By Richard Tew
The Post Newspaper Contributing Writer
For several years now, Gary Jordan has been the host of “Houston We Have A Podcast.” The podcast seeks to connect the public with all things NASA.
Jordan, who became the Office of Communications and Public Affairs Manager back in 2023, first started at JSC as an intern as part of the “Pathways” program before being hired as a public affairs officer (PAO).
As the manager of the communications office, Jordan leads a team of public affairs officers (PAO) , a news chief and a production crew. JSC’s communicators spend their days fielding interview requests from local, national and global media to JSC personnel. They are also responsible for orchestrating a myriad of private and public meetings, displays, events, live broadcasts, press conferences and memorials at the storied space center.
Who makes a good PAO? Jordan says it’s a person with a combination of diverse skills who can fit in as part of a team.
“What we are looking for is someone with a huge, diverse set of skills,” said Jordan. “Ultimately, we are good stewards of trying to get out of NASA’s story and to do that we have to join together as a team.”
In 2017, as a PAO, Jordan first started thinking of a new way to help tell NASA’s story. The idea came from his time commuting on Houston’s notorious-congested highways. Jordan says when he and his wife moved from the Clear Lake area to near downtown Houston, the drive stretched from just a few minutes to nearly an hour. Jordan says he turned to podcasts to help pass the time.
“Naturally you find things to fill that time and the first place I looked was podcasts and the first podcasts I looked at were space podcasts,” said Jordan. “I realized rather quickly that there was not really a thorough NASA presence.”
Jordan says the podcasts he did find served as a point of reference for a fledgling idea he had about pitching a podcast to NASA. He says podcasts offer so much potential for “explosive growth.” Noticing a gap in coverage and a new way to communicate NASA’s goals, objectives and expertise in the intriguing world of space exploration, he began talking about the idea during a communications planning meeting. After the pitch, Jordan began to amass data and research on podcasting. He also broadened his podcast subscription list to include podcasts outside of those focused just on space.
According to Jordan, the more casual back-and-forth discussion style format of “Houston, We Have A Podcast” was born out of the similar conversation style indicative of the podcasts he was listening to while driving to and from work and home.
“It was a formation of those things I enjoyed most about podcasts,” said Jordan.
Jordan presented his findings at the next communications meeting noting the amount of interesting stories at NASA and podcasting could be a very effective way at telling them to the public.
Jordan’s pitch was a success and was given the green light to start. Despite the unfamiliar ground, he started by asking for interviews and support from his contacts within NASA. The support was instant and the planning for the first few episodes began to take place.
“The next thing you know, it (the podcast) took off with a life of its own. We are well past 300 episodes right now. I have no intention of stopping.” said Jordan. “I thought I would run out of topics but there’s always a new story to tell.”
Jordan says regardless of the guest, he wants to help them be comfortable on the podcast which he says helps with both the content and the flow of the conversation.
The podcast typically features NASA engineers and research experts along with astronauts discussing everything from current missions to asteroid samples, future treks to the Moon and Mars and everything in between. Jordan says interviews can take weeks or months to plan and include producers, an audio engineer and assistants.
“That’s what I like about NASA, it’s not an exclusive culture,” said Jordan. “People are excited about what they do, and they are excited to tell you and engage you. They want to get people excited about spaceflight.”
Jordan has been the familiar face and voice of the podcast for over seven years but is quick to say it’s not “his show.”
“It’s not Gary, We Have A Podcast, it’s ‘Houston We Have A Podcast,” said Jordan.
Jordan says he is eager to share the mic with new hosts who were recently auditioned and approved for the role.
“You should be hearing some new voices that you will hear recurring as the hosts of the podcast.”
Photo cutline: JSC Office of Communications and Public Affairs Manager Gary Jordan has logged over 300 episodes as the creator and host of NASA’s “Houston We Have A Podcast.” Photo provided by Gary Jordan/NASA.
To learn more about the podcast, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/podcasts/houston-we-have-a-podcast/.
