A production of Harvard-Westlake School. The Supporting Cast features long-form interviews with individuals sharing compelling life stories, passions, and interests, but with an acute focus on one’s teachers, coaches, and mentors—transcending simple biography to highlight one’s “supporting cast” and how their influence mattered. Hosted by Eli Goldsmith.
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A production of Harvard-Westlake School. The Supporting Cast features long-form interviews with individuals sharing compelling life stories, passions, and interests, but with an acute focus on one’s teachers, coaches, and mentors—transcending simple biography to highlight one’s “supporting cast” and how their influence mattered. Hosted by Eli Goldsmith.
Bear Ride ’71 on the Life and Love of Sally Ride ’68 – TSC074
The Supporting Cast
50 minutes 43 seconds
5 months ago
Bear Ride ’71 on the Life and Love of Sally Ride ’68 – TSC074
Bear Ride ’71 is the only sister of astronaut and American hero, Sally Ride ’68, who in 1983 became the first American woman in space. In this episode, Bear tells Sally’s story—but also her own, which includes “breaking ground” in her own right as a female and openly gay Presbyterian minister. The Ride sisters were born and raised in Los Angeles and attended Westlake School, where Bear and Sally each encountered life-changing teachers—leading Bear to pursue the ministry and Sally a PhD in astrophysics. It was at Stanford where Sally came across a NASA ad soliciting interest in a new kind of astronaut. She applied, and the rest is history. Bear also speaks to the release of a new documentary, Sally, produced by National Geographic and premiering on Disney+ and Hulu on June 17. The film not only charts Sally Ride’s public journey into space, but also her private 27-year partnership with a woman—Tam O’Shaughnessy. It wasn’t until Sally’s death in 2012 that her obituary revealed Tam as her partner—and thus the truth she'd kept private for so long. Bear references Westlake teachers David Coombs and Elizabeth Mommaerts as profound influences on her and Sally's lives and careers.
The Supporting Cast
A production of Harvard-Westlake School. The Supporting Cast features long-form interviews with individuals sharing compelling life stories, passions, and interests, but with an acute focus on one’s teachers, coaches, and mentors—transcending simple biography to highlight one’s “supporting cast” and how their influence mattered. Hosted by Eli Goldsmith.
