1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Oh, what's at the bottom of the ocean? Right? You 2 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: all know what we're doing. You all know what we're doing. Look, no, exactly. 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: This is Behind the Bastards, a podcast about the worst 4 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 1: people in all of history. We're all going to feel 5 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: like the worst people in all of history. A little 6 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: bit making jokes adjacent to this week's topic. Andrew T 7 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 1: my guest today. How are you doing, Andrew? Hi, I'm alive, 8 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: you know, just striking, but a lot fighting fighting against 9 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 1: the man. Andrew. You are a writer in the in 10 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: in in the entertainment industry and are on strike like 11 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:46,200 Speaker 1: all of the all of the god fearing writers out there, 12 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: which means you have time to be on a podcast. So, uh, 13 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 1: it's really working out good for me, this old strike. 14 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 2: I mean, here's the other secret of TV writers. We 15 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 2: always kind of have time to be on a podcast. 16 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:06,039 Speaker 1: Yeah, anything that can count as procrastination is always always. 17 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:08,479 Speaker 3: Around whole hole. 18 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:10,759 Speaker 1: Uh oh, but you're getting a hell of a lot 19 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:11,560 Speaker 1: of cleaning. 20 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,040 Speaker 2: Done instead of yeah, instead of try to try to 21 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 2: do anything productive. 22 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 1: Now, Andrew, it's my understanding. Correct me if I'm wrong, 23 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: because I come from a slightly different world. But while 24 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: you can't we can't. You can't be doing any writing 25 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,759 Speaker 1: for like TV or whatever. We can make a reality 26 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 1: show together, right, That doesn't violate anything, right, I. 27 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 3: Mean that that is what we're doing now, essentially. 28 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: Because I I I'd love to get you involved in 29 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: a project that I've I've had passion for for quite 30 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: a while. Basically, basically, I fill a super soaker with 31 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: my own piss, and you and I drive around in 32 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: a van and whenever we see anybody who looks like 33 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: they might be famous, like around Rodeo Drive or wherever, 34 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: we just we squirt them with the super soaker full 35 00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: of piss and then we get it on camera and 36 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: then well it's a show called super Soaker full of Piss. 37 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: It's a good idea. 38 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 2: I think this is not materially worse than anything else. 39 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 3: Fair Well on reality TV. 40 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: Yeah. I've been looking to get into politics, and I'm 41 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: thinking about how Donald Trump's career got started by the 42 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: last writers strike, and I feel like this could be 43 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: my opportunity. You know, this could be my celebrity apprentice. 44 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,079 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, all the all the like the Wall Street 45 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:29,080 Speaker 2: Journal is like this is the super Soaker full of Piss. 46 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:34,679 Speaker 2: Guy's never Gonnam out to anything, and then it's like, well, 47 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:36,800 Speaker 2: I mean, obviously he's making he has a lot of 48 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 2: groundswallow support, a lot a lot of good points. 49 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, I run once in twenty twenty eight and everybody laughs, 50 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: and then in twenty thirty two everybody's like, I don't know, 51 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:48,239 Speaker 1: the piss super soaker guy's kind of making a lot 52 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: of sense, really passionate fans, and it's it's what you know. 53 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,360 Speaker 1: In a normal time, I think people would would consider 54 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: the idea of squirting famous people with a pristoker full 55 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: of human urine to be silly. But given our topic today, 56 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:10,919 Speaker 1: it's downright responsible, Andrew, Because today, I mean I feel 57 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:12,920 Speaker 1: like normally we comment on like, so, what have you 58 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,239 Speaker 1: heard about you know, X person potentially obscure or whatever. 59 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: We're all aware of the death sub right that that 60 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: imploded on its way down to the Titanic. 61 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 2: This is like so tricky because normally, as far as 62 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 2: the audience goes like like the service behind the Bastards 63 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 2: provises informing and not that you won't be informing people 64 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 2: of stuff, but this is probably we're at nearly the 65 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 2: apex of broad knowledge about this human being that's only 66 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 2: going to diminish over time. 67 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's interesting. I there's like so much that's wrapped 68 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: up in this and it's it's such a there's a 69 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: lot that's kind of fascinating about what the the interest 70 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: in this and the way people are talking about it 71 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: says about kind of like our current moment in media. 72 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: I've chosen for the episodes to kind of rather than 73 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: well focus specifically on the accident, to focus on stocked 74 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: and Rush and like his background and kind of where 75 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: he comes from and how this all got together, but 76 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: we will kind of be talking about the stuff around it, 77 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 1: including you know, it's interesting, there's this like a lot 78 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:24,280 Speaker 1: of so the kind of the two big arguments over 79 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,120 Speaker 1: this thing that have that have been filling the internet 80 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: so far, or like should we laugh when a bunch 81 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:34,839 Speaker 1: of billionaires die in an easily predictable accident and that's 82 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,279 Speaker 1: between you and your god people like I can't. And 83 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: also it's one of those things where it's like if 84 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: you think it's bad to laugh when like people you 85 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: don't know die, that's a perfectly ethically consistent point. Also, 86 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: if you think that it's fine, I don't really that's 87 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: that's that's what it's whatever. It's like if we're gonna 88 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: flip out about people laughing at this, Like the Internet 89 00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: has been like full of shit like this from the 90 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: very if you can remember the early days, the Darwin 91 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: Awards were one of like the biggest things on the Internet, 92 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,839 Speaker 1: which was just laughing at people dying in stupid ways. 93 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:11,919 Speaker 3: This really is the ultimate like Darwin Award. I think I. 94 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:18,040 Speaker 2: Finally come down to the thing I think I wrote 95 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 2: on Twitter. It was some version of like, look, yes, 96 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 2: I get it, it's probably not healthy to like hate 97 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,160 Speaker 2: these people, but I'm just gonna I think I triangulated 98 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:30,160 Speaker 2: to I just love them less than anyone else who 99 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:33,280 Speaker 2: was victimized in any way this week. And I also 100 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 2: love them less than any penny that was spent trying 101 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 2: to rescue them. 102 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 1: Yeah. That's that's more or less where I am on this. 103 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,040 Speaker 1: And like there's the other thing that people are pointing 104 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 1: out is like there was just this horrific hundreds of 105 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: people you drowned and another one of those boats. That's yeah, 106 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:52,160 Speaker 1: and it's you know, I actually have kind of like 107 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:56,600 Speaker 1: a slightly off the mainstream take about that, which is 108 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:58,280 Speaker 1: like the thing people are saying is, well, it's fucked 109 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: up that this's got so much more attention than that. Yes, 110 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: it definitely is, but it's also like not particularly surprising. 111 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:10,599 Speaker 1: Like if you think back, because I started, I started 112 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: covering like refugees moving from kind of northern Africa to 113 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: through Europe back in twenty fifteen, I was on the 114 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: refugee trail for a while and it was a huge story. 115 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:24,240 Speaker 1: People paid a lot of attention. There was a lot 116 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: of aid coming in. You know, when that little boy 117 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,920 Speaker 1: I believe his name's parents Island Curdie drowned a few 118 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: years back, like that was there was a massive amount 119 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:37,360 Speaker 1: of attention, and then it, because it happens so often, 120 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 1: kind of just became normalized. Which is the thing. I mean, 121 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: it happens with mash It's not just a thing that happens. 122 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:46,839 Speaker 1: It happens with fucking mass shootings, right Like it's this 123 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 1: is a thing that happens because people can only sort 124 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,160 Speaker 1: of like be outraged or horrified about a thing they 125 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: can't directly affect, you know, which is not to say 126 00:06:57,400 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 1: that like more shouldn't be done, or that the fucking 127 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:02,840 Speaker 1: coastguards and some of these like Italy and whatnot are 128 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: not doing nightmarish things, Yeah, stopping rescuers from coming in. 129 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: But it's not surprising or really a mark that, like 130 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: people are much worse than they've ever been. That like 131 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: this unique story of a bunch of rich people dying 132 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 1: in a sub visiting the Titanic got so much attention. 133 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 3: Like. 134 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,600 Speaker 1: That's just not a surprise. If like a thousand years ago, 135 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 1: a bunch of wealthy merchants had disappeared on a sea 136 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: voyage from like Venice to the coast of Spain, this 137 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: would also be like there would be stories being sung 138 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: in the market square about this shit. That's just how 139 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: people are. 140 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 2: But I guess it is a little bit why if 141 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,280 Speaker 2: given all that as true, which it is I believe 142 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,080 Speaker 2: as well, Like that is why I feel like derision 143 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 2: is actually kind of an important part of this marketplace 144 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 2: of ideas. 145 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: Sure, yeah, I don't think that's wrong, but that's up 146 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 1: to you know, people can make their own decisions. My 147 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: job here is to let you know about the specific 148 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: guy who was absolutely the worst in all of this, 149 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: Because whatever you think about the other people on their boat, 150 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: there is a villain of this story. There is a 151 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 1: monster who who is directly and who would have gotten 152 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:14,760 Speaker 1: more people killed if he had the chance. And his 153 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:17,000 Speaker 1: name is fucking stocked In Rush. 154 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 4: Really yeah, just I was just gonna say, just for 155 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 4: context listeners, Robert, I've been doing this show for five 156 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 4: years and this is the only topic where it's like, oh, Robert, 157 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 4: do we have to and Robert's like, yeah, we fucking 158 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:35,479 Speaker 4: do so, Okay. 159 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: It would be irresponsible for us not to try and 160 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: do this. 161 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 2: Just it's it truly is like, if you're gonna have 162 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:45,080 Speaker 2: this like Ann Rand ass name, you got to go 163 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 2: out in an Ann Rand style. 