1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,680 Speaker 1: From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies. History is 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:09,080 Speaker 1: riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,119 Speaker 1: learn the stuff they don't want you to know. A 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Welcome back 5 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: to the show. My name is Matt. They call me Ben. 6 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,319 Speaker 1: We are joined as always with our super producer Paul, 7 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:34,920 Speaker 1: Mission controlled decond. Most importantly, you are you. You are here, 8 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 1: and that makes this stuff they don't want you to know. 9 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 1: I got a confession for you, Matt. I did my 10 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 1: quarterly dive into our podcast reviews about every three months. 11 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:53,160 Speaker 1: I do that. I notice your Twitter request for reviews, Yeah, 12 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: and follow me on Twitter. Yeah yeah, I just saw 13 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 1: it through their conspiracy stuff. Oh yeah, yeah yeah. I 14 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 1: wanted to thank everybody who took the time to make 15 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: to write a review, whether whether good or bad or 16 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 1: simply middling. We really do appreciate it, and shout out 17 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: to our long time listeners, many of whom I recognize 18 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: just based on the way you talk in the review. 19 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: Especially Uh. There were a couple of great ones where 20 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:25,760 Speaker 1: someone said, Hey, I hope this gets you guys one 21 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 1: step further away from being fired, and I thought, wow, 22 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: you have been listening a long time. People have great 23 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: stuff to say about you, Matt, and about NOL and 24 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: about you as well, Paul Mission Control decands. So thanks 25 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: to everybody sincerely who checked in and and gave us 26 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: a rating, even the people who, for one reason or 27 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: another gave us one star because our the facts that 28 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: we presented about a specific issue did not jibe with 29 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: their opinions. Thank you for taking the time. It just 30 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: feels like two dudes at a bar picking it one star. 31 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: That sounds terrible? Did you full of up? Are you 32 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: reading what? Yeah? No, seriously, I mean without spending too 33 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: much time on it. It's uh. We're very fortunate for 34 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: every listener, and we're grateful for your time. I have 35 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:22,360 Speaker 1: to ask, and this is something that you and I 36 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: have talked about. I think a little bit before off air. 37 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 1: I have to ask, Matt, are you, in your personal 38 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: life a fan of maps, cartography stuff like that? Yeah? 39 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: I mean my wall is just covered with maps of 40 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 1: video game worlds. Really yeah, But but you know, in 41 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,080 Speaker 1: the real world it's for some reason not as appealing 42 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:46,920 Speaker 1: to me, though I do love knowing, let's say, within 43 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: the world of sky Rim, like where particular towns are 44 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: with relation to the Giant Mountain. This is so ridiculous. 45 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: I've been playing. I'm at the level of Skyrim on 46 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: my replay where I am just trying to find every location. 47 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, no, I you have to do that. Have 48 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: you found every location? I don't know if I have 49 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 1: every so often, like the numbers don't jive up yet. Yeah, 50 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,919 Speaker 1: I remember taking that. It's not an achievement. What is 51 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: it called the skill or whatever at some point where 52 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,920 Speaker 1: it reveals all locations on the map to you. That 53 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: was one of my first playthroughs, though in Skyram. I 54 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: think it is Skyra. Maybe it's a different one. I 55 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: don't know. I've played so many at this point. Yeah, yeah, 56 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: I don't know if it's on Skyrim, but if it is, 57 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: I am excited. I'm also Fallout. That's a Fallout. That's 58 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: a Fallout thing, but still Bethesda, right, Uh yeah, I 59 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: like you. I'm a fan of maps, a fan of cartography, 60 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: and I think a lot of our fellow listeners are 61 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: as well. I'm one of those people who has you know, 62 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: at my house, I have a world map where I 63 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,119 Speaker 1: can put the little pins in. Shout out to Mitch 64 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: Hedberg for his brilliant world map joke, which I will 65 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: not in personally here. I'm also a fan of very 66 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 1: old maps. I have prints of the Peri Rees map 67 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: that you and I covered in a previous episode. And 68 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: I have a collection of out of date globes which 69 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 1: are also very interesting. Once you get to uh, the 70 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: Middle East, once you get to Russia, the Balkan areas 71 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: and so on. You you are a fascinating person. Ben, 72 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: What do you mean, well, we have some of those uh, 73 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 1: some of those globes still here in the office today. Uh. 74 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: It's it's an interesting way to look at the story 75 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 1: of humanity. And regardless of what kind of trends we 76 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 1: see in maps and own globes over time, we do 77 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: see one specific trend which has never been violated, as 78 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: never abated. It is the trend of our species to 79 00:04:53,560 --> 00:05:00,080 Speaker 1: construct increasingly larger, debt, more dense urban areas. As we 80 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:07,120 Speaker 1: record today's episode, humanity is officially an urban species, right, Yeah, 81 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:10,480 Speaker 1: we are. We We moved towards those places, even if 82 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: it's on the outskirts, in the suburban areas as. Often 83 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: more than four billion people uh lived in these things 84 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: that we would consider to be urban areas. And there 85 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 1: are only three point four billion people living in what 86 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:27,159 Speaker 1: we would consider to be rural areas outside of these 87 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:32,239 Speaker 1: bigger established places. Oh and we should, uh, we should 88 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: retroactively say this is the here are the facts part 89 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:40,559 Speaker 1: of the show. Everything that you're hearing for this part 90 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:44,159 Speaker 1: of for this act of today's episode is indeed true. 91 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:48,360 Speaker 1: You're absolutely right, Matt, as there are already more people 92 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: living in cities than there were in rural areas. This 93 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:56,679 Speaker 1: explosive migrational trend is set to continue by twenty fifty, 94 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 1: assuming we don't blow ourselves up or encounter like a pandemic, right, 95 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: assuming that we don't find ourselves in the midst of 96 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: a catastrophic water war. We will. But well, but let's 97 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: let's pretend like, okay, let's be let's be a little 98 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:19,720 Speaker 1: bit naive about it, so everything goes okay until if 99 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:23,239 Speaker 1: everything goes more or less all right, then by twenty fifty, 100 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,679 Speaker 1: two thirds of our species will live in urban areas, 101 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:31,320 Speaker 1: technically about sixty percent. So, whether you love them or 102 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,120 Speaker 1: whether you hate them, it seems cities are set to 103 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: become one of humanity's most popular inventions. And it's interesting 104 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:41,800 Speaker 1: to think of a city as an invention. We we 105 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:47,039 Speaker 1: don't because it's so normalized, it's so ancient. City is 106 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:52,160 Speaker 1: now just a place. But at some point people invented it, 107 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:56,080 Speaker 1: you know what I mean. Yeah, the concept of having 108 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:01,160 Speaker 1: one centralized area where people can co exist generally with 109 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:05,920 Speaker 1: you know, some kind of castle or stronghold. There's something 110 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 1: to protect near the center, right, or at least somewhere 111 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: strategically within that place, and then the homes and everything 112 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: in the places of business all shoot up around it, right, yeah, exactly. 