1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:27,479 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to 2 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: the show. A fellow Ridiculous Historians thinks again, as always, 3 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,560 Speaker 1: so much for tuning in. Let's hear it for our 4 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: super producer, Max Apocalypto Williams. 5 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:42,160 Speaker 2: Gonna be a Clason? Did they play Clackson's one. 6 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: Bit of a bit of a bit of a doom Bringer? Williams? 7 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 3: Oh, gosh, Clason is just it's just like an alarm, right, 8 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 3: classic class Clackson nixt. 9 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 2: I definitely a claxon in the soundhout library. 10 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: We've got some weird end of the year energy, folks. 11 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: I am as always thrilled to introduce you yet again 12 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: to the one and only mister Nole Brown, mister nol 13 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: Copenhagen Brown. Yeah, hello, Ben. 14 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 3: You know it's funny that you should say that I 15 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 3: did just return from the land of Christmas of Santa Claus. 16 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 3: I went to Denmark and venture Yes and d Lego 17 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 3: to see the band Radiohead, and I've had their song 18 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 3: Idiotech stuck in my head on a loop. In the 19 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 3: first lyrics to that song are Who's in a Bunker? 20 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 3: Who's in a Bunker? Women and children first and a 21 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 3: children first, and a children first, and sadly that song 22 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 3: in my head was all I was going to get 23 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 3: because they canceled the concert that I went there for 24 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 3: because old Tommy Yorke had a little bit of a 25 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 3: seasonal soretquoat, and the second and third of the run 26 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 3: of shows in Denmark were not canceled, but mine was. 27 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: But it was still a lovely trip, lovely solo adventure, 28 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: wonderful to hear they called me ben Bowling, and folks, 29 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: we're glad to hear that is in recovery from his 30 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: sore throat. 31 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 3: I don't mean to be dismissed if it was categorized 32 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,880 Speaker 3: as a severe throat infection, which if you're a singer, 33 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 3: anyone knows how terrifying and debilitating that must be. And 34 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 3: I know they didn't take it lightly rescheduling the date. Sadly, 35 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:19,640 Speaker 3: I'm not going back to Copenhagen on the fourteenth, so 36 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 3: I'm just gonna flip my ticket. But they'll come to 37 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:23,080 Speaker 3: the States, I know they. 38 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: Right, of course, and you'll see them again soon. Take heart. 39 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: Chin's up, folks, fellow ridiculous historians. We can all go 40 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,919 Speaker 1: to a radio Head concert as long as there is 41 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 1: not a nuclear war. 42 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 3: Well, they're actually the perfect band to be listening to 43 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 3: in a nuclear fallow. 44 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: Who's in a bunker. 45 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 3: We're listening to Idiotech kid A in our family bunker 46 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 3: with our nuclear family. 47 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: So the end of the Second World War brought about 48 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 1: a lot of good things. There's a lot of chaos, horror, atrocities, 49 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: literal genocide, and it also launched something we call the 50 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: Cold War, which we've talked about in our sister show Stuff. 51 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: They don't want you to know, we're talking about decades 52 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:17,639 Speaker 1: of nuclear paranoia. The bombs may drop at any given moment. 53 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: It feels weird to make your bed, you know what 54 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: I mean. During the Cuban missile crisis, you're like, should 55 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:25,839 Speaker 1: I make the bed? Or is today the day? Does 56 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: anything really matter? Yeah? Is it all futile and for nothing? 57 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: Is it all a big black nothing? Then? Is it 58 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: all a big black nothing? These questions we ask ourselves 59 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: in the dark nights of the soul. 60 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 3: And that's all because of some very sillily named bombs 61 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 3: that dropped the fat Man and Little Boy that were 62 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 3: dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki reverse respectively. Hiroshima was a 63 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 3: little boy Nagasaki was fat man. And not only did 64 00:03:55,600 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 3: this result in the unconditional surrender of the big bads 65 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:03,080 Speaker 3: in that conflict, at least from where we stand, it 66 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 3: created this arms race and this just sense of paranoia 67 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 3: around a thing that was no longer just conceptual. It 68 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 3: was a thing that had happened, and boy, oh boy, 69 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 3: was it a thing that happened to some people. And 70 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 3: the fallouts pun intended, was utterly, you know, disastrous, And 71 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 3: we then all of a sudden, everyone starts to insert 72 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 3: themselves into that scenario. 73 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,359 Speaker 1: What if it happened here? What if it happened to me? 74 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: This is a question people around the world ask themselves 75 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 1: whenever a disaster of this magnitude occurs, and this launched 76 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: a very strange cultural moment in the United States, in particular, 77 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:49,920 Speaker 1: Uncle Sam said, look, we're going to handle things happening 78 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:52,599 Speaker 1: outside of the borders, and we'll do our best to 79 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: take care of the public and keep you safe. But 80 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 1: just in case, John and Jane blue jeans, just in 81 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: case we don't manage to stop all the bombs and 82 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: the missiles and the rockets, you should consider investing in 83 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: your own protection at home. 84 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 3: And if you can't afford it, then just climb under 85 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 3: your bed and then get in the fetal position, right right, 86 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 3: Surely that's all it'll take. Right, So every time I 87 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 3: think about duck and cover Ben, I think about the 88 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 3: mummified like meducified figures of Pompeii. 