Sputnik

Bonus Track: “Keep On Looking”
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings perform “Keep On Looking” from 100 Days, 100 Nights in Studio 360.

TV’s Fall Fantasy
Riding the coattails of hits like Lost and Heroes, this season’s glut of TV is heavy on the fantasy -? with shows featuring vampires, ghosts, time travel, and fembots. Kurt chats with playwright and screenwriter Paul Rudnick about the supernatural zeitgeist.

Laika’s Dream
A month after Sputnik went up, the Soviets launched Sputnik 2, with a very famous passenger: Laika, a mutt from the streets of Moscow. She never made it home. The writer John Haskell has this tribute, part fact and part fiction, to the canine cosmonaut.

Get Your Kicks on Sputnik
There was instant global awe for the Soviet satellite, just under 2 feet in diameter, which circled the earth every 96 minutes. It was the beginning of the space age, but it wasn’t just a technological marvel: it had a lasting impact on American culture, language, and design. Richard Paul looks into why Sputnik has never really left our orbit.