1641: "Operation Northwoods"

1641: "Operation Northwoods"

Author: JC May 3, 2026 Duration: 2:35
Interesting Things with JC #1641: "Operation Northwoods" – In 1962, America’s top military leaders signed off on plans to fake terrorist attacks, stage civilian deaths, and make it look like Cuba shot down a passenger plane to push the United States into war, and when the documents were finally released decades later, one of America’s “crazy conspiracy theories” turned out to be completely real.

Curiosity often leads us down the most rewarding paths, and that's the spirit behind Interesting Things with JC. Each episode is a compact dive into a story that makes you pause and think, hosted by JC. You'll find a mix here: forgotten chapters from our past that explain the present, nuanced looks at cultural shifts happening now, and those remarkable tales that simply never got the spotlight they deserved. This isn't a dry lecture but a conversation about the threads connecting history, society, and our everyday lives. The focus is on depth over breadth, making each installment of this podcast a self-contained exploration. Whether it's an obscure historical event with surprising modern echoes or a fresh perspective on a current topic, the aim is to feed that curiosity with something substantive. Tune in for a thoughtfully researched and engagingly presented look at the world's fascinating corners.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 300

Interesting Things with JC
Podcast Episodes
1585: "Lake Warren" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:00
Interesting Things with JC #1585: "Lake Warren" – Long before modern Lake Erie, a much larger glacial lake cut the bluffs, shaped the beaches, and left old shorelines miles inland. The land still carries the mark of wate…
1584: "The Hafele–Keating Experiment" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:38
Interesting Things with JC #1584: "The Hafele–Keating Experiment" – In 1971 four atomic clocks boarded commercial airliners and circled the Earth. When they returned, the clocks no longer matched those on the ground. The…
1583: "Why Having a Dog Makes You a Better Person" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:43
Interesting Things with JC #1583: "Why Having a Dog Makes You a Better Person" – Before sunrise, millions step outside because someone is waiting. A dog doesn’t negotiate with your mood, it asks for consistency, patience…
1582: "Remembering Lou Holtz" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:22
Interesting Things with JC #1582: "Remembering Lou Holtz" – A boy from a crowded basement apartment in a steel town refused to accept the limits others placed on him. Decades later his words echoed through one of college…
1581: "The Central–Mid-Levels Escalator" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:43
Interesting Things with JC #1581: "The Central–Mid-Levels Escalator" – In Hong Kong, the hill behind the harbor used to demand a daily climb. Then the city built a half-mile chain of moving steps that flips direction wit…
1580: "Camp Century" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:59
Interesting Things with JC #1580: "Camp Century" – In the early Cold War, the U.S. Army built a town inside the Greenland ice sheet, powered by a portable nuclear reactor and hidden beneath miles of Arctic ice. What bega…
1579: "Dorsey’s Art Gallery and the Man Who Opened the Door" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:53
Interesting Things with JC #1579: "Dorsey’s Art Gallery and the Man Who Opened the Door" – A modest storefront on a Brooklyn block became something rare: a place where anyone could walk in and see history on the walls. L…
1578: Neil Sedaka [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:34
Interesting Things with JC #1578: "Neil Sedaka" – A Brooklyn kid with classical discipline turned teenage heartache into gold records, survived the British Invasion, and rebuilt himself across decades. When the industry…
1577: "Thin Mints" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:40
Interesting Things with JC #1577: "Thin Mints" – Before the green box, it was a cookie with an identity crisis. One small mint wafer got renamed, reshuffled, and standardized...until it became the knock that starts a sal…
1576: "Barbara Ann and the Accidental Hit" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:35
Interesting Things with JC #1576: "Barbara Ann and the Accidental Hit" – A band on a deadline. A tape machine still rolling. They were just messing around, and accidentally made one of the most recognizable chants in pop…