89 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, totally man. And I remember having to conduct 90 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: some of those drills in my younger years. It's very 91 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: strange to be a kid and be at a nuclear 92 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: drill where they say, okay, you know the this is 93 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 1: what you do if the bombs are going off, get 94 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: under your tiny wooden desk because that'll definitely do the trick. Right. Well, 95 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 1: what could go wrong? 96 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 3: It is one of those things where it just you 97 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:59,919 Speaker 3: realize how much it was just more of an extra 98 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 3: size in like wishful thinking than it was in actual preparedness. 99 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 1: Exactly. Yeah, it was almost propagandistic. So how do we 100 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:14,600 Speaker 1: get here? As we mentioned, the atomic bombs are deployed 101 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 1: at only one period in human warfare, August sixth and ninth, 102 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five. This was total war. Many civilians were killed. 103 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: If you were ever in the area in either Nagasaki 104 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: or Hiroshima, please do take the time to visit the 105 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:33,839 Speaker 1: historical sites. It's worth it. 106 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 3: And I think we've mentioned this before. Some excellent depictions, 107 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:41,600 Speaker 3: and when I say excellent, I just mean really artistically 108 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 3: rendered and beautiful and tragic in pop culture, like The 109 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,360 Speaker 3: Grave of the Fireflies or Barefoot Gin some of the 110 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 3: animated films that depict the horrors of nuclear war just 111 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:54,279 Speaker 3: incredibly starkly. 112 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: History is always closer than it looks in the rear 113 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: view mirror. What I was last in Hiroshima, I spent 114 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: some time, as you know, no, I spent some time 115 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 1: exploring the museum, the blast site, the history behind it, 116 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 1: and the city itself now is doing very well and 117 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:20,240 Speaker 1: has preserved the legacy of these events. At the time. 118 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 1: Of course, this is still a touchy subject if you're 119 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 1: in Japan, But at the time, the Imperial Japanese government 120 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 1: was pretty nasty, pretty aggressive. If you want to learn 121 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: more about things like Unit seven thirty one check out stuff, 122 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: they don't want you to know, the rape of Nanking 123 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: and so on. What we're saying is in war there 124 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: often aren't really pure good guys. Everybody's got some sins 125 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: and some skeletons in the closet. But because of this, 126 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:58,160 Speaker 1: like you were saying the bombs drop and the United 127 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: States is for a fairly brief amount of time, it 128 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: is the only guy in the game with nuclear weapons. 129 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: You know, I just watched the on the flight back 130 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 1: the Thunderbolts film. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I really liked 131 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:15,400 Speaker 1: it a lot. 132 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 3: It's sad that it didn't really do well in the 133 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 3: box office because I would have loved to see them 134 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 3: take those characters further. But the New Avengers, and there's 135 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,080 Speaker 3: a character in it who I believe is the President, 136 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,480 Speaker 3: played by Elaine from Seinfeld, and she says something like, 137 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 3: it's not about being the good guy, it's about being 138 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:34,359 Speaker 3: the less. 139 00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: Worse guy, or something along those lines. Yeah, she is 140 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:44,719 Speaker 1: a mover and shaker character who is manipulating the heroes. 141 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:47,719 Speaker 1: I don't think she's the president. 142 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:49,560 Speaker 3: But they're talking about impeachment, so she must be like 143 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 3: a high ranking government official of some kind. But I 144 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,080 Speaker 3: definitely didn't clock what her actual job title was. 145 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: It's a great film. Check it out for it. 146 00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:59,560 Speaker 3: I really enjoyed it, and it did it not to derail, 147 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 3: but I thought it did a really cool job of 148 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 3: characterizing addiction in a very interesting way. The main century 149 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:09,559 Speaker 3: character was with the century, the sort of manipulated battie. 150 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:14,520 Speaker 3: He's got a background in substance abuse and mental health issues. 151 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 3: And I thought they did a really thoughtful, tasteful job 152 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 3: of like talking about sort of the shadow self and 153 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 3: all of those things. 154 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 1: And the shadow self is something that the United States 155 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: is considering, both as a government and as the public. 156 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:31,440 Speaker 1: They knew that it was only a matter of time 157 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:37,280 Speaker 1: before this powerful, potentially world ending technology spread to other countries, 158 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: particularly the United States historical frenemie the Soviet Union, and 159 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,959 Speaker 1: for the US at this time post World War two, 160 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:50,720 Speaker 1: right still the only folks in town with the bomb. 161 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:58,160 Speaker 1: They for the US because they were almost certain that 162 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 1: this technology would spread to other countries. They wanted to 163 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 1: flex the power while they had it, right, while they 164 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:09,200 Speaker 1: were the only car with gas in the tank. However, 165 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:15,439 Speaker 1: we also learned history would prove that the Soviet intelligence 166 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:20,760 Speaker 1: apparatus had already well infiltrated the United States nuclear program, 167 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 1: at least to the point where they knew what it was, 168 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:26,520 Speaker 1: and they were quickly figuring out how to build their 169 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: own toys. And this leads us to something weird and sticky, 170 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:36,200 Speaker 1: which is whether or not the Cold War ended in 171 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:38,440 Speaker 1: the West, people are going to tell you it ended 172 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 1: by nineteen ninety one, right, or by the fall of 173 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union. But if you go too, especially Russian 174 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:50,360 Speaker 1: officials and Daddy Vladdie, they'll tell you the Cold War 175 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: never ended. Beat me here, Max, They'll say, there is 176 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:58,040 Speaker 1: not shit, sweet, and it's still it's still go time. 177 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:01,839 Speaker 1: Thank you Max. Well, yeah, I mean, it's as long 178 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 1: as the technology. 