113 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 1: And this this is uh, this is an interesting distinction too, 114 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: because what is the difference between you know, uh, an 115 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 1: agglomeration of longhouses and a town or a town and 116 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: a village or a village and the course it's bigcausin 117 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: the city, regardless of how you want to classify city 118 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: or an urban area, and there are a couple of 119 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: different definitions out there. We do have enough of a 120 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: grasp on this phenomenon that we can describe it on 121 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: a global scale. Currently, the North American continent is the 122 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:58,160 Speaker 1: most industrialized out of all the continents. As of eighteen, 123 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: about eighty two cent of this continence population lives in 124 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: an urbanized area. A d two percent. So if you 125 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 1: are listening to this show and you happen to not 126 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 1: be living in one of those dense agglomerations, and congratulations, 127 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: because you are an increasingly rare person generally speaking on 128 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: this continent. Yeah. Well, and then if let's say you're 129 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: living in Latin America or somewhere in the Caribbean, you 130 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: are not far behind, only one percent less at uh. 131 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 1: People within those populations live in something you know called 132 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 1: an urban area. And you know what makes sense, interestingly 133 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 1: enough in in places in the Caribbean, because if you 134 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: think of the amount of land mass that you actually 135 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:56,319 Speaker 1: have their UM, you can imagine how people would would 136 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: just end up moving towards some of the more populated areas. 137 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:02,000 Speaker 1: That's a really good point. And for especially for the 138 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 1: types of businesses that exists in a lot of in 139 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: a lot of those areas, um you need other people 140 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: to be around to sell things too. Yeah, that's a 141 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 1: really good point. And uh, surprisingly, only about seventy percent 142 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 1: of Europeans can say the same, which shocked me because 143 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: the you know, the rise of industry began earlier in 144 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:29,199 Speaker 1: Europe than it did in the US. It's just surprising 145 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 1: the only sevent I guess because of the circumstances of 146 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 1: my travels in Europe, I've always seen it as a 147 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:42,079 Speaker 1: place with little wilderness, and I know that's not true, 148 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: especially the further east you go. Yeah, well, you know, 149 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 1: all of this is it's not discounting, but it's not 150 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:53,960 Speaker 1: taking into account micro trends that occur, you know, within 151 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: like one city, some people migrating away from that city, 152 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:01,439 Speaker 1: or more people um than then like for a period 153 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 1: of time and then getting an injection. I'm thinking of 154 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 1: a place like Detroit exactly, the depopulation of Detroit. Yeah, 155 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 1: but then then kind of a repopulation in certain areas 156 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:13,200 Speaker 1: of Detroit, and then as that's gonna you know, hopefully 157 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: flourish in the coming decades. Yeah, here's hoping. I would 158 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 1: I would love to see the rise of Detroit, you know, 159 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 1: a reboot of the city. But people will also tell 160 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 1: you that rumors of Detroit's demise have been greatly exaggerated, 161 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: you know, sometimes the terrible things we see on the 162 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: news or just purposely made to be terrible things, because 163 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 1: that's what keeps people's attention. Right. Yeah, I don't have 164 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:43,559 Speaker 1: much to add on that, agreed. I feel like we're 165 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:47,079 Speaker 1: on the same page with that one. But we may 166 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:50,160 Speaker 1: also surprise you go into your earlier statement, Matt, it 167 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:52,680 Speaker 1: may surprise some of our listeners to know that about 168 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:57,120 Speaker 1: sixty eight percent of Oceanica's population is urbanized. And there, 169 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,319 Speaker 1: you know, I think, I think back to what you're 170 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 1: saying about the Caribbean archipelagoes in the islands. You know, 171 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: it's a matter of scarcity of land in Oceania at 172 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:12,200 Speaker 1: least yea, and yeah, the the natural wonders of a 173 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:14,240 Speaker 1: lot of those places you want to protect as well, 174 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:17,280 Speaker 1: So you end up just kind of squashing together in 175 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:21,439 Speaker 1: one major area that makes sense. And now, of course, 176 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:27,160 Speaker 1: for our finale in this in this list, we have 177 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:32,640 Speaker 1: to mention the two biggest populated continents, Asia and Africa. 178 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:37,200 Speaker 1: They come in second and last place, respectively. Around half 179 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:41,720 Speaker 1: of Asia's population lives in cities. Forty three percent of 180 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:45,960 Speaker 1: Africa's population live in urban areas. And as you know, 181 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:50,640 Speaker 1: we like to point out, both Asia and Africa are huge, 182 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 1: huge places filled with this incredible variety of ethnicity, of community, 183 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 1: of culture, or it's beyond apples and oranges, you know 184 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: what I mean. So these these numbers only count as 185 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: a cohesive thing. If we're looking at the metric of 186 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:15,640 Speaker 1: just people on a continent, Yeah, it's about seventeen U 187 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:20,840 Speaker 1: full fruit stands worth, right per per continent. Yeah, Matt 188 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 1: did the math on this, the fruit math. So obviously 189 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:30,200 Speaker 1: this is not a static number. And it shouldn't surprise 190 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:32,840 Speaker 1: anybody to learn that those last two continents we named 191 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: Asia and Africa are also projected to experience the largest 192 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 1: growth in urbanization as we approach twenty fifty. And this 193 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:47,319 Speaker 1: leads us, This leads us back to you, our hypothetical 194 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:50,320 Speaker 1: but hopefully real listener who has grown up in or 195 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,400 Speaker 1: has moved to a rural area. We have to ask 196 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:57,440 Speaker 1: what is the future of these increasingly abandoned rural areas. 197 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,760 Speaker 1: That's a story for another day, but today we're going 198 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 1: to give you this look at cities across the world 199 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,439 Speaker 1: as a way of approaching another question. As we hurtled 200 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: towards the extinction of privacy, the normalization of mass surveillance, 201 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: and a future where opulence may well be defined is 202 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 1: simply having a decent view from your apartment or a 203 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 1: small backyard with a garden. It seems we will soon 204 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: live in a world without strangers a crowded cognitive space 205 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:28,880 Speaker 1: where everything is public, everything is urban, and the maps 206 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: of the future show us small concentrations of humanity, islands 207 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:38,440 Speaker 1: of concrete and steel, separated by vast gulfs of what 208 00:13:38,559 --> 00:13:41,640 Speaker 1: would appear to be nothing to a city dweller. Of course, 209 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 1: will be biodiversity. Hopefully there will be agriculture things of 210 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:48,240 Speaker 1: that nature. Yeah, it's gonna be wastes of fire and 211 00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:54,840 Speaker 1: acid water, right, I'm digging it right, But the domes 212 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:58,160 Speaker 1: over the cities will protect us, at least temporarily. All 213 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: praised the dome. Yeah, yeah. Um. Well, here's the thing, though, 214 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,319 Speaker 1: there are all those maps that were like talking about 215 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:12,440 Speaker 1: that we're thinking about in the future. They're gonna have 216 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:16,079 Speaker 1: the big places. You know, you're gonna your your London's 217 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:18,840 Speaker 1: are still going to be on there. Uh you know 218 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 1: your you know for sure your Mumbai's, all all your 219 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 1: different places that are massive known entities will be there. 220 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 1: But there's one thing that probably won't be on your 221 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 1: on your maps then even twenty five years, a thousand 222 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:41,800 Speaker 1: years in the future, well maybe in a thousand years, 223 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:45,680 Speaker 1: but in the future, there are still going to be 224 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 1: places that will never make it to a map. Places 225 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: that would be considered an urban area, a city even, 226 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,600 Speaker 1: but won't show up. That's right, there's a bit of 227 00:14:56,640 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 1: a bait and switch. We're not talking about normal cities. 228 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: What are we talking about. We'll tell you after a 229 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:14,400 Speaker 1: word from our sponsor. Here's where it gets crazy. That's correct, 230 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 1: As conspiratorial as it may sound, the world is full 231 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 1: of secret cities, and attempting to enter these cities may 232 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 1: cost you your life. Picture this. There are entire cities, 233 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:33,560 Speaker 1: like metropolis level cities that are not villages. They're not 234 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: puttering communes where everybody follows one person who had some 235 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: sort of purported spiritual experience. We're talking about large collections 236 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:47,520 Speaker 1: of multiple story buildings, huge buildings that are just somewhere 237 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:50,720 Speaker 1: in the middle of nowhere, with populations of hundreds of 238 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:54,880 Speaker 1: thousands of people. In some cases, these are cities that 239 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:58,840 Speaker 1: do not officially exist in one capacity or another. And 240 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 1: what's more, we've been building these cities for longer than 241 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,800 Speaker 1: you might want to think. Some cities started off as secrets, 242 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:10,720 Speaker 1: only to be classified later. Others remain close to the 243 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,400 Speaker 1: majority of humanity as we record today. Let's let's start 244 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:19,040 Speaker 1: with a safe kind of um bucolic historic example. Uh, 245 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:22,080 Speaker 1: something relatively innocuous nowadays, and it will be close to 246 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:24,960 Speaker 1: home for a lot of our fellow listeners. That is 247 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:29,560 Speaker 1: a little place called oak Ridge, Tennessee. Oh yes, oak 248 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 1: Ridge that has connections to New York in some weird way. 249 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:37,800 Speaker 1: We'll get to that in a moment um. So, about 250 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: seventy five years ago, the government in these here United States, 251 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:47,119 Speaker 1: they took possession of around sixty thousand acres in East Tennessee. 