Spoken Word
Stories worth telling live.
Whether it's a keynote, a story slam, or a planetarium show — Dr. Bob brings thirty years of spaceflight into the room with him. The audience always leaves having seen the cosmos a little differently.
Available presentations
Keynotes & Talks
Tailored for general audiences through specialist communities. Each talk draws on firsthand experience - no slide filled with stock photos, no borrowed stories.
The View from the Flight Director's Chair
What it really looks like to manage a crisis in real time, 250 miles above Earth — and what that teaches about leadership, decision-making, and staying calm when everything is breaking at once.
Commercial Spaceflight: The Next Thirty Years
An insider's view of where the industry is headed, who is building it, and what the human cost of getting there actually looks like. Drawing on firsthand work with Boeing, SpaceX, and Blue Origin.
Systems Thinking Under Pressure
How Mission Control's culture of structured decision-making applies far beyond aerospace — to hospitals, financial trading floors, emergency services, and any high-stakes operating environment.
Storytelling as Mission Debrief
A performance-style talk blending personal narrative with spaceflight history. Designed for science centers, planetariums, and general audiences. Has been described as "the TED talk you didn't know you needed."
What Goes Up, Must Come Down: Private Spaceflight in the Era of New Space
A survey of the commercial spaceflight landscape — the players, the vehicles, the business models, and the questions the industry has not yet answered. Accessible to general audiences and aerospace professionals alike.
Book Dr. Bob for your event
Dr. Bob is represented by Chartwell Speakers. All booking inquiries should go through their platform for the fastest response.
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Science centers & planetariums
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Universities & research institutions
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Aerospace & engineering conferences
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Corporate leadership events
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Public storytelling & literary events
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K-12 STEM programs
Prefer a direct conversation? Use the contact form and Dr. Bob will respond personally.
Past talks & appearances
Selected works
A selection of past speaking engagements with recordings, articles, and resources where available.
westport astronomical society
What goes up, Must come down: Private Spaceflight in the Era of "New Space"
July 15, 2025
westport astronomical society
What goes up, Must come down: Private Spaceflight in the Era of "New Space"
July 15,2025
GREAT LAKES PLANETARIUM ASSOCIATION
The Making of a Mission
October 23, 2019
storytelling
On stage. Live. In front of judges.
Story slams like The Moth and Story Collider are where Dr. Bob is most at home — no slides, no safety net, just a story and an audience. These are a few of his favorites.
Right Where I Wanted to Be
The story that won the room. A personal narrative about the moment Dr. Bob realized exactly where his life had led him and why that mattered
🏆SLAM WINNER
The Only Time I was Afraid
Everyone who works in high-consequence environments has a moment they don't talk about. This is Dr. Bob's. A story about fear, debris, and what you do when you can't run.
What It Really Means to Be a Rocket Scientist
A story about the gap between what people imagine spaceflight looks like and what it actually looks like at 3am in Mission Control when something is going wrong.
pODCASTS
Listen in
Houston We Have a Podcast: Go Starliner
Nasa podcast
Dr. Bob joins NASA's official podcast to discuss the Boeing Starliner's commercial crew flight test — what it took to get there and what it means for the future of human spaceflight.
ADHD & NASA: Commanding the ISS
Wise Squirrels podcast
A candid conversation about ADHD, how it shaped Dr. Bob's career, and what it actually looks like to operate at the highest levels of human spaceflight while navigating neurodivergence.