179 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:06,560 Speaker 3: Exists and no one's used it yet, and we know 180 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,240 Speaker 3: that people who maybe are not like our best of 181 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 3: pals have it. You're always kind of in a perma standoff. Yeah. 182 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, And this is where we see a house yon 183 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: age peak nuclear paranoia. It's almost like a moral panic. Diy, 184 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 1: do it yourself home. Nuclear bunkers became a thing, and so, 185 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:33,880 Speaker 1: as our research associate, our pal Dylan mentions here, this 186 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:37,280 Speaker 1: was more than just a backdrop for the amazing Fallout 187 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:41,280 Speaker 1: franchise and all the other science fiction works about living 188 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: in bunkers. We want to grab our official Fallout cookbooks 189 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: and start scheming a plan of interior design for our 190 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:53,439 Speaker 1: own Fallout bunkers to house your perfect nuclear family. We're 191 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:56,360 Speaker 1: going to learn more about American propaganda, which was fa 192 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,439 Speaker 1: frankly ridiculous at the time. We're going to talk to 193 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:03,800 Speaker 1: more about duck and cover drills, cartoon turtles, cartoon turtles. 194 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 1: We're also going to explore a little bit of history 195 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:11,520 Speaker 1: along the way. So, as we said, everybody, it was 196 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 1: only a matter of time before there were other nuclear 197 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:18,200 Speaker 1: powers on the planet. On August twenty ninth, nineteen forty nine, 198 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:23,040 Speaker 1: Kazakhstein ends the nuclear monopoly. They test. The Soviet Union 199 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:27,360 Speaker 1: goes there to test their own atomic bomb, affectionately nicknamed 200 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,720 Speaker 1: Joe one. I'd never heard that one before, Ben, I 201 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,120 Speaker 1: know it's called Joe one. Yeah. 202 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 3: And we've got Alex Wellerston writing for History of Science 203 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:39,440 Speaker 3: and Nuclear Weapons, who is a professor at the Stevens 204 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:42,280 Speaker 3: Institute of Technology. During this period, the United States is 205 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,080 Speaker 3: suddenly having to really reckon with the fact that it 206 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:47,840 Speaker 3: is not the only nuclear power out there anymore. 207 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:48,280 Speaker 1: Now. 208 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:50,680 Speaker 3: Instead of just seeing the bomb as this asset that 209 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,600 Speaker 3: we could use or not use, it suddenly brought to 210 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:57,320 Speaker 3: bear that this is something that could be used against us. 211 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 3: You can't put the badger back in the bag. Been 212 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 3: And it's like one of those things where once it's 213 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 3: out there, it's only a matter of time before someone 214 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:07,760 Speaker 3: else figures out to harness fire, right, Yeah. 215 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:11,920 Speaker 1: One hundred percent, Yeah, because everybody wants to be Prometheus. 216 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:21,960 Speaker 1: This is something that the US government is not able 217 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:25,559 Speaker 1: to suppress. The public knows that now the Red Bear 218 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:31,080 Speaker 1: half a world away has its own nuclear capabilities, and 219 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:34,320 Speaker 1: so how do we as the US government address this, 220 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:40,080 Speaker 1: How do we get the public prepared for these terrifying possibilities. Well, 221 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:44,600 Speaker 1: it starts on January twelfth, nineteen fifty one. Then US 222 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: President Truman creates something called the FICTA or Federal Civil 223 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:50,959 Speaker 1: Defense Administration. 224 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,079 Speaker 3: Right, this was a direct respondence to the Soviets nuclear 225 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:58,359 Speaker 3: test of Joe one, an acknowledgment of this new reality, 226 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:02,640 Speaker 3: this idea of a potential new clear armageddon that was 227 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 3: very very real and very very palpable, presenting this nightmare 228 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 3: scenario that the federal government was just frankly completely unprepared for, underfunded, 229 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:17,520 Speaker 3: and just didn't really you know, have the infrastructure in 230 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:21,200 Speaker 3: place to do anything about this because you know, sadly 231 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,360 Speaker 3: that kind of I don't know what you might call 232 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:29,240 Speaker 3: it arrogance that the US is historically presented that you know, 233 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 3: that facade was really slipping. 234 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, because it was confronted by facts. And here's one 235 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:40,280 Speaker 1: of the ridiculous things that the FCDA does. They could 236 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 1: have if they had enough money, they could have allocated 237 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:49,240 Speaker 1: federal funding to civil defense projects. But instead of doing that, 238 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 1: our friends at Civil Defense started putting out propaganda. And 239 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:58,320 Speaker 1: their concept was, look, if we can motivate members of 240 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 1: the public to help do some of this work, that 241 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:05,080 Speaker 1: we're going to save money and we'll have better defended nations. 242 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 1: So if we can, if we can get in people's 243 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: heads enough to motivate citizens at the state, local, or 244 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:16,360 Speaker 1: even private level to pay for their own bunkers, pay 245 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: for their own defensive measures, then boom, we're we're starting 246 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:21,560 Speaker 1: off on second base. 247 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 3: Gosh, Bennett reminds me a lot of like how the 248 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:28,680 Speaker 3: initial push for recycling was its own propaganda to defer 249 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:33,520 Speaker 3: or deflect some of the responsibility of pollution onto the 250 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 3: consumer and. 251 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:36,800 Speaker 1: Say, actually, you should do something about this. This is 252 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:40,320 Speaker 1: on you, exactly, Yeah, put it on put it on 253 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: the consumer, put it on the public. This is one 254 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 1: hundred percent very similar logic. So how do we know 255 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:51,640 Speaker 1: this is propaganda? Well, we know it because if you 256 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 1: look at the old Civil Defense educational pamphlets that they 257 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: spread across the land. You'll see that they are very misleading, 258 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: or they downplay the severity of atomic radiation in nuclear fallout. 