252 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,360 Speaker 1: Now officially this occurred on September nineteenth, nineteen forty two. 253 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: There was a kernel of air Leslie Groves. This guy 254 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:57,840 Speaker 1: just kind of looked at the map, maybe took it, 255 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:00,720 Speaker 1: had some people take a trip out, and it said, yeah, 256 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 1: this is it, this is what we want. And there 257 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:08,360 Speaker 1: wasn't anything you know, particularly extraordinary about this area, this 258 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:12,359 Speaker 1: huge swath of land. Um even today, you know, if 259 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 1: you're looking back you're reading about this, historians try and 260 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:19,520 Speaker 1: figure out exactly like what what this guy saw, but 261 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:24,400 Speaker 1: they're still unsure. Yeah, they can make a couple of guesses. 262 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:29,640 Speaker 1: We know that this site and what would become Oakridge, Tennessee, 263 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:32,200 Speaker 1: was chosen out of a short list of several other 264 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: sites across the contiguous US. Our guesses tend to be 265 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: things like, well, we needed maybe a source of water, 266 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:45,399 Speaker 1: We needed a rural area that was removed from the 267 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:48,320 Speaker 1: hustle and bustle of a city. Because at the time, 268 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 1: if you wanted something spooky done, and you wanted something 269 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:56,399 Speaker 1: done in secret, you could just go to the great 270 00:17:56,480 --> 00:18:00,920 Speaker 1: wilds of the United States. But you still needed to 271 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:04,480 Speaker 1: to have access to infrastructure and shipping if you needed 272 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,240 Speaker 1: it right, right, so you would want to be able 273 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 1: to contact the rest of the world when necessary. Anyhow, 274 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 1: whatever the logic was, that's that's what General Groves chose. 275 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:21,919 Speaker 1: Sixty thousand acres there in East Tennessee. The area started 276 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 1: out with a few different names and the relatively sparse 277 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 1: official documentation. Sometimes it was called Site X, great name 278 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 1: for a town. Other times it was referred to as 279 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 1: Clinton Engineering Works. That is, as far as we can find, 280 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 1: not a reference to the uh later Clinton political dynasty. Yeah, 281 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:43,439 Speaker 1: it is like a like a company name that just 282 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:48,080 Speaker 1: stood for a location. Yeah, there was a town named 283 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 1: Clinton nearby near Knoxville, Tennessee, and that's what they were 284 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 1: named at naming this thing after. But eventually it became 285 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:58,199 Speaker 1: oak Rich and while the name of this place may 286 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:02,520 Speaker 1: have undergone some iteration, its purpose was always crystal clear 287 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 1: to those in the know. You see, Colonel Grooves was 288 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 1: overseeing what we call the Manhattan Project today, that's the 289 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,439 Speaker 1: New York connect right, and uh. And the town that 290 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:17,400 Speaker 1: would become oak Ridge was built for the express purpose 291 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: of helping Uncle Sam build the first atomic bomb. Oh yeah, 292 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:25,959 Speaker 1: And we have some information here coming from the Center 293 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:30,320 Speaker 1: for Oak Ridge Oral History residents there on the land 294 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:32,760 Speaker 1: of people who actually lived in Oak Ridge. A lot 295 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,840 Speaker 1: of the families lived in the area really on just 296 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:39,600 Speaker 1: in poverty or on the brink of poverty for generations. 297 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:44,320 Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, when this land was purchased, 298 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:47,919 Speaker 1: all of them we're just kicked out just by you 299 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:51,159 Speaker 1: have to leave. The government is moving in apologies, but 300 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:56,080 Speaker 1: not really just get out. And uh. The the Feds 301 00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: came through the federal government and they condemned the land 302 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 1: and they pay the residents like really nothing, just to 303 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,720 Speaker 1: get them the heck out of there as quickly as possible. Right. 304 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,800 Speaker 1: According to the New Hope Center, one resident at the 305 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:12,320 Speaker 1: time received nine hundred dollars for forty acres of land. 306 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:15,119 Speaker 1: That's about twenty two dollars and fifty cents per acre. 307 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:18,520 Speaker 1: If that's crazy. If we ad just for inflation, that's 308 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:23,040 Speaker 1: about fourteen thousand, a hundred and seventy seven dollars total, oh, 309 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:25,800 Speaker 1: which works out to about three d fifty four dollars 310 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:28,879 Speaker 1: and forty three cents breaker today. Talk about a steal, 311 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:33,760 Speaker 1: you know what I mean. So let's keep the timeline 312 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,840 Speaker 1: here too. If you look into the Center for Oakridge 313 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,800 Speaker 1: Oral History, you'll see stories from people recalling that as children, 314 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 1: the principal called everybody into the school and told them 315 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:48,959 Speaker 1: they had received a special report or special contact from 316 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:52,480 Speaker 1: the federal government. It was September ninety two. They all 317 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:56,440 Speaker 1: had to be out by December two. Uproot your entire 318 00:20:56,520 --> 00:21:00,200 Speaker 1: life right, and the logic here is solid and did 319 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:04,159 Speaker 1: is also ruthless. It's very important to again emphasized this 320 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 1: happened in the United States not very long ago. Yeah, 321 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,440 Speaker 1: you have to imagine what the residents were going through, 322 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:15,640 Speaker 1: what their lives were like, in order to really understand right. First, 323 00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:20,040 Speaker 1: a lot of the rural residents would doubtlessly accept this 324 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:23,639 Speaker 1: lump sum of cash. It's a windfall, you know, it 325 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: could literally be a life changing amount of scratch for 326 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:31,080 Speaker 1: a population where running water and indoor plumbing were often 327 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:35,119 Speaker 1: a pipe dream. Terrible choice awards on the level of 328 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,600 Speaker 1: science fiction. But there's a there's a second, more disturbing 329 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:42,400 Speaker 1: fact that played too well. Yeah, a lot of the 330 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:48,719 Speaker 1: folks living around there didn't have um the education, let alone, 331 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 1: you know, someone with enough money to come through and 332 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 1: mount any kind of legal protest or action against what 333 00:21:56,119 --> 00:21:59,280 Speaker 1: the federal government was doing to them. And it was 334 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,280 Speaker 1: very clear that no matter what, the federal government was 335 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 1: moving in and you could either essentially take the money 336 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,840 Speaker 1: or just leave right, You're gonna take the money leave 337 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:13,640 Speaker 1: or you're just gonna leave right. They you know, this 338 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:17,600 Speaker 1: is this is kind of an eminent domain thing, too right. 339 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 1: They could say for the greater good, you have to 340 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:23,399 Speaker 1: leave this place. We'll give you a little bit of money. 341 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,360 Speaker 1: You have to leave this place. And being impoverished, they 342 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:30,680 Speaker 1: simply do not have the recourse to legal action, even 343 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:33,920 Speaker 1: if they could find someone who would represent them. It 344 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:37,880 Speaker 1: is all happening, by the way, under strict secrecy, so 345 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: there's not going to be any kind of public trial. 