Conspiracy Comrades

Cameron and Katie

Almost every American can recognize Neil Armstrong’s iconic words when taking his first step on the moon. This step had deeply political implications, ones that expanded far beyond the highly secretive doors of NASA. The Cold War was perhaps at one of the heights of its slow burn, pitting the United States’ space program against the USSR’s. The Soviets successfully launched Sputnik into orbit in 1957, making them the first country to send a satellite, and later an astronaut, into space. Prior to his assassination, John F. Kennedy stressed his intention to send a man to the moon, painting the effort as a dire battle between capitalist and communist power. The moon landing in July 1969 displayed the apparent might of the American space program, and is still today a point of pride and excitement in American culture. However, there are people who continue to believe the moon landing was partially or entirely faked, relying upon slick movie magic and sleight of hand to give us the iconic imagery embedded within the American psyche. This week, we’ll be diving headfirst into perhaps one of the most recognizable conspiracy theories out there: the 1969 moon landing. 

Notes

JFK's "We Choose to Go to the Moon" speech

Why Haven’t We Been Back to the Moon?

The Moon landing at 50: Debunking the conspiracy theories

Mythbusters test

Apollo 11’s Journey to the Moon, Annotated

Adam Ruins Everything: Why The Moon Landing Couldn’t Have Been Faked

JFK’s space program

Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon

 Vox's 50th anniversary article

Genre

Public Affairs

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