259 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 1: We don't know if this was because they actually didn't 260 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: know what happens when a nuclear blast occurs, Like maybe 261 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 1: they didn't know how the radiation, how long the radiation 262 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: would stick around, how far the fallout could spread, or 263 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:23,960 Speaker 1: maybe and this is probably more likely, they did know, 264 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: but they were trying to keep everybody call, which is 265 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:30,800 Speaker 1: just the most unhelpful thing if you're ever in an 266 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:34,960 Speaker 1: emergency situation. I get it. I know we have to 267 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 1: say this kind of stuff when people are scared, But 268 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,880 Speaker 1: I don't think anybody hears a recorded voice saying, calmly, 269 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,800 Speaker 1: proceed to the nearest exit and then in fact proceeds 270 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:47,840 Speaker 1: called That's true. 271 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:49,560 Speaker 3: There is something to be said of, like, you know, 272 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:54,040 Speaker 3: lowering the temperature on this type of tension and this 273 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 3: type of paranoia. Like when I was getting off the 274 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:00,200 Speaker 3: plane in Atlanta yesterday, there was a family that was 275 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 3: clearly very very very stressed about making their connecting flight, 276 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:06,240 Speaker 3: and I wasn't lying to them, but I told them. 277 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:08,159 Speaker 3: They said they had an hour, and I said, Oh, 278 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 3: you'll be fine, you can make it in an hour, 279 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 3: and I was, you know, and it's possible they missed 280 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:16,040 Speaker 3: their flight. But honestly, is it is it better to 281 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:19,679 Speaker 3: like be terrified and worrying about the worst possible outcome 282 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:20,879 Speaker 3: or is there something too. 283 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:22,520 Speaker 1: Just a little bit of wish fulfillment. 284 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:22,960 Speaker 4: Yeah. 285 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 1: And also it's something you can't control, that's right, So 286 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:31,159 Speaker 1: worrying about the things you cannot control, it's kind of 287 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:33,760 Speaker 1: self defeating. But it's something a lot of people do. 288 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,960 Speaker 1: And so the United States, which does have a good 289 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: understanding of large scale psychology, they say, we're going to 290 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:47,640 Speaker 1: reassure the public in some way, right, and we're actually 291 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:50,080 Speaker 1: and I'll use this word, we're actually going to trick 292 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:55,160 Speaker 1: them into thinking simple stuff like a DIY fallout bunker 293 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:58,359 Speaker 1: and duct a cover drills are going to keep you 294 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,320 Speaker 1: safe in World War IIEA, yeah, let's let's let's make. 295 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:05,320 Speaker 3: Some fun cartoons. The kiddies will like a cartoon turtle 296 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 3: telling them everything is going to be a okay. The 297 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 3: fc DA did focus heavily on initiatives that made it 298 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:16,760 Speaker 3: to the classroom, where they were able to sort of 299 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:20,639 Speaker 3: shape a new generation, you know, into thinking about this 300 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,000 Speaker 3: stuff in a way that was perhaps helpful to the 301 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:27,000 Speaker 3: overall narrative from their side, from the perspective of the government. 302 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:30,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. It's the logic that Wu Tang would you 303 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,680 Speaker 1: use later, You get the children right, and then they 304 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,959 Speaker 1: get the adults. Toy companies have done this forever too, absolutely, 305 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:43,200 Speaker 1: So they wanted to talk to kids, not about necessarily 306 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:45,640 Speaker 1: terrifying stuff. They want to be all gloom and doom, 307 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 1: but they wanted to say, hate fellow kids. You know, 308 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: it's really cool gardening at home and canning and make 309 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:59,239 Speaker 1: your dad pay for a bunker. I'm Bertha Turtle. I 310 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:01,480 Speaker 1: was on board with how do we all of a 311 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:04,480 Speaker 1: sudden get to bunker right right? And it would be 312 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:06,360 Speaker 1: the whole family to be fair, not just that. Yeah, 313 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:11,360 Speaker 1: that's true. So kids would practice these air raid drills, 314 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:17,880 Speaker 1: primarily in cities that the US thought were likely targets 315 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:21,120 Speaker 1: for the Soviet Union Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, 316 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:25,000 Speaker 1: a big metro areas, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Philadelphia, et cetera. 317 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,480 Speaker 2: And to jump in here real quick, kind of like 318 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:29,399 Speaker 2: a side tangent. 319 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 5: But back in the day, we had an episode about 320 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:35,919 Speaker 5: how they tested chemical warfare on Saint Louis because it 321 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:39,399 Speaker 5: was the most Soviet Union looking city. 322 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:41,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think I told you guys this one 323 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:41,880 Speaker 2: at least off air. 324 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:43,760 Speaker 5: But I have a good friend, his name is Vick, 325 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:46,720 Speaker 5: who grew up in Saint Louis, and I told him that, 326 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 5: and like the chemical wharf, the chemical testing, which it 327 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,520 Speaker 5: wasn't hazardous, I don't think, but it was like that 328 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:54,400 Speaker 5: that creeped him out. But he's also like the part 329 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:56,480 Speaker 5: that bother room was was like, I don't like the 330 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:58,720 Speaker 5: fact that they think Saint Louis is the most Soviet 331 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:00,720 Speaker 5: Union looking city in this country. 332 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:01,280 Speaker 4: Right. 333 00:20:01,359 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: How much brutalist architecture does the city possess. They got 334 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:09,600 Speaker 1: that arch it's pretty brutal. Yeah, And we also explore 335 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,560 Speaker 1: that that case at length in our books. Stuff they 336 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,199 Speaker 1: don't want you to know. As you said, Max, the 337 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:19,719 Speaker 1: as far as we can tell, the stuff that they 338 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 1: were dispersing, it was targeting poorer neighborhoods, right, And it 339 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: was also according to the people who conducted the test, 340 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: it did not contain dangerous chemicals. Right. 