164 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: This is the vandis death ever Yeah, it's so it's 165 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: so appropriate for like the guy that he is, that 166 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:01,440 Speaker 1: this that this happened. So let's talk about Stockton Rush. Now. 167 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 1: The first thing you will have noticed is that, yeah, 168 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:06,079 Speaker 1: he sounds like he's got He sounds like a guy 169 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 1: who would be in Galt's gulch, right, Like he's got 170 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: a very yeah, an Atlas shrugged ass name. It's a 171 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: dumb name. And the name like he has this dumb 172 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: name because our special dead boy was named for two 173 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:22,440 Speaker 1: of his ancestors, Richard Stockton and Benjamin Rush, both of 174 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 1: whom signed the Declaration of Independence, which for rich white people. 175 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 1: Was kind of like owning a foil charizard in nineteen 176 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:33,400 Speaker 1: ninety nine, Like it was real special, you know. So yeah, 177 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:38,560 Speaker 1: and he's a twofer. He has a twofer. And speaking 178 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:43,640 Speaker 1: of owning Andrew, when you hear signed the Declaration of Independence, 179 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:46,680 Speaker 1: the first thing you should probably ask yourself is like, 180 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: did this guy own people? 181 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 2: Yeah? Right? 182 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:53,599 Speaker 1: I like, did this guy own human beings? Yeah? He 183 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:56,280 Speaker 1: sure did. Well, these guys, these guys both did right, 184 00:09:56,440 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 1: that's so yeah, yeah, this shouldn't be surprising. I'm going 185 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:02,920 Speaker 1: to read you first some fun information about Richard Stockton, 186 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,840 Speaker 1: who is who Stockton University is named after, by the way, 187 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 1: so that's cool. Quote. In Stockton's case, enslaved people worked 188 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:14,079 Speaker 1: in his family home, a property he called Morven, built 189 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: after he inherited near Princeton, New Jersey in the seventeen fifties. 190 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:20,360 Speaker 1: When he died in seventeen eighty one, and despite assertions 191 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: during his lifetime, Stockton did not free the people that 192 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: he owned. They appear in his will when he bequeathed 193 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,440 Speaker 1: them along with his other property, to his wife, Annie Stockton. 194 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,439 Speaker 1: And whereas I have heretofore mentioned to some of my 195 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 1: Negro slaves that upon condition of their good behavior and fidelity, 196 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:38,880 Speaker 1: I would, in some convenient period grant them their freedom. 197 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 1: This I must leave to the discretion of my wife 198 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:45,080 Speaker 1: and whose judgment and prudence I can fully confide. So 199 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 1: he's like, I promise these people I can free him, 200 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:49,679 Speaker 1: but I'm passing that buck down to my wife. 201 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:56,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, a prudent time for your freedom? 202 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:57,600 Speaker 1: Like is it piecesh? 203 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:01,559 Speaker 3: Yeah? Sorry, when's convenient for me for you to be free? 204 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:05,680 Speaker 1: Let me pencil that indie for you. Yeah, And it's 205 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:08,560 Speaker 1: like that's shitty. It's pretty normal shitty for the day, 206 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:10,920 Speaker 1: which doesn't make it less bad, but like, yeah, he's 207 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:15,600 Speaker 1: a pretty normal, rich, slave owning asshole, Richard Stockton. It's also, 208 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 1: interestingly enough, there's a pretty good chance that he turned 209 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:21,240 Speaker 1: trader against the United States. He was like arrested by 210 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:24,199 Speaker 1: the British. No one knows quite. It doesn't seem like 211 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:26,240 Speaker 1: there's like conclusive evidence about what he did, but he 212 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 1: got kind of led off, and there were rumors that 213 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:32,360 Speaker 1: maybe he'd like given up information and stuff. Yeah, we 214 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:34,760 Speaker 1: don't seem to have. Yeah, he's a snitch, right, He's 215 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:36,079 Speaker 1: a slave owning switch. 216 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 3: Finally got him. 217 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, he decided finally got took care of that snitch. 218 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 1: Put an end to that family line. Benedict Arnold's descendancer. Next, Yeah, 219 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:52,959 Speaker 1: Tom Arnold, better watch the fuck out, They're coming for him. 220 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 3: Stay out of the water, homing, Stay out of the water. 221 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:03,000 Speaker 1: So, uh, let's talk next about his other ancestor, Benjamin Rush. 222 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 1: This is a somewhat more complex story, and as Rush 223 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:09,280 Speaker 1: authored one of the first major pieces of abolition writing 224 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 1: in the colonies, a seventeen seventy three pamphlet titled and 225 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:15,440 Speaker 1: Addressed to the Inhabitants of the British Settlements in America 226 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:19,280 Speaker 1: upon slave Keeping. Now that sounds pretty good. Benjamin Rush 227 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 1: was an ardent and active abolitionist. He helped organize the 228 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: first anti slavery group, and he eventually named the Pencil, 229 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:31,960 Speaker 1: which was eventually named the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. Interestingly, you know, 230 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 1: we talk a lot on the show about how many 231 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:36,840 Speaker 1: abolitionists were still real racist, right, like you could be 232 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:41,600 Speaker 1: an abolitionist and super racist. Benjamin Rush was, interestingly enough, 233 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 1: one of the guys who argued ardently that black people 234 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:50,240 Speaker 1: were as smart and capable as anyone else. He authored 235 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:53,079 Speaker 1: a seventeen eighty nine article about the first free black 236 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:56,760 Speaker 1: physician named James Durham, and he also wrote about an 237 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 1: enslaved black mathematician named Thomas Fuller. He was like kind 238 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:02,720 Speaker 1: of writing anti racism tracts back in the seventeen eighties, 239 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:08,080 Speaker 1: which is pretty cool. Here's here's where it stops being 240 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:13,320 Speaker 1: cool because he was publicly an anti racist, but privately 241 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,679 Speaker 1: he bought an enslaved black man named William Gruber and 242 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 1: held him in bondage as his cook for more than 243 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 1: a decade. 244 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 2: So yeah, I mean I think that's that, Like, that's 245 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,200 Speaker 2: obviously there's all kinds of you know, any combination of 246 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:35,720 Speaker 2: politics can exist, as we all see obviously in rarer 247 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:38,240 Speaker 2: rare proportions. But it does sound like also there's some 248 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 2: version of like, you know, oh, black people are an inferior. 249 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 2: We're just lucky that we could enslave though, like what 250 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 2: a what a boon? 251 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:53,719 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's it's really it's it's kind of fascinating, 252 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:56,200 Speaker 1: like the like, what's going on with this guy because 253 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:00,440 Speaker 1: like he buys William Grueber, He like he doesn't just 254 00:14:00,559 --> 00:14:02,680 Speaker 1: keep him as a cook, but he hires him out 255 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:08,080 Speaker 1: for profit to other families. Now he files manumission papers 256 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:11,520 Speaker 1: for William in seventeen eighty eight, but that doesn't actually 257 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:15,200 Speaker 1: free Gruber until seventeen ninety three, when he kind of 258 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:17,480 Speaker 1: lets him go with the equivalent of a letter of 259 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: recommendation and a write up I found on the University 260 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: of Pennsylvania Library's website seems to argue that Rush was 261 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 1: probably probably kept it a secret that he'd owned Gruber 262 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 1: because he's this public anti racist, so he would like 263 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:35,320 Speaker 1: hide the fact that he was keeping a man enslaved 264 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 1: in his home because he's like a public intellectual who 265 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,160 Speaker 1: argued with racists in like these tracts at essays and 266 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 1: stuff that he was printing, and it wouldn't have looked good. 267 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:46,880 Speaker 1: And I'm going to read a quote from the University 268 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:50,640 Speaker 1: of Pennsylvania Library here. When Gruber died in seventeen ninety nine, 269 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:53,440 Speaker 1: Rush wrote a remembrance of him in his Commonplace book. 270 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 1: It appears in the Autobiography of Benjamin Rush. In it, 271 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 1: he described Gruber as a Native African whom I bought 272 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: and liberated after he had served me for ten years. 273 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 1: The period is not likely accurate. He described Gruber's change 274 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,720 Speaker 1: from a drunkard who swore frequently to a sober, moral 275 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:12,040 Speaker 1: man and faithful and affectionate servant. He remembered especially a 276 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:14,760 Speaker 1: night in seventeen eighty seven when Rush gravely ill was 277 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,400 Speaker 1: expected to die and Williams stayed up with him all night. 278 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 1: So he wrote manumission papers for this guy, like the 279 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: year after this dude helped like carry him through a 280 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,600 Speaker 1: deadly illness, but still didn't free him for half a decade. 281 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: Like that's that's so weird. I guess it's not. You know, 282 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:35,600 Speaker 1: at least he did free him. I don't know where 283 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:38,360 Speaker 1: you want to put that, Like, I mean, I think it. 284 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:44,120 Speaker 2: Is like very hard to like, no matter, Yeah, I mean, look, 285 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 2: this is at all levels. I mean obviously, when Chattle 286 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:53,720 Speaker 2: slavery was around, hypocrisy is probably a lot bigger deal. 287 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 2: But obviously we all participated some level of capitalistic hypocrisy, 288 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 2: you know, and this is a fucking insane version of that. 289 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:06,240 Speaker 2: But it is like, you know, sub version of like 290 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,240 Speaker 2: everyone else is doing it, and like, oh, at least 291 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,680 Speaker 2: I wrote these papers. He's like the uh, the Lena 292 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 2: Dunmer of his day. 293 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 1: Like fu, yeah, he's like he's Lena Dunnaming. He's done 294 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 1: himing pretty hard, right. 295 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:18,560 Speaker 3: Yeah. 296 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:21,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that's I think where we're gonna leave this guy. 297 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 1: So yeah, it's interesting. I don't claim to be an 298 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:27,000 Speaker 1: expert about either of these men, but the fact that 299 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:30,080 Speaker 1: Benjamin Rush publicly portrayed himself as an abolitionist and a 300 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 1: crusader against racism while owning an enslaved black man could 301 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:37,000 Speaker 1: be seen as evidence of what seems to be a 302 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: long running family trait that gets passed down to our 303 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 1: boys Stocked and Rush, which is the ability to act 304 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 1: like one kind of dude while being the opposite kind 305 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:46,440 Speaker 1: of dude. 306 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:47,000 Speaker 3: That's true. 307 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, I god, I mean it's obviously so fucked up. 308 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:53,360 Speaker 2: But if you signed the Declaration of Independence and you 309 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 2: only have one slave, you're probably for your peer group 310 00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:58,760 Speaker 2: on the better side of things. 311 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 1: Right Yeah. I Like, I don't know how you want 312 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:02,600 Speaker 1: to like mark that out, because also I don't know 313 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 1: is it better or worse to just be like, yeah, man, 314 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: I own slaves because I think it's fine, or to 315 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,040 Speaker 1: be like I think it. I know it's wrong to 316 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 1: own slaves, and I know it's wrong, Like I know 317 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:15,360 Speaker 1: racism is bad, but also I'm going to do it, 318 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 1: you know, Like, where do we land on that. I 319 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:20,000 Speaker 1: don't know. I mean, this isn't Pepe. You should think 320 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: about that, all of you. But like I, behind the 321 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:27,440 Speaker 1: bastards is not where we'll make that moral deciding line 322 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:30,119 Speaker 1: or anyway. They're all bastards. It's fine, yeah, for sure. 323 00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:33,920 Speaker 1: So that that is beyond a shadow of a doubt. 