TV Moments That Changed The World | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a. production of iHeart Radio. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm. Josh and there's Chuck and Jerry's here, too. And this is the first episode of. the 226. It. >> I thought there was already another. episode out. >> Yes, this is the first one. Chuck, I. think this comes out on 11. >> Really? >> 26? Oh, okay. Pretty sure. Yeah.

>> I thought we had already crept into uh. 26, but that's no matter because it's. still 25 for us. >> Yeah, there's some weird time stuff. that's going on. We're essentially. straddling two years right now. And uh. I'm wearing a silver spaceuit because of. that. Uh, all that to say, if we're a. little loose, it's because this is our. last recording sesh of the year. >> And so, we're closing this out or. opening up the next year.

>> with uh a good oldfashioned top 10. that's not a 10 like just like the old. days. >> That's right. We're we're finishing up. 2025 and stuff you should know fashion, right? >> Yeah. Just like we did in probably 2010. >> Yeah. Probably. Uh, Chuck, if you'll allow me to begin. >> Oh, boy. It's just a classic old school. opening. >> Chuck, >> do you have a TV? >> Have you ever seen TV? >> I knew it was coming. Uh, yes.

>> Uh, it was either that or Webster. defines TV. >> Right. Right. >> One of the two. Um, I've I've seen TV, too. Not only have I seen ATV, I've. watched what's broadcast on TV as well, multiple times throughout my life. >> Same. >> It's funny, we chose this um moments. that changed the world. TV moments that. changed the world. And as you're kind of. researching this, you realize like for. better or worse, man, TV is it like it. made modern culture.

more than anything else, I think, in the. entire world. I would I would argue more. than the internet. >> Interesting. Yeah, I'm just going to say. it. >> All right, I'm not going to argue. I'm. not in an arguing mood. >> Well, people who disagree, just follow. us on this journey into TV moments that. changed the world and maybe your your. opinion will be changed. Either way, I. don't fault you. >> All right, great. >> So, let's start at the beginning when. like the day that TV really kicked off.

in earnest. There was a day that this. happened. It was April 30th, 1939. in Flushing, New York on Long Island. And if you are familiar with that date. in that area, you may know that this was. the 1939 World's Fair. And this is where. TV got its start, where it was really. kind of unveiled to the public at large. >> That's right. Not the 1940 World's Fair, howstuffworks.com, because there was not. one. >> No. >> Uh, yeah. So, you know, TV had been.

around for a bit. Um, but it wasn't. super widespread at this point. I feel. like we talked about this a lot lately. for some reason. >> Yes. Uh, stuff is just really clicking. these days. I'm not I'm not sure why. >> it really is. Uh, but they had broadcast. limitations. They could only broadcast, you know, for a limited number of miles, like out a limited number of miles. >> Mhm. >> Um, but by the time that World's Fair. came along, they were like, "Hey, this. is a chance to make a really big. splash." uh the RCA uh corporation, the. radio corporation of America, which also.

then led the way in TVs. >> They were putting out some pretty good. televisions at the point, but they were. luxury items. Uh and again, they didn't. have like the most regular broadcasting. going on, but they knew that this. World's Fair was a chance to make a. super big splash, >> right? So, yeah, this is where they were. going to start selling TVs to the. public. The problem is you can have all. the TVs in the world, but if you don't. have anything to watch on it, >> Good point. >> What What are you going to do? nothing. You're going to sit there like a jackass. and look at a a blank TV. So, luckily.

RCA thought of this and they founded. NBC, the National Broadcasting Company. to start broadcasting stuff. So, they. brought the whole thing together, the. broadcasting and the TVs themselves. and. they debuted it um on April 30th, 1939. when they I think created the world's. first live television broadcast of. Franklin Roosevelt um kicking off the. 1939 World's Fair. >> That's right. Uh and we did mention this. one in another episode, but he was, you.

know, sort of the the first president. daddy of TV, granddaddy of TV. Mhm. >> And like you said, he opened it up there. and, you know, NBC had gotten there and. they had their, you know, you know, now. antiquated uh TV technology all lined. up. It was just pretty whisbang at the. time. >> Sure. >> And they sent signals through these. mobile broadcasting trucks, which I. mean, it's pretty amazing that in the. 1930s they had the technology to even. accomplish that, >> right? Uh so it was pretty impressive.

still uh to this day and broadcast that. signal out to about 2,000 viewers which. seemed like a big number at the time I. imagine. >> I'm still impressed with news fans. >> Oh yeah, sure. >> Of the time which is our time. >> I'm impressed with news fans of today. >> That's what I mean. >> Oh okay. >> I didn't get it across very well. >> Yeah. Yeah. So, um, one thing I saw, I. was looking up pictures of this 1939. World's Fair, the RCA pavilion.

