Subodhana Wijeyeratne
Assistant professor of history and author of The Islands and the Stars: A History of Japan's Space Programs (Stanford UP, 2026), specializing in the global and institutional history of space technology and Japanese science and technology.
Best podcasts with Subodhana Wijeyeratne
Ranked by the Snipd community
Feb 23, 2026 • 49min
Subodhana Wijeyeratne, "The Islands and the Stars: A History of Japan's Space Programs" (Stanford UP, 2026)
Subodhana Wijeyeratne, assistant professor of history and author of The Islands and the Stars, traces nearly a century of Japan’s space programs. He discusses early 1920s imagination and wartime rocketry, postwar revival and institutional splits, the rise of satellites and industrial drivers, 1990s setbacks, and the 2003 creation of JAXA and its contemporary global role.
Feb 23, 2026 • 49min
Subodhana Wijeyeratne, "The Islands and the Stars: A History of Japan's Space Programs" (Stanford UP, 2026)
Subodhana Wijeyeratne, historian and assistant professor who traced Japan’s space programs, uncovers nearly a century of overlooked space history. He discusses Japan’s rise to a top space power, early 1920s roots and wartime rocketry, postwar revival and institutional shifts leading to JAXA, and how public politics, funding choices, and practical satellite missions shaped a distinct path in global space exploration.