324 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:37,399 Speaker 1: So both the Stockton and Rush families continue to be 325 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:39,919 Speaker 1: very wealthy and powerful throughout the life of the new 326 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:44,240 Speaker 1: United States. Gradually the two families get intertwined through marriage. 327 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 1: You know, it's a pretty incestuous breed rich people in 328 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 1: the Northeast. In eighteen ninety seven, their descendant, Ralph K. 329 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 1: Davies was born. Dave's got a job working as an 330 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:59,159 Speaker 1: office boy for a company called Standard Oil. When he 331 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:02,000 Speaker 1: was fifteen. He rose through the ranks and became the 332 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 1: youngest director in company history. In World War Two, he 333 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 1: was FDR's petroleum administrator, which is maybe the least directly 334 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:12,640 Speaker 1: evil job a member of the oil and gas industry 335 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 1: ever held. It's like the one job where it's like, well, 336 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:18,480 Speaker 1: you know, it was World War Two, we probably needed 337 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:19,359 Speaker 1: somebody doing that. 338 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 3: I don't know, right, yeah, I guess. 339 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 2: Look, it's like we're going to go through Stockton, Russia's 340 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:33,480 Speaker 2: ancestry grading on a curve. He's okay, but that curve is. 341 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 1: He is the member of this guy's family. You're gonna 342 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: hate the least for that. 343 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 3: Yeah. 344 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,359 Speaker 1: So after the war, Davies moved to San Francisco and 345 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:45,000 Speaker 1: his wife became a major patron of the art scene. 346 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:48,280 Speaker 1: She basically paid for the San Francisco Symphonies Music Hall, 347 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:51,719 Speaker 1: or they donated like four million dollars to it. Her 348 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:54,399 Speaker 1: name is still on the venue. And I'm going to 349 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:57,240 Speaker 1: quote from an article in SFGate dot com. Here at 350 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:00,240 Speaker 1: a high society ball in nineteen fifty seven, Ralph UIs 351 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:04,680 Speaker 1: Davies's daughter Ellen met Richard Stockton Rush Junior. A month later, 352 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:07,880 Speaker 1: the pair were engaged coverage of their wedding, accompanied by 353 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,399 Speaker 1: a huge photo in the San Francisco Examiners said they 354 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,840 Speaker 1: were settling down in Berkeley talk Rush, as he was known, 355 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:16,720 Speaker 1: also settled into the Davies family's line of work, serving 356 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 1: as the chairman for Peregrine Oil and Gas Company in 357 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:22,880 Speaker 1: Burlingham and the Natomis Company in San Francisco. His two 358 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:26,600 Speaker 1: thousand Princeton Alumni Weekly obituary noted that He even served 359 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:29,720 Speaker 1: as the president elect of the city's infamous Bohemian club, 360 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:32,959 Speaker 1: which is the Bohemian Grove Group, Right, like, that's who 361 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:36,280 Speaker 1: runs that. So wait, I don't even know what that 362 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:40,439 Speaker 1: is Bohemian Groves. That it's in the Redwoods, kind of 363 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,159 Speaker 1: near the Bay area, and it's where it's where like 364 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,280 Speaker 1: Henry Kissinger and all, like Dick Cheney all go to 365 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:53,720 Speaker 1: party once a yeares Alex Jones snuck in once. 366 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,880 Speaker 4: And I think all your least favorite people's favorite. 367 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:02,920 Speaker 1: Hang everyone who sucks loves the Bohemian Growth and there's 368 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: a bunch of It's like in conspiracy world. It's like 369 00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 1: where the secret Masters of the world all meet to plot. 370 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:12,400 Speaker 1: And it also is kind of where the secret masters 371 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:13,760 Speaker 1: of the world all meet to plot. 372 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:18,600 Speaker 2: So right, well, it's the the conspiracy is it's secret masters, 373 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:20,840 Speaker 2: as the reality is, it's the masters. 374 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 3: Everyone does. 375 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:25,080 Speaker 1: It's Hank Kissinger and fucking Cheney and stuff. Yeah, of course, 376 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,800 Speaker 1: And it's it's interesting. I haven't seen this breakout widely 377 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 1: onto the internet yet, but there, I'm we've already started 378 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,880 Speaker 1: to see conspiracy theories flowing like water through a crack 379 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:43,920 Speaker 1: in a submersibles hole. Here David Concannon, who's a legal advisor. 380 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,919 Speaker 1: He's like the lawyer guy for Oceangate, the company that 381 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:54,399 Speaker 1: Stockton founds is a hiss R we name. Yeah. He 382 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,360 Speaker 1: like within hours of this going missing, he was kind 383 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:00,359 Speaker 1: of trying to drum up conspiracy theories, posting stuff like, 384 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:02,439 Speaker 1: you know, we're working on this hard, but like the 385 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:05,960 Speaker 1: US government isn't helping us, you know, if they don't 386 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:07,919 Speaker 1: fix this and come to our a and I'm going 387 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:09,520 Speaker 1: to make sure the world knows the names of the 388 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: people who didn't do their jobs. And that's led to 389 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 1: like I found a fucking like Donald Trump Junior has 390 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:19,160 Speaker 1: been posting shit about how like everything about this is sketchy. 391 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 1: You know, why are they doing this? I'm seeing people 392 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 1: talk about how like, oh, you know, how would billionaires 393 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 1: have made a decision so dumb is to go down? 394 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:32,200 Speaker 2: If I don't know, I mean, there's no way billionaires 395 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:33,880 Speaker 2: would would do something less stupid. 396 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:37,919 Speaker 3: And it's like, first of all, also like putting that on. 397 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:42,360 Speaker 2: Twitter is remarkably like like particularly bonkers. It's like, this 398 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:44,920 Speaker 2: is Twitter is to the extent that it serves any 399 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 2: function now is it's such a direct demonstration that not 400 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:52,080 Speaker 2: only are billionaires not better than you, they are actively 401 00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:55,479 Speaker 2: stupider than you in any conceivable way. Well, yeah, in 402 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:57,760 Speaker 2: every conceivable way except for the one thing they made 403 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:00,320 Speaker 2: their billions in modulus luck. 404 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:06,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, And it's it's like, I, I there's so I 405 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:09,920 Speaker 1: when I think about like what probably conspiracy culture is 406 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,320 Speaker 1: going to take of this. There's a conspiracy that's existed 407 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:15,920 Speaker 1: for a while. It's never been like kind of top 408 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:19,719 Speaker 1: of the world. But like, uh, there's a theory that 409 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:22,040 Speaker 1: you that I came across started coming across I don't know, 410 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 1: years ago, that like the Iceper, the Titanic was blown 411 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:27,920 Speaker 1: up by a bomb because a number of the rich 412 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:31,560 Speaker 1: guys on it, like John jacob Astor were against, uh, 413 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:35,199 Speaker 1: moving away from the gold standard and establishing the Federal Reserve. 414 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,400 Speaker 1: It's one of those kind of things, right, right, right, 415 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:40,840 Speaker 1: And so part of like what people are pointing out 416 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:45,360 Speaker 1: is that Stockton Rush's wife is like she had relatives 417 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,440 Speaker 1: who are on the Titanic. They're actually in James Cameron's movie. 418 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:50,479 Speaker 1: They're the two old people who are like cuddling on 419 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:53,240 Speaker 1: that bed as it goes down. And so there's I 420 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:56,200 Speaker 1: suspect I've already seen some of this. I suspect we're 421 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,400 Speaker 1: going to see more like, oh, this is like a conspiracy. 422 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:01,600 Speaker 1: These guys we're gonna, you know, had some dirt on 423 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,639 Speaker 1: Biden or whatever and in what the Fed's doing with 424 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 1: interest rates or some shit. It's silly, I will tell 425 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:11,159 Speaker 1: you right now. The fact that Stockton had relatives in 426 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:15,280 Speaker 1: the Bohemian Club is definitely you're gonna wind up seeing 427 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:17,919 Speaker 1: this on some YouTube videos that the algorithm serves you 428 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,800 Speaker 1: at some point. Right, Just be ready for it, folks, 429 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:26,679 Speaker 1: It's a coming. So that's Stockton's family background. He is 430 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:30,200 Speaker 1: the scion of two very wealthy families who got wealthy 431 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 1: through a mix of slavery and exploiting the Earth's resources 432 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 1: in the most poisonous way possible. Right, this guy, he 433 00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:39,919 Speaker 1: grows up his family's worth probably hundreds of millions of dollars, 434 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 1: at least tens of millions of dollars, and he grows 435 00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 1: up with that amount of money. In a twenty seventeen 436 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:49,399 Speaker 1: Bloomberg profile, he described his family wealth this way. Rush 437 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:52,119 Speaker 1: earned his money the old fashioned way. He says, I 438 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:55,119 Speaker 1: was born into it and then grew it. I don't know, 439 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:57,960 Speaker 1: that's not really the old faction I guess it is 440 00:23:58,359 --> 00:23:58,719 Speaker 1: it is. 441 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:03,760 Speaker 2: I don't know, man in reality, unfortunately, that is the 442 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 2: most I guess that's not right. 443 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,000 Speaker 3: The way to be rich is by rich. 444 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:13,479 Speaker 1: I got it the old fashioned way. My grand parrots yeah, 445 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:16,240 Speaker 1: and he notes that like his grandpa made his fortune 446 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:19,120 Speaker 1: in oil and gas in Indonesia, which I'm sure makes 447 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:21,840 Speaker 1: it sketchier because like boy howdy, there's not a great 448 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: history of extractive industries in Indonesia, So I don't know 449 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:30,879 Speaker 1: when Stockton was born. Actually that maybe out by the 450 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:33,440 Speaker 1: time you hear this. It's interesting, I kind of when 451 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 1: I was started looking into him, I was surprised to 452 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:38,439 Speaker 1: see that despite how high profile his clientele is and 453 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:40,600 Speaker 1: the fact that like he'd been in a number of 454 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:43,960 Speaker 1: prominent news articles prior to this. When I started working 455 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,639 Speaker 1: on this, at least Stockton had no Wikipedia page. There 456 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:50,719 Speaker 1: was no like single Stockton Rush entry on Wikipedia. Oh wild, 457 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,280 Speaker 1: and I wasn't able to find an exact reference to 458 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:55,800 Speaker 1: his birth date. One article that I read notes that 459 00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 1: he was eighteen when he got his pilot's license in 460 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:00,800 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty, which would mean he was born in sixty 461 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:05,400 Speaker 1: two thereabouts. Be beat motherfuckers, Hey, Robert here from the future. 