José M. Hernández
Former NASA Astronaut · Engineer & Author
Conversations
From the fields to the stars
Born to migrant farm workers from Michoacán, José Hernández picked crops across California, learned English at twelve, and was rejected by NASA eleven times before flying to space on the twelfth. The story behind A Million Miles Away.
Transcript →In their words
NASA said no eleven times. On the twelfth, I flew.C·019
Corridor Context
José M. Hernández is an engineer, author and former NASA astronaut who flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-128. The son of migrant farm workers from Michoacán, he was rejected by NASA eleven times before being selected. His life story is the basis of the film A Million Miles Away.
The arc they moved through
A warm, rapid-fire start. Pride, personality, and the one word in each guest's language that English can't touch.
Where they come from, and how it shaped the way they build, invest, and lead. Terroir over resume.
The real work. The honest business, the hard decisions, the bet they're actually making. Host as peer, not fan.
The jam session. Escalating questions, playful to profound, and one answer the guest can save "pa' la sobremesa."
The same closing question, every guest, forever: who held the door open for you, and whose name goes on the door you're holding open?