Apparently, they built one of their. televisions with in transparent, I. guess, glass or something like that, maybe plastic. Um, so you could see the. internal working part so that people. wouldn't think it was just some sort of. trick. >> Oh, wow. Interesting. >> That's how new it was. >> Yeah. Uh, oddly, since we're recording. our Christmas episode, I feel like this. pause before the next one is gonna. include like jingle bells and things, >> right? >> But it's not going to. We're just simply. moving on to another one, which is. Disney's Wonderful World of Color.

>> Uh, I'm sure you, like I grew up. watching, um, I guess by the time we. were watching it in the 70s or me in the. 70s and you likely in the 80s, it was. called The Wonderful World of Disney. I watched Walt Disney Presents, I think, is what it was for me. >> Oh, okay. So, I guess uh yeah, since I'm. only a year older than you. >> I was watching The Wonderful World of. Disney cuz this show had some title. changes. But the reason we're talking. about this at all, it's because uh of. the advent of color television, which.

Walt Disney himself really got behind. and was like, "Hey, I want to be the. dude that kind of brings this to the. masses, >> right?" Because just like how you could. have TVs but nothing to broadcast, you. could have color TVs and if you weren't. broadcasting in color, what's the point? And again, this was an issue for RCA and. by then, of course, they had NBC and NBC. was rolling pretty well. Yeah. But Walt. Disney's anthology series had started. years before and it was on ABC. ABC.

wasn't broadcasting in color. So Walt. Disney personally held a meeting with. NBC. >> and said, "We we want to do this.". Apparently, he told. >> he said that um he said, "Vellas, I want. this deal. If necessary, I'll stand on. my head in Macy's window.". >> Yeah. And and all the executives said, "Uh, you don't have to do that. It's a. pretty good idea." So, why are you why. are you being weird? >> Yeah. But he was just that enthusiastic. about the whole thing. But he personally. went and pitched the idea to NBC. And.

the reason why again is NBC was the. first network to broadcast in color. And. so Walt Disney really kind of pushed. this through because NBC would have. broadcast in color either way, but Walt. Disney wanted to do it in like high. style. >> Yeah, for sure. Uh, and this is a a TV. show that launched in 1954 and ran for. 34 seasons. Uh, obviously at first in. black and white and like I mentioned. earlier, you know, the name changes, I. guess they had one, you know, between my. birth and your birth. >> Uh, because it was initially called. Disney's Wonderful World and then.

Magical World of Disney. >> Yeah. And then when The Color debuted, he was like, "We really want to be sort. of obvious with this, so let's call it. Disney's Wonderful World of Color.". >> Yeah. >> But we still haven't even said what this. was. I mean, you mentioned anthology. series. It was it was like a variety. show. Uh essentially, they had cartoons. and stuff. Uh I remember when I was a. kid that the Davy Crockett uh TV show uh. and it says in in this How Stuff Works. article, it launched the Coonkin cap.

craze. And I I have a picture of little. 5-year-old me with a with a musket and a. leather vest and a skinin cap on my. head. So, I was into that. >> I had one, too, but I don't have a. picture of it, so I can't prove it. >> I can probably dig that up and throw it. up on the Instagram maybe to to align. with this. So, I'll I'll try and find. that. >> You gota. >> I got it. >> Um, so there were also like a lot of. documentary programming, right? And you. would think like, oh, okay, hard-hitting. frontline.

documentaries. No, not at all. It meant. that they would go and film stuff under. various themes at Disneyland. They were. essentially big ads for Disneyland. He. used that big time. And I mean, they. were well produced and interesting. Sure. >> But they really went to that well quite. a bit in every episode. >> Not in the first episode, though. instead the first episode and this is. the moment that changed the world as far. as color TV goes. It was on September. 24th, 1961. And uh it was the episode was two parts.

And the first one was an adventure in. color. And it it really was a bit of an. adventure. Like it was a bunch of little. segments that really kind of showed off. what you can do with color TV and just. must have knocked the socks off, knocked. the skin caps off of all the little. kids sitting at home. >> That's right. Uh, and it also featured. something called the Spectrum Song, which kind of explained what was going. on cuz I guess they felt the need to. explain color to people who had gone.

around their entire lives seeing real. life in color. Uh, but I guess like you. said, it was a pretty whisbang thing to. see thing to see it on your TV for the. first time. >> So, they went to great lengths to. probably overexlain that. Uh, and this. is also when we got the debut of uh, Professor Ludvig von Drake. uh from the. the Disney duck world. >> Yeah, he was kind of an eccentric um. inventor. His self-written bio bio was.

um he's an eminent psychologist, renowned color expert, etmologist, the. most soughtafter lecturer in the world. Yeah, he is undoubtedly the outstanding. genius of the century. >> So, he was fairly egotistical, but he. was also funny and he became beloved and. this is where he came from. uh that. first Adventure in Color half and then. the second half was a theatrical release. featuring Donald Duck because all of. these uh like Disney cartoons that we. just, you know, take for granted today, you used to have to go to the theater to.