462 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 1: Since we recorded this, a number of official obituaries have 463 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:12,840 Speaker 1: come out for Old Stockton, and we now have an 464 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:15,320 Speaker 1: actual birth date for him. The New York Times gives 465 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:18,080 Speaker 1: it as March thirty first, nineteen sixty two, in the 466 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,520 Speaker 1: place as San Francisco. I'm leaving in the conversation we 467 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:23,800 Speaker 1: had around it before we knew that, because it gives 468 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:26,879 Speaker 1: good context as to how actually, like relatively unknown this 469 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:29,920 Speaker 1: guy was prior to the disaster, which I find interesting 470 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,480 Speaker 1: considering how connected he is to so many like rich 471 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 1: and super famous people that like very little about this 472 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:40,240 Speaker 1: dude before he became very suddenly famous. One of the 473 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,399 Speaker 1: things that I use sometimes for research is an AI 474 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:46,439 Speaker 1: powered search engine called find Phi n D, which is 475 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:48,760 Speaker 1: basically like it's nice because you can kind of ask 476 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:51,520 Speaker 1: it direct questions and it'll scrape the internet trying to 477 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:53,520 Speaker 1: answer it. And so I asked it when was he? 478 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:55,760 Speaker 1: After I couldn't find a birth date. I was like, 479 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 1: for shits and giggles, hey, when was this guy born? 480 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:01,440 Speaker 1: And Find was also like, there doesn't appear to be 481 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 1: a clear exact birth date for it. There's not a thing. Yeah, 482 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 1: there also doesn't appear to be a clear exact answer 483 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:10,679 Speaker 1: as to where he was born. Some articles suggest he 484 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:13,679 Speaker 1: was born in the UK, other say California. Given how 485 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:16,240 Speaker 1: Rich's family is, that it's possible, like it's not weird 486 00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:18,200 Speaker 1: for like Rich people don't care. 487 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:22,640 Speaker 2: He was probably born born on the private plane, you know, Yeah, 488 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:24,640 Speaker 2: exactly between those two points. 489 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:26,320 Speaker 1: He's a child of the sky. 490 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:31,080 Speaker 2: He was born and super positioned in Schroer's box somewhere. 491 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 3: I mean it's. 492 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:35,040 Speaker 2: Also I was, you know, not not to go down 493 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:37,560 Speaker 2: the AI route, which is not remotely what we're talking 494 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:38,240 Speaker 2: about today, but. 495 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:41,439 Speaker 3: It is like this this guy will be given that. 496 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:44,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, there was so little apparently like like reliable stuff 497 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:47,560 Speaker 2: written about him. It does feel like this is he's 498 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:51,160 Speaker 2: going to be one of those examples of like almost 499 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:56,360 Speaker 2: every word generated about him will have AI in it already. 500 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:58,560 Speaker 2: He's just like he's like corrupt data for the data 501 00:26:58,600 --> 00:26:59,320 Speaker 2: set already. 502 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, Like most of my sources for this, I 503 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:05,040 Speaker 1: tried to stick to stuff that was written three, four 504 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:07,840 Speaker 1: or five years ago before all this happened, just because like, 505 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:10,840 Speaker 1: well that it wasn't tainted by what happened later you 506 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,040 Speaker 1: get more information about how the media was kind of 507 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:15,280 Speaker 1: covering him and stuff. But I think you are right 508 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 1: about this because, like he wasn't really a major figure 509 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:20,280 Speaker 1: until he got all those people guilt. 510 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:23,000 Speaker 2: The bulk of shit, the bulk of shit written about 511 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:24,359 Speaker 2: him is gonna be lies. 512 00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's really Yeah. I think you're actually exactly correct 513 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:33,320 Speaker 1: about that, Andrew. And you know who else loves to lie, 514 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:39,160 Speaker 1: the sponsors of this podcast. You cannot trust a fucking 515 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:42,400 Speaker 1: word that they say, So please give them your credit 516 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:45,800 Speaker 1: card information. How is that, Sophie? Is that a good 517 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:47,040 Speaker 1: Is that a good ad plug? 518 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:50,040 Speaker 4: I think the Regan coin ad people would like it 519 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:50,760 Speaker 4: very much. 520 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:53,399 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, buy a Reagan coin. 521 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:57,160 Speaker 3: Fucking moral that's so wild. 522 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:02,400 Speaker 1: I love the Reagan the coin, and I love our listeners. 523 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:03,159 Speaker 3: Here's a. 524 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:20,040 Speaker 1: Ah good times. So we're back. Andrews got his Reagan coins. Yeah, yeah, 525 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:20,680 Speaker 1: this is this. 526 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:21,280 Speaker 3: Is real money. 527 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 2: This is company script on my private plot of lands. 528 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:28,480 Speaker 1: Yeah. As soon as his Reagan coin arrived, David Zaslov 529 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 1: sent him a letter saying like, now you're now you're 530 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:33,480 Speaker 1: one of us, You're one of the secret masters of 531 00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:36,639 Speaker 1: the world. I want to go to Bohemian grove, Andrew te. 532 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 3: I mean again, what's it not to take a diversion. 533 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:44,240 Speaker 2: But Zaslav really feels like like all the billionaires got 534 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:46,920 Speaker 2: together just before this writer strike and had like a 535 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:49,840 Speaker 2: dinner for schmucks kind of thing to ye, like who's 536 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 2: the most repellent. 537 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,200 Speaker 3: Of us, Who's going to take the heat from everyone else? 538 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:58,040 Speaker 3: And he won? Slash lost. I was gonna doesn't realize 539 00:28:58,080 --> 00:28:58,520 Speaker 3: he lost. 540 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:02,280 Speaker 1: I was gonna make like Nerdier reference about it, but 541 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:05,360 Speaker 1: but I don't know. We'll keep it. Nobody wants to 542 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:11,720 Speaker 1: hear my warhammer forty thousand jokes. So stocked and Rush 543 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 1: probably born in nineteen sixty two. It's yeah, he hard 544 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:20,320 Speaker 1: to say exactly. Was probably very likely born in California. 545 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:23,800 Speaker 1: Certainly grew up in the Bay Area. As a we lad. 546 00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:26,320 Speaker 1: He was obsessed with space travel, and he wanted nothing 547 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:28,960 Speaker 1: more than to be an astronaut. His parents assumed he'd 548 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:31,520 Speaker 1: grow out of that, as most kids do, but since 549 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:34,680 Speaker 1: they were super wealthy oligarchs, they were able to humor 550 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:38,200 Speaker 1: him by introducing him to a real astronaut, Pete Conrad, 551 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:42,080 Speaker 1: the commander of Apollo twelve and the First Man's Skylabih 552 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:44,840 Speaker 1: just like, well, he wants to be an astronaut, let's 553 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,640 Speaker 1: go find a nag go find an astronaut dotting it 554 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:52,640 Speaker 1: really bring him in bias an Apollo twelve man, like 555 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: he's a Gi Joe. 556 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 2: It really. We're also at the point where it's like 557 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:03,560 Speaker 2: that now that like some individuals, these billionaires start to 558 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:08,000 Speaker 2: have resources of countries. Yeah, like nothing is off the table, 559 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:09,760 Speaker 2: especially if you want to do it on the cheap 560 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:13,520 Speaker 2: for incredibly you know, shitty and unethically. 561 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:16,360 Speaker 1: It's interesting. I'm thinking about when I was a kid, 562 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:18,840 Speaker 1: I wanted to be a paleontologist for a while, like 563 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:22,120 Speaker 1: every kid who grew up in the era of Jurassic Park. Yeah, 564 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:23,760 Speaker 1: And we went to like I think it was the 565 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 1: Saint Louis Natural History Museum one day and there was 566 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:28,160 Speaker 1: like they had an exhibit where there was like an 567 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 1: actual paleontologist and a bunch of like things that they 568 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:33,800 Speaker 1: had brought out of a dig site and were actively 569 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:36,600 Speaker 1: like cleaning off. And I got to like like shake 570 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 1: that guy's hand and he like walked us around. It 571 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:40,360 Speaker 1: was like part of a thing like a bunch of 572 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:42,640 Speaker 1: other like families and stuff where they're It was like 573 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:46,520 Speaker 1: one of the best single moments of my childhood. And 574 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:50,040 Speaker 1: for Stockton, the equivalent of that is like, bring the 575 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:52,800 Speaker 1: skylamb man over to the house, have him talk to 576 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:55,920 Speaker 1: the boy, right, I mean, he's. 577 00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 3: They're at the level of wealth. 578 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:00,480 Speaker 2: Like if he'd liked dinosaurs, they would simply have had 579 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:01,960 Speaker 2: to get him eight din yessor. 580 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:04,680 Speaker 1: They would have sponsored a dig and had him just 581 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:09,640 Speaker 1: like go, you know. Yeah. Anyway, So Stockton claims that 582 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:11,240 Speaker 1: Pete told him, you know, if you want to be 583 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:14,240 Speaker 1: a spaceman one day, you should get your pilot's license asap, 584 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:17,360 Speaker 1: which is, to be fair, probably pretty good astronaut advice. 585 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:20,080 Speaker 1: I don't know, not an astronaut, but that does seem 586 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:24,680 Speaker 1: like step one in that Bloomberg article, which is, as 587 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:26,600 Speaker 1: far as I can tell, I think the first detailed 588 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:31,320 Speaker 1: article about Stockton Rush's life and ambitions. Stockton claims to 589 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:35,320 Speaker 1: have started work as a professional pilot when he was nineteen. Quote. 590 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:38,200 Speaker 1: Rush has been investing in startup companies most of his 591 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:40,840 Speaker 1: adult life, while also working at aviation. He was a 592 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:43,920 Speaker 1: commercial jet transport pilot at nineteen and later a flight 593 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:48,280 Speaker 1: test engineer for McDonald Douglas. Now that's not the most 594 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:51,560 Speaker 1: detailed version of his early life that I found. In 595 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:55,200 Speaker 1: a Smithsonian magazine profile from twenty nineteen, he gives a 596 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:58,560 Speaker 1: little more detail and some of its contradictory because in 597 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:01,000 Speaker 1: that he says that at age eighteen, he became one 598 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:03,400 Speaker 1: of the youngest commercial pilots in the world. From what 599 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:05,040 Speaker 1: I could done, what I think happened is he got 600 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:08,400 Speaker 1: his license at eighteen. He started working a year or 601 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:10,960 Speaker 1: two later. But like once he started to get more famous, 602 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,080 Speaker 1: he started lying and saying that like, oh no, I 603 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:16,480 Speaker 1: was the youngest commercial pilot ever. You know, just a 604 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:19,240 Speaker 1: little bit of that fluff cycle, right, Yeah. 605 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:22,160 Speaker 3: It's also there's also like you when your parents are 606 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:24,920 Speaker 3: rich enough, you know what? You know what? 607 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:27,560 Speaker 2: By what definition are you saying commercial pilot like someone 608 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:31,240 Speaker 2: who is compensated to move cargo from one place to another. 609 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:34,600 Speaker 2: Like that's also daddy giving you you you're allowances, say, 610 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:36,160 Speaker 2: take my luggage to wear out. 611 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 1: That's interesting, Andrew, because the first article about him just 612 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:43,520 Speaker 1: says he was a commercial dreatshit transport pilot. You want 613 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:45,920 Speaker 1: to guess where he was working when he started his 614 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:49,840 Speaker 1: pilot career, You want to guess who his employer was. 615 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:55,720 Speaker 1: So yeah, remember his parents, both sides of his his 616 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:58,600 Speaker 1: mom and his dad's family are both huge oil and 617 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:01,680 Speaker 1: gas families helping to run major oil and gas companies. 618 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:05,520 Speaker 1: And Stockton's first flying job is taking chartered planes into 619 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:10,160 Speaker 1: and out of Saudi Arabia. He's working for the Saudis 620 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:12,440 Speaker 1: he as a teenage boy. 621 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:16,959 Speaker 2: Oh my god, Yeah that is I mean, that's but 622 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:21,000 Speaker 2: that's also the billionaire version of I drove my friend's kids, 623 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:23,120 Speaker 2: my parents' friends kids around. 624 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:26,479 Speaker 3: Yeah, a babysitter essentially a babysitter. 625 00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:28,440 Speaker 1: When I was a kid, Like my mom would help me, 626 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:31,040 Speaker 1: like talk to you know, when I first started mowing lawn. 627 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:32,720 Speaker 1: She'd be like, well, let's go over to the neighbors 628 00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:34,800 Speaker 1: and see if they need like their lawn mode and stuff. 