346 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:46,480 Speaker 1: It will get quashed. Just a few years later, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 347 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:51,119 Speaker 1: has seventy five thousand people living and working in the area. 348 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:54,480 Speaker 1: Very few of those seventy thousand people knew the ultimate 349 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 1: purpose of the secret city. Many had no idea what 350 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,399 Speaker 1: they were working on until the Nineted States dropped the 351 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:06,000 Speaker 1: first atomic bomb on Japan and the local paper said, 352 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:11,440 Speaker 1: you know, oak Ridge delivers something to the Japanese. Yeah, 353 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: exactly what I've just mentioning there that seventy five thou 354 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,359 Speaker 1: people lived and lived in the area. It's not you know, 355 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:20,440 Speaker 1: we were talking about cities. We set this whole episode 356 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,400 Speaker 1: up talking about cities. Oak Ridge was not like one 357 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:26,520 Speaker 1: big facility where everyone went to work every day and 358 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: then everybody just left the area. They built a city. Yeah, yes, schools, 359 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 1: post office, shops, movie theater and some of the people 360 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:41,439 Speaker 1: who were originally kicked out by the FEDS managed to 361 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:45,280 Speaker 1: get jobs later at oak Ridge, and they didn't know 362 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:48,199 Speaker 1: what they were doing. They did not know that they 363 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:52,440 Speaker 1: were processing and enriching uranium. Today, if you wish, you 364 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:56,760 Speaker 1: can visit oak Ridge. It's still processes uranium today. And 365 00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 1: while this is one of the more popular examples of 366 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 1: his secret city, it is far from the only case 367 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:06,440 Speaker 1: of one. There are more closed cities and they remain 368 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:10,680 Speaker 1: closed today will give an honorable mention to Mercury, Nevada, 369 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:14,360 Speaker 1: which spoiler alert, I'd like to save for another episode. Well, 370 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:18,080 Speaker 1: then we won't say anything else about it. Thank you 371 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:23,159 Speaker 1: for you know, glancing across this episode, Mercury, Nevada. We 372 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,159 Speaker 1: look forward to seeing you again soon. Radioactive ships in 373 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:30,159 Speaker 1: the night. Well, you know we're we're mentioning, yes, but 374 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:33,920 Speaker 1: we're talking about Oakridge and just it had a hand 375 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:36,240 Speaker 1: in the Manhattan Project. And I don't know if I 376 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:38,199 Speaker 1: want to spoil too much. We talked we made an 377 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:41,679 Speaker 1: episode on the Manhattan Project not too long ago, I believe, 378 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,760 Speaker 1: didn't we Maybe we didn't. Maybe it's just that other 379 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:49,520 Speaker 1: secret project we're working on. Yeah, or maybe we're both 380 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:56,640 Speaker 1: remembering forward again. I hate um. Oh, it's interesting that 381 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:01,640 Speaker 1: we're hitting Oakridge, Tennessee in the United Dates. Um, kind 382 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:05,480 Speaker 1: of in the heartland where the Manhattan Project was being 383 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:09,160 Speaker 1: carried out, where nuclear testing in the first atomic bombs 384 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:13,120 Speaker 1: were developed. Uh, in the United States, that we're hitting 385 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:16,280 Speaker 1: that first. Knowing where we're going in this episode, that's right, 386 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:20,080 Speaker 1: Where are we going? Indeed, where in the world will 387 00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 1: we find our next forbidden city? Will tell you after 388 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:33,439 Speaker 1: a word from our sponsor. In what should not be 389 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:37,600 Speaker 1: a stunning plot twist to anybody was listened to this 390 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:40,840 Speaker 1: show in the past, we are of course headed to Russia, 391 00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:46,200 Speaker 1: Soviet Russia. Yes, like the US, the Soviet Union was 392 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:50,240 Speaker 1: also scrambling to event new terrifying weapons of war, and 393 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:54,000 Speaker 1: like the US, they decided secret cities were the best 394 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: way to carry out their work. So there were several 395 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:05,479 Speaker 1: of actually numerous conspiratorial communities, communities that were off the books, 396 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:10,639 Speaker 1: forbidden secret. A little bit of the you know what 397 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:13,040 Speaker 1: would be considered the iron dome, the iron veil that 398 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:18,040 Speaker 1: keeps information from leaking out, was was lifted. When these 399 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:20,560 Speaker 1: places were officially called they get they were given a 400 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:26,480 Speaker 1: name Closed Administrative Territorial Entities UM, and that translates to 401 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:28,800 Speaker 1: if you if you take the crillic you translated, it's 402 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:33,480 Speaker 1: z A t O or ze to. I was in 403 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:36,080 Speaker 1: my hand for some reason ast but I think it's 404 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:39,639 Speaker 1: just because it seems like a cool name for someone 405 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:43,159 Speaker 1: to have. Is my friend. It's very similar to a 406 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:47,959 Speaker 1: kittie cat in Spanish. Yeah, that's I don't know, that's 407 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:55,360 Speaker 1: that's where my head goes. But before then, before. If 408 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:59,840 Speaker 1: you look at any government census, both in the so 409 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:03,000 Speaker 1: Viet Union and Russia proper and different members of the 410 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:07,199 Speaker 1: Soviet Union, you will see that these cities and the 411 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:10,800 Speaker 1: hundreds of thousands of people living and working in them 412 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:15,840 Speaker 1: simply do not exist. Closed cities were not marked on maps, 413 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,280 Speaker 1: and there were no road marks that could lead some 414 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:22,639 Speaker 1: ignorant uh naive traveler to the secret settlement. It was 415 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:26,400 Speaker 1: built such that you couldn't just accidentally be there and say, oh, 416 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,000 Speaker 1: look look at me. Well, especially if you were taking 417 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:32,960 Speaker 1: any kind of public transportation like a train or a 418 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:34,760 Speaker 1: bus or anything like that, you would not be able 419 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 1: to find them. You would have to get in a 420 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:39,879 Speaker 1: vehicle and then like just explore until you got to 421 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:45,439 Speaker 1: the gates where generally they say attention, stay out, like 422 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,240 Speaker 1: you cannot come in here. Um. And and it's crazy 423 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,280 Speaker 1: where you know, we we talked about this, this concept 424 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:55,119 Speaker 1: of the city itself was secret, so it was hidden 425 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:59,359 Speaker 1: away um, which is kind of mind blowing thinking about 426 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:03,120 Speaker 1: large buildings and everything being secret. But then also that 427 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:07,199 Speaker 1: the human beings that occupied the cities were taken, like 428 00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:11,600 Speaker 1: you said, literally taken off of the census and families 429 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:13,119 Speaker 1: like when you have a child and you live in 430 00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:16,479 Speaker 1: one of these places, that child is ostensibly doesn't exist 431 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:20,240 Speaker 1: outside of the books for that closed city, right, exactly, 432 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:22,800 Speaker 1: so strange and you can see that, you can see 433 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:27,400 Speaker 1: the problem here. It's it sets up a slippery slope. 434 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:32,040 Speaker 1: That's similar to, uh, the problem that the government of 435 00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:35,200 Speaker 1: China is having with unregistered births. Right when they had 436 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,840 Speaker 1: the one child policy. What ended up happening because a 437 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 1: lot of parents you know, of course want to have 438 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:45,840 Speaker 1: the children that they were going to have. Uh, there's 439 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:52,520 Speaker 1: there's been this rise of a population of of human beings, 440 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:57,720 Speaker 1: female people in China who are unregistered, so they have 441 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:01,840 Speaker 1: no rights, they have no access to you know, healthcare, education, medicine. 442 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: It's a terrible, terrible situation. It's all because of a 443 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:08,240 Speaker 1: couple of pieces of paper. How often does that happen 444 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:11,160 Speaker 1: with our species? You know, other animals don't do that. 445 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 1: I'm not saying other animals are better than our brand 446 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,840 Speaker 1: of animal, but I don't see, even though nature's brutal, 447 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:21,680 Speaker 1: I don't see a lot of other intelligent creatures, you know, 448 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 1: committing such horrific acts over paperwork. Yeah. Um, we could 449 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:31,920 Speaker 1: really get into this if you want to but that's uh, 450 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:35,320 Speaker 1: that's an intense discussion to have right there. Then, the 451 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 1: just the concept that a small paper that either proves 452 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 1: that you are who you are or from a certain area, 453 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 1: he has life, life or death consequences throughout time. Like 454 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:52,320 Speaker 1: when we did that earlier, we definitely did a video 455 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:56,880 Speaker 1: in this The concept of statelessness, people who do not 456 00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:01,320 Speaker 1: have a country of origin so strange. But in this case, 457 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,240 Speaker 1: the people in these closed cities in the U. S. 458 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:07,880 Speaker 1: S r As will come to find they did not 459 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:12,320 Speaker 1: have a huge problem with living life as ghost people. 