An Americanist
Welcome to An Americanist, your go-to solo podcast for a quick and snarky dive into the current events and politics shaping our nation! As a daily extension of the An Americanist blog, I’m here to break down the headlines that matter—Monday through Friday—without the fluff and filler.
In each bite-sized episode, I tackle the latest political news, dissect current events, and share my unfiltered thoughts, all with a sprinkle of humor and a touch of sass. From legislative shenanigans to social issues stirring the pot, I’ll keep you informed and entertained in just a few minutes each day.
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An Americanist
Moon Rocks, Naked Pilots, and AI Fiancés
Ever wonder what drives people to commit bizarre, headline-worthy acts? From cosmic theft to public nudity and digital romance, today's roundup explores the strange side of human behavior.
The centerpiece of our discussion is the mind-boggling case of Thad Roberts, a brilliant NASA intern with triple majors who orchestrated the theft of $21 million worth of lunar samples from Johnson Space Center. His motivation? Beyond financial gain, Roberts wanted to symbolically have "sex on the moon" with his girlfriend by placing stolen moon rocks beneath their hotel bed sheets. Despite the audacity of stealing irreplaceable scientific treasures, Roberts and his accomplices received surprisingly lenient sentences – raising questions about how we value these cosmic artifacts and the justice system's response to unique crimes.
We also dive into the case of an EasyJet pilot whose post-flight celebration in Cape Verde took a naked turn through a five-star resort. Just hours before he was scheduled to fly passengers back to London, witnesses spotted him wandering without clothes through public areas in what was described as a "paralytic state." Thankfully, alert observers notified airline management before he could take control of the aircraft. The third story – which we suspect might be fake news – involves a woman allegedly engaged to an AI chatbot named Casper after just five months of "dating."
What sports figure inspired you growing up? Who do you consider the greatest athlete of all time? Share your thoughts with us and join the conversation about these bizarre headlines that make us question what's real and what's fabricated in today's media landscape.
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Well, hello, good morning. We have a few stories for you that are kind of light-hearted, easy-going maybe, maybe a little bit. I guess they could be considered light and easy-going compared to what is really going on in the world, and I don't know, one of these might be fake news. I'll let you decide which one. This NASA intern who stole 21 million dollars of lunar, or 21 million dollars worth of lunar, to use during yes, you guessed it sex to have sex on the moon. This guy oh, now then here's the thing. Get ready for this. It was 23 years ago. Why is this in the New York Post as a news story? Maybe the New York Post isn't a news newspaper, but this is 23 years old. Why are we digging this out of the archives to bring this out today? Maybe they are tired of all the stuff that's happening in the world today too, who knows? But let's go on. He promised her the moon and meant it.
Speaker 1:More than 23 years ago, nasa intern Thad Roberts hatched a daring plan to steal 17 pounds of moon rocks and meteorite from Houston's Johnson Space Center, priceless samples from every Apollo mission, locked in a 600 pound safe and valued at 21 million dollars, according to the FBI. My first question how do you place a dollar value on moon rocks? I would like to know that. But let's continue on. Only 24 years old, with a triple major in physics, geology and geophysics at the University of Utah, with a wife he was supporting back in Utah and financially struggling, roberts thought his plan was foolproof Don't they all think that? Right, but everybody normally gets caught. The first step was finding a buyer. With help from friend Gordon McWhorter, roberts connected online. This was 23 years ago, I guess. We had online back then Roberts online with a potential Belgian purchaser willing to pay $1,000 to $5,000 per gram. The buyer, however, grew suspicious and alerted the FBI, who instructed him to keep talking while they investigated. Around that time he met Tiffany Fowler, a 22-year-old NASA intern conducting stem cell research. Their friendship quickly became romantic and after three weeks they moved in together. When Roberts revealed his plan, fowler agreed to help. They recruited another NASA intern, shea Sauer, and one night the trio used their NASA IDs to slip into the Johnson Space Center, making off with the entire safe. How did they do that? I don't know how big the safe is. How did they do that? I would like to know Somebody. I mean, they're telling the story, but tell the details please. We would like to know. Back at the hotel, they cracked it open with a power saw. It must have not been a very big safe.