629 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:38,160 Speaker 1: And for his equivalent is like, well, the king of 630 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:41,840 Speaker 1: Saudi Arabia needs like a pilot to take I don't know, 631 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:45,720 Speaker 1: probably torture supplies or whatever to fucking re odd. 632 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:50,200 Speaker 3: Like this is this is this is a very very 633 00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 3: dumb tangent. 634 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:54,640 Speaker 2: But for some reason, the algorithm on Instagram has decided 635 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:57,200 Speaker 2: I want to see Saudi fast food reviews. 636 00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:00,360 Speaker 1: Oh shit, I bet they got I bet they're good 637 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:01,840 Speaker 1: fast food in Saudi Arabia. 638 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:04,800 Speaker 2: It looks wonderful, it looks it's I mean, it's It's 639 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:07,480 Speaker 2: so funny the way culture works. It's like they're all 640 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:11,480 Speaker 2: like speaking Arabic in the exact same like TikTok cadence 641 00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:15,960 Speaker 2: as like English language TikTokers. I don't I don't speak, 642 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:18,719 Speaker 2: you know, I don't. I don't know what they're saying. 643 00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:21,800 Speaker 2: But I'm like, okay, this is amazing. 644 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:24,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm able to pick up a lot more than 645 00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:27,480 Speaker 1: I otherwise would because you're like using the same patterns 646 00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:29,200 Speaker 1: as talkers all the way in the world. 647 00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:30,320 Speaker 3: The fast food looks great. 648 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:34,200 Speaker 2: Burger King in Riod looks quite good. 649 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:36,920 Speaker 1: I will say, the best fucking Popeyes I've ever eaten 650 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:41,160 Speaker 1: at was in the the airport and Aman Jordan. Yeah, 651 00:34:41,200 --> 00:34:46,040 Speaker 1: fucking incredible Popeyes. I think they've changed their standards. 652 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:50,200 Speaker 2: But KFC and Beijing, when I went a kid was 653 00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:53,960 Speaker 2: they apparently still used lard to fry everything, and it 654 00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:54,520 Speaker 2: was hell. 655 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:55,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, so good. 656 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:59,080 Speaker 1: I'll bet I'll bet. Yeah, not at all surprised here. 657 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:04,880 Speaker 1: The KFC in Beijing slaps so yeah. He while he's 658 00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:08,360 Speaker 1: while he's working for the Saudi Royal family as a pilot, 659 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:13,600 Speaker 1: he's studying aerospace engineering at Princeton And yeah, it's a 660 00:35:13,719 --> 00:35:16,120 Speaker 1: it's interesting you know that's that's that's a fun career. 661 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:21,000 Speaker 1: So he uh, he's he's called like his description of 662 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:25,080 Speaker 1: this is that it was the coolest summer job. Interesting 663 00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:26,239 Speaker 1: way to phrase that. 664 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:26,640 Speaker 4: Uh. 665 00:35:27,239 --> 00:35:30,239 Speaker 1: So he goes to school. He's doing aerospace engineering for 666 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:34,200 Speaker 1: his thesis. He builds his own plane from a kit, which, 667 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:38,319 Speaker 1: like that is like impressive. That sounds difficult. I don't know. 668 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:40,279 Speaker 1: It feels weird as a thesis because you are just 669 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:42,359 Speaker 1: kind of like following a kit. But why no, I'm 670 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:43,759 Speaker 1: not an engineer, you know. 671 00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:47,080 Speaker 2: That's that's like putting in a little like ticking a 672 00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:50,520 Speaker 2: lego set to your to your thesis. 673 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:54,640 Speaker 1: Yeah. I don't know that it would have been possible 674 00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:56,880 Speaker 1: for him to not get his thesis, given the amount 675 00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:59,360 Speaker 1: of money his parents probably gave to that school. But whatever, 676 00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:01,920 Speaker 1: you know, I've never built a plane, so what do 677 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:04,000 Speaker 1: I know. I've also never built a death sub, so 678 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:06,200 Speaker 1: I guess I have that on him. So anyway, guys, 679 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:10,080 Speaker 1: that Smithsonian article continues. The astronaut dream was dashed when 680 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:12,400 Speaker 1: Rush learned that his eyesight wasn't good enough for him 681 00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:14,839 Speaker 1: to become a military pilot in the nineteen eighty Still, 682 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:17,319 Speaker 1: the astronaut fast track so he kind of has the 683 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:22,120 Speaker 1: background of that kid from Little Miss Sunshine. Yeah, that's 684 00:36:22,239 --> 00:36:27,799 Speaker 1: the that's the continuation of that dude's life. Instead, he 685 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:30,440 Speaker 1: moved to Seattle to work for McDonald douglas as a 686 00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:33,879 Speaker 1: flight test engineer for F fifteen fighter jets, then went 687 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:37,120 Speaker 1: on to business school. Building on inherited money, he invested 688 00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:40,920 Speaker 1: in a string of esoteric tech companies, wireless remote control devices, 689 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:44,040 Speaker 1: sonar systems. Still, he dreamed of going to space, perhaps 690 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:46,279 Speaker 1: as a passenger on one of the private rockets being 691 00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:48,279 Speaker 1: developed in the early two thousands by the likes of 692 00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:51,840 Speaker 1: Richard Branson. In fact, Rush traveled to the Mohave Desert 693 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:53,880 Speaker 1: in two thousand and four to watch the launch of 694 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:57,520 Speaker 1: Spaceship Ie, the first commercial craft sent into space. When 695 00:36:57,520 --> 00:36:59,600 Speaker 1: Branson stood on its wing and declared that a new 696 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:03,640 Speaker 1: era space tourism had arrived, Rush says he abruptly lost interest. 697 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:05,640 Speaker 1: I had this epiphany that this was not at all 698 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:07,480 Speaker 1: what I wanted to do. I didn't want to go 699 00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:09,360 Speaker 1: up in space as a tourist. I wanted to be 700 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:12,239 Speaker 1: Captain Kirk on the Enterprise. I wanted to explore. 701 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:13,320 Speaker 3: Oh my god. 702 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:18,759 Speaker 1: So there's a lot in that paragraph Jesus. First of 703 00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:21,480 Speaker 1: all the articles I found, and again, no one's really 704 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:24,799 Speaker 1: done a super deep dive on this guy. They all 705 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:27,480 Speaker 1: kind of take his red from what he said, like 706 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:31,560 Speaker 1: he did he did one, he did one, but they 707 00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:33,400 Speaker 1: all kind of take his red that like he built 708 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:35,759 Speaker 1: on his family wealth through smart investments and made a 709 00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:39,200 Speaker 1: bunch more money. We don't actually know that, Like his 710 00:37:39,239 --> 00:37:41,200 Speaker 1: family might just have been super rich. He may have 711 00:37:41,239 --> 00:37:44,279 Speaker 1: been terrible at investing. We have no evidence actually that 712 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:46,120 Speaker 1: he was good at it that I've seen. 713 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:50,000 Speaker 2: Well, or with that amount of money, like he can 714 00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:54,520 Speaker 2: he can even have made money and still like index 715 00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:55,719 Speaker 2: funt yeah. 716 00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:57,560 Speaker 1: Oh but yeah, even like with. 717 00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:01,120 Speaker 2: His little like you know, investing shit, know, given the 718 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:03,759 Speaker 2: way the market is, the real question is like did 719 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:05,960 Speaker 2: he do better than yeah, like an index fund or 720 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:07,680 Speaker 2: like yeah, yeah, so who actually knew what the fuck 721 00:38:07,719 --> 00:38:09,680 Speaker 2: they were doing. It's the same way like you know, 722 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:12,600 Speaker 2: Donald Trump has kind of made money at some point, 723 00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:16,319 Speaker 2: but it's like, yeah, yeah, but did he do did 724 00:38:16,320 --> 00:38:18,440 Speaker 2: he make enough money given how much he started with? 725 00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:21,960 Speaker 1: Exactly? Yeah. It's I think that's like a fair way 726 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,719 Speaker 1: to look at it. It's also really interesting to me, 727 00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:26,719 Speaker 1: super interesting to me. I think kind of is the 728 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:30,080 Speaker 1: key to understanding this dude that he loved the idea 729 00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:33,640 Speaker 1: of spaceship one until he realized it was just someone 730 00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:37,279 Speaker 1: else's spaceship for tourists, right yeah, because it's Branson's ship. 731 00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:39,520 Speaker 1: If he gets on it, all he's going to be 732 00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:42,120 Speaker 1: is a tourist. And he didn't want to be a 733 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,880 Speaker 1: paying customer, like visiting space is a casual, rich visitor. 734 00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:49,400 Speaker 1: Now he describes as like, well, I wanted to explore. 735 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:52,080 Speaker 1: I wanted to be Captain Kirk. I don't think that's 736 00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:55,440 Speaker 1: actually accurate either. I think he wanted to be Richard 737 00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:58,520 Speaker 1: Branson selling tickets to rich, old white dudes who would 738 00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:02,040 Speaker 1: worship him as a badass billionaire adventurer. Right yeah, like 739 00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:07,240 Speaker 1: that's that's what this guy actually wanted. Now, the startup 740 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:09,799 Speaker 1: costs for this guy's rich. His family's rich. But like 741 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:12,440 Speaker 1: there's rich, and then there's being able to start your 742 00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:15,239 Speaker 1: own space company rich. And this guy is not that rich. 743 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:17,720 Speaker 1: You know, his family doesn't have that kind of money. 744 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:19,719 Speaker 2: Yeah, if he was looking, if he was actually that 745 00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:21,719 Speaker 2: good an investor, he would have that kind of life. 746 00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:24,719 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, why didn't you Why didn't you get you 747 00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:27,400 Speaker 1: make yourself a billionaire. First, pull yourself up by your 748 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:28,520 Speaker 1: boots stocked. 749 00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:31,440 Speaker 3: Very very stupid people have accomplished that. 750 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:34,279 Speaker 1: So yeah, it's it's not a high bar, you know, 751 00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:38,479 Speaker 1: like Elon Musk has a rocket company and that dude, yeah, 752 00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:39,120 Speaker 1: what a mess. 753 00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:43,440 Speaker 2: Like the most patently stupid person. It's amazing. 754 00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:47,240 Speaker 1: But you know, Musk is evidence that, like the market's 755 00:39:47,239 --> 00:39:49,760 Speaker 1: starting to get crowded by kind of the the early 756 00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:52,400 Speaker 1: to mid aught. So Stockton decides he's got to go 757 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:57,080 Speaker 1: somewhere else, somewhere where there's less billionaires getting involved, which 758 00:39:57,120 --> 00:40:00,880 Speaker 1: at this point is the ocean right now. Stockton has 759 00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:04,120 Speaker 1: always liked the ocean. He'd been a dedicated scuba diver 760 00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:06,280 Speaker 1: most of his life. You know, he's rich, his family's 761 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:09,080 Speaker 1: going to all these exotic places on a regular basis 762 00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:11,919 Speaker 1: for vacations. So he's done a bunch of diving all 763 00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:14,919 Speaker 1: over the world. And he specifically he gets into because 764 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:17,000 Speaker 1: he moves up to Seattle as an adult and he 765 00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:19,319 Speaker 1: does a lot of cold water diving off the coast 766 00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:22,239 Speaker 1: of Seattle. Now, as he notes, the diving off of 767 00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:27,000 Speaker 1: the Puget Sound is gorgeous, but it's like cold water 768 00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:30,040 Speaker 1: diving is like a whole different beast from like regular 769 00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:32,880 Speaker 1: open water or regular diving, right, like where you're in 770 00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:36,320 Speaker 1: I don't know, like fucking I learned to dive in Okinawa, 771 00:40:36,360 --> 00:40:39,480 Speaker 1: where the water is kind of a perfect comfortable temperature. Right, 772 00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:41,920 Speaker 1: it's one of the best places in the world for diving. 