Strapped into a tiny capsule on top of a Redstone rocket, with millions watching on live television, Alan Shepard waited through a launch delay so long that he had to relieve himself inside his spacesuit. This episode digs into the messy, human reality behind the polished image of Project Mercury and the ambition, setbacks, and improbable comeback of the man in that suit.

We trace Shepard from Derry, New Hampshire and a genius-level IQ with mediocre grades, through World War II service on the destroyer USS Cogswell, to a shaky start in flight school and a reputation as a rule-breaking test pilot. We cover the Mercury 7 selection, the sting of Yuri Gagarin flying first, the 15-minute Freedom 7 flight in May 1961 with manual attitude control, and the Meniere's disease diagnosis that grounded him. We then follow the secret experimental ear sur ...