see them, but when you went to the. theater to see them, they were in color. You saw them on TV, they were in black. and white. Now you could see them in. color on TV without leaving the comfort. of your home. >> What was their deal with the ducks? Was. that I mean I guess it's just like any. other cartoon animal, but they really. leaned into the ducks. >> It was a great excuse to draw something. without pants. >> Ah, okay, that makes sense. I I never. got into any I was a little old for like. ducttales and all that stuff. >> That was a good show. >> So like Donald Duck was my only I guess.

exposure. My only duck exposure. His. little feathered fanny. Oh, sorry. Sorry. listeners in England. I know what that. means there. >> That's right. >> Yeah. >> Nice catch. Um, to be uh to be perfectly. honest, I was a little old for DuctTales. 2, but I still watched it. >> Yeah. Well, you know, we all regress. >> Um, I never progressed, I think. >> Oh, come on. >> So, uh, just like Disney probably. promised RCA and NBC, like they started. selling color TVs like hotcakes thanks.

to in large part the wonderful world of. color. Disney's Wonderful World of Color. to be exact. >> That's right. And that feels like a. great time for a break, huh? >> Yes, it does. >> All right, we'll be right back, everybody.

All right. So, um, you might think that. we're going in chronological order. We. are not. We're going to go back in time. a little bit from the debut of Color TV, but after the World's Fair in 1939, >> two years after, um, and we're going to. go to, you know, I never found out what network. this was on. Did you?

>> No. Uh, silly. >> Let's just call it ESPN. >> Okay. So, on ESPN uh in 1941 on July. 1st, this is a moment that changed the. world. Some people who are watching the. Brooklyn Dodgers uh at the Philly at the. Philadelphia Phillies, um essentially. saw the first television ad ever. >> Yeah. Uh it was either nine or 10. seconds long. It depends on the source. that you site, but it was pretty short. And all it was, and I know we've talked. about this before because I have seen.

this before and I can't think of any. other reason why I would have, >> right? >> But it is a scene of a bull of a clock. face uh just sort of superimposed over a. map of the United States and it's had. the phrase over over the top of it like. a Chiron, the world runs on Bull Time. >> Mhm. >> And about 4,000 people saw this ad and I. imagine they were like, what the heck is. this? Why am I Why am I hearing about. Bulliva? >> And why do I suddenly feel like buying a. Boliv watch?

>> Yeah, probably. >> What's super quaint and sweet is that um. the ad cost Bulla $9. The whole thing. >> Even for the time, that's crazy. >> Yeah. Even at the time, that's $195. today. So, that was quite a sweet deal. >> Sure. >> Um and the the what it did was show like. this is a we can do this. We can. advertise to people. And it's not to say. that there were just no ads on TV before. the Bulliva ad, but they just followed a.

completely different format. So much so. that the Bulla ad is pretty safely. considered among historians as the first. actual TV commercial. >> Yeah. And that's for a couple of. reasons. Um, you did mention some other. uh ads, but before that it was like, you. know, this program is sponsored by. whatever. And that was just the ad. It. was an actual TV commercial in between. uh content. Uh the first ad, I guess, if. you count that stuff was in 1930.

>> Mhm. >> The year TV debuted really. And it was a. a furrier. Man, it seems like it would. have been from like 1830, but it was a. furrier in Boston called J Fox Furriers. who sponsored the CBS orchestra. Uh it. was a program called the Fox Trapper. So. that, you know, that's kind of how ads. went up until 41. >> Yeah. And that was the radio format. It. was essentially they just took the. format that had been pioneered on radio. and now they were doing it on TV. That's. not really an ad. If you call that an. ad, you're just being contrarian, right?

>> Sure. >> There were still even other ads, but. they were illegal because it wasn't. until 1941 that the FCC started issuing. licenses to run commercials on on. broadcast networks. But that means that. the ads before them were illegal. I I. could not find any mention of what these. ads were for, but I got the impression. that they were just experimentation. networks kind of on the sly figuring out. how to do it as they went along. So. again, Boliva is the first actual TV.

commercial that was legal and that was. also produced with the intent, the sole. intent to sell a particular product on. air. That was it. That space of air was. filled up by an ad. That was the first. time ever. >> That's right. Uh, and I don't know if we. mentioned this before, but for those who. aren't familiar with our cannon, uh, in. the old days of Stuff You Should Know, our boss, uh, Connell Burn, who, um, who. commissioned the the whole show to begin.

with and changed our lives. >> Thank you, Connell. Uh, he came up to us. at one point after we had been doing it. a while and said, "Hey, uh, people are. running ads on podcasts now and we need. to get into this." And we were like, "No. way, no how. We're not going to foul up. our show by selling it." And then. eventually he said, "Well, you know, if. we can sell this thing, it'll make the. company money." And on down the road, maybe this just becomes your job. I. don't know if he said that, but the. writing was kind of on the wall. >> and maybe this can just become the only.

