1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,040 Speaker 1: I don't have to tell you. We're living in a 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:06,039 Speaker 1: time when conspiracy theories are a constant topic of discussion. 3 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:08,960 Speaker 1: But you know what, it's nothing new. One of the 4 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:14,200 Speaker 1: biggest conspiracy topics just fifty years ago involved the moon landing. Yeah, 5 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,240 Speaker 1: these days, most of us take for granted that man 6 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,079 Speaker 1: has walked on the Moon and that we've been moving 7 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:23,959 Speaker 1: forward with space exploration ever since. But in the five 8 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: years following the moonlanding in July of nineteen sixty nine, 9 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: everything from the Vietnam War to Watergate, to race riots 10 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:37,199 Speaker 1: to political assassinations had people questioning like never before what 11 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:41,199 Speaker 1: the government told us. I'm Patty Steele, man lands on 12 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 1: the Moon in a giant Midwestern warehouse. That's next on 13 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: the backstory. We're back with the backstory. Okay, Imagine you're 14 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: a little kid in July of nineteen sixty nine. Your 15 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: whole living room is like a spaceship. The shaf carpet 16 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 1: is the lunar's surface, and your coffee table is mission control. 17 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: Your parents have dragged that bulky TV as close to 18 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:11,320 Speaker 1: the couch as the cord will allow it to go. 19 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: The picture you're watching is grainy, ghost white, and kind 20 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 1: of a little crooked. You see a man in a 21 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:23,679 Speaker 1: puffy suit bound slowly down a ladder. Astronaut Neil Armstrong 22 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: stands on the surface of the Moon and says some 23 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: of the most iconic words in the history of human exploration. 24 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. 25 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:40,120 Speaker 1: And at that moment, ninety three percent of all TVs 26 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:44,120 Speaker 1: in the US are tuned into the moon landing. Worldwide, 27 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: about six hundred and fifty million people are watching it live. 28 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: Your family and friends are amazed, and then they begin 29 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: to cheer. For a brief, flickering moment, the world agrees 30 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: on a single sort of shimmering fact, man just walked 31 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: on the Moon. In the immediate aftermath, very few people 32 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: questioned the validity of what they were seeing. But that 33 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 1: sense of trust didn't last for very long. The late 34 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties and early seventies were a tumultuous time in America. 35 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,079 Speaker 1: In the previous decades, we'd been united in our efforts 36 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: to deal with World War One, the depression, World War two, 37 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 1: and then in the go go years of the nineteen fifties, 38 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:30,639 Speaker 1: everybody was full of hope and excitement due to good 39 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:35,639 Speaker 1: financial times, modern technology and the introduction of the jet age. 40 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,079 Speaker 1: But in the early sixties we had a handsome, young 41 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: president and his gorgeous wife in the White House. When 42 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: JFK was assassinated on live TV in nineteen sixty three, 43 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: the nation went into shock. Within days, conspiracy theories began 44 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: to make the rounds, and they've never stopped on that topic. 45 00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: Other conspiracy theories flourished, including those about fifty one, the 46 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: Air Force base in Nevada, where the government was said 47 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 1: to have been hiding proof that aliens had landed on 48 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: Earth back in nineteen forty seven. As the Vietnam War 49 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: raged on, trust in the government began to falter. The 50 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: Moon Landing asked you to accept that the government had 51 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: built a spaceship that could reach the Moon and that 52 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,640 Speaker 1: they were telling us the truth about it. An increasing 53 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,760 Speaker 1: number of Americans struggled with both those ideas, so when 54 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: the thrill of the moon landing began to settle down, 55 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: the questions began to rise. A lot of doubters, as 56 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: well as propagandists from the Soviet Union, began to spread 57 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: the idea that the US government and NASA had staged 58 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixty nine landing in an effort to prove 59 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: the US had beaten Russia in the race to the Moon. 60 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 1: Others claimed it was done so NASA could protect its 61 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: government funding, and yet another group claimed it was done 62 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: to distract the public from the upset over the very 63 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: popular Vietnam War. In any case, by July of nineteen 64 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: seventy one, Pole claimed that thirty percent of Americans believed 65 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: that the moonlanding was a hoax. Then there was Watergate, 66 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: which further eroded our trust in the government. By nineteen 67 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: seventy six, the numbers of folks who thought the moonlanding 68 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 1: was all a big fake still hadn't changed much. Twenty 69 