773 00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:43,640 Speaker 1: The Puget sound as cold as hell. So if you're 774 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:46,680 Speaker 1: going to dive there, you've got like special suits, you're 775 00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:49,600 Speaker 1: carrying extra tanks. It's like more of a pain in 776 00:40:49,640 --> 00:40:52,400 Speaker 1: the ass. And that's kind of how he describes it quote, 777 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:54,439 Speaker 1: I loved what I saw, but I thought there's got 778 00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:56,840 Speaker 1: to be a better way. And being in a sub 779 00:40:56,920 --> 00:40:59,440 Speaker 1: and being nice and cozy and having a hot chocolate 780 00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:01,799 Speaker 1: with you beats the heck out of freezing and going 781 00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:05,799 Speaker 1: through a two hour decompression hanging in deep water. Now 782 00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:09,040 Speaker 1: that's funny for a couple of reasons, Like I don't know, 783 00:41:09,080 --> 00:41:11,200 Speaker 1: Subs are fine, subs are cool, Like I think what 784 00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:14,160 Speaker 1: James Cameron has done with his submersibles is like neat, 785 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:18,120 Speaker 1: But it is funny that this guy's like I wanted 786 00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:21,120 Speaker 1: to be an explorer, but also I want my hot cocoa. Yeah, 787 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:23,680 Speaker 1: I don't know, man, Like read about what astronauts go through. 788 00:41:23,719 --> 00:41:25,480 Speaker 1: It's not a comfortable process. 789 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:30,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, but that's you know, that's exactly the diletant that 790 00:41:30,239 --> 00:41:31,560 Speaker 2: yeah winds up exactly. 791 00:41:32,239 --> 00:41:36,160 Speaker 3: His path is like more perfect than it probably should 792 00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:36,960 Speaker 3: have been, honestly. 793 00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:39,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, no, he should have died a lot faster. Like 794 00:41:39,680 --> 00:41:41,920 Speaker 1: if he'd gone to space, he wouldn't hacked it as well, 795 00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:47,160 Speaker 1: because it's space is a whole mess. Like everybody's nasty 796 00:41:47,280 --> 00:41:49,239 Speaker 1: up in space. They don't talk about that enough, but 797 00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:52,000 Speaker 1: like the space stations smell terrible. If you read through 798 00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:55,359 Speaker 1: the old Apollo transcripts, they're like regularly poop will get 799 00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:57,719 Speaker 1: out and it'll just be like floating around the space ship. 800 00:41:57,719 --> 00:42:03,759 Speaker 1: They'll be arguing about whose shits fly around. It's very funny. God, Yeah, 801 00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:05,560 Speaker 1: you wouldn't want to You wouldn't want to be drinking 802 00:42:05,719 --> 00:42:08,200 Speaker 1: coco in that environment, I'll tell you that much. So 803 00:42:09,200 --> 00:42:11,200 Speaker 1: since he was a very rich kid, he had the 804 00:42:11,239 --> 00:42:13,520 Speaker 1: power to just kind of go out and spend money 805 00:42:13,560 --> 00:42:17,600 Speaker 1: to make this expensive whim happen. But alas Stockton was 806 00:42:17,680 --> 00:42:21,160 Speaker 1: stymied because there aren't a lot of private submarines. It's 807 00:42:21,200 --> 00:42:24,600 Speaker 1: actually pretty uncommon for like just a dude to own 808 00:42:24,640 --> 00:42:29,080 Speaker 1: a sub which is a shame because I did grow 809 00:42:29,200 --> 00:42:31,839 Speaker 1: up reading the Illuminatus trilogy. I would like to, you know, 810 00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:34,239 Speaker 1: it'd be cool to have a golden submarine that you 811 00:42:34,320 --> 00:42:37,719 Speaker 1: run a global conspiracy from, but it's apparently a real 812 00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:40,840 Speaker 1: pain in the ass to upkeep them. 813 00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:43,880 Speaker 2: I think we were, you know, if you ever needed 814 00:42:43,880 --> 00:42:48,719 Speaker 2: an illustration of why there's not a bunch of private subs, yeah, we. 815 00:42:49,080 --> 00:42:52,960 Speaker 1: Did all get a reminder in twenty nineteen when that 816 00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:55,520 Speaker 1: Smithsonian article came out, they said they are about one 817 00:42:55,560 --> 00:42:59,759 Speaker 1: hundred private submarines across the entire world. Chartering them is 818 00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:03,640 Speaker 1: extremely expensive. But Stockton kept digging until he found a 819 00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:06,399 Speaker 1: company in London that had was like, we can sell 820 00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:09,040 Speaker 1: you the parts and a kit to build a mini 821 00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:12,440 Speaker 1: sub that was designed by a retired Navy sub commander. 822 00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:15,399 Speaker 1: And like a kit, you love a kit, you love 823 00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:17,400 Speaker 1: putting together your own submarine. 824 00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:22,000 Speaker 2: But that is also like just this perfect example of 825 00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:25,319 Speaker 2: these like rich kid billionaires like building a kit and 826 00:43:25,360 --> 00:43:27,000 Speaker 2: presenting it as something you made. 827 00:43:27,960 --> 00:43:30,399 Speaker 1: It is It is interesting. It's both because like, yeah, 828 00:43:30,440 --> 00:43:34,400 Speaker 1: that is fat like that it like as you said, 829 00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:37,520 Speaker 1: but it also like I will say, if I'm going 830 00:43:37,560 --> 00:43:40,680 Speaker 1: to trust someone to like take me in a submarine. 831 00:43:40,719 --> 00:43:40,799 Speaker 4: It. 832 00:43:41,239 --> 00:43:43,520 Speaker 1: I would prefer it be someone who knows what it's 833 00:43:43,560 --> 00:43:46,120 Speaker 1: like to build a submarine from the ground up. Like 834 00:43:46,239 --> 00:43:49,480 Speaker 1: I will say that that is probably where you'd start. 835 00:43:49,560 --> 00:43:53,000 Speaker 1: So so far he's doing he's taking the right first step, 836 00:43:53,080 --> 00:43:54,640 Speaker 1: you know. Yeah. 837 00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:58,400 Speaker 2: Well the problem is there's two lessons, two pretty divergent 838 00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:02,160 Speaker 2: lessons you could learn from that. One is like, wow, 839 00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:04,880 Speaker 2: look at the care look at the difficulty. Building a 840 00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:08,600 Speaker 2: submarine is no joke. And the other lesson that it 841 00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:10,839 Speaker 2: looks like Stockton Moore took to heart. 842 00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:12,880 Speaker 3: Is yeah, see it's easy. 843 00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:15,040 Speaker 1: I have mastered the submarine. 844 00:44:15,200 --> 00:44:18,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, building, building and designing a submarine is easy. 845 00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:21,520 Speaker 1: Yeah. And the sub he builds is a twelve foot 846 00:44:21,560 --> 00:44:24,319 Speaker 1: one man sub So he's like lying flat in this 847 00:44:24,360 --> 00:44:27,359 Speaker 1: thing with like his face directly over a porthole, and 848 00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:29,680 Speaker 1: like that's the way this works. So when we say 849 00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:34,240 Speaker 1: sub this is like almost more of like a diving suit, 850 00:44:34,680 --> 00:44:37,239 Speaker 1: like a legit diving suit. Probably is would be like 851 00:44:37,400 --> 00:44:40,160 Speaker 1: closer to what this is as opposed to like, you know, 852 00:44:40,200 --> 00:44:45,759 Speaker 1: the red October right, Yeah, Sam Neil isn't fitting in 853 00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:50,480 Speaker 1: this thing, you know. Quote while I was building the 854 00:44:50,560 --> 00:44:53,000 Speaker 1: sub I was thinking, this is stupid. I should have 855 00:44:53,080 --> 00:44:55,640 Speaker 1: just bought a robot and explored with that. But the 856 00:44:55,640 --> 00:44:58,360 Speaker 1: moment I went underwater, I was like, oh, you can't 857 00:44:58,400 --> 00:45:01,000 Speaker 1: describe this. When you go in a sub things sound different, 858 00:45:01,040 --> 00:45:03,480 Speaker 1: they look different. It's like you've gone to a different planet. 859 00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:07,480 Speaker 1: Rush was hooked. His entrepreneurial instincts were peaked. I had 860 00:45:07,480 --> 00:45:10,279 Speaker 1: come across this business anomaly. I couldn't explain if three 861 00:45:10,360 --> 00:45:13,200 Speaker 1: quarters of the planet is water, how come you can't 862 00:45:13,239 --> 00:45:18,879 Speaker 1: access it? Now? Yeah, that's a fascinating thing to think. 863 00:45:19,560 --> 00:45:23,960 Speaker 1: Where like he's underwater, alone in a submarine, looking at 864 00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:27,560 Speaker 1: like the majesty of reef systems and underwater life that 865 00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:30,120 Speaker 1: very few people get to see, and his immediate thought 866 00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:34,080 Speaker 1: is like, why isn't this owned? Why haven't we enclosed 867 00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:36,840 Speaker 1: this and turned this into like corporate property. 868 00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:40,800 Speaker 2: Well and also though like clearly his like going further 869 00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:43,000 Speaker 2: train of thought was not just like, Wow, this is 870 00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:44,200 Speaker 2: amazing and beautiful. 871 00:45:44,480 --> 00:45:45,759 Speaker 3: Why doesn't everyone do this? 872 00:45:46,280 --> 00:45:48,680 Speaker 2: And instead of coming to the conclusion because it's very 873 00:45:48,719 --> 00:45:52,040 Speaker 2: difficult and dangerous, he came to the conclusion because everyone 874 00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:54,400 Speaker 2: else is stupid. I'm the only one that thought this 875 00:45:54,520 --> 00:45:56,640 Speaker 2: is amazing and people should see this. 876 00:45:57,000 --> 00:45:59,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, everyone is stupid. And he's not saying people shoul 877 00:46:00,239 --> 00:46:02,600 Speaker 1: see this as much as he calls it a business anomaly, 878 00:46:02,680 --> 00:46:06,520 Speaker 1: He's like, why aren't Why don't more businesses own the sea? 879 00:46:06,640 --> 00:46:08,879 Speaker 1: Is his first thought? Right, he is an exploiter, He's 880 00:46:08,880 --> 00:46:12,719 Speaker 1: not an explorer, right, that's his primary motivation, right, So 881 00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:17,120 Speaker 1: his immediate goal is to start a business to build small, 882 00:46:17,239 --> 00:46:20,759 Speaker 1: cheap submersible vehicles, which he thought could be lucrative for 883 00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:23,759 Speaker 1: a variety of reasons. And when you read about the guy, 884 00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:25,840 Speaker 1: you get the feeling more than anything. He sees this 885 00:46:25,880 --> 00:46:28,920 Speaker 1: as his opportunity to become a self made billionaire and 886 00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:31,760 Speaker 1: put himself on an even footing with guys like Branson 887 00:46:31,840 --> 00:46:35,959 Speaker 1: and Musk. But the private submarine world, you know, it's 888 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:38,960 Speaker 1: never been huge. It's never been a big business to 889 00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:42,560 Speaker 1: be a submarine owner, and it had pretty much collapsed 890 00:46:42,640 --> 00:46:45,560 Speaker 1: by the early aughts. In his interview with the Smithsonian, 891 00:46:45,640 --> 00:46:48,120 Speaker 1: Stockton Rush claims that there were two reasons for this. 892 00:46:48,760 --> 00:46:51,239 Speaker 1: One of the big markets for private subs had been 893 00:46:51,360 --> 00:46:54,719 Speaker 1: carrying what are called saturation divers to work underneath. So 894 00:46:54,719 --> 00:46:57,000 Speaker 1: you've got oil rigs right in the ocean. They go 895 00:46:57,120 --> 00:46:59,680 Speaker 1: down very deep and they need repair work done on 896 00:46:59,719 --> 00:47:02,560 Speaker 1: them intense depths, and these are the kind of depths 897 00:47:02,600 --> 00:47:05,239 Speaker 1: where you don't just like throw on an oxygen tank 898 00:47:05,360 --> 00:47:09,040 Speaker 1: and go diving. Right. Number one, it's too deep. So 899 00:47:09,080 --> 00:47:12,279 Speaker 1: when you're diving, you can go down pretty quickly, but 900 00:47:12,440 --> 00:47:14,680 Speaker 1: going up you have to be extremely careful about how 901 00:47:14,719 --> 00:47:17,280 Speaker 1: quickly you go up right otherwise you're gonna fucking die. 902 00:47:18,239 --> 00:47:21,160 Speaker 1: So when you're going to intense depths like this, and 903 00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:22,719 Speaker 1: you have to work, so you have to be able 904 00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:24,360 Speaker 1: to spend a decent amount of time down there to 905 00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:27,480 Speaker 1: do stuff. What they would do is they would put divers, 906 00:47:27,480 --> 00:47:29,880 Speaker 1: and these divers don't have oxygen tanks. They have like 907 00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:34,760 Speaker 1: special formulations of different kind of like chemicals that allow 908 00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:37,200 Speaker 1: them to breathe in the specific like it's I don't know, 909 00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:39,040 Speaker 1: we're not going to go into like how diving works. 910 00:47:39,040 --> 00:47:41,239 Speaker 1: There's different stuff like nitrox. I'm not sure exactly what 911 00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:44,160 Speaker 1: these guys were on, but they're wearing special suits, they've 912 00:47:44,160 --> 00:47:47,200 Speaker 1: got special you know, mixtures in their tanks, and a 913 00:47:47,239 --> 00:47:50,560 Speaker 1: submarine takes them down and takes them back up so 914 00:47:50,600 --> 00:47:53,279 Speaker 1: that they can get on the sub and be in 915 00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:55,960 Speaker 1: decompression without kind of running through all that way. They 916 00:47:56,000 --> 00:48:00,160 Speaker 1: don't have to carry as much as many tanks and stuff. Now, 917 00:48:00,400 --> 00:48:02,360 Speaker 1: this is was for a while kind of the only 918 00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:04,319 Speaker 1: way to do repair work on this stuff, but it 919 00:48:04,360 --> 00:48:06,640 Speaker 1: was extremely dangerous, Like this was one of the most 920 00:48:06,719 --> 00:48:10,200 Speaker 1: dangerous jobs in the world. These guys died all the time, 921 00:48:10,320 --> 00:48:13,040 Speaker 1: not because like the subs weren't safe, but because diving 922 00:48:13,080 --> 00:48:16,080 Speaker 1: at that depth isn't like people just die for like 923 00:48:16,239 --> 00:48:19,719 Speaker 1: no reason while diving. You know, like sometimes it's it's 924 00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:21,959 Speaker 1: just like a you know, your heart stops or whatever. 925 00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:24,640 Speaker 1: You get the wrong, you know, mix a shit in 926 00:48:24,680 --> 00:48:28,800 Speaker 1: your blood. It's like it's very dangerous to dive, especially 927 00:48:28,840 --> 00:48:33,000 Speaker 1: this kind of shit. So once oil and gas companies, 928 00:48:33,040 --> 00:48:35,799 Speaker 1: once drones and stuff started being good enough, they moved 929 00:48:35,840 --> 00:48:38,440 Speaker 1: away from having divers do this as much as possible 930 00:48:38,480 --> 00:48:40,839 Speaker 1: and started having robots do it, which is like, I'm 931 00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:42,600 Speaker 1: not gonna give the oil and gas company a lot 932 00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:44,600 Speaker 1: of credit, but I'm sure it was both more cost 933 00:48:44,640 --> 00:48:48,120 Speaker 1: efficient and like, yeah, people, it's like a lot safer. 934 00:48:49,400 --> 00:48:51,920 Speaker 1: So the other reason he claims was that or the 935 00:48:51,960 --> 00:48:56,399 Speaker 1: other like business for private submarines was tourist subs, which 936 00:48:56,440 --> 00:48:59,360 Speaker 1: could be skippered by anyone with a coastguard captain's license 937 00:48:59,400 --> 00:49:01,920 Speaker 1: and were regular by the Passenger Vessel Safety Act of 938 00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:05,880 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety three, which imposed rigorous new manufacturing and inspection 939 00:49:05,960 --> 00:49:08,839 Speaker 1: requirements and prohibited dives below one hundred and fifty feet. 940 00:49:09,360 --> 00:49:11,920 Speaker 1: The law was well meaning, Rush says, but he believes 941 00:49:11,920 --> 00:49:20,319 Speaker 1: it needlessly prioritized passenger safety over commercial innovation. So he's like, 942 00:49:20,760 --> 00:49:24,160 Speaker 1: it sucks that they stopped having divers fixed oil rigs 943 00:49:24,200 --> 00:49:26,680 Speaker 1: because they were all dive dying, and it sucks that 944 00:49:26,719 --> 00:49:29,000 Speaker 1: they stopped. They wouldn't they won't let us take people 945 00:49:29,040 --> 00:49:31,640 Speaker 1: below one hundred and fifty feet in subs because it 946 00:49:31,719 --> 00:49:32,600 Speaker 1: keeps killing them. 947 00:49:33,000 --> 00:49:35,640 Speaker 2: I mean, look, as far as money where your mouth is, 948 00:49:35,760 --> 00:49:41,239 Speaker 2: he is the most like, like, you know, true believer, libertarian, 949 00:49:41,320 --> 00:49:44,879 Speaker 2: bullshit guy. He was a you gotta handed to him. 950 00:49:45,040 --> 00:49:46,560 Speaker 2: You have to hand it to him. 951 00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:49,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, you gotta hat. He did put his money where 952 00:49:49,080 --> 00:49:51,560 Speaker 1: his mouth was. It is funny where you can there's 953 00:49:51,600 --> 00:49:55,120 Speaker 1: just all these quotes where he's like, they're pointlessly focusing 954 00:49:55,160 --> 00:49:59,319 Speaker 1: on safety over innovating. Maybe there's a reason for some 955 00:49:59,360 --> 00:50:03,640 Speaker 1: of those SA dear regulations stocked it it truly. 