341 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:35,199 Speaker 3: And when we say poorer neighborhoods, we're also referring largely 342 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 3: to black and brown people being targeted. 343 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:41,399 Speaker 1: One hundred percent. Yeah, people who probably wouldn't have the 344 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: legal means to fight back. So this sort of stuff 345 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:50,000 Speaker 1: is old, is dirt, right, these tactics used against the 346 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:53,480 Speaker 1: public for greater good. We also have to point out 347 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,560 Speaker 1: that it's a real trip to watch these old nuclear 348 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:00,560 Speaker 1: war PSAs and instructions for kids because as Bert the 349 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:04,200 Speaker 1: turtle is always in a great mood despite the fact 350 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:07,320 Speaker 1: that in his universe the end of the world has occurring. 351 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,040 Speaker 3: It is, it is on the horizon for sure, but 352 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:12,879 Speaker 3: he has a real can do attitude. He is fully 353 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:16,400 Speaker 3: convinced that ducking and covering, because he's a turtle by 354 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:18,120 Speaker 3: the way, that's what he does. He pulls his head 355 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:20,800 Speaker 3: and his legs inside of his shell. Makes sense, was 356 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:25,320 Speaker 3: gonna be enough to protect our meat bodies from explosive radiation? 357 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:29,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, and he also he also spent a lot of 358 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:33,480 Speaker 1: time trying to normalize the concept of ducking and covering. 359 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:36,760 Speaker 1: You've got to see this absolute banger duck and cover. 360 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,720 Speaker 1: It comes about because in nineteen fifty one, Uncle Sam 361 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:44,159 Speaker 1: hires an ad agency out of New York called Archer Productions. 362 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,440 Speaker 1: They say, Okay, make this film for kids and tell 363 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:51,439 Speaker 1: them how to, you know, feel like they're protecting themselves 364 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 1: from atomic war. So they come up with this guy Bert, 365 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:57,600 Speaker 1: Like you said, Nola, I love that he's a turtle. 366 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:01,160 Speaker 1: So he's got like a walking bunker already. And he said, 367 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:05,399 Speaker 1: Burt would go on in this cartoon and he would say, look, kids, 368 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:10,280 Speaker 1: ducking covery is no different from reacting to a fire, 369 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:14,520 Speaker 1: or wearing a seatbelt, or making sure not to get sunburn. 370 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:16,879 Speaker 3: Let's hear a little clip from the from the this 371 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:29,920 Speaker 3: video that we're talking about. He's got a bow tie, 372 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:35,600 Speaker 3: snow and of flowers, also wearing a military helmet. 373 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,080 Speaker 1: Oh no, the monkey's dangling a piece of dynamite. I 374 00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 1: love that. I love this idea of like the nuclear bomb. 375 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 3: Is this tantamount to a monkey dangling a single piece 376 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:54,640 Speaker 3: of dynamite? 377 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,399 Speaker 4: Be sure remember what Bert the Turtle justed, friends, because 378 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:01,040 Speaker 4: every one of us must remember to do the same thing. 379 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:05,000 Speaker 4: That's what this film is all about. Duck and cover. 380 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:08,919 Speaker 4: This is an official civil defense film produced in cooperation 381 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 4: with the Federal Civil Defense Administration and in consultation with 382 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:16,400 Speaker 4: the Safety Commission of the National Education Association. 383 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:20,000 Speaker 1: Produced by Archer Productions. What do we always say? About 384 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:26,200 Speaker 1: seemingly innocuous organization names sketchy. That's a real sketchbook page. 385 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 1: But the point there is true. You can watch it. 386 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 1: It's exactly what we're describing. The Simian creature dangling a 387 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:40,320 Speaker 1: stick of dynamite blows himself up and blows the tree 388 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:44,480 Speaker 1: up that he's hanging from. But our hero Bert is 389 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:49,120 Speaker 1: safe because he what ducked and covered. Right. It's right. 390 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 3: And if you're watching the new IT series, welcome to 391 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:57,280 Speaker 3: Darry No spoilers. But when Pennywise the clown finally appears, 392 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:00,480 Speaker 3: the first thing he says to the kids is ducking 393 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:01,960 Speaker 3: cover kiddos. 394 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: Oh wow? Is it the same? Is it the Scars Guard? 395 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:05,399 Speaker 3: It is? 396 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, because he's back and he doesn't it's it's it's 397 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:09,600 Speaker 1: it's Scott's issues. 398 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:11,439 Speaker 3: But I'm enjoying it. But it is the same exact 399 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:13,960 Speaker 3: era that we're describing here. I like what I've seen, 400 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 3: but I haven't seen the latest episodes. I'm a big 401 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:21,040 Speaker 3: fan of Stephen King, and I'm a big fan of 402 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:23,479 Speaker 3: almost every part of the novel. 403 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:23,639 Speaker 1: It. 404 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, you don't like the you don't like the part 405 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 3: where they I don't like that part. 406 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 1: You don't like that part. 407 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:30,560 Speaker 3: You don't like that one part, not just look up 408 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:33,560 Speaker 3: that one part and yeah, you don't. 409 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:35,720 Speaker 1: Have to describe it, but we'll keep it. Peach through 410 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,679 Speaker 1: Cocaine's a hell of a drum. That is honestly what 411 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:43,800 Speaker 1: Stephen King probably said several times. So if we go 412 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,160 Speaker 1: back to this, this is already kind of Stephen kingish 413 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:47,000 Speaker 1: and creepy. 414 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:51,440 Speaker 3: Right the million you know, he he he absolutely these 415 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,199 Speaker 3: He would have grown up in this era with this 416 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:57,040 Speaker 3: type of paranoia and fear and this idea of the 417 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:01,919 Speaker 3: godlike power of destruction. Obviously the stand is about something 418 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 3: similar to this, and he is very much on the 419 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:05,520 Speaker 3: man's mind, no question about. 