WEBVTT - Iran Contra: Introduction

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<v Speaker 1>Pushkin. Hey everyone, it's Leon Nafok. Before we get into

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<v Speaker 1>the show, I wanted to say a few introductory words

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<v Speaker 1>about the Iran Contra scandal and about this season of Fiasco,

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<v Speaker 1>which originally came out five years ago. It was February

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<v Speaker 1>of twenty twenty, the final year of the first Trump administration.

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<v Speaker 1>It was also right before COVID hit, and once it did,

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<v Speaker 1>I remember thinking that the events of Iran Contra felt

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<v Speaker 1>a little remote the Cold War, Ronald Reagan, the Ayatola

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<v Speaker 1>Homani in the midst of a pandemic. It felt like

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<v Speaker 1>a dispatch from a different universe, and it just didn't

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<v Speaker 1>hit the same as say, a podcast about Watergate released

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<v Speaker 1>of the height of the Mower investigation. I hadn't read

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<v Speaker 1>listen to this season since we turned it in, and

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<v Speaker 1>when I started working with Pushkin on this new edition,

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<v Speaker 1>I was a little nervous to revisit it. But then

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<v Speaker 1>I did, and to my surprise, what I heard made

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<v Speaker 1>so much more sense to me in twenty twenty five

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<v Speaker 1>than it did the first time around. Now, if you've

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<v Speaker 1>listened to any of my other history podcasts, you know

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<v Speaker 1>I don't like to lay it on super thick when

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<v Speaker 1>it comes to pointing out the echoes between then and now.

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<v Speaker 1>It's usually unnecessary, at least if you're doing it right.

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<v Speaker 1>But after going back and listening to these eight episodes

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<v Speaker 1>earlier this year, I was moved to try and sound

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<v Speaker 1>out what it is that makes this story feel so

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<v Speaker 1>deeply familiar in this moment. One thing is that the

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<v Speaker 1>events that make up Iran Contra moved both incredibly fast

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<v Speaker 1>and slow. The whole thing unfolded over the course of

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<v Speaker 1>more than a decade. It wasn't fully put to bed

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<v Speaker 1>until nineteen ninety three, a long time, but I think

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<v Speaker 1>you'll agree as you make your way through this season

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<v Speaker 1>that the daisy chain of cause and effect that got

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<v Speaker 1>the Reagan administration from point A to point B involved

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of quick cuts. It was one thing after another.

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<v Speaker 1>It was hard to keep up. Even people who lived

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<v Speaker 1>through it are often fuzzy on the details. If you're

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<v Speaker 1>one of those people, or if you're younger and you've

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<v Speaker 1>heard of Iran Contra but you've never really known who

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<v Speaker 1>did what and why, this is the podcast for you.

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<v Speaker 1>At the same time, I think there's a lot here

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<v Speaker 1>for the history junkies too, in part because we interviewed

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<v Speaker 1>so many of the actual people who hatched the Iran

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<v Speaker 1>Contra plot and carried it out. John Poindexter, Bud McFarlane,

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<v Speaker 1>Richard Secord, George Schultz, all of whom except Poindexter died

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<v Speaker 1>in the years since we spoke to them. All those

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<v Speaker 1>names will mean something to you soon if they don't already.

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<v Speaker 1>And I will warn you there are a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>names in this one, and a lot of different countries

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<v Speaker 1>and several government agencies with three letter acronyms. I'll just

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<v Speaker 1>say you don't have to remember every name. There's no

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<v Speaker 1>other way to put this as a story. Iran Contra

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<v Speaker 1>is kind of a bitch. In fact, we made a

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<v Speaker 1>whole episode, it's the one called Ollywood, about the rush

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<v Speaker 1>to try and make a movie out of the scandal

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<v Speaker 1>after it first broke. The problem was no one could

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<v Speaker 1>really explain the scandal simply enough for audiences to follow it,

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<v Speaker 1>which is why there was no all the President's men

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<v Speaker 1>about Iran Contra. I don't mind telling you someone tried

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<v Speaker 1>to make a TV show out of this podcast, but

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<v Speaker 1>spoiler alert, it didn't make it past a couple pilot scripts.

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<v Speaker 1>Iran Contra was a relay race of ideas and money

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<v Speaker 1>turning into action at the hands of so many different

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<v Speaker 1>government officials, so many middlemen, so many random private citizens.

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<v Speaker 1>It's that last category of characters that really jumped out

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<v Speaker 1>at me when I re listened to this show. You

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<v Speaker 1>meet one right off the bat in episode one, Kevin,

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<v Speaker 1>a department store maintenance guy from Long Island who got

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<v Speaker 1>politically activated by the Cold War and kind of enlisted

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<v Speaker 1>himself along with a bunch of friends in the cause

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<v Speaker 1>of anti communism. Kevin Katke was just a guy that

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<v Speaker 1>he wanted to defend America and to be involved in

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<v Speaker 1>its foreign policy. And what's crazy is he got pretty far. Again.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't want to lay it on too thick, but

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<v Speaker 1>we're living through a time now when extremely motivated, politically

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<v Speaker 1>engaged eccentrics have had amazing success penetrating the halls of power.

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<v Speaker 1>I remember when this season first came out, even before COVID,

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<v Speaker 1>we struggled a little bit to articulate what it told

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<v Speaker 1>us about the moment we were living through. We thought

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<v Speaker 1>maybe it was an interesting corollary to Trump's Ukraine scandal

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<v Speaker 1>because they both involved let's say, foreign policy shenanigans and

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<v Speaker 1>the sale of weapons. But five years later we are

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<v Speaker 1>in a different moment. That Ukraine Scane, even though it

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<v Speaker 1>got Trump impeached, feels almost quaint. I think you'll agree

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<v Speaker 1>that Iran Contra doesn't. As you hear, the stakes were

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<v Speaker 1>unmistakably high, and the decisions being made had consequences around

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<v Speaker 1>the world more than anything. That's what makes Iran Contra

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<v Speaker 1>feel particularly resonant in twenty twenty five. It's a story

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<v Speaker 1>about a bunch of guys moving the levers of history

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<v Speaker 1>in a way that seems like it really shouldn't be allowed,

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<v Speaker 1>but apparently it is. Binge the entire season of Fiasco

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