tears, gravity and distance

"We are one crew of 6 billion people."

This weekend I enjoyed my first quiet couple of days for a while and a full moon in France.

And I found myself thinking that maybe after all the recent posts and edits on and around the subject of sex, (and don't worry there'll be more coming soon), I though I'd just pop up with something a bit different.

A little something I did a while ago but haven't published until today.

This is something all children can listen to.

And something perhaps all adults should listen to.

This is my conversation with the astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy. 

You can listen to it via my free podcast on iTunes  here and - if you'd like to - read a transcript of it here.

I recorded Jean-Francois in his office in Paris in the Spring of 2010..

His mellifluous French accent serves only to highlight his sense of wonder at the planet's beauty from space.

His passion for the environment comes from a place not many of us will ever have the opportunity to occupy.

He talks with equal dexterity about adventure, borders and fragility.

And finally he shares with me just about as delicate and economic a description of the atmosphere as I could ever imagine hearing.

So - please do enjoy the edit I've called: tears, gravity and distance.

Ceci n'est pas un dialogue. It's an interview.

But like many of the people I've spoken to as part of the Intimate Conversations series, this one-off is a conversation that I feel privileged to have had.

(Note: I also produced a shorter edit of this conversation which was featured on BBC Radio 4's Short Cuts programme broadcast on September 25th 2012. You may even find yourself here for that very reason.) )