420 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:09,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, but look at it from a practical perspective, if 421 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:13,199 Speaker 1: we separate the propaganda, just to be clear, if we 422 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:17,240 Speaker 1: haven't been clear enough ducking and covering in the event 423 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:21,480 Speaker 1: of a nuclear bomb on a school, it's not gonna save. 424 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,360 Speaker 3: You, ain't gonna do it, not gonna happen, Nope. So 425 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:27,200 Speaker 3: but it's good to have, you know, things that you 426 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:30,879 Speaker 3: think will will help. Again, it's all it was propagandistic 427 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:32,520 Speaker 3: and that none of this was going to actually do 428 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:35,719 Speaker 3: any good, but it kind of had a calming effect. 429 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,480 Speaker 1: Potential. Sure, Yeah, who doesn't level a little ritual, a 430 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:44,720 Speaker 1: little procedural placebo, that's what this becomes. And W. Gale Sterns, 431 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:48,639 Speaker 1: who is the director of the Civil Defense Division of 432 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:53,600 Speaker 1: Education and Training, came to educators and said, look, you 433 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,840 Speaker 1: need to not just settle for Bert the Turtle or 434 00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 1: breakout Star. You need to make sure that we're in 435 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:04,600 Speaker 1: co operating civil defense in every daily function. It's way 436 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: more than just something a federal agency does. You, my 437 00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:12,320 Speaker 1: fellow Americans, need to make this your way of life. 438 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:15,720 Speaker 1: And that's where the whole bunker industry comes in, which 439 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 1: is cool. 440 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, And as you mentioned earlier, been a lot of 441 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,399 Speaker 3: this had to do with how unprepared we as a 442 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:31,520 Speaker 3: country and as a government actually were. So this idea 443 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:36,480 Speaker 3: of rather than maybe putting infrastructure in place, building these 444 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:39,920 Speaker 3: things for you, having some sort of national preparedness plan, 445 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:44,400 Speaker 3: it was almost like shifting the responsibility to the individuals. 446 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:48,080 Speaker 1: Exactly one hundred percent, right. And I don't know, I 447 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:50,720 Speaker 1: am sure that I've mentioned this to you some point 448 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:54,679 Speaker 1: over the years, but I used to live in I 449 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:58,200 Speaker 1: think there was a creepy stone castle essentially off a 450 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,720 Speaker 1: street here called Morland Nice. I know Moreland. Yeah, like 451 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:05,840 Speaker 1: the house on knee Bolt Street. It was built by 452 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 1: a very short man back in the twenties or thirties, 453 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:12,959 Speaker 1: and it was not really up to modern code. But 454 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 1: one interesting thing this guy did, who was very paranoid, 455 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 1: he built a bomb shelter in his castle. There was 456 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:24,719 Speaker 1: a room in the basement obviously you know windows, It 457 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:27,720 Speaker 1: was four to five and it was creepy. We turned 458 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:29,520 Speaker 1: it into a dark room for photography. 459 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:34,320 Speaker 3: Bomb shelter, fallout, shelter, bunker, all of these things can 460 00:27:34,359 --> 00:27:36,440 Speaker 3: be synonymous, right, yeah. 461 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:40,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, exactly. And so let's fast forward. It's nineteen 462 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:44,960 Speaker 1: fifty eight. President Eisenhower has issued something called the National 463 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 1: Shelter Policy, and this is a public info campaign trying 464 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:55,639 Speaker 1: to motivate citizens to build their own home defenses, primarily 465 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:59,000 Speaker 1: do it yourself bunkers. So again, like you were saying, no, 466 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:03,959 Speaker 1: this puts the responsibility of civil defense on the individual, 467 00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 1: on the family. And there were there were equally propagandistic 468 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 1: things that people said, like the Civil Defense director at 469 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:18,240 Speaker 1: the time, Leo A. Wo h O E g h. 470 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:21,280 Speaker 1: He said every hole should be a fortress. 471 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:25,080 Speaker 3: Right and almost like factoring it in or piggybacking this 472 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:25,960 Speaker 3: into this. 473 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:28,240 Speaker 1: Idea of the American dream. 474 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:30,600 Speaker 3: You know, like making it part of Like that's why 475 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:33,720 Speaker 3: fall Out, the series and the video game is so 476 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:35,560 Speaker 3: interesting because it does such a good job of like 477 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:38,640 Speaker 3: the way they advertise these vault tech vaults. 478 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: It's in that. 479 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:43,160 Speaker 3: Same kind of like, you know, the modern household, the 480 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:47,280 Speaker 3: modern family, all of the amenities and technologies that you 481 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 3: know kind of were part and parcel for what it 482 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:52,440 Speaker 3: meant to be a great American living in the age 483 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:54,280 Speaker 3: of you know, technology in the future. 484 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 5: Yeah, and the jombing real quick, as you know, I'm 485 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:58,920 Speaker 5: a big fall Out fanly, like all three of us. 486 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:00,760 Speaker 5: It's like one of her things because it is kind 487 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:05,360 Speaker 5: of an alternate universe where basically fifties culture just continues, 488 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:08,479 Speaker 5: it doesn't change and progress sixties stuff like that. And 489 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 5: so yeah, it's just like watching all this stuff. I've 490 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,400 Speaker 5: always found this is one of my favorite areas of studying. 491 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:18,240 Speaker 5: But uh, and I think like Fallout just captures. 492 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:18,320 Speaker 2: It so well. 493 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:22,280 Speaker 1: I mean, I love retro futurism, man, I'm super into it. 494 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:27,800 Speaker 1: And they're also selling this dystopian thing. The argument is 495 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:32,880 Speaker 1: from officials is not only is it your duty as 496 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,600 Speaker 1: an American citizen to be prepared. It is also your 497 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 1: privilege and it should be your aspiration. We're not just 498 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:44,160 Speaker 1: gonna make you build a bomb shelter. We want you 499 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:46,800 Speaker 1: to be happy that you're doing it right. We want 500 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:48,040 Speaker 1: you to feel good about it. 501 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:50,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, this idyllic sort of quality of like, no, no, 502 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:52,880 Speaker 3: this is just it's the same as like, you know, 503 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:57,840 Speaker 3: having the latest appliances in your kitchen, you also need 504 00:29:58,080 --> 00:29:59,600 Speaker 3: a really dope bomb shelter. 