460 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:16,120 Speaker 1: According to the bureaucracy and actually according to some reporting 461 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 1: that's come out fairly recently, uh, from and and interviews 462 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:24,600 Speaker 1: from people who have lived inside these places because they 463 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:28,920 Speaker 1: got perks. Yeah, they had a pretty good There's a 464 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:30,960 Speaker 1: documentary we'll talk about a little bit later where you 465 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,480 Speaker 1: can see some of these quotes. And there there are 466 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:38,000 Speaker 1: people who say, we got everything that we wanted for 467 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:40,080 Speaker 1: the rest of our lives for staying here, so of 468 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:42,800 Speaker 1: course we would stay here. Don't screw this up for 469 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:48,200 Speaker 1: us outsiders. Residents of these close cities were given private apartments, 470 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: right and this is during the era of communisms. It's 471 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:53,600 Speaker 1: a big get for them, uh decent healthcare, and they 472 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 1: had jobs for life, They had job security. And at 473 00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:00,200 Speaker 1: a time when the much of the rest of the 474 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 1: USSR was having a difficult time coming by the most 475 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:07,959 Speaker 1: basic of staples, you know what I mean, wheat, milk, eggs, 476 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,960 Speaker 1: stuff like that, residents of these close cities were getting 477 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:14,320 Speaker 1: things that were exotic for the time, like bananas, condensed milk. 478 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:17,160 Speaker 1: They had a lot of meat products. They could eat. Literally, 479 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:22,800 Speaker 1: caviare was available. Literally caviare. Yes, yes, literally caviare, although 480 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:26,120 Speaker 1: you probably would not want to eat the caviare, which 481 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:30,000 Speaker 1: is a spoiler depending on the city. So even today, 482 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:32,840 Speaker 1: here's the thing, even today, most residents of these close 483 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:35,680 Speaker 1: cities consider themselves incredibly fortunate to be living in a 484 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 1: zato area. They're not bothered by the barbed wire fencing 485 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:45,240 Speaker 1: that surrounds them, or the cognitive fencing and bureaucratic fencing 486 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:50,360 Speaker 1: that also surrounds them. They're very mission oriented. Instead of 487 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 1: diving into uh, the numerous the numerous Cold War era 488 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,440 Speaker 1: close cities that we know about to a and speculating 489 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,200 Speaker 1: on the fifteen or twenty that are more or less 490 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,320 Speaker 1: certain to exist but remain secret, let's just look at 491 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:11,480 Speaker 1: a few like high level examples. What do you think? Oh, yeah, absolutely, 492 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:14,640 Speaker 1: And you know, each of these that we're going to 493 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:17,920 Speaker 1: talk about coming up are their own thing. Everything we've 494 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:23,280 Speaker 1: been talking about before this in relation to these zeto areas, Um, 495 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:25,440 Speaker 1: it's similar, very similar. But each one of these is 496 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:28,720 Speaker 1: going to have its own tail. And so let's take 497 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:31,480 Speaker 1: you to a place called I'm gonna try and pronounce 498 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:38,560 Speaker 1: this Zeleno Gorsk. Yeah, we are not Russian. Please send in, 499 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:42,960 Speaker 1: dear Russian speakers in the audience, please send in the 500 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:47,360 Speaker 1: correct pronunciations here. We would always prefer to be correct 501 00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:54,120 Speaker 1: rather than comfortable. So Zelenos is located in Russia by 502 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:57,360 Speaker 1: the Khan River k A and was built in the 503 00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:00,040 Speaker 1: forties fifties era as part of the Soviet dry I 504 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:04,160 Speaker 1: to enrich uranium for the uss are nuclear program. Like 505 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:08,520 Speaker 1: oak Ridge, this city at a population of thousands, and 506 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:12,360 Speaker 1: although it existed for decades, it was not on official 507 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:17,080 Speaker 1: maps until nineteen two. Imagine trying to get mail. Oh, 508 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,560 Speaker 1: by the way, when these things are in full swing 509 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:22,680 Speaker 1: and some of them still operate this this way today. Uh, 510 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,160 Speaker 1: these cities are not as you said, Matt on training 511 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:28,960 Speaker 1: bus routes they're only known by a postal code, a name, 512 00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:31,800 Speaker 1: and a number. So what it would be like it 513 00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:36,920 Speaker 1: would be like a decade forty seven or something. Yeah, yeah, 514 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:40,760 Speaker 1: exactly with that with that postal code. And the other 515 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,200 Speaker 1: thing here is just like oak Ridge. We're kind of 516 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:47,280 Speaker 1: comparing these two places. They this place still supplies a 517 00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:52,840 Speaker 1: good amount of the uranium, uh for for Russia's production 518 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:56,680 Speaker 1: there it Um, it's no, it's twenty of the enrichment 519 00:33:56,680 --> 00:34:00,280 Speaker 1: capacity that exists within Russia. So the actual place with 520 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:05,480 Speaker 1: center fugees that are enriching uranium, that's crazy to think, um, 521 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:10,000 Speaker 1: but even sends uranium to other countries, including the United States, 522 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:12,680 Speaker 1: just because you know, you need a little extra uranium. 523 00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:16,160 Speaker 1: Sometimes oak Ridge can't do all the production. You get 524 00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:19,799 Speaker 1: by with a little help from your friends. Yeah, exactly. Um, 525 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:23,440 Speaker 1: And we're we're continuing with that trend here of a 526 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:27,920 Speaker 1: lot of these closed off cities were specifically meant to 527 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:32,000 Speaker 1: to create or at least assist in the creation of 528 00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:36,480 Speaker 1: weapons of war, like massive weapons of war, new technologies 529 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:39,640 Speaker 1: that could be used to establish dominance or at least 530 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:43,680 Speaker 1: hopefully right. Let's go to one of the most famous examples, 531 00:34:43,680 --> 00:34:48,400 Speaker 1: a town called Ozersk, also known as City forty Osirisk, 532 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:51,400 Speaker 1: is located in the Ural Mountains. It was founded in 533 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:56,280 Speaker 1: nineteen seven. First it was known as Chilia Binsk forty, 534 00:34:56,400 --> 00:35:00,799 Speaker 1: then Chillia Bank sixty five. Like other clothes cities, as 535 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:03,960 Speaker 1: you said, Matt, Osarsk was built to aid the Soviet 536 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:09,320 Speaker 1: nuclear program. Unlike some other forbidden cities, Osarsk has received 537 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:12,920 Speaker 1: a great deal of media attention, notably in a documentary 538 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:17,839 Speaker 1: called City forty, which we highly recommend. Yeah, seriously check 539 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:20,040 Speaker 1: it out if you possibly can, or at least read 540 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:23,000 Speaker 1: up on the contents of it, because there are so 541 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:27,160 Speaker 1: many fascinating stories and humans involved, and it is a 542 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:32,080 Speaker 1: tragic story. So the citizens of this place of City 543 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:35,960 Speaker 1: forty have a fairly unique dilemma, and I quite like 544 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:38,759 Speaker 1: the way the Guardian put it in an article on 545 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:43,240 Speaker 1: the on the closed city. It's this Their water is contaminated, 546 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:46,040 Speaker 1: their mushrooms and berries are poisoned, and their children may 547 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:49,040 Speaker 1: be sick. Ozarsk in the surrounding region is one of 548 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:52,640 Speaker 1: the most contaminated places on the planet, referred to by 549 00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:57,760 Speaker 1: some as the graveyard of Earth. Yet most of City 550 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:01,160 Speaker 1: forties residents do not want to leave they take pride 551 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:04,720 Speaker 1: in their community. They still have that attitude of um 552 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:11,520 Speaker 1: feeling that they have received immense privilege. Yes, and they 553 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:16,000 Speaker 1: and they have in a lot of ways, and their 554 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:19,759 Speaker 1: families have benefited from that privilege. But their families have 555 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,880 Speaker 1: also in most cases a family member or two or 556 00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:29,280 Speaker 1: more have died because they have lived in that place. Right. Yeah, 557 00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:33,880 Speaker 1: they were heavily contaminated by industrial pollution from the nearby 558 00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:39,319 Speaker 1: Mayact plutonium plant from the what the late nineteen forties on, 559 00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:42,880 Speaker 1: This was an ongoing thing. This plant was one of 560 00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:46,280 Speaker 1: the largest producers of weapons grade plutonium for the Soviet 561 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:50,359 Speaker 1: Union during a lot of the Cold War, particularly during 562 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:56,359 Speaker 1: the atomic bomb program. And uh, it was built with 563 00:36:56,640 --> 00:37:00,440 Speaker 1: once again the greater good in my and you got 564 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:02,560 Speaker 1: to break a few eggs. We want to get some 565 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:06,000 Speaker 1: atomic omelets, said the Soviet government. You know what I mean, 566 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:09,680 Speaker 1: What's what's a couple of people in the great balance 567 00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:12,280 Speaker 1: of life? You know what I mean, the Kuna matata, 568 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:15,600 Speaker 1: et cetera, they said, And then they built this with 569 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:20,480 Speaker 1: no regard for safety. Well, yeah, that's that's the crazy thing. 