SPACE IN 60

Podcast: SPACEIN60 Episode: ATHENA BRENSBERGER | Astroathens Welcome to the SPACEIN60 podcast, where Clint Graumann, Andrew Pylypchuk and Chad Baker bring you into the world of the new space industry! Today, Chad, Clint, Andrew are joined by guest Athena Brensberger, YouTube star, model, STEM advocate, science writer, researcher and more. To kick off the conversation, Athena shares about all of the diverse areas she works in. As an active Instagram user, she has over 80,000 followers! Her love for YouTubers in High School gave her the idea of showcasing more scientists, engineers, and astronauts in order to recognize the importance they provide to our everyday lives. She hoped to convey the idea that Science doesn’t have to be over technical and complicated, but is surrounding us at all times. Figures including Bill Nye, who were able to make Science fun, quirk, and entertaining for everyone, were an inspiration for Athena. She shares about her previous uncertainty regarding which area to pursue professionally and the key advice which made her realize that she could explore many different things, like entertainment, modeling, and astrophysics, rather than just one. She was able to pause her degree (which she has actually just started back up again) and treat her own life as a Science experiment. Then, Athena identifies Bon Jovi as the one person alive who meeting would render her starstruck. Beyond music, modeling and Astrophysics, Athena recently got her first official hosted TV show called Suppressed Science. In the U.S., the show can be found streaming on CuriosityStream. The show looks into different subjects within the realm of Science which have been suppressed in some way. The final four episodes just aired last week, one of which is on the Theory of Everything. As she has just re-enrolled in university to finish her Bachelor’s Degree, Athena is now officially a student at Arizona State University. She shares that she will likely begin a slightly different path focusing on exoplanets. She hopes to not only have a season two of Suppressed Science in the future, but also to work on even more Science shows. This area is what truly speaks to her the most. Not only does it make her a learner herself, but she is then able to compartmentalize dense scientific concepts and present them to other people. Additionally, she hopes to publish her own children’s book soon to inspire the younger generation’s interest in space. Links: Connect with Athena Brensberger on Instagram and Youtube. Watch Athena’s new show, Suppressed Science, here. Connect with Clint Graumann on LinkedIn and Twitter. Connect with Andrew Pylypchuk on LinkedIn and Twitter. Learn more about SPACE IN 60 and connect on Twitter.