505 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, right, keep up with the Joneses. And this is 506 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:07,960 Speaker 1: where we see things like the senator from Georgia at 507 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:10,280 Speaker 1: the time, or a senator from Georgia at the time, 508 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 1: Richard Russell. He's the damn guy, right, Richard B. Russell. 509 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:16,360 Speaker 1: Dam isn't that a thing? 510 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:16,479 Speaker 4: Oh? 511 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:19,360 Speaker 1: I think you're correct, man, that's a great reference. I 512 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:22,440 Speaker 1: didn't put that together, but yes, you're absolutely right. And 513 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:28,480 Speaker 1: this guy, Senator Russell, would say, look these shelters that 514 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:33,040 Speaker 1: again you people have to build. They are absolutely mission 515 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:38,000 Speaker 1: critical for the US to maintain global dominance as a superpower. 516 00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 1: He said, quote, if we have to start over with 517 00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:44,320 Speaker 1: another Adam and Eve, I want them to be Americans 518 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:46,920 Speaker 1: and not Russians and I want them on this continent 519 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:48,120 Speaker 1: and not in Europe. 520 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:51,120 Speaker 3: However, the problem is, or the flip side of that 521 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:53,800 Speaker 3: is the father of the higher gen bomb, doctor Edward 522 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:59,600 Speaker 3: Teller said that without actual government subsidized preparedness and civil 523 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,600 Speaker 3: defense infrastructure put in place like some of these, you know, 524 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:06,960 Speaker 3: more nationalized bomb shelters, the United States. 525 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:08,320 Speaker 1: Would quote cease to exist. 526 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:11,360 Speaker 3: So this was really kind of kicking the can down 527 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:14,000 Speaker 3: the road because of a lack of preparedness, because they 528 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:16,040 Speaker 3: just were a little too high on our own supply 529 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:18,800 Speaker 3: and thought nobody else can be as big of a 530 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 3: big shot as we. 531 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:24,200 Speaker 1: Are, right exactly, and historically that doesn't work out well 532 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 1: for empires. The tensions continue to rise throughout the Cold War. 533 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:32,120 Speaker 1: Fast forward. It's July twenty fifth, nineteen sixty one. We've 534 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:36,280 Speaker 1: got a different president now. His name is JFK and 535 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:41,600 Speaker 1: he has to go to the public and say, look, yes, 536 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:47,080 Speaker 1: tensions are escalating, we want peace, but these guys are crazy. 537 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:50,680 Speaker 1: And as a result, oh, friends and neighbors, it is 538 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:53,800 Speaker 1: a great time to be in the home shelter business. 539 00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:57,320 Speaker 1: They're selling like hotcakes, they're selling like fruitcakes. 540 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:00,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's where the whole voltech you know it comes 541 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:03,400 Speaker 3: from the Fallout universe. So this really starts to become 542 00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:06,800 Speaker 3: a boom time for the Family Fallout Shelter, which was 543 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:10,520 Speaker 3: actually the name of a book that sold twenty two 544 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:14,240 Speaker 3: million copies nineteen fifty nine. The Family Fallout Shelter was 545 00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:16,120 Speaker 3: really a pamphlet, I guess you could call it. It 546 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:19,800 Speaker 3: was released by the Office of Civil Defense Mobilization, and 547 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:22,960 Speaker 3: in it they detailed a step by step guide for 548 00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 3: explaining to families how to build their own fallout shelters 549 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:32,840 Speaker 3: as an extension of their like home garages or basements 550 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:34,920 Speaker 3: or digging into the backyard. 551 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:40,400 Speaker 1: And these instructions are well intentioned, but they did not 552 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:44,960 Speaker 1: age well. It's very much leaning on those nuclear family 553 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:47,240 Speaker 1: gender roles that we mentioned earlier. 554 00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:50,880 Speaker 3: Mom wearing an apron, dad smoking a pipe, you know, 555 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:52,760 Speaker 3: all of that stuff. This is like what a great 556 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 3: father son activity, right, digging out a fallout shelter would. 557 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,520 Speaker 1: Be, right, exactly. And we can back this up with 558 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:03,480 Speaker 1: a state from historian Sarah A. Lichtmann who said, quote, 559 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:07,080 Speaker 1: the desire to protect the imperiled home long a bulwark 560 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:11,520 Speaker 1: of American frontierism and self defense, now translated to staving 561 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:15,120 Speaker 1: off the physical and psychological devastations of nuclear attack. 562 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:19,640 Speaker 3: Well, then the question becomes, would these you know, obviously 563 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 3: thankfully knock kong would we didn't have to put this 564 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:25,480 Speaker 3: to the test, But would these as described in the 565 00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:30,040 Speaker 3: family fault outsheltered structures or extensions of the home. Would 566 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:32,800 Speaker 3: they have worked? Would they have been a little bit 567 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:34,200 Speaker 3: of a step beyond duck and cover? 568 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:38,080 Speaker 1: One might hope. Yeah, that's the million kiloton question, isn't it. No, 569 00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:44,480 Speaker 1: Because now we see again this ritual of doing something 570 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:47,640 Speaker 1: to feel that you are protecting your family, to feel 571 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:52,560 Speaker 1: that you are more empowered. But the materials that they 572 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:58,000 Speaker 1: would use for construction had to be readily available, right, 573 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:02,479 Speaker 1: so you had to go You're literally being told to 574 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:06,640 Speaker 1: go to a hardware store and make a little room 575 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:09,279 Speaker 1: that's a bit more fortified than the other rooms in 576 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:12,040 Speaker 1: your house. And I think we all thought about this. 577 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:15,200 Speaker 1: This is also the era of the like prefab homes 578 00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:18,480 Speaker 1: that Steers in Roebuck advertised in their catalogs. Steers in 579 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:22,760 Speaker 1: Roebuck catalogs obviously a big propagandistic force in and of itself, 580 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:23,399 Speaker 1: creating this. 581 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:26,680 Speaker 3: Image of the the you know, the modern American family. 