570 00:37:20,719 --> 00:37:25,120 Speaker 1: It's um. There have been several one major disaster that 571 00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:29,839 Speaker 1: occurred at one of the major plants there that ended 572 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:33,560 Speaker 1: up irradiating. I think it was like two hundred thousand 573 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:36,000 Speaker 1: people or something like that, or it was a crazy 574 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:39,759 Speaker 1: number of people in villages that just lived, you know, 575 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:45,839 Speaker 1: upstream or away from the actual plant. Because these they 576 00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:52,040 Speaker 1: were dumping radioactive waste directly into the water, into that 577 00:37:52,120 --> 00:37:54,799 Speaker 1: into that river that we keep talking about there, and 578 00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:59,600 Speaker 1: we're dumping solid waste, liquid waste, gashes matter, all radioactive, 579 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:02,839 Speaker 1: and we're doing this for more for not more than, 580 00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:07,960 Speaker 1: but for around a decade from seven. Yeah. And here's 581 00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:10,160 Speaker 1: here's the part that was mind blowing for me as 582 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:12,520 Speaker 1: I was learning about it. You know, when you and 583 00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:18,400 Speaker 1: when you imagine a um, a nuclear accident or a disaster, 584 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:25,120 Speaker 1: what comes to mind Chernobyl, right island Chernobyl. Chernobyl always 585 00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:27,279 Speaker 1: is at the top of the list. And over all 586 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:30,520 Speaker 1: this time when the waste was being dumped, the sum 587 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:35,200 Speaker 1: of contamination of radioactive contamination is has been estimated to 588 00:38:35,239 --> 00:38:39,080 Speaker 1: be two to three times the release from the Chernobyl 589 00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:43,560 Speaker 1: accident explosions. Now here's the deal. Chernobyl kind of occurred, exploded, 590 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:47,719 Speaker 1: your your radioactive waste is you know, gone into the 591 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:51,000 Speaker 1: air and is spread out across a wide area. But 592 00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:57,080 Speaker 1: for this they're literally pumping out the radioactive waste continually 593 00:38:57,160 --> 00:39:01,719 Speaker 1: for a decade. In nine, and this reaches ahead, the 594 00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:05,600 Speaker 1: Mayac plant is the site of an enormous disaster. An 595 00:39:05,719 --> 00:39:12,680 Speaker 1: underground tank of highly irradiated liquid nuclear waste explodes and 596 00:39:12,719 --> 00:39:17,560 Speaker 1: it contaminates thousands of square kilometers of territory. Nowadays, it's 597 00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:20,759 Speaker 1: known as the Eastern You're All Radioactive Trace or the 598 00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:24,359 Speaker 1: r TO e U r T. The problem is that 599 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:30,080 Speaker 1: this disaster is quietly, efficiently and ruthlessly covered up and 600 00:39:30,239 --> 00:39:33,759 Speaker 1: very very few people inside or outside of the USSR 601 00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:38,880 Speaker 1: we're aware of what actually happened until at least nineteen 602 00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:46,680 Speaker 1: eighty and this has also been called the Kishtom disaster. Specifically, 603 00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:52,040 Speaker 1: you know, this is September twenty nine. And I really 604 00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:54,759 Speaker 1: appreciate what you're pointing out here, Matt, because we're all 605 00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:58,960 Speaker 1: familiar with your noble, especially in the world of fiction 606 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:02,160 Speaker 1: in the in the recent day and age, because there 607 00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:07,760 Speaker 1: was a masterful mini series done that I think aired 608 00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:13,799 Speaker 1: on HBO, but it didn't really address this. And can 609 00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:16,000 Speaker 1: you imagine living here and you've been told that you 610 00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:20,640 Speaker 1: are the sword and shield uh to save the world. Right, 611 00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:23,560 Speaker 1: that's why you and your family are working and this 612 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:26,960 Speaker 1: this great project to make this new weapon of war. 613 00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:29,640 Speaker 1: You're not doing it two so chaos. You're doing it 614 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:34,759 Speaker 1: to um guarantee peace well and also be triumphant over 615 00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:38,280 Speaker 1: those who want to do harm. Right, exactly because everywhere 616 00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:40,080 Speaker 1: is a war of defense. Da da da da da 617 00:40:40,160 --> 00:40:44,000 Speaker 1: da da da. But UH didn't mean to sound so dismissive. 618 00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:46,520 Speaker 1: I just don't believe it when people say that anymore, 619 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:52,800 Speaker 1: you know. But the the kicker is imagine being that person. 620 00:40:52,920 --> 00:41:03,360 Speaker 1: So you're ideologically on board, probably, and you learn weeks 621 00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:06,680 Speaker 1: after the fact, at the very least weeks after the fact, 622 00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:13,480 Speaker 1: that you're you and your children have been irradiated, and 623 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:16,240 Speaker 1: you can't find anything about it, even in the news, 624 00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:19,960 Speaker 1: even in the secret city newspaper that's supposed to give 625 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:22,560 Speaker 1: you one of the inner circle. You know what what happened? 626 00:41:22,719 --> 00:41:25,000 Speaker 1: Why are you only seeing these vague reports and why 627 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:30,800 Speaker 1: don't they jibe with the first hand sightings you're hearing 628 00:41:30,880 --> 00:41:34,720 Speaker 1: of people with skin falling off their faces, their body 629 00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:39,000 Speaker 1: parts being exposed, their hair falling out along with their toenails, 630 00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:43,800 Speaker 1: and so on. Yeah, let me quickly paint a scenario 631 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:46,439 Speaker 1: just for all of us sitting here and listening. Let's 632 00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:51,960 Speaker 1: imagine that we are one of them, uh minority few 633 00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:55,719 Speaker 1: who live out somewhere in a rural area. And let's 634 00:41:55,719 --> 00:42:00,680 Speaker 1: say we live in Russia. It's nine and our small 635 00:42:00,719 --> 00:42:04,600 Speaker 1: family owned some farmland and lots and lots of live stock, 636 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:08,240 Speaker 1: or at least enough livestock to you know, to survive, 637 00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:11,960 Speaker 1: as well as a lot of crops, and we're just 638 00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:15,680 Speaker 1: hanging out. We're doing all the strenuous work we have 639 00:42:15,719 --> 00:42:18,439 Speaker 1: to do every day to maintain what we have, which 640 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:21,000 Speaker 1: is still very little, and then all of a sudden, 641 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:24,760 Speaker 1: you know, we don't notice anything. Really. We heard maybe 642 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:29,160 Speaker 1: about a big bang, a large bang that occurred somewhere, 643 00:42:29,440 --> 00:42:33,120 Speaker 1: you know, southwest of here a couple of days ago, 644 00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:35,520 Speaker 1: but that's all we've really heard about. There were some 645 00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:38,800 Speaker 1: weird clouds that came over, like appeared to be smoked 646 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:40,279 Speaker 1: or something, but we haven't thought about any of that 647 00:42:40,280 --> 00:42:44,720 Speaker 1: stuff since that day. Well, a big truck rolls through 648 00:42:44,920 --> 00:42:48,399 Speaker 1: with a lot of our you know countrymen are our 649 00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:52,040 Speaker 1: military people. They're they're just coming through and they happen 650 00:42:52,080 --> 00:42:54,560 Speaker 1: to stop by our farm, and they let us know 651 00:42:55,239 --> 00:42:59,160 Speaker 1: that today we have to slaughter all of our cattle. 652 00:42:59,760 --> 00:43:03,600 Speaker 1: We have to uproot and then bury all of our crops. 653 00:43:04,239 --> 00:43:06,839 Speaker 1: Then we have to plow all that over, and then 654 00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:09,279 Speaker 1: we have to get the heck out because they're going 655 00:43:09,320 --> 00:43:12,800 Speaker 1: to purchase our farm for almost nothing. They're also wearing 656 00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:18,359 Speaker 1: containment suits. Uh. Then they did not bring spares, just 657 00:43:18,440 --> 00:43:22,319 Speaker 1: letting us know. And here's the other thing. Um, let's 658 00:43:22,360 --> 00:43:25,480 Speaker 1: say that occurs, and then years later, after you know 659 00:43:25,600 --> 00:43:30,040 Speaker 1: that went down, you know what's occurred. Nobody has put 660 00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:32,759 Speaker 1: any record of this down. Nobody is talking about all 661 00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:36,840 Speaker 1: the other farms like that. We're just in this giant 662 00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:39,239 Speaker 1: line that I can look at a map and see, 663 00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:41,839 Speaker 1: Like I know people lived in this line and they 664 00:43:41,840 --> 00:43:45,160 Speaker 1: all had to sell their houses, their their farms, but 665 00:43:45,200 --> 00:43:51,120 Speaker 1: nobody's talking about it. There's a beauty, the dark beauty 666 00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:54,759 Speaker 1: to the brutal logic there. It's the same way that 667 00:43:55,120 --> 00:43:58,600 Speaker 1: rural people in the US could not fight back against 668 00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:03,000 Speaker 1: this and being taken. Uh. People who do not officially 669 00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:08,160 Speaker 1: exist have no legal recourse because they are ghosts. It 670 00:44:08,320 --> 00:44:13,480 Speaker 1: just now reached a point where their physical condition matched 671 00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:18,560 Speaker 1: the condition of the paperwork, which is in just insidious. 672 00:44:18,600 --> 00:44:22,440 Speaker 1: I mean it is it is unclean to do that 673 00:44:22,480 --> 00:44:25,920 Speaker 1: to people. But I see the logic of it, and 674 00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:29,239 Speaker 1: there are plenty, plenty more. We could probably do an 675 00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:33,279 Speaker 1: episode per city on closed cities in Russia, but we 676 00:44:33,360 --> 00:44:35,560 Speaker 1: don't want to just stay in the Cold War in 677 00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:38,520 Speaker 1: the US and Russia or the U. S. S R. 678 00:44:38,600 --> 00:44:40,880 Speaker 1: Excuse me, Let's take a quick look at other cities, 679 00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:45,040 Speaker 1: some of which might surprise you. In the mainland of China, 680 00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:48,880 Speaker 1: there is a place called the Nuclear Town. It is 681 00:44:48,920 --> 00:44:54,200 Speaker 1: in the Gobi Desert in the western part of Gonsu Province. Officially, 682 00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:56,760 Speaker 1: it's called the Number four or four Factory of China 683 00:44:56,880 --> 00:45:00,799 Speaker 1: National Nuclear Corporation. I love that it's called World four right, 684 00:45:00,960 --> 00:45:04,840 Speaker 1: for it's such a bad Internet joke. It's unknown. I 685 00:45:04,880 --> 00:45:08,480 Speaker 1: hope someone did it on purpose. It's not found gosh, 686 00:45:08,600 --> 00:45:12,160 Speaker 1: so it's built back in So probably not a good 687 00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:14,920 Speaker 1: joke unless the people who did four oh four and 688 00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:19,160 Speaker 1: the Internet we're making a sideways reference to this fact. 689 00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:22,239 Speaker 1: Probably not. Probably not. The world is not that convenient 690 00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:24,839 Speaker 1: nor well written. I say we. I say we go 691 00:45:24,880 --> 00:45:27,439 Speaker 1: with it until someone tells us it's for something else, 692 00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:30,080 Speaker 1: and then let's accuse them of covering it up. Well, 693 00:45:30,600 --> 00:45:34,080 Speaker 1: that sounds like a plan of that. So this is 694 00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:37,360 Speaker 1: the biggest nuclear industry base in the country that we 695 00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:41,960 Speaker 1: know of. It's the country's first military nuclear reactor. Eight 696 00:45:42,120 --> 00:45:46,000 Speaker 1: percent of China's nuclear bomb core components are built there. 