thing you do here and you won't be. writing articles for housetopworks.com. anymore. And we went, tell us more. Yeah, you you make a good case here. >> Yeah. >> Hey, Chuck, we're real quick. Speaking. of our cannon, so for all of you. listeners out there, just a little. behind the scenes peak. Oh, yeah. >> We have like I think including short. stuff in the neighborhood of 2,300. episodes. It doesn't really get it. across when you say 2,300. We have a ton. of episodes in our back catalog. And we. like people write in all the time and.

they're like, "You should do this. episode." We're like, "We did like seven. years ago." And it's like a lot of. people just have no idea the episodes. we've done. So, we're trying to like. figure out how to get it out there. better. >> Yeah, for sure. Uh that's the reason we. mentioned this. We've been sort of uh. putting our heads together at iHeart. Media because like you said, a lot of. people don't, you know, I think iTunes. serves up about 300. But here's a little. trick. If you're on your podcast player. for for iTunes on your iPhone, if that's.

how you listen, um when you scroll down. through like the first five episodes, there's a little button there that says. see all 2000 plus episodes. And if you. click on that, they're all there and you. can scroll through. But, you know, a lot. of people don't know that. Um a lot of. other players don't, you know, who knows. how many they display, but it's a. frustration for us. And uh so it's just. a gentle reminder that um there are. literally thousands of these episodes. out there. >> Yeah, they're all also I think you said. on the iHeart Radio app and stuff you. should know.com has the vast repository.

and a pretty good search function. >> And one of the ways we figured out like. we could probably like we could probably. do a lot better about mentioning. episodes. >> like specifically when they come up in. another episode like a new episode. But. I feel like we're going to have to do a. lot better than we normally do which is. like Can we do some episode on something. related to this? >> Yeah, >> we got to figure it out. But we will cuz. there's just a bunch of great episodes. just sitting there waiting for people to. discover. >> That's right. And with that, we move on.

to. >> Oh, wait. >> Yes. >> We have to do the Super Bowl comparison. You have to do it if you talk about the. Bulliva ad. >> Do we really? >> Yes. >> All right. You take it away then. I. refuse to take part. So, if you write or. talk about the Bulliva ad, it's. basically incumbent upon you to compare. that ad cost, the $9 cost to what it. would have cost had they run it on a. Super Bowl. And so, for the 2025 Super. Bowl, if Boliv had run this, they would. have paid $2.35 million for those 10.

seconds. >> Amazing. >> Quite a deal. >> That's right. >> There I just kept us from being sued. Uh, well, I don't even think we're even. I think we're supposed to say the big. game, aren't we? >> It No, like we're supposed to not buy. into that. Oh, >> okay. I gotcha. All right, moving on to. the next one on the list. Uh, is the. That was a good segue, too, because we. can't talk about like our old episodes. and then say also there was a. devastating tsunami in 2004 in the. Indian Ocean, >> right? because that happened and we you.

know if you're of a actually you don't. have to be much of a certain age but on. December 26, 2004 there was an undersea. earthquake uh about a 9.0 0 magnitude. that um set off this incredible tsunami. in the Indian Ocean. Um I mean we've. done episodes on tsunamis and. earthquakes and we've talked about all. this before but. >> uh it was about 100 ft tall traveling at. 500 m an hour, not much advanced warning. and uh was one of the most devastating.

um tragedies in human history. It killed. uh close to 230,000 people in 14. countries. Uh it also sparked the. biggest uh rail disaster in history when. it uh completely wiped out a train uh. traveling along the coast of Sri Lanka. >> Mhm. >> And we mention all this because uh the. the only positive that came out of this. was the media's reaction which sparked. the incredible amount of uh philanthropy. and aid and giving uh in its aftermath.

>> Yeah. Because the the I was reading a a. study on this. is called um media. coverage and charitable giving after the. 2004 tsunami. It was by Philip H. Brown. and Jessica H. Minty. >> Yeah. >> And there they said like the media. coverage was unprecedented. Like it. didn't they the world didn't forget. about it in like three days. Yeah. >> It was 24-hour coverage of this disaster. for weeks on end. Right. And because uh. these these images were broadcast around.

the world and because it was so. mind-bogglingly devastating, people just. opened up their pockets. >> I saw 99 different countries donated and. 13 of those countries had never donated. for a natural disaster relief before. It. got to everybody. >> Yeah. And there are I think about 195. countries in the world. >> Yeah. which it's kind of like do better. other 96. countries.

