The Preamble

A religious leader with a raging drug addiction who led his following to a tragic end. A President with the hope of finding peace between Israel and Egypt. And a politician who was pivotal to the early LGBTQ+ rights movement, and lost his life in the process. Join us as we explore the stories of three men in 1978 who all had specific visions of the world, and the reality of those visions coming to fruition. If you’ve ever wondered where the term “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid” came from, or you want some context for what is happening in the Middle East, you’re in the right place. 

Content Warning: This episode contains subject matter that is not suitable for children.

Did you know that Star Wars almost started a war in real life, over a sand crawler model? Would the film have been so wildly successful if someone else had been cast in the role of Han Solo, such as – let’s say – Christopher Walken? How would a band today be received if their drug use was so integral to their music, that they considered thanking their dealer in the liner notes? And let’s take that iPhone from your pocket and compare it to the speed of an Apple II computer in 1977, which was 3,000 times slower. Join us as we explore revolutionary cultural shifts in the late 70s, and how these phenomena have evolved in the last four decades.

A happenstance introduction to Charles Manson. Assassination attempts against President Ford, a man who was never elected to the vice presidency or presidency. And the kidnapping of a college student and newspaper heiress, 19-year-old Patty Hearst, that rocked the nation. Following Nixon’s resignation and the end of the Vietnam war, the country was in freefall. When, and how, did the U.S. begin to mend its wounds from political scandal and years of a grueling war? And what role did an unconventional campaign and powerful grassroots efforts have, regarding a certain peanut farmer who would later become president?

Family Lore is a weekly narrative podcast that celebrates and investigates ancestral mystique. Each episode begins with a guest sharing a fascinating family legend, followed by a historical deep-dive to uncover the truth and meaning behind the tale. Available now.

https://link.pscrb.fm/f0281/FLFD

Draft dodging. When did the draft lottery begin for the war in Vietnam, and who among America’s youth was hit the hardest? It was an unwinnable war, and thousands of high school graduates and college students refused to comply. What sparked these explosive protests nationwide? What role was marijuana and heroin playing back in Vietnam? And how did two decades of the costly, divisive conflict finally come to an end?