697 00:45:46,320 --> 00:45:50,520 Speaker 1: For twenty years, it was completely closed to outsiders. And 698 00:45:50,840 --> 00:45:53,279 Speaker 1: that's not the only case in China. There are a 699 00:45:53,280 --> 00:45:57,200 Speaker 1: couple of other more remote places where you have to 700 00:45:57,920 --> 00:46:02,000 Speaker 1: apply for what's called an alien travel document in advance 701 00:46:02,080 --> 00:46:04,920 Speaker 1: to visit, and you have to report to the police 702 00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:07,400 Speaker 1: as soon as like your accommodations as soon as you 703 00:46:07,440 --> 00:46:10,200 Speaker 1: stay somewhere, and if you don't follow everything to the letter, 704 00:46:10,520 --> 00:46:13,160 Speaker 1: you get the boot. They will immediately take you out 705 00:46:13,239 --> 00:46:16,479 Speaker 1: of the country. Yeah, just get the heck out, man, 706 00:46:18,160 --> 00:46:20,319 Speaker 1: We've got this running thing. We're gonna come back to 707 00:46:20,320 --> 00:46:23,480 Speaker 1: it in the conclusion. But just if you're going to 708 00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:28,719 Speaker 1: create facile material to be weaponized for any reason, or 709 00:46:28,800 --> 00:46:32,240 Speaker 1: just let's say it's just to run a power plant, 710 00:46:33,440 --> 00:46:36,120 Speaker 1: it's a lot a lot of people that are doing that, 711 00:46:36,160 --> 00:46:41,840 Speaker 1: are making these weird, hidden, creepy cities. Yeah, it turns 712 00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:44,719 Speaker 1: out to maybe be the best way to go about this, 713 00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:48,319 Speaker 1: right because if you have because you can control more variables, 714 00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:51,240 Speaker 1: if you if you have the entire city purpose built 715 00:46:51,560 --> 00:46:58,040 Speaker 1: like we have. Um. You know, we have military armament 716 00:46:58,080 --> 00:47:03,640 Speaker 1: manufacturers that are based in or near large urban areas, 717 00:47:03,680 --> 00:47:09,400 Speaker 1: but they no matter how how well they secure their grounds, 718 00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:15,160 Speaker 1: they cannot control the millions of people who live like 719 00:47:15,200 --> 00:47:18,480 Speaker 1: you know, across the river or through the woods. I 720 00:47:18,520 --> 00:47:22,520 Speaker 1: don't know whatever you want to say. So this is 721 00:47:22,560 --> 00:47:25,320 Speaker 1: this is a very common trend, and these secret cities 722 00:47:25,400 --> 00:47:28,160 Speaker 1: are still around today, and in some cases, yes, the 723 00:47:28,160 --> 00:47:31,680 Speaker 1: people who live in them do not technically exist on paper. 724 00:47:32,800 --> 00:47:35,680 Speaker 1: We want to do one more example is something that 725 00:47:35,800 --> 00:47:40,400 Speaker 1: is completely different. It's a closed city, close part of 726 00:47:40,440 --> 00:47:45,520 Speaker 1: a city that does not exist for nuclear research and 727 00:47:45,640 --> 00:47:51,359 Speaker 1: does not exist for some kind of um human rights 728 00:47:51,400 --> 00:47:56,799 Speaker 1: abuse or concentration camp thing. Right, so let's travel to 729 00:47:57,000 --> 00:48:00,920 Speaker 1: Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, you've heard it before. This is 730 00:48:00,960 --> 00:48:03,600 Speaker 1: not a The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Kasa should not 731 00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:05,920 Speaker 1: be a new thing to any of our listeners. It 732 00:48:06,120 --> 00:48:08,920 Speaker 1: is a unique country in the world of geopolitics for 733 00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:11,640 Speaker 1: a number of reasons, and its most famous close city 734 00:48:11,880 --> 00:48:15,600 Speaker 1: is no different. Unlike the majority of secret cities we've 735 00:48:15,640 --> 00:48:19,160 Speaker 1: mentioned today, Mecca is not closed due to top secret 736 00:48:19,160 --> 00:48:23,560 Speaker 1: military or industrial research. Instead. It's a partially closed city 737 00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:28,040 Speaker 1: because every year millions, millions and millions of people visit 738 00:48:28,120 --> 00:48:31,920 Speaker 1: and you can too, as long as you like them 739 00:48:32,040 --> 00:48:35,880 Speaker 1: or a practitioner of Islam, because only Muslims are allowed 740 00:48:36,160 --> 00:48:39,960 Speaker 1: in Mecca. It is the holiest, most important city in 741 00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:44,319 Speaker 1: the religion. It has off limits under any circumstances to 742 00:48:44,640 --> 00:48:50,640 Speaker 1: any non Muslims. Don't even try. If you do attempt 743 00:48:50,640 --> 00:48:52,839 Speaker 1: and you don't meet all of those requirements, you will 744 00:48:52,920 --> 00:48:56,040 Speaker 1: immediately be deported and that will be it. Thank you 745 00:48:56,120 --> 00:48:59,680 Speaker 1: for trying to come in, but we don't appreciate you. 746 00:48:59,719 --> 00:49:01,720 Speaker 1: Why No, I'm just kidding. It's not it's not that harsh, 747 00:49:01,719 --> 00:49:04,520 Speaker 1: but you would definitely get deported immediately. Well, you know, 748 00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:07,719 Speaker 1: the penalty and practice maybe much harsher than deportation, And 749 00:49:07,719 --> 00:49:09,400 Speaker 1: a lot of it depends on what kind of person 750 00:49:09,600 --> 00:49:13,080 Speaker 1: you are, your country of origin, ryes uh, and it 751 00:49:13,160 --> 00:49:17,680 Speaker 1: could go up to and including assault, torture, murder. You 752 00:49:17,760 --> 00:49:21,000 Speaker 1: just you don't know. And as a personal message to 753 00:49:21,080 --> 00:49:25,320 Speaker 1: anybody else who enjoys traveling to the edges of the maps, 754 00:49:25,360 --> 00:49:30,480 Speaker 1: to the places where normal people don't take vacation, I 755 00:49:30,480 --> 00:49:34,320 Speaker 1: I definitely want to warn every non Muslim person against 756 00:49:34,320 --> 00:49:38,160 Speaker 1: trying to sneak into Mecca. It's not like taking a 757 00:49:38,320 --> 00:49:43,040 Speaker 1: quick illicit trip across the poorous Midwestern or Alaskan border 758 00:49:43,080 --> 00:49:46,920 Speaker 1: between Canada and the US. Your chances of being caught 759 00:49:47,239 --> 00:49:51,560 Speaker 1: are extremely high. If you feel that you must go 760 00:49:51,640 --> 00:49:54,360 Speaker 1: to Mecca, that you genuinely must go there. The most 761 00:49:54,440 --> 00:49:58,759 Speaker 1: rational choice is to convert to Islam beforehand, actually do it. 762 00:49:59,000 --> 00:50:02,520 Speaker 1: Attempting to fake conversion will also, by the way, in 763 00:50:02,600 --> 00:50:07,680 Speaker 1: all likelihood fail. Now, I know that there are photographs 764 00:50:07,680 --> 00:50:11,759 Speaker 1: of plenty of someone who said, like, it's nucketting a 765 00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:14,759 Speaker 1: Mecca or whatever. There was a recent story about a 766 00:50:14,760 --> 00:50:19,800 Speaker 1: guy who I think acquired his Israeli citizenship in fourteen 767 00:50:20,360 --> 00:50:24,960 Speaker 1: UH and he visited UH and he said that it 768 00:50:25,040 --> 00:50:27,440 Speaker 1: was on the up and up. But I have a 769 00:50:27,480 --> 00:50:32,160 Speaker 1: tough time believing him. And and also you know, inherently 770 00:50:33,160 --> 00:50:37,240 Speaker 1: it's the most important city in this religion. The millions 771 00:50:37,239 --> 00:50:40,520 Speaker 1: of people follow And I don't know, Man, this is 772 00:50:40,560 --> 00:50:42,840 Speaker 1: a personal take. I kind of I want your opinion 773 00:50:42,880 --> 00:50:46,360 Speaker 1: to Matt. Should people be able to do that? I 774 00:50:46,760 --> 00:50:50,439 Speaker 1: feel like personally would be disrespectful for me to say, well, 775 00:50:50,600 --> 00:50:54,600 Speaker 1: I don't care about your core belief system. I need 776 00:50:54,680 --> 00:50:57,480 Speaker 1: some selfies, you know what I mean that that just 777 00:50:57,560 --> 00:51:03,840 Speaker 1: feels I don't know. Yeah, yeah, it certainly doesn't feel 778 00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:08,680 Speaker 1: like a good idea. Um. I'm trying to find a 779 00:51:09,360 --> 00:51:11,919 Speaker 1: like something that would be the equivalent. But I don't 780 00:51:12,080 --> 00:51:15,120 Speaker 1: know if there's any thing in the world that's as 781 00:51:15,320 --> 00:51:18,320 Speaker 1: close to that. There are I mean, it's trying to 782 00:51:18,360 --> 00:51:22,759 Speaker 1: imagine the whaling wall or but it's not like it's restricted. 783 00:51:23,120 --> 00:51:26,800 Speaker 1: Well in in some religions in the West, like the 784 00:51:26,880 --> 00:51:29,879 Speaker 1: Church of Latter day Saints, don't they not allow some 785 00:51:29,960 --> 00:51:34,040 Speaker 1: people into the temple like people are not Yeah, I 786 00:51:34,080 --> 00:51:36,239 Speaker 1: mean yeah, we're scientology or any you know, a lot 787 00:51:36,280 --> 00:51:39,160 Speaker 1: of a lot of these belief systems would have closed 788 00:51:39,160 --> 00:51:42,399 Speaker 1: off areas, closed off things. Right, that's like micro understandings, 789 00:51:42,520 --> 00:51:46,200 Speaker 1: but a large place, um like Mecca. It's it's interesting, 790 00:51:46,920 --> 00:51:51,839 Speaker 1: um hmmm, trying to imagine for some Well, no, it's 791 00:51:51,840 --> 00:51:54,680 Speaker 1: not the same. Someone started a religion and it was 792 00:51:54,719 --> 00:51:57,480 Speaker 1: based in Detroit. Yeah, and they said you can't go 793 00:51:57,560 --> 00:52:01,120 Speaker 1: to Detroit unless you follow this relation. Let me say, well, 794 00:52:01,160 --> 00:52:08,280 Speaker 1: Detruit it's pretty big, very bad. No. No, no, that 795 00:52:08,280 --> 00:52:15,360 Speaker 1: that call back just working live, you know, told Gold No, 796 00:52:15,520 --> 00:52:19,239 Speaker 1: But but it is I think the core of what 797 00:52:19,320 --> 00:52:24,319 Speaker 1: you're saying in that it's a bad idea to undermine 798 00:52:24,760 --> 00:52:28,680 Speaker 1: this this rule that's in place, you know, for a reason, 799 00:52:28,920 --> 00:52:35,680 Speaker 1: for a very popular belief system. That's probably a bad idea. 800 00:52:35,880 --> 00:52:39,759 Speaker 1: But then you know, I'm I always imagine the spycraft 801 00:52:39,880 --> 00:52:42,400 Speaker 1: that occurs in a place like Mecca or in a 802 00:52:42,440 --> 00:52:48,000 Speaker 1: place like Jerusalem or the Vatican. You know, there's probably 803 00:52:48,520 --> 00:52:53,319 Speaker 1: fascinating deep spycraft occurring in all of those places from 804 00:52:53,400 --> 00:52:58,600 Speaker 1: varying countries, for with varying interests, you know. Um, And 805 00:52:58,640 --> 00:53:01,560 Speaker 1: that's just me assuming, but that's what I'm imagining when 806 00:53:01,560 --> 00:53:07,680 Speaker 1: you're talking about something as closed off as Mecca is. Yeah. Yeah, 807 00:53:07,680 --> 00:53:11,520 Speaker 1: And of course you know, we have we have a 808 00:53:11,560 --> 00:53:15,320 Speaker 1: lot of listeners, um, who are who are very close 809 00:53:15,400 --> 00:53:17,600 Speaker 1: to their faith, you know what I mean, and ardent 810 00:53:17,680 --> 00:53:21,480 Speaker 1: practitioners thereof Just just to me, and again this is 811 00:53:21,600 --> 00:53:25,920 Speaker 1: just my opinion. I do. I feel like it's completely 812 00:53:25,960 --> 00:53:34,279 Speaker 1: okay to say, hey, out of respect for our belief system, 813 00:53:34,320 --> 00:53:37,160 Speaker 1: just sorry, this one part of the world doesn't have 814 00:53:37,239 --> 00:53:41,200 Speaker 1: to be yours. I I think that's perfectly okay. Like 815 00:53:41,320 --> 00:53:45,160 Speaker 1: a luru or airs rock, because it's sometimes called in Australia, 816 00:53:45,480 --> 00:53:48,640 Speaker 1: the native population said, that's very important to us. Please 817 00:53:48,760 --> 00:53:55,960 Speaker 1: just stop having your self aggrandizing tourist adventures here. The 818 00:53:56,000 --> 00:53:59,799 Speaker 1: only problem is the moment you say you can't go here. 819 00:54:00,200 --> 00:54:02,560 Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's that old thing like don't touch 820 00:54:02,640 --> 00:54:05,640 Speaker 1: that button. I don't think of pink elephants, you know. Yeah, 821 00:54:05,719 --> 00:54:11,000 Speaker 1: I mean psychologically that that occurs in many of us. Yeah, yeah, 822 00:54:11,040 --> 00:54:14,040 Speaker 1: I mean I'm no different. Obviously. What would be better 823 00:54:14,200 --> 00:54:16,760 Speaker 1: is if you just kept it off the map, nobody 824 00:54:16,800 --> 00:54:19,160 Speaker 1: knew about it. You just had a postal code, if 825 00:54:19,200 --> 00:54:23,239 Speaker 1: you if you were aware of you know, Mecca. But 826 00:54:23,320 --> 00:54:28,960 Speaker 1: that's it, I guess. Yeah. Yeah, there's the other part. Two. 827 00:54:28,960 --> 00:54:33,160 Speaker 1: I would go on record saying that it's completely different 828 00:54:33,280 --> 00:54:38,640 Speaker 1: if someone says, okay, we have founded our new city 829 00:54:38,840 --> 00:54:41,640 