>> Yeah, I I imagine the countries that. didn't give have their own issues had. their own issues going on, you know. >> Well, now I feel bad. >> No, don't don't feel so bad. Uh but they. have done studies. Um that 2006 study. that you referenced, um they said that. the Catholic relief charities uh got a. million dollars in three days, which. would turn out to be small beans in the. long run, but over three days, that's. quite a haul. uh Save the Children got. more than $6 million in 4 days. Uh the. Lutheran World Relief raised more money.

in a week than it does in a year. And. the AP found that 30% of American. families donated in the first two weeks. And just from the United States, there. was about 1.6 billion and estimates. around the world were about 14 billion. raised. >> Yeah. And just to kind of go over the. power of the the media, one thing I left. out here is that that same study found. that one extra minute of coverage on. television equated to an increase in. internet donations by 16 to 20%. So like.

this this the impact it's just. essentially like a a classroom lesson. Yeah. >> In the impact that media can have, the. positive impact that media can have. And. that's I mean that's that is definitely. something to uh TV's credit. >> Yeah. you want to move on to well move. backward to Vietnam. >> Yeah. Again, we're jumping all over the. timeline. Uh and we're in Vietnam right. now because uh I guess we should talk a. little bit about previetnam and as far.

as media coverage go because before that. uh World War II and certainly the Korean. War, uh what you got as far as media. coverage was highly sort of uh curated. and regulated. government mediated film reels. uh you. would get news updates, they would play. in movie theaters. Uh by the time we got. to Vietnam, they had, you know, like. handheld cameras you could literally. take to the front lines. >> And it really changed the way war. coverage went. And as a result, the way.

um the way people felt about the war. because World War II, everyone was they. were pretty rahrh and you got these raw. films. So morale was big in America, you. know, they were like, "Hey, this is this. is great. We're fighting the the Nazis, >> right?" Another huge factor was that by. 1966. 93% of American homes had a TV and just. 13 to 16 years earlier in 1950 it was. 9%. Yeah. >> So TV was firmly established in the.

American psyche. You remember in in. Wonder Years whenever they um sat down. and had dinner they always had the TV on. showing Vietnam coverage. >> Yeah. >> That's what it was like. >> Yeah. For sure. And so the the fact that. everybody had um TVs, the fact that now. there was like cameras that you could. easily allow a journalist to embed with. um and the the idea that the government. really shouldn't control propaganda um. shouldn't control the news like that. um.

created this this atmosphere where the. the broadcasters were willing to show. like really heart-rending. unflinching stories of what the the. soldiers fighting for the United States. were doing in Vietnam and what was being. done to them and it really shaped. America's view of that war. >> Yeah. I mean, it it definitely um. made the mood and the how we saw the war. like pretty dower, but people, you know,

going into Vietnam, there were a lot of. people already like before even the. coverage started that were like, "What. are we doing in Vietnam again?". >> It wasn't like World War II where the. where the Nazis were trying to, you. know, take over the world. >> Uh and so, you know, this just made. everything worse. Uh but, you know, worse in a positive way because it was. showing the reality of things. It wasn't. government controlled. Um I'm sure there. were, you know, just countless meetings. uh behind the scenes in the Oval Office. where they were like, "We're getting.

crushed by the reality of this war and. how it's being depicted in the media.". I'm sure they were, you know, pretty. upset about losing control of that. narrative. >> Yeah. No, they definitely were. And. later on, um I think the Iraq war was. another considered another television. war. Certainly the um Gulf War, the. first one was um but and and the. government kind of learned from losing. the control over the narrative in. Vietnam, but they weren't able to regain. control. Yeah. And so the the sentiment.

toward Vietnam and and the United States. kept getting worse and worse and. protests were um getting bigger and. bigger. There was like a very um healthy. anti-war movement. Um, and essentially. because the public was was feeling this. way, their public sentiment was that way. toward Vietnam. And because if you. turned on the news, the evening national. news, you would see like terrible. coverage that was not flattering at all. to what the United States was doing in. Vietnam. Yeah. >> Elected officials basically had no.

choice but to listen to people. And it. definitely led to the earlier probably. an earlier withdrawal than the United. States may have otherwise taken. >> Yeah. and and you know change the way. that it went moving forward because you. know the writing was on the wall at that. point for the for the US government. They're like we've we can't go back to. World War II. As much as they wanted to. kind of control that narrative, >> the American people at that point would. not have it moving forward. So it really. kind of changed the whole relationship. of how any kind of conflict is covered.

>> It did. So now they've struck a balance. between allowing reporters to embed and. just relying on those national news. reporters to disseminate the propaganda. because if you watch embedded coverage. for the most part it is fairly. >> rahrrah. Even if it's not overtly rahrh. because that the American public's a. little more savvy than that it's still. nothing like the coverage was of Vietnam. from what I understand. Well, yeah. And. just the way wars are fought now, there's not like a front line um like.

you had back then. So, I remember. watching the Gulf War and it was just. all those like, you know, black and. white shots of bombing things from. thousands of feet above, you know. >> Yeah. And then the beginning of the Iraq. war, remember it was shock and awe? >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> And it was like it was produced. essentially for TV. The initial attack. on Iraq. >> That's so gross to I don't know. I'm not. going to editorialize, but to to name. something like that, like, hey, that. sounds pretty pretty awesome,

>> you know. I think it was either Rumsfeld. or Cheney who came up with that, and I'm. not surprised either way, >> for sure. Uh, should we take another. break? >> Oh gosh, I wasn't expecting that. Sure. >> All right, we'll take another break and. finish up with a couple of more uh. moments that change TV history right. after this.

