I Always Wanted To - Know What I Want To Be When I Grow Up

Know What I Want To Be When I Grow Up

09/13/21 • 44 min

1 Listener

My guest, Annie Handmer, is a final year PhD Candidate at the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Science, in the School of History and Philosophy of Science. Her research traces the social history of Australian space science projects in order to better understand international and interdisciplinary cooperation, the social construction of achievement, and the nature of the military-industrial-academic complex in Australian space science.

In addition, she is on the Advisory Council for the Space Industry Association of Australia, a member of the Space Generation Advisory Council ‘Ethics and Human Rights in Space’ Project Group, the Space Law Council of Australia and New Zealand, program consultant to the Australian Youth Aerospace Association ASTRA Committee, and is also the host and creator of the Space Junk Podcast.

In Spring 2021 (southern hemisphere), Annie will be undertaking a residency at the Sydney Observatory.

Twitter / Instagram: @anniehandmer

Space Junk Podcast: https://play.acast.com/s/space-junk-podcast/

Space Junk Video: https://www.youtube.com/c/spacejunkpodcast/

Space Ethics Library: https://spaceethicslibrary.wordpress.com/

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Opening Remarks

Hi Everyone,

I’m so glad to have Annie Handmer as my guest on the podcast again. I love the way she sees the world and everything she thinks about.

In this conversation Annie and I turned things around. Instead of looking backwards to what we always wanted, we ponder the question of what do you want to be when you grow up. What effect does that question have on kids when they hear it? And what’s really the point of asking when the jobs available will be completely different in 20 years.

For example the work Annie does now was inconceivable when I was growing up. Annie actually teaches Space Law, she advises the United Nations on Space Ethics, and works for her state government predicting the future in order to come up with better policy. Wow.

If you haven’t yet listened to our previous conversation, do check out I Always Wanted to Go Into Outer Space from September 2020. She proposes some great alternatives to Space Tourism for those of us who are not billionaires. It’s not a prerequisite for this episode but it’s well worth a listen.

In today’s conversation we talk about better questions to ask children than what do you want to be, and discuss how our differences influence our point of view. Annie speaks on behalf of all millennials and I speak for all boomers and together we make sweeping generalizations that are absolutely sure to be true.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Here’s the interview.

(Full transcript at https://ialwayswantedto.net)

In Spring 2021 (southern hemisphere), Annie will be undertaking a residency at the Sydney Observatory.

Twitter / Instagram: @anniehandmer

Space Junk Podcast: https://play.acast.com/s/space-junk-podcast/

Space Junk Video: https://www.youtube.com/c/spacejunkpodcast/

Space Ethics Library: https://spaceethicslibrary.wordpress.com/

*********************

Opening Remarks

Hi Everyone,

I’m so glad to have Annie Handmer as my guest on the podcast again. I love the way she sees the world and everything she thinks about.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Here’s the interview.

(Full transcript at https://ialwayswantedto.net)

Previous Episode

Find My Purpose

In this, my 50th episode, I talk about the upcoming season which begins Monday, September 13th.

Coming up on I Always Wanted To:

Know What I Want To Be When I Grow Up
Be A Cave Diver
Learn to Play Harmonica
Be A Competitive Athlete
Spot Disinformation
Play A Theremin

--and more--

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********************* TRANSCRIPT

Liz: Hi everyone. I’m proud to say this is my 50th episode. I’ve been podcasting since May of 2018. In that time I’ve spoken with dozens of fascinating people and asked them questions about how they pursued their passions; how they put one foot in front of the other to dance or climb or play or learn.

In all of my conversations my guests mention a point when they realize, “Wow, I got this. I’m doing what I set out to do, what I always dreamed of doing.” I don’t have to do things the way it’s always been done. I can experiment. I can step out of my comfort zone and it feels wonderful.

In this upcoming series we’re going to explore some new territory-- like underwater caves. We’ll take another look at the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I’ll ask an expert about how to spot Disinformation and a dear friend about learning to play blues harp. I’ll interview a medal-winning athlete who didn’t start running until she was 57. And learn about something I’ve personally always wanted to do, that is play a Theremin, from a world class virtuoso and teacher.

My purpose in all of this is to bring you inspiring stories that remind you live your dreams. They are not out of reach. They are easier than you think to achieve.

My dream is to make an impact with this podcast. It has been a joy to create and refine. If you listen to the early episodes please forgive the technical flaws. I’ve learned a lot since then and I hope it shows. If you’re just joining me now I hope you will check out the back catalog. There’s some great content there.

Based on your feedback, I’m also striving to make myself more visible, or I guess present is more appropriate in this medium. I’ll talk more about my impressions of the guests and what I take away from the conversations. As always, I’d love to hear what you think as well. Am I succeeding in my purpose of inspiring you? You tell me.

Podcasting brings together many of my interests-- learning new things, talking to cool people, and of course tech geek stuff. I thoroughly enjoy the process and I do it for love. However, I am not averse to receiving support. Please feel free to show your appreciation at Patreon.com/alwayswanted.

I hope you enjoy the new season of I Always Wanted To. I’m Liz Sumner, reminding you to be bold, and thanks for listening.

Next Episode

Be A Cave Diver

JILL HEINERTH is an underwater explorer, writer, photographer, speaker, and filmmaker. A pioneer of technical rebreather diving, she has led expeditions into icebergs in Antarctica, volcanic lava tubes, and submerged caves worldwide. Jill is the first Explorer-in-Residence of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Her memoir, INTO THE PLANET, has been lauded by the Wall Street Journal, Oprah Magazine, and the New York Times. Her children’s book THE AQUANAUT is a Blue Ribbon Selection for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Jill is a Fellow of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, Underwater Academy of Arts and Sciences, Women Divers Hall of Fame and the Explorers Club, which awarded her with the William Beebe Award for ocean exploration. Contact: www.IntoThePlanet.com Into the Planet, My Life as a Cave Diver is available through booksellers and Amazon, worldwide.

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Opening Remarks

Hi everyone, and welcome. One of the things I find fascinating as I interview people is the variety of things that attract us, how different are the subjects we want to learn, and the environments we want to explore. And how what scares one person makes another one come alive.

Jill Heinerth and I both love the water. We’d both jump on a flight to outer space if the opportunity presented itself. But Jill has trained to be a world class underwater explorer and boldly goes where no human has ever ventured. She faces her fear regularly and has taken away a lesson that I wholeheartedly agree with-- that stepping into the darkness might feel scary but it’s also exciting. If you focus on that and take small manageable steps you can come up with some amazing results.

One of my favorite parts of my conversation with Jill is how she learned to say no. Once in awhile she finds herself in a situation where her professional judgment tells her this is unsafe. Even though she’s close to the prize or others want her to go on, she knows it’s too dangerous and draws the line.

For most of us our decisions aren’t quite as much a matter of life and death. But from time to time we all need to resist social pressure and respect our our personal boundaries. Sometimes saying no is as courageous as diving into the unknown

I encourage you to visit the links in the show notes and see some of Jill’s videos. Her descriptions are excellent but the images take you to a whole new world. Here’s the interview.

(Full transcript at https://ialwayswantedto.net)