582 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:29,160 Speaker 3: So think about it like that these are the kinds 583 00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:32,680 Speaker 3: of ad campaigns we'd be seeing, whether on the local 584 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:35,560 Speaker 3: level or more national level, fire sale low price on 585 00:34:35,640 --> 00:34:38,040 Speaker 3: nuclear fallout shelters for a family of five, don't miss 586 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:41,120 Speaker 3: this great opportunity to guarantee your future exactly. 587 00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:44,960 Speaker 1: Yeah. And we're talking about stuff like concrete blocks, ready 588 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:49,839 Speaker 1: mixed border, wooden, post board, sheeting, pounds of Dale's you 589 00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:52,640 Speaker 1: know again, stuff you could get at your local ACE 590 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:58,000 Speaker 1: hardware store essentially, And we can then say in our 591 00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:00,799 Speaker 1: buddy research associated Dilien agrees with us, we can then 592 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:05,319 Speaker 1: say that, no, the vast majority of these home shelters 593 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:09,759 Speaker 1: probably would not have worked in the face of a 594 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:13,239 Speaker 1: direct nuclear attack. Yeah, yeah, I don't think so. 595 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:18,719 Speaker 3: It's not to mention, like, I mean, if it wasn't 596 00:35:18,719 --> 00:35:21,720 Speaker 3: a direct hit though, Ben, Yeah, and you were able 597 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:25,920 Speaker 3: to wade out the like literal fallout and all of 598 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:29,080 Speaker 3: the nuclear materials and you know, the stuff that would 599 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:34,240 Speaker 3: you know, permeate the air, you know, surrounding the impact 600 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:36,720 Speaker 3: zone of a nuclear blast. 601 00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:40,960 Speaker 1: What would have been left exactly Yeah. I mean that's 602 00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:41,400 Speaker 1: the thing. 603 00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:43,920 Speaker 3: Too, like when you emerge, right, and that's also the 604 00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:46,759 Speaker 3: stuff of post apocalyptic fiction as well. 605 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:50,960 Speaker 1: What happens after right, and you usually, yeah, you get 606 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,840 Speaker 1: to that question of whether or not you want to 607 00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:56,840 Speaker 1: continue living in the world that is left in the 608 00:35:56,920 --> 00:36:01,200 Speaker 1: smoking ruins of human civilization. Again, folks, check out our 609 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:04,000 Speaker 1: episode on stuff they Don't Want you to know? Can 610 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:08,560 Speaker 1: you survive a nuclear attack? That was a very sobering 611 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:12,839 Speaker 1: one for us. The statistics are frightening. It's also kind 612 00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:14,799 Speaker 1: of frightening too. I'm not sure what to make of this, 613 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:20,600 Speaker 1: because it's frightening to imagine that the US government knew 614 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:25,080 Speaker 1: it was misleading people and continue to do so. They 615 00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:28,360 Speaker 1: were asking people to lobby for the US to directly 616 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:30,200 Speaker 1: strike the Soviet Union. 617 00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:33,239 Speaker 3: No, and again back to the hubris of it all, 618 00:36:33,520 --> 00:36:38,040 Speaker 3: I guess given you know, yeah, that was not great. 619 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:40,719 Speaker 3: Knowing that the technology existed, perhaps it would have been 620 00:36:40,719 --> 00:36:44,960 Speaker 3: smart to have made some bigger picture, long game plans 621 00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:47,480 Speaker 3: for what might happen if this were to end up 622 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:50,040 Speaker 3: in the hands of quote unquote the enemy. But given 623 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:53,400 Speaker 3: the circumstances and all of that hubris, was this about 624 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:56,279 Speaker 3: the best they could do given the timeline. 625 00:36:56,480 --> 00:36:59,160 Speaker 1: I think so, because they were at a crisis moment 626 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:02,600 Speaker 1: and they were trying to thread the needle as best 627 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:05,920 Speaker 1: they could, but it prevents all out panic, right, but 628 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:10,400 Speaker 1: it absolutely did lead to ridiculous history. And this wasn't, 629 00:37:10,719 --> 00:37:14,399 Speaker 1: by the way, this wasn't a super successful initiative. By 630 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:17,839 Speaker 1: around nineteen sixty, the real height of the Cold War, 631 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:21,800 Speaker 1: as the West understands it, something like maybe three percent 632 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:25,080 Speaker 1: of the American population had actually built a shelter. 633 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:27,799 Speaker 3: Pretty rare to hear about, Like, oh, it's kind of 634 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:30,520 Speaker 3: an oddity if you end up renting a home or 635 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:33,040 Speaker 3: purchasing a home and no, there's a fallout shelter. Like, 636 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:37,440 Speaker 3: it's definitely not something that there are an absolute heap of. 637 00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:40,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, you know what I mean. What they were aiming 638 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:45,080 Speaker 1: for to be kind of like a normalized structure in 639 00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:48,959 Speaker 1: any given household, kind of the way that so many 640 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:53,160 Speaker 1: homes in Finland have saunas, and it's normalized in like 641 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:55,360 Speaker 1: an apartment complex. It's weird for there not to be 642 00:37:55,360 --> 00:38:00,640 Speaker 1: a sauna apparently. But this is where we have to 643 00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:04,319 Speaker 1: leave it. In the immortal words of our pal Bert 644 00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:09,120 Speaker 1: the Turtle, Duck and Cover, it's the best we got. 645 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:10,720 Speaker 2: It's the best we've got. 646 00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:14,879 Speaker 1: We have the best audience in the history of podcasting. 647 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:18,319 Speaker 1: That's you, specifically you. Thank you so much for tuning in, folks, 648 00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:21,399 Speaker 1: and big thanks to our super producer mister Max Williams, and. 649 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:23,799 Speaker 3: Huge thanks to our research associated for this episode, Dylan 650 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:26,760 Speaker 3: Wade Clark, excellent job on this brief. 651 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:30,560 Speaker 1: Jeez, Chris Frasiotis and Eves Jeff Coates here in spirit. Oh, 652 00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:35,279 Speaker 1: totally yeah, Doctor Rachel Big Spinach, Lance aj Bahamas, Jacobs, 653 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:39,880 Speaker 1: and famously the guy who wouldn't let other people into 654 00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:43,919 Speaker 1: his fallout shelter, Jonathan Strickland. Man, I'm sure you would 655 00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:47,680 Speaker 1: if we asked nicely. Let's text him. Okay, let's do it. 656 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:54,080 Speaker 1: We'll see you next time, folks. 657 00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:59,920 Speaker 3: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 658 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:02,160 Speaker 3: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,