Uh, all right. We're going to move on to. another show, but uh we should mention. that the original House of Works article. included um of course the moon landing, which was a huge TV event, but we. covered all of that in which episode? >> We have an episode on that. It's called. How Going to the Moon Works from 2019. And it was a really interesting episode. that really covered in depth the lunar.

landing. >> That's right. Part of the 2300 episodes. plus. >> That's right. >> But we're not going to talk about that. We're going to talk about a TV show that. we've talked about here and there before. uh called Cops. Uh because Cops is, and. I know I mentioned this in that other. episode, whatever it was, it was a show. that I used to watch, um with more. regularity than I like to admit now. Uh. >> I think everyone watched it a lot. >> Well, it was never, and I'm not excusing. it, but it was never like appointment. TV. In fact, I don't even know when it. came on. This was just in my younger.

channel surfing days where it was like. you're surfing around, cops was on. I. would watch cops and I was never like, "Yeah, yeah, go go go." But, you know, I. I found it probably entertaining and. amusing. And now that I'm a little older. and know more, I was, you know, slightly. embarrassed that they were sort of. exploiting uh many times people who had. mental illness and who were suffering. through pro poverty and addiction and uh. so I'm not so proud of that, but I'll.

admit that I watch my fair share of. cops. >> I watched it, too. So, um, Cops changed. the world in two ways. And this this. moment was March 11th, 1989, which is. when it debuted on Fox. This is just. three years after Fox premiered, nine. months before The Simpsons even. premiered. Cops started on Fox and it. helped make Fox the fourth network. It. was just such a huge show right out of. the gate. And um, they the two ways that. it uh, changed the world is one, it set.

the groundwork for reality TV. >> Yeah. you can make a pretty good case that it. was one of the it may be the originator. of reality TV. There weren't scripts. There wasn't any star. There wasn't any. um narrative or plot lines. It was just. like here's some cops and here's a crime. that they're going to fight. We don't. have a script. We just generally know. what's going on. Which ostensibly is the. the basis of any reality show. >> Yeah. I think you know what we should do. an episode on at some point is I can't.

remember the name of it now cuz it just. came to me but I think kind of the first. real reality show was that one where. they followed the American family around. in the ' 70s maybe. >> wasn't it PBS or British or something? >> I think it was PBS and then they they. made a fictional account of that um as a. movie not like a four or five six years. ago that was pretty good too. I think. James Scandalini was in it. >> Okay. I would have guessed Peter. Sarsgard as the dad. Uh, it was really. good though. Anyway, that really kicked. off reality TV. Uh, MTV's Real World.

didn't come out till '92, but Cops. certainly laid the groundwork for kind. of like trashy reality TV, you know? >> Right. Yes. The other effect that it had. on the world was it really reinforced. unfair racial stereotypes. >> Yeah. >> Uh, among white Americans toward black. Americans, people of color in general in. the United States. It was an enormous. show. It drew like 8 million viewers. each week. That's a crazy amount of. people.

>> It peaked in the 90s. But even from the. first episode, civil rights groups were. like, "Whoa, wait a second here." Like, a lot of these criminals are black and. this is way disproportionate to reality. I thought this was a reality show. And. the cops producers, um, Barbara Langley. Productions were like, "Well, it's. realityish." you know, like it's not the. actual portrayal of reality. It's a. skewed toward entertainment version of. reality. So, just settle down. And the.

civil rights groups are like, "We're not. settling down. That actually makes it. even worse.". >> Yeah. I mean, the cops loved it cuz they. were portrayed as heroes. Uh, it was a. great recruiting tool for police. officers. >> Uh, and you know, I guess we have some. stats from the Marshall Project. Uh, they did a a analysis in 1994. Um, most. of the officers on balance were white, um, suspects were more likely to be. black or Hispanic, uh, as far as the. numbers go, they found that, uh, while.

sexual assault, robbery, and murders. account for just 13% of all crime, um, in 1994 at least, it was 43% of what you. saw in cops. >> Mhm. >> Um, I don't remember a lot of sexual. assault and murder, though. Everything I saw in cops were like. robberies and drug arrests or just, you. know, uh DUI, being drunk out in public, stuff like that. >> Or a dude hiding under a kitty pool. >> Yeah, he was probably drunk or on drugs, >> right? Um. >> yeah, that's what I remember. I don't.

remember like more serious crime. So, I. was kind of wondering about that stat. >> Yeah, I don't remember that either. Um. the they also found that same study. found that um the show was far more. likely to associate black and brown. people than whites with violent crime. Uh they were black and brown people were. 40%. um there was a 40% chance compared to a. 13% chance for whites. >> Um so it was like it wasn't just civil. rights groups like sensing there's. something off about this. like people.

conducted actual studies and found also. that a viewer of cops was likelier to um. maintain the racial stereotype that. blacks are typically criminals than a. person who didn't watch cops. So it had. a really large impact. And yet despite. that, this is 94 that that study came. out. It wasn't until 2013 that Fox was. finally like, "Okay, fine, fine. Yes, okay. We'll cancel the show. We've made. our money over 25 seasons and thanks to. civil rights organization Color of.