956 00:50:03,880 --> 00:50:06,319 Speaker 2: I mean, you know, when all this was happening, the 957 00:50:06,480 --> 00:50:09,200 Speaker 2: one of my like more fucked up thoughts was like, 958 00:50:09,520 --> 00:50:11,879 Speaker 2: you know, obviously it wasn't likely that these guys were 959 00:50:11,880 --> 00:50:14,000 Speaker 2: going to get rescued, but I was like the cost 960 00:50:14,320 --> 00:50:17,320 Speaker 2: in the world where they are rescued, it will cost 961 00:50:17,440 --> 00:50:19,280 Speaker 2: so many more lives in a lot of them. 962 00:50:20,040 --> 00:50:23,520 Speaker 1: Like well, and it's you know, honestly, like this this 963 00:50:23,800 --> 00:50:26,040 Speaker 1: will not be news to most people or a lot 964 00:50:26,080 --> 00:50:29,120 Speaker 1: of people probably, but like you know, if you pay 965 00:50:29,160 --> 00:50:32,839 Speaker 1: attention to like the world of people who do this 966 00:50:32,920 --> 00:50:34,800 Speaker 1: kind of stuff, and I have I have a buddy 967 00:50:34,800 --> 00:50:37,520 Speaker 1: who there's a book called blind Man's Bluff if you 968 00:50:37,560 --> 00:50:40,080 Speaker 1: want to read about kind of the shit that US 969 00:50:40,120 --> 00:50:42,040 Speaker 1: and Russian subs got up to in the late Cold 970 00:50:42,080 --> 00:50:45,840 Speaker 1: War era. It's a really good book. But like, basically, 971 00:50:45,840 --> 00:50:48,600 Speaker 1: we used to have these fights between our submarines where 972 00:50:48,600 --> 00:50:51,040 Speaker 1: they would try to force each other to surface, and 973 00:50:51,080 --> 00:50:54,000 Speaker 1: it was insanely it's like chicken with nuclear submarines. It 974 00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:58,400 Speaker 1: was insanely dangerous shit. But like talking to him and 975 00:50:58,440 --> 00:51:00,920 Speaker 1: talking to like other people who were in that industry, 976 00:51:00,960 --> 00:51:03,640 Speaker 1: anyone who has done this kind of like four there 977 00:51:03,640 --> 00:51:06,480 Speaker 1: have been four submarine rescues that have been successful in 978 00:51:06,520 --> 00:51:09,879 Speaker 1: the history of submarines, and none of them were very 979 00:51:09,920 --> 00:51:11,719 Speaker 1: deep compared to where this thing was. There was never 980 00:51:11,760 --> 00:51:15,760 Speaker 1: any chance of saving these people, I don't think. But anyway, whatever, 981 00:51:15,880 --> 00:51:17,640 Speaker 1: that's not that's not what we've got to talk about. 982 00:51:17,520 --> 00:51:21,320 Speaker 1: So we got to talk about. Yeah, one in a million. 983 00:51:21,400 --> 00:51:27,800 Speaker 1: So Rush calls these these needless passenger safety prioritizations understandable 984 00:51:27,840 --> 00:51:32,640 Speaker 1: butt a logical, which is very, very funny. But what 985 00:51:32,680 --> 00:51:34,480 Speaker 1: we are what is interesting to me is that like 986 00:51:34,719 --> 00:51:37,520 Speaker 1: the sub market falls apart. The real reason is that, 987 00:51:37,600 --> 00:51:41,239 Speaker 1: number one, it's insanely dangerous the jobs that it was 988 00:51:41,280 --> 00:51:44,200 Speaker 1: being used for, and we found better uses than submarines, 989 00:51:44,280 --> 00:51:47,840 Speaker 1: better ways to fill those needs. And number two, once 990 00:51:47,880 --> 00:51:50,480 Speaker 1: we started replacing, like the subs that were being used 991 00:51:50,520 --> 00:51:53,360 Speaker 1: to transport divers and shit, the only real industry for 992 00:51:53,440 --> 00:51:56,200 Speaker 1: private subs was private trips for rich people to see 993 00:51:56,200 --> 00:52:00,360 Speaker 1: shit underwater. And the thing that people most wanted to 994 00:52:00,400 --> 00:52:03,640 Speaker 1: see was the Titanic. And we're going to talk about that, 995 00:52:04,040 --> 00:52:09,160 Speaker 1: but first, you know what's also Titanic The savings that 996 00:52:09,200 --> 00:52:21,760 Speaker 1: you're gonna get if you purchase these products. And we're back, 997 00:52:22,160 --> 00:52:26,440 Speaker 1: so we're talking about tourist trips to see the Titanic. 998 00:52:27,080 --> 00:52:29,960 Speaker 1: So spoiler alert for those of you who haven't seen 999 00:52:30,000 --> 00:52:34,120 Speaker 1: the movie, The Titanic went down on April fourteenth, nineteen twelve, 1000 00:52:34,360 --> 00:52:38,160 Speaker 1: with a shitload of people on it. Now, despite the 1001 00:52:38,200 --> 00:52:41,240 Speaker 1: fact that this is the most famous nautical disaster in history, 1002 00:52:41,280 --> 00:52:44,560 Speaker 1: when it happened, and for like decades after it happened, 1003 00:52:44,920 --> 00:52:47,600 Speaker 1: very basic details of what had actually gone down were 1004 00:52:47,640 --> 00:52:51,080 Speaker 1: seriously in doubt, which is weird because eyewitnesses saw the 1005 00:52:51,120 --> 00:52:53,080 Speaker 1: ship break in half the way that it does in 1006 00:52:53,160 --> 00:52:57,120 Speaker 1: the James Cameron movie, right, But when that happened, like 1007 00:52:57,320 --> 00:52:59,759 Speaker 1: scientists at the time, an awful lot of the kind 1008 00:52:59,800 --> 00:53:02,320 Speaker 1: of people who were building boats and were experts on 1009 00:53:02,360 --> 00:53:05,200 Speaker 1: this didn't think a ship could go down that way. 1010 00:53:05,480 --> 00:53:07,600 Speaker 1: I think the belief was that like it would basically 1011 00:53:07,680 --> 00:53:10,200 Speaker 1: get overwhelmed and like just kind of all sink at once. 1012 00:53:10,239 --> 00:53:12,560 Speaker 1: But they didn't think it could break that way. And 1013 00:53:12,600 --> 00:53:16,279 Speaker 1: because a lot of the eyewitnesses were like women, there 1014 00:53:16,360 --> 00:53:18,239 Speaker 1: was this like a lot of these people got like 1015 00:53:18,320 --> 00:53:20,719 Speaker 1: mocked and stuff by the like. Anyway, it was a 1016 00:53:20,760 --> 00:53:23,560 Speaker 1: whole It was a whole deal, which is to say that, 1017 00:53:23,680 --> 00:53:27,239 Speaker 1: like when people started going after the Titanic, there was 1018 00:53:27,280 --> 00:53:29,520 Speaker 1: a real reason to want to find it because, among 1019 00:53:29,640 --> 00:53:32,759 Speaker 1: other things, you might actually like give some closure to 1020 00:53:32,840 --> 00:53:34,839 Speaker 1: some of these people who had spent their lives being 1021 00:53:34,880 --> 00:53:39,560 Speaker 1: called crazy. I don't know whatever, there was a good 1022 00:53:39,640 --> 00:53:41,920 Speaker 1: scientific reason to want to find this thing, and the 1023 00:53:41,960 --> 00:53:45,720 Speaker 1: shit the cruise ship's resting place remained a mystery until 1024 00:53:45,760 --> 00:53:49,360 Speaker 1: a very cool dude named Bob Ballard got a secret 1025 00:53:49,400 --> 00:53:52,920 Speaker 1: contract from the US Navy in nineteen eighty five. Ballard 1026 00:53:53,080 --> 00:53:56,799 Speaker 1: Ballard is an oceanographer, and like Stockton, he'd always loved 1027 00:53:56,840 --> 00:53:59,880 Speaker 1: the sea. Unlike Rush, he turned this love into a 1028 00:54:00,080 --> 00:54:03,319 Speaker 1: lligent appreciation for the science of oceanography. And he gets 1029 00:54:03,320 --> 00:54:05,719 Speaker 1: brought in. He's basically been pitching I think I can 1030 00:54:05,760 --> 00:54:08,439 Speaker 1: find the Titanic, and the Department of Defense is like, well, 1031 00:54:08,880 --> 00:54:11,239 Speaker 1: we got these two US subs that went missing in 1032 00:54:11,239 --> 00:54:13,720 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties and we don't really know what happened, 1033 00:54:14,760 --> 00:54:17,399 Speaker 1: but we'd like you to find them, and this Titanic thing, 1034 00:54:17,520 --> 00:54:21,400 Speaker 1: like will basically pretend that we're having you do that, 1035 00:54:21,640 --> 00:54:23,520 Speaker 1: and if you find our subs like that, you know 1036 00:54:23,600 --> 00:54:26,400 Speaker 1: this will work out for everybody. And I think he 1037 00:54:26,400 --> 00:54:28,279 Speaker 1: does find He finds those subs, and he also he 1038 00:54:28,320 --> 00:54:31,359 Speaker 1: finds the Titanic. Because Bob Ballard is very good at 1039 00:54:31,400 --> 00:54:33,400 Speaker 1: what he does. You know this is he's also the 1040 00:54:33,400 --> 00:54:37,040 Speaker 1: guy who finds the fucking Bismarck. And because he's the 1041 00:54:37,040 --> 00:54:39,600 Speaker 1: guy who finds the big dead boat, he could have 1042 00:54:39,680 --> 00:54:43,320 Speaker 1: claimed salvage rights to the wreck, which is like potitionally 1043 00:54:43,400 --> 00:54:47,360 Speaker 1: quite a bit of money and salvaging the Titanic. But 1044 00:54:47,600 --> 00:54:50,560 Speaker 1: because he's like a basically decent guy, Ballard was like, 1045 00:54:50,880 --> 00:54:53,520 Speaker 1: I don't want to mine the graveyard of several thousand 1046 00:54:53,520 --> 00:54:59,200 Speaker 1: people for profit. That seems that seems ghoulish. Yeah, he 1047 00:54:59,239 --> 00:55:02,080 Speaker 1: actually was like, I think that's grave robbing, so I 1048 00:55:02,120 --> 00:55:04,719 Speaker 1: don't really want to do that. But other people had 1049 00:55:04,760 --> 00:55:08,160 Speaker 1: no compunctions against renting deep sea vehicles and grabbing shit 1050 00:55:08,239 --> 00:55:11,239 Speaker 1: near the wreck to sell back on surface. And we're 1051 00:55:11,239 --> 00:55:13,200 Speaker 1: actually going to talk about those people because one of 1052 00:55:13,200 --> 00:55:16,719 Speaker 1: them winds up on Stockton. Russia's death sub kind of 1053 00:55:16,760 --> 00:55:19,319 Speaker 1: the biggest of them. But over the next year, some 1054 00:55:19,440 --> 00:55:22,520 Speaker 1: fifty five hundred artifacts from the titan Over the next 1055 00:55:22,520 --> 00:55:25,400 Speaker 1: eighteen years, some fifty five hundred artifacts from the Titanic 1056 00:55:25,640 --> 00:55:29,000 Speaker 1: are sold or put in the Titanic Museum. Bob later 1057 00:55:29,040 --> 00:55:31,560 Speaker 1: wrote it had turned into an ugly carnival and a 1058 00:55:31,640 --> 00:55:33,680 Speaker 1: front to the fate of the Titanic. And all those 1059 00:55:33,719 --> 00:55:36,919 Speaker 1: who had lost their lives in her final hours. Now, 1060 00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:40,319 Speaker 1: this grave robbing is done by mere subs which are 1061 00:55:40,400 --> 00:55:43,240 Speaker 1: leased by the from the Russian government during a period 1062 00:55:43,239 --> 00:55:45,600 Speaker 1: in which like this is kind of the late eighties 1063 00:55:45,640 --> 00:55:48,200 Speaker 1: early nineties, like right after the Soviet Union fall, so 1064 00:55:48,239 --> 00:55:54,520 Speaker 1: like the Russians, Yeah, they're kind of needing money, you know. Yeah. 1065 00:55:54,560 --> 00:55:56,960 Speaker 1: So my analogous. 1066 00:55:56,280 --> 00:55:59,600 Speaker 2: Biggest regret is when I did a semester in Beijing. 1067 00:56:00,080 --> 00:56:03,120 Speaker 2: One of the things that this is this will show 1068 00:56:03,160 --> 00:56:05,359 Speaker 2: my age a little bit, but the Chinese, the Red 1069 00:56:05,480 --> 00:56:09,040 Speaker 2: Arvy was enough up for sale that apparently you could 1070 00:56:09,120 --> 00:56:12,040 Speaker 2: drive out to the desert and for one hundred dollars 1071 00:56:12,080 --> 00:56:14,400 Speaker 2: shoot a rocket propelled grenade into a car. 1072 00:56:14,920 --> 00:56:19,040 Speaker 1: Absolutely worth it. That's a good price. That's a solid price. Andrew, 1073 00:56:19,160 --> 00:56:22,000 Speaker 1: I didn't. I was too I take that deal every 1074 00:56:22,080 --> 00:56:24,880 Speaker 1: day of the week. It was very, very sketchy. So 1075 00:56:24,960 --> 00:56:27,239 Speaker 1: I didn't end up doing it, but I was like, yeah, 1076 00:56:27,680 --> 00:56:29,200 Speaker 1: now I wish. 1077 00:56:29,000 --> 00:56:29,440 Speaker 4: I had it. 1078 00:56:29,960 --> 00:56:31,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, it is you know, you got to be careful 1079 00:56:31,960 --> 00:56:34,920 Speaker 1: anytime people are offering you rocket propelled grenade launchers. 1080 00:56:35,200 --> 00:56:36,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly. 1081 00:56:37,000 --> 00:56:38,799 Speaker 1: But it is like you know, the and it's one 1082 00:56:38,800 --> 00:56:42,120 Speaker 1: of those things we're talking about how insane this Titanic, 1083 00:56:42,480 --> 00:56:46,080 Speaker 1: you know, tourism thing was. I actually chatted on fucking 1084 00:56:46,080 --> 00:56:48,359 Speaker 1: Twitter with some guy who said he went to see 1085 00:56:48,360 --> 00:56:50,799 Speaker 1: the Titanic on one of these mere subs. This is 1086 00:56:50,840 --> 00:56:54,800 Speaker 1: pretty safe. These are actual submarines, right, like with actual 1087 00:56:54,920 --> 00:56:57,960 Speaker 1: cruise and stuff, like, they're rated to be doing this. 1088 00:56:58,440 --> 00:56:59,760 Speaker 1: Nothing bad happens. 1089 00:56:59,800 --> 00:57:00,400 Speaker 3: Do this right. 1090 00:57:00,440 --> 00:57:01,840 Speaker 1: We can talk about like the grave robbing and the 1091 00:57:01,840 --> 00:57:04,840 Speaker 1: ethics of that, but like James Cameron phil films the 1092 00:57:04,880 --> 00:57:07,840 Speaker 1: opening scenes of Titanic, those like opening underwater scenes on 1093 00:57:07,840 --> 00:57:10,160 Speaker 1: one of these mere submarines, you know, and for a while, 1094 00:57:10,200 --> 00:57:12,080 Speaker 1: this is a pretty good way to get down there. 1095 00:57:12,880 --> 00:57:16,240 Speaker 1: The runaway success of Cameron's movie of the same name 1096 00:57:16,360 --> 00:57:18,919 Speaker 1: ignites a new Titanic fever in the hearts of people 1097 00:57:18,960 --> 00:57:21,920 Speaker 1: around the globe. And suddenly there's this kind of burgeoning 1098 00:57:21,960 --> 00:57:24,640 Speaker 1: fan And there had always been since the Titanic went down, 1099 00:57:24,760 --> 00:57:27,800 Speaker 1: people have been obsessed with this, but obviously the movie 1100 00:57:28,280 --> 00:57:31,760 Speaker 1: takes that to another fucking level. There's all these people 1101 00:57:31,800 --> 00:57:34,000 Speaker 1: who kind of make the ship and its story the 1102 00:57:34,040 --> 00:57:36,080 Speaker 1: center of there. It becomes a fandom, you know. 1103 00:57:36,240 --> 00:57:36,320 Speaker 2: Ye. 1104 00:57:37,680 --> 00:57:41,120 Speaker 1: In two thousand and five, a company called Deep Ocean Expeditions, 1105 00:57:41,120 --> 00:57:44,320 Speaker 1: decides to offer very wealthy clientele trips down to the 1106 00:57:44,320 --> 00:57:46,680 Speaker 1: most famous grave in history, and over the next few 1107 00:57:46,760 --> 00:57:49,680 Speaker 1: years they take one hundred and ninety seven tourists there 1108 00:57:49,720 --> 00:57:53,040 Speaker 1: and back again. From that Bloomberg article quote, the last 1109 00:57:53,040 --> 00:57:55,200 Speaker 1: of those trips took place in twenty twelve, the one 1110 00:57:55,240 --> 00:57:58,800 Speaker 1: hundredth anniversary of the Titanic sinking. Russia assumed that mint 1111 00:57:58,800 --> 00:58:01,680 Speaker 1: the market was exhausted. Then he talked to Rob McCallum, 1112 00:58:01,720 --> 00:58:04,640 Speaker 1: the British born adventurer who led the trips. McCallum told 1113 00:58:04,720 --> 00:58:06,880 Speaker 1: Rush that the only reason the trips had stopped was 1114 00:58:06,880 --> 00:58:09,080 Speaker 1: that the Russians quit renting out the mears, which have 1115 00:58:09,160 --> 00:58:11,720 Speaker 1: since been mothballed. There was never an end in sight 1116 00:58:11,800 --> 00:58:14,840 Speaker 1: to our market, McCallum says, we just didn't have the machines. 1117 00:58:15,480 --> 00:58:19,360 Speaker 1: So now he's like, oh, well, there's a market, and like, 1118 00:58:19,640 --> 00:58:23,120 Speaker 1: nobody's serving this shit as a capitalist, you know nature 1119 00:58:23,400 --> 00:58:26,880 Speaker 1: capitalism abhors a vacuum. This is this is how I'm 1120 00:58:26,880 --> 00:58:30,720 Speaker 1: gonna make my fucking fortune. So he feels like he 1121 00:58:30,800 --> 00:58:33,400 Speaker 1: stumbled upon a great idea and the way he puts 1122 00:58:33,440 --> 00:58:36,840 Speaker 1: it in that interview with Bloomberg, which lists some of 1123 00:58:36,880 --> 00:58:40,360 Speaker 1: his earlier ideas for how to monetize submercivals, and a 1124 00:58:40,360 --> 00:58:43,760 Speaker 1: paragraph that is extremely fucking noteworthy. This keys you into 1125 00:58:44,040 --> 00:58:46,400 Speaker 1: kind of the most important stuff about what he was 1126 00:58:46,440 --> 00:58:49,400 Speaker 1: really planning to do here. Up to that point, Rush 1127 00:58:49,440 --> 00:58:52,720 Speaker 1: had been thinking about unexplored rex hydrothermal vents and bizarro 1128 00:58:52,920 --> 00:58:55,240 Speaker 1: sea creatures, not to mention the many ways a capable 1129 00:58:55,240 --> 00:58:57,320 Speaker 1: sub could be leased out to an oil and gas 1130 00:58:57,360 --> 00:59:00,720 Speaker 1: company to service under sea wells and oil plats, or 1131 00:59:00,760 --> 00:59:03,520 Speaker 1: do were research institution to do surveys of sea cucumbers, 1132 00:59:03,800 --> 00:59:06,360 Speaker 1: or to the CIA, NSA, d i A to do 1133 00:59:06,440 --> 00:59:08,320 Speaker 1: whatever it is that spooks do on the floor of 1134 00:59:08,400 --> 00:59:12,800 Speaker 1: the ocean. So that that's this guy's ethical basis. He's like, yeah, 1135 00:59:13,000 --> 00:59:15,640 Speaker 1: you know, raping the world for the oil and gas industry, 1136 00:59:15,640 --> 00:59:19,440 Speaker 1: discovering sea creatures, spying on people for the CIA, all 1137 00:59:19,480 --> 00:59:27,760 Speaker 1: equally valid. It's so funny, like he is. This man 1138 00:59:27,840 --> 00:59:32,200 Speaker 1: has the moral center of like a fucking donut. It's 1139 00:59:32,280 --> 00:59:37,520 Speaker 1: so funny. We did not lose a paragon of virtue here. 1140 00:59:38,600 --> 00:59:41,520 Speaker 1: I am truly grateful that Bloomberg profile exists because it 1141 00:59:41,560 --> 00:59:44,080 Speaker 1: makes very clear the fact that this guy never cared 1142 00:59:44,160 --> 00:59:47,320 Speaker 1: about exploration or expanding the frontiers of human knowledge. He 1143 00:59:47,440 --> 00:59:49,920 Speaker 1: was an adrenaline junkie who liked planes and subs and 1144 00:59:49,960 --> 00:59:52,280 Speaker 1: wanted to become a billionaire doing something that he thought 1145 00:59:52,360 --> 00:59:55,000 Speaker 1: was cool. He'd have been happy helping Exon frack the 1146 00:59:55,040 --> 00:59:57,720 Speaker 1: Marianna's trench if that had worked out for him, But 1147 00:59:57,760 --> 01:00:00,080 Speaker 1: it just so happens that there was a bigger mar 1148 01:00:00,320 --> 01:00:03,840 Speaker 1: for the initially at least in catering to Titanic weirdos. 