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Imperfect Paradise

LA Made: The Other Moonshot - Part 1: Ignition Starts

Imperfect Paradise

LAist Studios

Society & Culture

4.5535 Ratings

🗓️ 5 February 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this first episode of "LA Made: The Other Moonshot": America aims for the moon. President John F. Kennedy stands proudly behind the mission to advance the country and welcomes a diverse team to get the job done. That team includes three Black engineers who have a studded background — Charlie Cheathem, Nathaniel LeVert and Shelby Jacobs. However, the three men quickly realize that social progress is slower than scientific advancement.

"LA Made: The Other Moonshot" is a production of LAist Studios with Reasonable Volume, and the third season of the LA Made franchise. 

Visit BetterHelp.com/moonshot to get 10% off your first month.

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

Support LAist Today: https://laist.com/join

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Support for LAIST comes from CarPros Kia, featuring the 2027 Kia Telluride Hybrid with a striking new design and family-friendly seating for up to eight.

0:09.5

You can learn more at CarPros Kia in Glendale, Huntington Beach, and Moreno Valley.

0:15.1

LAISD is supported by Elephant Energy.

0:17.7

Elephant Energy is LA's expert in installing modern and efficient heating and cooling

0:22.0

systems, the new standard for whisper quiet comfort year-round. They handle the design and the

0:27.6

rebates to save you thousands. Claim your rebates at elephantenergy.com. The first time I met Charlie,

0:34.0

he towered over me like a well-groomed giant, wearing a suit and a tie. I was just a kid

0:39.5

and his daughter, Claudia, and I were best friends. Claudia and I spent a lot of time together,

0:45.3

and I soon became an honorary family member, a position I still hold today.

0:57.1

We lived for sleepovers, and they were magical at her house.

1:01.8

Claudia's parents, Charlie and Dolores, would throw the most amazing cocktail parties.

1:09.2

Claudia and I would sneak out of bed and sit at the top of the stairs and watch the

1:13.9

guests dancing below. The women were cocktail dresses in rainbow tulle and the men were so elegant

1:21.3

in their tuxedos and black suits. Charlie slowly became like a second dad and he would often sit me down and talk to me about

1:31.2

life and its lessons and about the choices we face as we pursue our dreams.

1:38.2

Everything in life is experienced.

1:40.8

If you haven't experienced something that likely, you don't know how to handle it.

1:48.0

That's Charlie today. Charlie has had a remarkable life. He was an aerospace pioneer. He was an engineer on the Apollo program, someone whose work helped America land on the moon. He would tell me about how

2:04.7

being one of the first black engineers in aerospace affected him, how it still affects him.

2:11.5

But frankly, I was young and I didn't really understand his place in history. But over the past few years, I wanted to know more.

2:20.7

I wanted to know what exactly did he do, when, where.

2:24.5

So I sat down and started recording him.

...

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