Change, Fox dropped it and that was the. end of Cops Forever, right? No, no, no. It was picked up by Spike TV. Uh they. ran it until 2020. Then after 2020 with. all the, you know, sort of light shined. on police brutality, they said, you. know, maybe it's just not so good to run. this anymore. Mhm. >> But Fox Nation stepped up and brought it. back in 21 and it is still going in its. 37th season. Uh the other thing it did. was sort of create the um the idea of. the Florida man. Um because they started.

I believe they debuted in Broward County. >> and shot a lot there over the years. And. they they shot um I think they shot in. more than 100 cities in the end, but a. lot of their content was shot in Florida. and kind of sort of reinforced this. whole Florida man thing. Yeah, I don't. know that that's skewed. >> Yeah. All right, fair enough. >> Let's finish up, Chuck, on like a truly. happy moment. Well, depending on which.

nation you're from, uh, the USSR or the. United States. Um, if you're from the. United States, this is a really good. high point for your country in 1980 and. the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York to be exact. And there was this. one event that America was really uh the. unlikely winners in and it was men's. hockey. >> That's right. Uh this is during the. height of the Cold War. So uh the US and. the Soviet Union, you know, those it was. just it was all you heard about if you.

were a kid growing up in the 70s and. 80s. It was such a big deal. Uh the. Soviet Union won the Olympic gold medals. in ice hockey in uh 56 uh and then 64 68. 72 and 76. So they ran the Olympics. basically from the mid60s to the mid. mid70s. >> Mhm. Uh, and then 1980 came along and. you had a a US hockey team and first of. all the Soviets hockey team I believe. there was a player uh Fetisoff who said.

later on that was probably the best team. that the Soviet Union had ever put. together. So they were. >> the the drago and we were a little rocky. >> because the American team at the time, this is before they allowed pro players. to play in the Olympics. There's a bunch. of college kids and they were. >> I mean to call them underdogs was a. massive understatement. >> Yeah. And a lot of the credit um goes to. the coach of the Olympic men's team, Herb Brooks, who was the University of.

Minnesota Golden Gophers hockey coach, >> Kurt Russell. >> Oh yeah. >> Yeah. He played him in the movie. Oh, I. thought that was Amelio Estz. >> Well done. >> So, um, the United States did not just. despite how it ended, it they did not. get off on a very good footing. Uh, there is an exhibition game. Yeah. At. Madison Square Garden a few days before. the 1980 Olympics. Um, same month and. everything. And they Soviet Union and. the United States played in this.

exhibition match. And the Soviets. really, you could use the word walloped. um pretty effectively in this case. The. Soviets won 10 to3. So it did not look. like uh the United States men's hockey. team was going to produce much in the. Olympics that year. >> Yeah. You don't see a lot of. double-digit scores in hockey. If you're. not familiar with hockey, you you know, you see a lot of like. >> two to nothing, three to two. Once you. score over 10 goals, it's it's a big big.

deal. So, uh the Americans weren't even. supposed to advance that much in the. Olympics, but they had a bunch of. comeback wins, had a lot of close calls. that they won, uh and they got into the. medal round and face the Soviets who up. to that point in the Olympics had. outscored their opponents 51 to1. Mhm. >> So, on February 22nd, 1980, and I know I. mentioned this before, but I actually. watched this match as a uh I guess I.

wasn't even nine yet. It was right. before my 9th birthday. >> Oh, yeah. >> I wasn't even that into hockey, but we. were an Olympic family, >> right? >> And I I remember I have a very distinct. memory of being in my parents' bedroom. for some reason, which I usually wasn't. much allowed in cuz it was I don't know, it was the ' 70s. It was like, "Don't go. in my bedroom.". >> Mhm. >> But we have this little black and white. TV. I guess my dad was watching other. stuff out there uh on the larger console. TV, but I I remember being in their. bedroom and watching this match on the.

little black and white TV and knowing as. a little 8-year-old like what a huge. huge deal this was. >> Yeah. And you uh said something that I. think kind of applied to a lot of the. nation. Hockey was not really a thing. Nothing like it is now in the United. States. like you had to live in a place. where your rivers froze over every year. to to to like hockey. It was a very. regional sport. >> Um and yet like you said, the entire. United States tuned in for this match. because it was the evil Soviets.

