Mass for Shut-ins: The Gin and Tacos Podcast
News:Politics
Motivated by the Chinese balloon story that recently if briefly dominated the news, Kelsey Atherton (@AthertonKD) joins me to talk about PROJECT GENETRIX (1956), a Pentagon scheme to float almost 600 balloons over remote parts of the USSR and China. Turns out balloons are not well-suited to espionage duty for reasons that should be obvious to anyone over the age of ten.
We also talk plenty about the recent balloon incident, the link between GENETRIX and the phenomenon of UFO sightings, and about how a crashed GENETRIX balloon is indirectly responsible for mankind's first photos of the dark side of the moon.
Check out Kelsey's substack, Wars of Future Past, and his recent contribution to Slate on the China incident.
Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me via twitter (@edburmila).
Thanks: Kelsey, the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
034 - Ryan Cooper (Left Anchor, American Prospect)
Minicast E2: The Contest Everybody Won
Minicast E1: Carter Glass of the Glass-Steagall Act
033 - Bunion Derbies
Minicast D8: The Cantaloupe that Changed the World
Minicast D7: The Giant Ruby Affair
Minicast D6: New Vietnam Theme Park
Minicast D5: The Grandfathered Spitballers
Minicast D4: John Brisker, NBA Star Turned Ugandan Mercenary
032 - Jen Howard (Clutter)
Minicast D3: Free Cars
Minicast D2: Agatha Christie Disappears! Sort of!
031 - The 1976 Swine Flu Vaccine Fiasco (David Parsons of Nostalgia Trap)
Minicast D1: The Poet Laureate of Kiribati
030 - Mike Konczal, Freedom from the Market (2021)
Minicast C10: The Hidden Politics of "The Night Before Christmas"
Minicast C9: I Beg Your (Presidential) Pardon (Power)
029 - Post-Election All-Mailbag Episode 2020
Minicast C8: Brazil Begs and Barters into the 1932 Olympics
Minicast C7: Harold Hering asks, what if the president tries to launch nukes while out of his mind?
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