Unfortunately, there are still more humans than dogs in the average airport terminal. Still, it’s not uncommon to see dogs as you run to catch your flight. Some dogs, like humans, are just travelers passing through. But others, increasingly, are at the airport to take care of business. Today on AirSpace: it’s Canine Career Day! We discuss the surprisingly wide variety of airport dog jobs, and hear from a few lucky humans about their unique coworkers. Matt and Emily learn about therapy dogs with trading cards; beagles and Labradors sniffing luggage for safety (and prohibited agricultural products); and even an elite doggie duo chasing wildlife off the runway.

Thanks to our guests in this episode:

• Pam Baird, Volunteer, CATS Program, Denver International Airport
• Chris Keyser, Wildlife Specialist, West Virginia International Yeager Airport

Find the transcript for this episode and more information at s.si.edu/airspaces11e6.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter at s.si.edu/airspacenewsletter.

AirSpace is made possible with the generous support of Lockheed Martin.

AirSpace logo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution. Episode photo courtesy of West Virginia International Yeager Airport (CRW).

Space travel is hungry work. Humans have spent nearly six decades experimenting with different ways to feed astronauts (with mixed reviews). As astronauts live and work in space on longer missions further from home, a new generation of chefs and food scientists is thinking outside the box (and can, and tube, and pouch). What if space travelers had kitchens complete with appliances and pantries full of ingredients?

In this episode of AirSpace, recorded in front of a live audience at the National Air and Space Museum, Matt and Emily spoke with an expert panel about the past and future of cooking and eating in space.

Thanks to our guests in this episode:

• Chef Charisse Grey, head of Research & Development, José Andrés Group
• Jim Sears, CEO and founder, SATED Space
• Margaret Weitekamp, curator and chair of Space History, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Find the transcript for this episode and more information at s.si.edu/airspaces11e5.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter at s.si.edu/airspacenewsletter.

AirSpace is made possible with the generous support of Lockheed Martin.

Science fiction heroes aren't usually humanities professors, but Arrival (2016) is the exception to that rule. Amy Adams stars as Dr. Louise Banks, who may be the only person on Earth who can figure out what a pair of mysterious aliens are trying to say.

Today on AirSpace, Matt and Emily discuss the film, its source material (Ted Chiang's novella Story of Your Life), linguistics, non-linear time, extraterrestrials, explosions, geopolitical tension, oat milk, and other mysteries of the universe.

The transcript for this episode is at s.si.edu/airspaces11e4

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter at s.si.edu/airspacenewsletter.

AirSpace is made possible with the generous support of Lockheed Martin.