Speaker 1: or our new religion or belief system, and everybody who 830 00:54:41,719 --> 00:54:44,600 Speaker 1: was living here before either convert g T F O. 831 00:54:45,040 --> 00:54:47,279 Speaker 1: I think that's very different. Yes, you know what I mean. 832 00:54:47,520 --> 00:54:49,879 Speaker 1: I agree, I'm making I'm not trying to make light 833 00:54:49,920 --> 00:54:54,040 Speaker 1: of anyway, trying to make a call back that I 834 00:54:54,040 --> 00:54:59,879 Speaker 1: think didn't work. Oh gosh, well, uh, instead of calling back, 835 00:55:00,080 --> 00:55:03,879 Speaker 1: maybe let's call forward. Because it seems the story continues 836 00:55:04,000 --> 00:55:07,239 Speaker 1: for all of these places we just mentioned. In the 837 00:55:07,280 --> 00:55:10,560 Speaker 1: case of Russia, currently it's estimated they're about forty four 838 00:55:10,640 --> 00:55:15,720 Speaker 1: closed cities in existence, about one point five million people 839 00:55:15,760 --> 00:55:19,720 Speaker 1: living these total, and there are also, according to rumors, 840 00:55:19,760 --> 00:55:24,719 Speaker 1: around fifteen other closed cities that exist without their whereabouts 841 00:55:24,880 --> 00:55:28,759 Speaker 1: or their names being disclosed by the government. If you 842 00:55:28,800 --> 00:55:32,920 Speaker 1: would like to visit a closed city, I'm very excited 843 00:55:32,960 --> 00:55:35,800 Speaker 1: about giving this a shot one day. You are welcome 844 00:55:36,400 --> 00:55:39,719 Speaker 1: to give it the old college. Try getting into these 845 00:55:39,760 --> 00:55:43,440 Speaker 1: places is if you look at the spectrum of difficult 846 00:55:43,640 --> 00:55:47,800 Speaker 1: entries and exits, it's easier than entering North Sentinel Island, 847 00:55:49,320 --> 00:55:51,920 Speaker 1: but it's still tougher than getting into a place like 848 00:55:52,000 --> 00:55:56,000 Speaker 1: the DPRK North Korea. Non residents who want to visit 849 00:55:56,080 --> 00:55:59,640 Speaker 1: closed cities have to get a special pass from the 850 00:55:59,680 --> 00:56:04,879 Speaker 1: Russia Security Service that the secret police. Essentially, So if 851 00:56:04,920 --> 00:56:08,680 Speaker 1: you Matt, and you Paul, and I am you listening, 852 00:56:08,880 --> 00:56:12,200 Speaker 1: if we all, if we all got together and we 853 00:56:12,920 --> 00:56:18,160 Speaker 1: requested these passes, depending on the city and you know, hinge, 854 00:56:18,160 --> 00:56:20,759 Speaker 1: on the fact that we are not Russian nationals, we 855 00:56:20,800 --> 00:56:24,920 Speaker 1: would almost certainly be rejected. And that's not that's not 856 00:56:25,000 --> 00:56:29,239 Speaker 1: all applying for one of these things. Even if you 857 00:56:29,360 --> 00:56:33,439 Speaker 1: are Russian national and you're related to someone who lives 858 00:56:33,440 --> 00:56:35,640 Speaker 1: in a close city, Applying for one of these things, 859 00:56:35,640 --> 00:56:38,160 Speaker 1: whether or not you were accepted, puts you on a 860 00:56:38,239 --> 00:56:42,200 Speaker 1: list with Russian intelligence for the rest of your life. Yeah. 861 00:56:42,360 --> 00:56:44,359 Speaker 1: You know what else gets you on that lists? That 862 00:56:44,640 --> 00:56:47,560 Speaker 1: listening to an episode with the metadata Z A T 863 00:56:47,800 --> 00:56:52,680 Speaker 1: O and Russia Secret cities. Oh no, it is. I'm 864 00:56:52,719 --> 00:56:57,120 Speaker 1: pretty sure I had a depressing conversation with um, some 865 00:56:57,200 --> 00:57:00,200 Speaker 1: of my old some of my old colleagues about out 866 00:57:02,080 --> 00:57:04,759 Speaker 1: which countries you can get into and out of, Like 867 00:57:04,840 --> 00:57:08,280 Speaker 1: the stands are pretty much no goes for me, and 868 00:57:08,440 --> 00:57:14,000 Speaker 1: UH and my friends were working in PRC. We're saying, well, 869 00:57:14,560 --> 00:57:18,120 Speaker 1: you know, it's okay, I guess, uh, as long as 870 00:57:18,120 --> 00:57:22,280 Speaker 1: your podcast isn't in Mandarin. Whoa. And you know, it 871 00:57:22,320 --> 00:57:24,880 Speaker 1: makes me think, like what happened with those um with 872 00:57:24,960 --> 00:57:27,880 Speaker 1: those folks for Radio Free America? Did you hear about this? 873 00:57:28,840 --> 00:57:31,080 Speaker 1: Did we Did we talk about this here? I don't 874 00:57:31,160 --> 00:57:35,240 Speaker 1: know if we talked about it, might have had as Yeah, 875 00:57:35,280 --> 00:57:39,960 Speaker 1: so some weaker journalists that we're working with Radio Free America, 876 00:57:40,040 --> 00:57:44,640 Speaker 1: which is a US supported propaganda network, but it doesn't 877 00:57:44,680 --> 00:57:48,960 Speaker 1: mean it's percent wrong all the time. Uh. Their families 878 00:57:49,000 --> 00:57:53,160 Speaker 1: have been threatened. And there's an intense debate going on 879 00:57:53,240 --> 00:57:56,560 Speaker 1: now about the situation western China, which we should report 880 00:57:56,600 --> 00:57:59,360 Speaker 1: on more soon. We we got there a little bit 881 00:57:59,400 --> 00:58:05,080 Speaker 1: before international news. Anyhow, if you want to visit this place, 882 00:58:05,120 --> 00:58:08,600 Speaker 1: and if it is worth being on a list with 883 00:58:08,680 --> 00:58:11,560 Speaker 1: Russian intelligence for the rest of your life, not necessarily 884 00:58:11,600 --> 00:58:13,840 Speaker 1: a bad thing, I guess, then yeah, you're more than 885 00:58:13,840 --> 00:58:16,520 Speaker 1: welcome to apply. But keep in mind passes are only 886 00:58:16,560 --> 00:58:19,160 Speaker 1: given to those who have relatives and closed cities or 887 00:58:19,240 --> 00:58:22,480 Speaker 1: people are traveling to close cities on a business trip. 888 00:58:22,840 --> 00:58:26,040 Speaker 1: So for like, hey, maybe we use different names, you know, 889 00:58:26,200 --> 00:58:31,919 Speaker 1: like um Johnny America, I'm and I'm dim me big 890 00:58:31,960 --> 00:58:37,560 Speaker 1: Bucks and we're here for oil I don't know. Then 891 00:58:37,600 --> 00:58:43,080 Speaker 1: the new new kind of uh rollerblade, then maybe we 892 00:58:43,120 --> 00:58:46,320 Speaker 1: can get in. But even then access isn't guaranteed. You 893 00:58:46,400 --> 00:58:49,200 Speaker 1: can try to get a permanent past, but it's more challenging. 894 00:58:49,440 --> 00:58:51,600 Speaker 1: You know, there are two ways to get them. Basically, 895 00:58:51,640 --> 00:58:54,560 Speaker 1: you have to have been born there, or you have 896 00:58:54,640 --> 00:58:56,920 Speaker 1: to work in one of the enterprises they need, so 897 00:58:57,160 --> 00:59:01,000 Speaker 1: be a nuclear scientist, or be born there and get 898 00:59:01,000 --> 00:59:03,680 Speaker 1: irradiated while you hang out in City forty, just like 899 00:59:03,720 --> 00:59:06,880 Speaker 1: everybody else. So this is something I know we're wrapping 900 00:59:06,920 --> 00:59:11,040 Speaker 1: up here, but really quickly something that struck me. We're 901 00:59:11,320 --> 00:59:16,400 Speaker 1: we talked about that disaster that officially didn't occur within 902 00:59:16,520 --> 00:59:19,240 Speaker 1: City forty, at least for a long time, it was 903 00:59:19,280 --> 00:59:22,200 Speaker 1: not disclosed that that actually happened and that amount of 904 00:59:22,280 --> 00:59:25,880 Speaker 1: radiation was released into the wild. It makes me think 905 00:59:25,920 --> 00:59:30,040 Speaker 1: about oak Ridge, Tennessee, in the place where the United States, 906 00:59:30,320 --> 00:59:37,680 Speaker 1: you know started it's it's nuclear industry. Really um, it 907 00:59:37,800 --> 00:59:42,800 Speaker 1: makes me wonder if anything has occurred within within that 908 00:59:42,920 --> 00:59:46,960 Speaker 1: area that was never reported and was just covered up, 909 00:59:47,600 --> 00:59:53,120 Speaker 1: and people and livestock and crops were dosed beyond you know, 910 00:59:54,080 --> 00:59:58,919 Speaker 1: any sane amount and we just never found out about 911 00:59:58,960 --> 01:00:01,240 Speaker 1: it because if we were to find out about it, 912 01:00:01,360 --> 01:00:05,160 Speaker 1: there would be such an uproar um. I just it 913 01:00:05,280 --> 01:00:09,560 Speaker 1: makes me wonder. Now, there's a side of me that says, 914 01:00:09,640 --> 01:00:13,200 Speaker 1: if something like that did occur at oak Ridge, then 915 01:00:13,480 --> 01:00:15,920 Speaker 1: there's no way they could completely cover that up. Some 916 01:00:15,960 --> 01:00:19,840 Speaker 1: paper somewhere, somebody would know, somebody would talk. But the 917 01:00:19,840 --> 01:00:22,479 Speaker 1: other part of me thinks it was at a time 918 01:00:22,480 --> 01:00:26,440 Speaker 1: of war and just like the people of City forty. 919 01:00:26,840 --> 01:00:29,600 Speaker 1: We were told, and we believed the people who lived 920 01:00:29,600 --> 01:00:32,040 Speaker 1: there at the time, that we were fighting the good fight. 921 01:00:32,280 --> 01:00:35,280 Speaker 1: This is all in the name of the United States victory, 922 01:00:35,600 --> 01:00:38,920 Speaker 1: This is all the name of securing our families futures, 923 01:00:39,360 --> 01:00:41,720 Speaker 1: and we'll go along with it. And then they all 924 01:00:41,720 --> 01:00:46,480 Speaker 1: died because they got dosed by radiation. Yeah, they died. 925 01:00:47,080 --> 01:00:49,840 Speaker 1: They died to a terminal condition known as the greater Good. 926 01:00:50,360 --> 01:00:53,440 Speaker 1: But that's all fabricated and from my mind, I'm just 927 01:00:53,520 --> 01:00:58,640 Speaker 1: wondering occurred. Yeah, that's the disturbing thing. It's possible, you 928 01:00:58,640 --> 01:01:01,200 Speaker 1: know what I mean, Like the villa in Sedents where 929 01:01:01,240 --> 01:01:06,000 Speaker 1: the nuclear bomb was tested. Uh, these things happen. They 930 01:01:06,000 --> 01:01:08,800 Speaker 1: may not happen in your backyard, but that doesn't make 931 01:01:08,800 --> 01:01:14,760 Speaker 1: them any less terrifying. And now it gets to our 932 01:01:14,800 --> 01:01:19,640 Speaker 1: final question. How long will these closed cities stay closed? 933 01:01:20,080 --> 01:01:23,320 Speaker 1: Some are Cold War relics, but a surprising amount of 934 01:01:23,360 --> 01:01:29,120 Speaker 1: them are still manufacturing facile material right there, enriching uranium. 935 01:01:29,160 --> 01:01:33,880 Speaker 1: They're making weapons, gray platonium. Business is booming, business is good. 936 01:01:34,320 --> 01:01:36,840 Speaker 1: Those cities may well stay closed. And what about the 937 01:01:36,880 --> 01:01:38,680 Speaker 1: ones that we don't know, the ones that are still 938 01:01:38,800 --> 01:01:43,760 Speaker 1: off of the maps. It's strange. It's strange to think about. 939 01:01:43,840 --> 01:01:48,600 Speaker 1: And here we hand it to you. Folks. Are there 940 01:01:48,640 --> 01:01:52,960 Speaker 1: any closed or restricted areas in your neck of the woods? 941 01:01:53,080 --> 01:01:55,360 Speaker 1: If so, what are they? What do you know about them? 942 01:01:55,400 --> 01:01:58,320 Speaker 1: Give us the scoop if you can. Do you live 943 01:01:58,440 --> 01:02:01,800 Speaker 1: in a closed city. If you do, congratulations on your 944 01:02:01,880 --> 01:02:06,400 Speaker 1: VPN bro nice one. Uh let us let us know 945 01:02:06,800 --> 01:02:10,919 Speaker 1: to the extent that you're able. What what your experiences 946 01:02:11,000 --> 01:02:13,960 Speaker 1: or your loved ones experiences living in this place. We 947 01:02:14,040 --> 01:02:15,680 Speaker 1: have so many ways for you to get in touch 948 01:02:15,720 --> 01:02:18,080 Speaker 1: with us. Yes, find us on Twitter or Facebook where 949 01:02:18,160 --> 01:02:22,080 Speaker 1: we are Conspiracy Stuff. We are at Conspiracy Stuff Show 950 01:02:22,120 --> 01:02:25,600 Speaker 1: on Instagram. Ben, what is your personal Instagram? I do 951 01:02:25,760 --> 01:02:31,439 Speaker 1: have one. You can see me do various things at 952 01:02:31,560 --> 01:02:37,480 Speaker 1: Ben Bolan on Instagram and I'm met Frederick Underscore. iHeart 953 01:02:38,120 --> 01:02:40,240 Speaker 1: good luck to you. You might find it. I've only 954 01:02:40,240 --> 01:02:42,440 Speaker 1: got like four or five posts on there. Who cares. 955 01:02:42,920 --> 01:02:44,800 Speaker 1: You're not gonna like it, don't look at it, but 956 01:02:44,880 --> 01:02:47,400 Speaker 1: it's there. Oh, that's some of the psychology you were 957 01:02:47,440 --> 01:02:50,880 Speaker 1: talking about earlier. Yeah, because your Instagram a closed city. 958 01:02:51,000 --> 01:02:55,200 Speaker 1: It is. But I'm but I'm telling you the postal code. No, 959 01:02:55,320 --> 01:02:59,160 Speaker 1: I'm not I'm telling you exactly what anyway that's that exists. 960 01:02:59,360 --> 01:03:00,840 Speaker 1: If you don't like any of that stuff, you can 961 01:03:00,880 --> 01:03:03,600 Speaker 1: give us a call. We are one eight three three 962 01:03:04,080 --> 01:03:07,400 Speaker 1: S T D W y t K. Leave a message 963 01:03:07,880 --> 01:03:10,440 Speaker 1: you might get on the air. We're gonna hear what 964 01:03:10,520 --> 01:03:12,800 Speaker 1: you say. The phone doesn't ring, so we just hear 965 01:03:12,840 --> 01:03:15,840 Speaker 1: your message. But it's fascinating for us, and we like 966 01:03:16,240 --> 01:03:18,200 Speaker 1: hearing from you that way. If you don't want to 967 01:03:18,200 --> 01:03:20,800 Speaker 1: do any of that stuff, the best way to contact 968 01:03:20,920 --> 01:03:23,000 Speaker 1: us is to send a good old fashioned email. We 969 01:03:23,080 --> 01:03:45,960 Speaker 1: are conspiracy at i heart radio dot com. Stuff they 970 01:03:46,000 --> 01:03:47,600 Speaker 1: Don't Want You to Know is a production of i 971 01:03:47,680 --> 01:03:50,440 Speaker 1: Heeart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more podcasts from my 972 01:03:50,520 --> 01:03:53,480 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 973 01:03:53,520 --> 01:03:55,400 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.