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 1: eight percent were doubters. So how did they think it 70 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: was all staged? Well, there were several schools of thought 71 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: on that. Some claimed it was staged at the infamous 72 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: Area fifty one out in the Nevada Desert and in 73 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: the base's vast warehouses. Another theory promoted by the Flat 74 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,359 Speaker 1: Earth Society was that the whole thing had been staged 75 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:48,920 Speaker 1: and produced by legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick on a huge 76 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: Hollywood sound stage. He had just finished making his epic 77 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 1: film two thousand and one a space odyssey. Some folks 78 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 1: even believed it had all been staged in a massive 79 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:04,640 Speaker 1: Midway Western supermarket warehouse. But then the question is why 80 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 1: did so many people suspect a hoax? Well, psychologists say 81 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: the bigness of the moon landing kind of demands a 82 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: bigness of meaning. For some, we did it was enough. 83 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,279 Speaker 1: For others it was staged, felt like the right answer 84 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: in that moment. It was the first major scientific achievement 85 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: beamed directly into our homes in real time. The photos 86 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,840 Speaker 1: showed a flag that seems to ripple, even though there's 87 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 1: no wind on the Moon and there were no stars 88 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: in the background. Now, in reality, the flag had a 89 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: horizontal rod like a curtain rod, so it wouldn't hang limp. 90 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 1: Stars weren't visible in the daylight exposure because the surface 91 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,240 Speaker 1: was lit blazingly bright to capture photos to beam back 92 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: to the Earth. But the picks do look weird thanks 93 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: to early technology. And you know what weird is exactly 94 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 1: what conspiracy theorists love. Scientists debunking the conspiracy stories make 95 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: some good points. They point out that four hundred thousand 96 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: people were involved in getting us to the Moon. Wouldn't 97 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,039 Speaker 1: the secret of a Hollywood sound stage have been hard 98 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:17,119 Speaker 1: to keep silent with that many people involved. Funny enough, 99 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: even today, about six percent of Americans still think the 100 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:25,279 Speaker 1: moon landing was faked, although eleven percent of millennials are doubters, 101 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:28,600 Speaker 1: and they enjoy being on that side of the equation. 102 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:34,719 Speaker 1: Conspiracies come with merch and membership for influencers, fringe ideas 103 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: are a business. There's money to be made in books, speaking, gigs, 104 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 1: ad revenue, and other tie ins. Sadly, we live in 105 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: a world where it's easy to doubt and much harder 106 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: to marvel. But the more we practice allowing ourselves to 107 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: be awe inspired, the less oxygen we give to stories 108 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 1: that turn inspiration into a hoax. And finally, what did 109 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 1: the astronauts who actually stepped onto the moon have to 110 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:06,280 Speaker 1: say about the conspiracy theorists? Neil Armstrong was noted for 111 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: being very calm and very buttoned up, so fittingly, he 112 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: dismissed the hoax talk, saying it wasn't worth his response. 113 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: But the fiery astronaut Buzz Aldrin responded differently. Now it's 114 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: September ninth, two thousand and two. Buzz, the second human 115 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: to set foot on the Moon is walking outside of 116 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: Beverly Hills Hotel when a conspiracy theorist starts harassing him 117 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: and accusing him of lying about the Apollo eleven moon landing. 118 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 1: The guy, bart Cybril says to Buzz, you're the one 119 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: who said you walked on the moon when you didn't. 120 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: Buzz snaps back, get away from me. Cybril shoots back, 121 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: saying you're a coward and a liar, and and at 122 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: that moment, Buzz, who was seventy two at the time, 123 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:56,240 Speaker 1: punches the guy right in the face. Hope you like 124 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: the Backstory with Patty Steele. Please leave a review. I 125 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,640 Speaker 1: would of it if you'd subscribe or follow for free 126 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 1: to get new episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to 127 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 1: DM me if you have a story you'd like me 128 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram 129 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 1: Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories a production 130 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel 131 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 1: Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. 132 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 1: We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free 133 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: to reach out to me with comments and even story 134 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: suggestions on Instagram at real Patty Steele and on Facebook 135 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the backstory with 136 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 1: Patty Steele, the pieces of history you didn't know you 137 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: needed to know.