that you can
do these great things if you have that same type
of mindset.
Speaker 1: So they always say that we have our normal calendar age,
and then we have the age that our mind, body,
and soul believe that we are. I always tell people
I'm still seventeen years old. What is your inner inner
core age?
Speaker 2: Probably thirteen?
Speaker 1: Yes, And that's why this book is here, isn't it?
Because that's thirteen year old? Put this book together exactly.
You did this in math class man.
Speaker 2: Oh, it's too funny. You're right, you got me.
Speaker 1: Where can people go to find out more about you, Leland?
Because you really do have an authentic story here.
Speaker 2: I have a website, lelandnoven dot com. I have activities
for kids to do in a section called stemography, and
you know, you can google and see some things I've
done online. But I think the main thing is to
let them know that anything is possible. Believe in yourself.
And if I can go to space, you can go
to space.
Speaker 1: I love it. Please come back to the show anytime
in the future. The door is always going to be
open for you.
Speaker 2: Thank you, ero look forward to it.
Speaker 1: Will you'd be brilliant today? Okay? Sir?
Speaker 2: Yes, sir? Thirteen years old?
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, By Guy