1149 01:00:04,160 --> 01:00:06,720 Speaker 1: So he started pouring money into building a new deep 1150 01:00:06,720 --> 01:00:10,360 Speaker 1: sea submersible, the Cyclops, and then the Cyclops too. You know, 1151 01:00:10,400 --> 01:00:12,920 Speaker 1: he takes these guys down, he tests them out, he 1152 01:00:13,320 --> 01:00:16,360 Speaker 1: starts getting seed capital from fins and family. He's putting 1153 01:00:16,360 --> 01:00:18,160 Speaker 1: a shitload of his own money into this, to the 1154 01:00:18,200 --> 01:00:20,920 Speaker 1: tune of maybe tens of millions of dollars, and at 1155 01:00:20,920 --> 01:00:23,600 Speaker 1: first he can't really get any big investors involved. For 1156 01:00:23,720 --> 01:00:27,120 Speaker 1: pretty good reasons, Stockton cannot get to the Titanic, right, 1157 01:00:27,200 --> 01:00:29,320 Speaker 1: and a lot of people are like, well, he probably 1158 01:00:29,360 --> 01:00:32,560 Speaker 1: is never going to get to the Titanic. At present, 1159 01:00:32,720 --> 01:00:35,960 Speaker 1: I think there are four other vehicles on Earth capable 1160 01:00:36,000 --> 01:00:39,680 Speaker 1: of reaching that thing with people in them, and they're 1161 01:00:39,720 --> 01:00:43,840 Speaker 1: all owned by various governments. The Chinese Jhaolong submersible is 1162 01:00:43,880 --> 01:00:46,960 Speaker 1: capable of going down the furthest For a while. Famously, 1163 01:00:47,120 --> 01:00:51,040 Speaker 1: James Cameron had the deep Sea Challenger, which had proved 1164 01:00:51,040 --> 01:00:53,960 Speaker 1: that a rich maniac could have a submersible constructed for 1165 01:00:54,000 --> 01:00:57,760 Speaker 1: this kind of feet. But the Deep Sea Challenger, it's 1166 01:00:57,800 --> 01:01:00,080 Speaker 1: not the sort of thing, and I don't think of 1167 01:01:00,120 --> 01:01:02,680 Speaker 1: these are that you can fit a bunch of customers in, right, ye, 1168 01:01:02,880 --> 01:01:04,600 Speaker 1: Like the deep the way it works, You've got like 1169 01:01:04,640 --> 01:01:07,240 Speaker 1: this kind of superstructure that's this sort of weird almost 1170 01:01:07,240 --> 01:01:10,520 Speaker 1: cylindrical shape right around it. But the actual thing that 1171 01:01:10,600 --> 01:01:12,760 Speaker 1: a dude is in and that like the cameras and 1172 01:01:12,760 --> 01:01:14,080 Speaker 1: stuff are, as far as I can tell, is like 1173 01:01:14,120 --> 01:01:19,600 Speaker 1: a sphere, because a sphere is the is good for pressure. Yeah. 1174 01:01:20,080 --> 01:01:22,440 Speaker 1: And it's also like by the time that that a 1175 01:01:23,320 --> 01:01:26,040 Speaker 1: Stockton's working on this, the Deep Sea Challenger is not 1176 01:01:26,120 --> 01:01:29,080 Speaker 1: operational anymore. There was like it took some damage just 1177 01:01:29,120 --> 01:01:31,880 Speaker 1: like because it's this is tough on a vehicle, and 1178 01:01:31,920 --> 01:01:34,720 Speaker 1: then there's like a car accident while it's being transported 1179 01:01:34,760 --> 01:01:37,320 Speaker 1: and they're like, well it's kind of been compromised, you know, 1180 01:01:37,400 --> 01:01:40,160 Speaker 1: we have to kind of retire it, which is what 1181 01:01:40,200 --> 01:01:43,920 Speaker 1: responsible people do when their deep sea vessel has been damaged. 1182 01:01:44,120 --> 01:01:49,800 Speaker 1: Like you know, now, it's interesting. When he's talking to Bloomberg, 1183 01:01:49,920 --> 01:01:53,440 Speaker 1: Stockton presents both the Geolong and the Deep Sea Challenger 1184 01:01:53,760 --> 01:01:55,560 Speaker 1: as kind of like this is what he saw as 1185 01:01:55,600 --> 01:01:58,800 Speaker 1: the proof that his dream was achievable. Quote. People used 1186 01:01:58,840 --> 01:02:00,520 Speaker 1: to ask me, how do you think you can do 1187 01:02:00,560 --> 01:02:02,880 Speaker 1: this if nobody else can. I like to point out 1188 01:02:02,880 --> 01:02:04,800 Speaker 1: that the two deepest diving subs on the planet are 1189 01:02:04,800 --> 01:02:07,760 Speaker 1: the Chinese Joolong and James Cameron sub the DSV Deep 1190 01:02:07,800 --> 01:02:11,080 Speaker 1: Sea Challenger, which in twenty twelve carried the Titanic Director 1191 01:02:11,120 --> 01:02:14,080 Speaker 1: to Challenger Deep, the ocean's deepest point, and is now retired. 1192 01:02:14,400 --> 01:02:16,600 Speaker 1: They were both built by amateurs who had never built 1193 01:02:16,600 --> 01:02:19,240 Speaker 1: subs before. The sub is not the challenge. The challenge 1194 01:02:19,280 --> 01:02:23,400 Speaker 1: is the business model and logistics. Now, that is an 1195 01:02:23,400 --> 01:02:26,360 Speaker 1: insane thing to say, Andrew, and if. 1196 01:02:26,280 --> 01:02:31,200 Speaker 2: You have you have a hammer, if you're an idiot capitalist, who. 1197 01:02:31,360 --> 01:02:35,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, fucking tech bro. No, the problem is monetizing it. 1198 01:02:36,000 --> 01:02:38,840 Speaker 1: Building a sub that can go down the depth of 1199 01:02:38,880 --> 01:02:41,480 Speaker 1: Mount Ever is to say, what do you want to get? 1200 01:02:41,720 --> 01:02:44,600 Speaker 1: James Carmeron sketched it on a napkin. He just knows 1201 01:02:44,640 --> 01:02:46,240 Speaker 1: how to make terminator movies. 1202 01:02:46,680 --> 01:02:49,360 Speaker 2: It really is also though like some that is some 1203 01:02:49,680 --> 01:02:52,360 Speaker 2: because because you know, his goal was not to do 1204 01:02:52,400 --> 01:02:54,480 Speaker 2: what they did. His goal was to do what they 1205 01:02:54,480 --> 01:02:57,000 Speaker 2: did with the cocoa that you were talking about. 1206 01:02:56,920 --> 01:02:59,919 Speaker 1: Yeah, with the fucking and passengers multiple And it's also 1207 01:03:00,120 --> 01:03:02,640 Speaker 1: he's everything he says is wrong, So he's like they're 1208 01:03:02,640 --> 01:03:05,640 Speaker 1: all built by amateurs. So the Jhoolong, which is that 1209 01:03:05,760 --> 01:03:08,120 Speaker 1: Chinese submersible which can read it reach as far as 1210 01:03:08,160 --> 01:03:11,520 Speaker 1: seven thousand meters down, was developed by a desired a 1211 01:03:11,560 --> 01:03:17,040 Speaker 1: designer named zou Zin Jaques sorry zoo quinin q I 1212 01:03:17,160 --> 01:03:20,160 Speaker 1: n A N. And he is not I wouldn't. I 1213 01:03:20,160 --> 01:03:22,680 Speaker 1: don't think he's designed as submersible before. So I guess 1214 01:03:22,680 --> 01:03:25,960 Speaker 1: that's what he means by like amateur. But he's the 1215 01:03:26,040 --> 01:03:29,480 Speaker 1: professor at the School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil 1216 01:03:29,520 --> 01:03:34,040 Speaker 1: Engineering of Shanghai Jiaotong University. That's not an amateur. He's 1217 01:03:34,040 --> 01:03:37,440 Speaker 1: a professor of naval architecture. He seems like an expert, 1218 01:03:39,080 --> 01:03:42,120 Speaker 1: and like there's there's a whole team of experts who 1219 01:03:42,120 --> 01:03:46,760 Speaker 1: are like people who build things under this four underwater shit, right, yes, 1220 01:03:46,880 --> 01:03:52,600 Speaker 1: so you're not, yeah, just just in a like you know, 1221 01:03:53,320 --> 01:03:55,919 Speaker 1: you can't walk down the street in La without hitting 1222 01:03:55,960 --> 01:03:59,400 Speaker 1: a professor of naval architecture, right, that's like, that's like 1223 01:03:59,520 --> 01:04:06,600 Speaker 1: running in a guy with a fucking podcast. It's so 1224 01:04:06,960 --> 01:04:09,520 Speaker 1: it's such a funny way to be like they're amateurs. 1225 01:04:09,960 --> 01:04:13,200 Speaker 1: It's also like a Chinese government ministry are the people 1226 01:04:13,240 --> 01:04:16,520 Speaker 1: like handling the like the actual construction, and like it's 1227 01:04:16,840 --> 01:04:20,120 Speaker 1: it's a serious project by serious people. That's why it works, 1228 01:04:20,240 --> 01:04:24,240 Speaker 1: right And likewise he's being like, well, James Cameron's just 1229 01:04:24,280 --> 01:04:26,440 Speaker 1: this director and he got to make this thing. It's 1230 01:04:26,480 --> 01:04:29,640 Speaker 1: you know, an amateur. Well no, Cameron. Cameron says that 1231 01:04:29,760 --> 01:04:32,320 Speaker 1: like he contributed, he was one of the designers. He 1232 01:04:32,320 --> 01:04:34,320 Speaker 1: helped do some of the engineering. I don't know exactly 1233 01:04:34,520 --> 01:04:38,040 Speaker 1: what that means, but he did not just design a 1234 01:04:38,080 --> 01:04:41,040 Speaker 1: ship and have it built. He is working with a company, 1235 01:04:41,080 --> 01:04:44,560 Speaker 1: an Australian R and D company called Acheron Project, and 1236 01:04:44,600 --> 01:04:47,600 Speaker 1: the construction is headed primarily by the co designer, a 1237 01:04:47,640 --> 01:04:50,080 Speaker 1: guy named Ron Allam, who is a professional engineer. If 1238 01:04:50,080 --> 01:04:53,000 Speaker 1: you want to know how serious an engineer, Ron Allam is. 1239 01:04:53,360 --> 01:04:56,200 Speaker 1: When they're working on this thing that Cameron takes down 1240 01:04:56,240 --> 01:04:58,800 Speaker 1: to the Challenger Deep. There's like this kind of foam 1241 01:04:59,080 --> 01:05:02,280 Speaker 1: that they are using is part of like the pressure 1242 01:05:02,440 --> 01:05:05,320 Speaker 1: system that keeps it safe, and it's based on like 1243 01:05:05,360 --> 01:05:07,480 Speaker 1: the initial thing they tried is there was this kind 1244 01:05:07,520 --> 01:05:10,360 Speaker 1: of like nautical foam for pressure pressure vessels that were 1245 01:05:10,400 --> 01:05:12,840 Speaker 1: meant to go down less depth, you know, I think 1246 01:05:12,920 --> 01:05:15,080 Speaker 1: just a couple of thousand meters as opposed to how 1247 01:05:15,080 --> 01:05:18,480 Speaker 1: far the Challenger Deep is. And they test out this 1248 01:05:18,640 --> 01:05:20,880 Speaker 1: foam that's already in use, and they find out that 1249 01:05:20,920 --> 01:05:24,080 Speaker 1: it can't handle the pressure, and so ron Allam invins 1250 01:05:24,120 --> 01:05:27,000 Speaker 1: an entirely new kind of foam for this thing, right 1251 01:05:27,120 --> 01:05:34,240 Speaker 1: new phone, Yeah, so yeah, Yeah. In two thousand and nine, 1252 01:05:34,360 --> 01:05:37,360 Speaker 1: Stockton Rush founds ocean Gate Ink with the promise to 1253 01:05:37,400 --> 01:05:42,680 Speaker 1: deliver Mann's submersible solutions to the private market. And that 1254 01:05:42,880 --> 01:05:45,720 Speaker 1: is where we're going to end our story for today, 1255 01:05:45,800 --> 01:05:47,840 Speaker 1: because we have now gotten up to the point where 1256 01:05:48,160 --> 01:05:51,920 Speaker 1: the death sub is about to be made. So yeah, 1257 01:05:52,080 --> 01:05:54,640 Speaker 1: how we feel in today, Andrew, how we feel in 1258 01:05:54,680 --> 01:05:55,560 Speaker 1: about this whole tale? 1259 01:05:55,760 --> 01:05:56,120 Speaker 3: So fine? 1260 01:05:56,120 --> 01:05:59,560 Speaker 2: I mean I think it is it's just like exactly 1261 01:05:59,800 --> 01:06:02,600 Speaker 2: the the only reason this guy is an outlier is 1262 01:06:02,600 --> 01:06:06,000 Speaker 2: because most of these like again like tech pro libertarian 1263 01:06:06,040 --> 01:06:10,600 Speaker 2: weirdos like know on some level that what they're saying 1264 01:06:10,640 --> 01:06:14,040 Speaker 2: is bullshit, and like yeah, do not often put their 1265 01:06:14,320 --> 01:06:18,840 Speaker 2: like again, go all in on their like half baked 1266 01:06:19,080 --> 01:06:23,000 Speaker 2: or wrong ideas the same way, Like like the real 1267 01:06:23,040 --> 01:06:24,560 Speaker 2: thing that you're supposed to do as a tech bro 1268 01:06:24,720 --> 01:06:27,320 Speaker 2: is use other people's money to like and use other 1269 01:06:27,360 --> 01:06:30,560 Speaker 2: people's money over and over and over again until you, 1270 01:06:30,560 --> 01:06:33,120 Speaker 2: you know, hit the right lottery ticket and then say 1271 01:06:33,160 --> 01:06:34,120 Speaker 2: it's your money. 1272 01:06:34,040 --> 01:06:36,400 Speaker 1: And take other people like Musk, you know, they just 1273 01:06:36,440 --> 01:06:39,120 Speaker 1: had a fucking rocket blow up, right, Musk wasn't on 1274 01:06:39,440 --> 01:06:42,840 Speaker 1: that thing, you know, like that he doesn't even there's 1275 01:06:42,840 --> 01:06:45,520 Speaker 1: this like we're talking, there's this whole like thing going 1276 01:06:45,560 --> 01:06:48,640 Speaker 1: on right now where like Muskin Zuckerberg are talking about 1277 01:06:48,680 --> 01:06:50,960 Speaker 1: like fighting in a ring, and it's like, that's not 1278 01:06:51,000 --> 01:06:53,840 Speaker 1: gonna I don't think that's really gonna happen. It'd be 1279 01:06:53,840 --> 01:06:56,760 Speaker 1: funny if it did, but I don't think it's really 1280 01:06:56,800 --> 01:06:58,800 Speaker 1: going to happen. Like that's the Those are the kind 1281 01:06:58,840 --> 01:07:01,400 Speaker 1: of things that the tech bros who are a little 1282 01:07:01,440 --> 01:07:05,160 Speaker 1: bit less dumb than Stockton do where they'll talk about 1283 01:07:05,200 --> 01:07:07,640 Speaker 1: like doing bold and crazy shit, But if there's actually 1284 01:07:07,680 --> 01:07:11,720 Speaker 1: any risk in it, they don't because they they don't 1285 01:07:11,760 --> 01:07:15,800 Speaker 1: want to die, you know. Yeah, we're getting hurt or embarrassed, 1286 01:07:16,000 --> 01:07:16,200 Speaker 1: you know. 1287 01:07:16,320 --> 01:07:20,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, And on some level I think they like, yes, 1288 01:07:20,560 --> 01:07:23,440 Speaker 2: they are over over over over confident, but again the 1289 01:07:23,480 --> 01:07:27,560 Speaker 2: grift is to be overcught to like overconfident with someone 1290 01:07:27,560 --> 01:07:32,000 Speaker 2: else's resources whatever. That yes, yes, and like him not 1291 01:07:32,160 --> 01:07:35,760 Speaker 2: understanding that is the fundamental Like he's the dumb rich 1292 01:07:35,840 --> 01:07:39,240 Speaker 2: boy that like these guys exploit. 1293 01:07:40,040 --> 01:07:44,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, And it's like to a degree, I don't know, 1294 01:07:44,120 --> 01:07:46,960 Speaker 1: maybe you could say that makes Stockton slightly more in 1295 01:07:47,040 --> 01:07:51,120 Speaker 1: some ways more respectable because one thing you can't say 1296 01:07:51,160 --> 01:07:53,400 Speaker 1: about him, like he did put his money where his 1297 01:07:53,400 --> 01:07:56,960 Speaker 1: mouth was, you know that that is really undeniable. I 1298 01:07:57,000 --> 01:07:59,520 Speaker 1: think that's because he was just even more unhinged than 1299 01:07:59,560 --> 01:08:01,920 Speaker 1: a lot of the people, maybe because he grew up 1300 01:08:02,000 --> 01:08:05,080 Speaker 1: even richer than them, Like he's not as rich as 1301 01:08:05,160 --> 01:08:10,200 Speaker 1: like Bezos or Branson or Musk, now, but I think 1302 01:08:10,200 --> 01:08:13,440 Speaker 1: he was as ex gunned. He had money. Yeah, so 1303 01:08:13,560 --> 01:08:16,839 Speaker 1: maybe he just like never had any kind of grounding 1304 01:08:16,880 --> 01:08:19,880 Speaker 1: as a person. I don't know, though, I think it's. 1305 01:08:19,720 --> 01:08:23,599 Speaker 2: Pretty pretty clear there's a level of money that completely 1306 01:08:23,720 --> 01:08:24,439 Speaker 2: rots your brain. 1307 01:08:24,920 --> 01:08:29,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, this guy had it for sure. Yeah, no denying that. 1308 01:08:32,400 --> 01:08:34,320 Speaker 1: So Andrew, you got anything to plug? 1309 01:08:34,720 --> 01:08:38,679 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, you knows. As I'm on strike. My podcast, 1310 01:08:38,760 --> 01:08:39,679 Speaker 3: Yo Is This Racist? 1311 01:08:39,720 --> 01:08:41,760 Speaker 2: Is continuing, but we also have a premium show you 1312 01:08:41,760 --> 01:08:46,000 Speaker 2: can subscribe to at suboptimalpods dot com. We just did 1313 01:08:46,040 --> 01:08:48,719 Speaker 2: a very fun watch along of Big Trouble in Little 1314 01:08:48,800 --> 01:08:52,560 Speaker 2: China where I get dogged on relentlessly. So if you 1315 01:08:52,680 --> 01:08:56,760 Speaker 2: found me irritating, I believe eight bucks a month and 1316 01:08:56,880 --> 01:08:58,160 Speaker 2: you have access to this thing. 1317 01:08:58,439 --> 01:09:02,559 Speaker 1: Hell yeah, hell yeah, so yeah, Yo is This Racist? 1318 01:09:03,080 --> 01:09:06,600 Speaker 1: Check it out? And uh yeah, check out. You know, 1319 01:09:08,080 --> 01:09:11,120 Speaker 1: threaten your television with a lighter. Let it know you 1320 01:09:11,160 --> 01:09:13,840 Speaker 1: have the ability to take it out. If this strike 1321 01:09:13,920 --> 01:09:17,120 Speaker 1: doesn't be right, don't do anything yet, but yeah, be vigilant, 1322 01:09:17,160 --> 01:09:20,240 Speaker 1: be ready and subscribe to cooler Zone Media if you 1323 01:09:20,360 --> 01:09:22,479 Speaker 1: like this podcast, but you're like, I don't want any 1324 01:09:22,560 --> 01:09:25,639 Speaker 1: more ads in my life for Apple Android. We'll figure 1325 01:09:25,640 --> 01:09:27,559 Speaker 1: that out. We're working on it. Sophe is working on it. 1326 01:09:27,600 --> 01:09:28,599 Speaker 1: I'm not doing any work. 1327 01:09:30,120 --> 01:09:32,840 Speaker 4: Behind the Bastards is a production of cool Zone Media. 1328 01:09:33,200 --> 01:09:36,480 Speaker 4: For more from cool Zone Media, visit our website Coolzonemedia 1329 01:09:36,640 --> 01:09:39,880 Speaker 4: dot com. Or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, 1330 01:09:39,960 --> 01:09:42,280 Speaker 4: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.