Podbit · Fin vs History
To reach the 1978 final, Argentina needed to beat Peru by at least 4 goals. They won 6-0. The alleged price: 35,000 tons of grain, $50 million in frozen assets released after the game, and a promise from the Videla regime to 'process' 13 Peruvian political dissidents — a euphemism for torture and execution.
Where this was said
At 8:24 · chapter starts 4:30
Switching to Argentina in 1978, the picture the hosts paint is one of almost incomprehensible chaos and violence. Inflation had exceeded 560% in 1976, a bomb was detonating somewhere in Buenos Aires every three hours, and political assassinations were occurring every five hours [1] — Horatio Gould "560% inflation in Argentina 1976: Argentine inflation exceeded 560% in 1976, making the economy effectively 'psychedelic' and ungovernable." 04:52 . Into this cauldron steps the military junta of Jorge Videla, who inherit the hosting rights from the previous government and view the World Cup as a propaganda opportunity. The junta would go on to disappear an estimated 30,000 people. Johan Cruyff refuses to travel after a kidnapping attempt on his family. The man responsible for building the stadiums is blown up in a car bomb hours before the opening match — possibly suicide, the hosts speculate, possibly just probability at work in a country detonating round the clock. Maradona is 17 and too young to play, but the foundations of his story are already being laid in a Buenos Aires shantytown where, as a child, he fell into a cesspit and almost drowned [2] — Fin Taylor "As a child in a Buenos Aires shantytown, Diego Maradona fell into a cesspit and nearly drowned, saved only by his uncle jumping in after hi…" 07:40 .
Argentine inflation exceeded 560% in 1976, making the economy effectively 'psychedelic' and ungovernable.
In 1976, a bomb went off in Buenos Aires on average every 3 hours, and there was a political assassination every 5 hours.
The Videla military junta that hosted the 1978 World Cup disappeared an estimated 30,000 people.
As a child in a Buenos Aires shantytown, Diego Maradona fell into a cesspit and nearly drowned, saved only by his uncle jumping in after him. Fin Taylor suggests this may be Maradona's Spider-Man villain origin story — and there was probably a lot of cocaine in the shit.
Factories that replaced coal engines with electric ones in the early 1900s got only 6% efficiency gains. Those that redesigned their entire factory around electricity got a 3x productivity improvement. Swapping AI tools into your existing structure will give you 6%. Rebuilding around AI will give you 10x.
Lebanese terrorists backed by Iran were holding American hostages throughout the Reagan presidency. Reagan had loudly campaigned against negotiating with terrorists — putting him in an impossible position that his team quietly decided to ignore.
During the Iran-Iraq War, the US openly supplied Iraq with weapons, training, and intelligence. At the same time, Oliver North was secretly funneling missiles to Iran. The US was playing both sides of a shooting war.
Oliver North traveled to Iran under the alias 'William P. Goode' with a fake passport. CIA Director William Casey allegedly gave him cyanide pills so he could kill himself rather than be tortured if captured. He returned safely and the deal moved forward.
The Pentagon sold missiles to the CIA for $3,700 each. The CIA sold them to Richard Secord at cost. Secord sold them to Iranian middleman Ghorbanifar for $10,000 each. Ghorbanifar charged Iran even more. The profit — including $3 million in interest in one Swiss account — was diverted directly to fund the Nicaraguan Contras.
America secretly transferred 2,000 missiles and missile parts to Iran in 8 shipments over more than a year. Only 3 of 7 hostages were released. Three more were taken. The net result was zero freed hostages and a full-blown constitutional scandal.
On October 5, 1986, a CIA Contra supply plane flew a weapons drop at 2,500 feet in broad daylight. A Sandinista soldier shot it down. The only survivor, Eugene Hasenfuss, had borrowed a parachute from his skydiving brother. He was captured, paraded in front of cameras, and told the Sandinistas everything he knew.
The CIA supply operation used a front company called Southern Air Transport, widely known to be a CIA cover. Crew members of the downed plane carried their Southern Air Transport employee IDs in their wallets. One also had a business card directly linking him to Oliver North's office in Washington.
When the scandal broke, Oliver North and his secretary Fawn Hall conducted what became known as a 'shredding party,' destroying a day's worth of documents. The full truth of Iran-Contra may never be known because of what was fed through that shredder.
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