Speaker 1:On July 20, 2002, the 33rd anniversary of the first moon landing, roberts and Fowler drove to Orlando to meet family members of the Belgian buyer. While waiting, roberts placed moon rocks beneath the bed covers, later claiming the couple had sex on the moon as a symbolic gesture. Then he goes on. He says I take some of the moon rocks and put them underneath the blanket on the bed. I never said anything, but I'm sure she could feel it. He told what. This is not the details we want, okay, I mean, maybe some people do, I don't really care anyway. Uh, it was about the symbol of what we were doing, basically having sex on the moon. It's more uncomfortable than not. But it wasn't about the comfort at that point, it was about the expression, and no one had ever had sex on the moon before. Iy rocks. Oh, what a douchebag. Okay, anyway, you can go. Finish, right. Oh, let me tell you what sentence, what kind of.
Speaker 1:When they got caught, they didn't get a lot of, they didn't serve a lot of time. This guy's out, and it has been out for a while. Let's see where is it? Roberts was sentenced to eight years in federal prison, serving six fowler and sour. Fowler and sour this, my god, it gets better. Each received 180 days of house arrest, 150 hours of community service. That's all they got. Wow, that's crazy.
Speaker 1:All right, moving on to the next. What is it with men and wanting to walk around naked in public? What is it? We have another story here of a man walking around in public naked and he's an easy jet pilot who was booted after marathon drinking binge. Yeah, drinking will do that. Drinking will make you want to take off your clothes. Trust me, I know this Cavorting naked before flight. This is why I don't drink anymore. I could be a headline. I'm so glad I sobered up before the internet came along. Alright, he was taken off in a different way.
Speaker 1:An easy jet pilot has been suspended after he embarked on a drinking marathon that ended with him wandering around a hotel naked. This was breathtakingly unprofessional behavior from the pilot, an anonymous source told the Sun, while recounting the booze cruiser's drunken rampage. It was the height of stupidity. His career with EasyJet is doomed. The incident occurred August 9th after the veteran flyboy had reportedly just gotten done ferrying vacationers from the UK to Cape Verde on Idyllic Island Nation in West Africa. He reportedly checked in at the five-star Mele Dunas Beach Resort and Spa, whereupon he proceeded to embark on a post-flight booze binge. His bender eventually spiraled out of control Of course it always does At around 2.30 am. Nothing good ever happens. After midnight August 5th, appalled guests reportedly witnessed the plastered pilot undress and wander into the reception area before continuing on to the gym and spa in his birthday suit. He was reportedly in a paralytic state. What does that mean? Paralytic state? The pilot did not have a stitch on and reeked of alcohol. To make matters worse oh, it gets worse. The flyboy was slated to make the 2,300 nautical mile trip back to London on the afternoon the next day, however, onlookers identified the boozy bozo and alerted EasyJet Brass, who took him off the plane and found a replacement. Wow, as soon as we were made aware, the pilot was immediately stood down from duty. Well, that's good. So wow, okay, you can go finish reading that Next up.
Speaker 1:This is the fake story, I think. Excited woman gets engaged to ai fiance after five months and insists she's fully aware of what she's doing. Uh-huh, I think this is the fake story. Forget finding the one at a bar or on a dating app. One woman took love to the next level by getting engaged to her alcohol chat bot boyfriend. Just five months of dating, and dating is in quotation marks because you're not dating. You're not dating, you're talking to a chatbox. This lady, I think again. I think it's fake news.
Speaker 1:Redditor Wicca, known as and it has some kind of weird name I can't pronounce at a scenic mountain spot, all courted courtesy of casper, her non-human fiance. This is such bullshit I'm not even going to finish reading it. I mean, I'll probably finish reading later, but I don't want to waste your time with this story because it's got to be fake. It's got to be fake. It's gotta be fake. Who does this crap?
Speaker 1:She quickly addressed skeptics, insisting she's not trolling and is a 27-year-old in good health with a social life and close friends. Well, obviously not. I really do love my AI. She even joked about potentially marrying herself if need be. Oh, and just to clarify, I know what a parasocial relationship is. She wrote I know what AI is and isn't. I'm fully aware of what I'm doing. Will I end up marrying myself? Honestly, wouldn't rule it out. Okay, whatever lady, whatever, fake, fake, fake. All right, we need to move on to the question of the day. Okay, tell me about something about sports. I want to know who your inspiration, who you looked to growing up in youth or even later in adulthood. Who do you think is either a the most, uh, famous, most the best sports player of all time, no matter what sport it is, or who did you look to as a sports player, who you wanted to be like, aspire to whatever? Who's your favorite sports person? Okay, that's it, that's that's. That's. That's the question. All right, gotta go. Thanks for listening. Bye.
