WEBVTT - Introducing: The Last Soviet

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Lance Bass, and you may know me from a

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<v Speaker 1>little band called in Sync. What you may not know

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<v Speaker 1>is that when I was twenty three, I traveled to

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<v Speaker 1>Moscow to train to become the youngest person to go

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<v Speaker 1>to space. Band member is one step closer to saying

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<v Speaker 1>bye bye bye to planet Earth. I spent six months

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<v Speaker 1>learning Russian astrophysics, even flying a fighter jet with a drunk.

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<v Speaker 1>Commanders have named Lance Bass as a member of the

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<v Speaker 1>three person crew. It was the craziest experience of my life.

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<v Speaker 1>And when I was there, as you can imagine, I

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<v Speaker 1>heard some pretty wild stories. But there was this one

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<v Speaker 1>that really stuck with me. It's about a man who's

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<v Speaker 1>traveling two miles above the Earth at five miles a second.

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<v Speaker 1>His name is Sergei Krikov. He's a Soviet cosmonaut, and

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<v Speaker 1>he's manning the world's only space station, the Pride and

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<v Speaker 1>Joy of the U. S. S R. The year is

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<v Speaker 1>Sarage has been up there for three months. By now,

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<v Speaker 1>as the days bleed into one another, he's starting to

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<v Speaker 1>feel a bit space sick. He's been counting down the

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<v Speaker 1>weeks till he's due to come home to his wife

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<v Speaker 1>and family, and that's when his friend, a ham radio

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<v Speaker 1>operator in suburban Australia, tells him something shocking. She says,

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<v Speaker 1>serge something bad is happening in the Soviet Union. After

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<v Speaker 1>months strikes, protests, and deepening economic chaos. People are sleeping

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<v Speaker 1>in train stations. I gave them my money that they

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<v Speaker 1>should old one. We won't give you your bread. Law

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<v Speaker 1>and order seemed to be breaking down. Red Almi Almus

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<v Speaker 1>personnel carriers on the streets of Moscow this morning heading

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<v Speaker 1>to the Kremlin. The republics that make up the Union,

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<v Speaker 1>her star being to break away were wild saints. Three days.

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<v Speaker 1>His handlers on the ground tell him, we can't keep

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<v Speaker 1>this from you anymore. Everything is collapsing around us, including

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<v Speaker 1>the Soviet Space Agency. We've run out of money. We

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<v Speaker 1>can't send anyone to replace you. So we're giving you

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<v Speaker 1>a choice. You can come back down to Earth's plan

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<v Speaker 1>and abandon the station to an unknown fate, or you

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<v Speaker 1>stay as long as it takes and protect the station,

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<v Speaker 1>the final outpost of a falling empire. This is the

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<v Speaker 1>story of the days Sergei spent circling the Earth three

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<v Speaker 1>d and thirteen days that changed our world. Thanks Christ,

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<v Speaker 1>Cars like climsy toys. Historians are likely to be analyzing

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<v Speaker 1>the events of this day for generation is to come

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<v Speaker 1>in Moscow, the Hammer and Sickle is lord for the

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<v Speaker 1>last time, and an era comes to an A pay changed,

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<v Speaker 1>a rank or status, everything changed. It was rather like

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<v Speaker 1>he was a time traveling I'm Lance bass And from

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<v Speaker 1>Kaleidoscope and I Heart Podcasts, This is the Last Soviet

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<v Speaker 1>Starting on February. Listen to the Last Soviet on the

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get

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<v Speaker 1>your podcasts.