>> Yeah. >> And like our to our younger viewers or. listeners like you don't you can't. imagine what they told us about the. Russians. Like essentially if you were a. kid in the 70s, '8s, um probably 60s. too, you were basically taught that if. you ever crossed paths with anybody from. the Soviet Union, they would slash your. throat just as soon as look at you. Like. that was essentially what people thought. of the Soviet Union at the time and vice. versa. So it was the big bad Soviets who. were just this huge juggernaut of a team.

and the Americans, the rag tag underdog. Americans standing up to these these. this evil empire and um that's why. everybody tuned in. >> Yeah. It was I remember very having the. distinct feeling it was communism versus. democracy. Really? >> Right. Right. Which is Yeah. Which is uh. I think what happened in that um that. Super Bowl with the Falcons versus the. Patriots. same thing. >> Oh man, my my darkest day as a Falcons.

fan. Maybe. >> that was rough. It. >> was either that or losing to the Jets. last week. >> Oh yeah. >> Oh man, I can't talk about it. >> Okay, I won't. >> Uh very sad season ticket holder here. Um, so Americans of course came back and. won and I remember uh our our goalie Jim. Craig like skating around after wrapped. up in the American flag and that was my. first like real taste of. >> uh of like understanding what it was. like to be an American and again a. different time where you know it was the.

Cold War and it it felt like a real win. for democracy in a weird way. >> Yeah. So, um, a lot of people, well, I. think basically everybody calls that. game the miracle on ice. >> Yeah. >> And the reason why is because the. commentator who is calling the the. hockey game, Al Michaels, who, as far as. I know, had only um called one hockey. game previously at the Saporro Winter. Olympics years before, he did a. magnificent job. And as the the time is. running out in the third period, America. staged a comeback and scored two goals.

and they were up four to three with. several seconds left. And remember, this. Soviet team was good enough that they. could score a goal and tie within a few. seconds. So, the Americans are just. skating around the ice trying to keep. the puck away from the Russians. And Al. Michaels is counting down the seconds. And I think with about 4 seconds left, when it became clear that the Soviets. weren't going to be able to score a. goal, he goes, "Do you believe in. miracles?" Yes. >> And if you watch it today, you just get. to just amazing chills just even the. last like 30 seconds of that game. It's.

really neat. >> For sure. I wonder if uh before the game. Al Michaels was like, "It's a puck, Al. It's a puck. It's a match. It's not a. game." Yeah. Uh and if anyone brings up. icing, just you explain it, >> right? Just pretend it doesn't exist. >> Exactly. >> So, uh ESPN called it the most famous. hockey game ever played. >> For sure. >> Sports Illustrated ranked it in 1999 as. the top sports moment of the 20th. century. It was a big deal. And again, I. would I would strongly urge you to if. you don't go watch the whole match,

watch at least the third period or watch. the the last couple minutes and several. minutes after that where they're Yeah. they're celebrating. It's just you can. just feel like the whole country going. crazy. >> Yeah. Pretty incredible. Uh and if. you're ever, you know, at a dinner party. and a group of people and they're. talking about when the US beat the. Soviets for the gold medal, >> uh you can be the actually guy. Uh. because that was not the gold medal. match. I think a lot of people remember. it that way because it was such a big. deal. But um that was an uh I guess a. bronze round.

>> Yeah. >> And the US went on to win that gold. against Finland. >> Yep. Two days later. >> Pretty great. >> Pretty great, everybody. So that's it. Those are the only moments that changed. the world in the history of TV. All the. rest of them were pretty ho home. >> That's right. >> Uh you got anything else? >> Uh I got nothing else, sir. >> All right. I think this is a pretty good. start to 2026, don't you? >> I think it's great. >> Okay, Chuck said great. That means it's. time for listener mail.

>> Yeah. You know what? Let's let's start. off the year without a listener mail and. just uh um make a push to remind. everyone that we're still kicking off. pretty soon in a few months. It'll be. year 18. >> in April. And uh we always are still. looking to grow the show and uh we don't. do it much, but if you could rate and. review the show, that means a lot. if. you could tell friends and family like, "Hey, there's this podcast. It's been. around forever and we like it.". >> Uh we may or may not be Golden Globe. nominated. We don't know at this point. cuz we're going to find out next Monday. >> Mhm. But uh yeah, go out and spread the.

spread the good word and we look forward. to seeing everybody uh on the road this. year in the United States and Canada. >> Yeah, we're going to be on the road this. this month in January, also in April, and then Canada this summer. So, you can. get tickets and info at stuffyou. know.com. And if you want to say happy. new year or whatever, you can send us an. email. We love that. You can send it to. stuffodcast@ iheartradio.com. Stuff you should know is a production of. iHeart Radio. For more podcasts, iMheart.

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