The Tower Record

Kevin and Sarah compromise another vacation to spend time together rediscovering another strange post-9/11 day. Yes, someone starts running a leaf blower 30-odd minutes into this thing. We move inside 10 minutes later. Thank you for holding it down with us this holiday season. Content warning: We talk about the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case for about five minutes between 24:00 and 30:00. Follow...

From the midway point of the Reagan years to the reign of Donald Trump, Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A." has been *the* modern anthem of American pride and patriotism. Inspired by LG's involvement in the Great American State Fair (and related proceedings from Freedom 250), TTR digs into the decades-long fixation on the track by the American right. Why this song? Who this man? And what the he...

The Spielberg two-fer continues and concludes with good-ass movie Minority Report, released in 2002, predicting the future and making it look easy. Also discussed — the short story by Philip K. Dick from which the movie is adapted. Follow The Tower Record everywhere:  https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord New episodes every Tuesday morning. Music by Rrrrrose Azerty. Recorded June 13, 2026 in South Slop...

It's a Steven Spielberg extravaganza as TTR goes in on two very different post-9/11 movies from America's schmaltziest filmmaker. Next week is where we talk about the good movie; this week is the one that sucks ass. Plus! Disclosure Day discussion, as Sarah reveals she knows way too much about aliens. Follow The Tower Record everywhere:  https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord New episodes every Tuesday...

TTR's "Grand Theft Auto" miniseries continues apace with a quick trip down to the southern tip of Florida, with an examination of another game that really set the tone of post-9/11 culture, especially as it pertains to the rise of 80s nostalgia. Follow The Tower Record everywhere:  https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord New episodes every Tuesday morning. Music by Rrrrrose Azerty. Recorded May 28, 2026...

"Islamophobia" feels too soft a term for the social and political hell that met Islam, Muslims, and anyone who "looked Muslim" in the decades, years, and even minutes following the attacks of September 11. The true depth of anti-Muslim brutality that the US unleashed upon itself and the world is still not widely understood to the extent that the topic requires; it remains deeply-rooted in the soci...

Today on our podcast about post-9/11 history, politics, and culture: Tiger Cruise , the 52nd Disney Channel Original Movie, about what it's like to be a teenage girl on a US naval aircraft carrier, arguing with your dad, when 9/11 happens. As mentioned in the intro, there's a few audio errors in this ep, unfortunately. Sarah's fault — thank you for sticking it out. Won't be a problem next week! Fo...

It's Sarah vs. Kevin in TTR's first debate-style episode! The format? Policy debate. The topic? "Resolved: The United States federal government should provide free medical care to Rudy Giuliani." Production note: Might be a touch of audio wonkiness on this ep, which I've worked to address, amateurishly. Still figuring out how best to do a three-person live setup when our usual recorder only seats...

Actor and podcaster Robert Neumark Jones joins Kevin to commence the restoration of US-UK diplomatic relations, and also demand to know why US foreign policy is making his mortgage go up. Follow The Tower Record everywhere:  https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord Listen to Bliss of the Abyss here: https://robertnj.com/podcast New episodes every Tuesday morning. Music by Rrrrrose Azerty. Recorded May 5,...

On April 29, 2026, His Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom made an historic visit to America, stopping off at New York City's 9/11 Memorial for a brief visit. The Tower Record discusses why. Programming note: Sarah's off for a week; we're planning on having an ep on Tues 5/12 as usual, but if something comes up and it doesn't happen, that's why.  Thank you for spending...

Well — Did they? I tried to think of so many punny wordplay titles for this, but nothing gets at the anesthetizing weirdness of this premise like just doing away with all artifice and wit and plainly posing this question to you, the audience, and us, the researchers. This story is insane btw P.S. Sincere apologies to author William Langewiesche for not even attempting to look into the correct pron...

In this episode: stealing Saddam's gold! With a series of executive orders, lax organization, and a network of eager participants, the United States liberates another nation of its resources and dares the world to take notice — a familiar story, at this point, no? Follow The Tower Record everywhere:  https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord New episodes every Tuesday morning. Music by Rrrrrose Azerty. Rec...

Sensitive content warning: Harrowing audio throughout. On September 11, 2001, at 9:54 am, Kevin Cosgrove laid in the northwest corner of the 105th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, and he called 911. Five minutes later, he died, killed with almost a thousand other people as the tower succumbed to damage and collapsed. This, annotated with detail by TTR, is the audio of his final...

The Callery pear tree (or Bradford pear tree) saved from the wreckage of Ground Zero has been called  " the last living thing pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center." In this episode, TTR presents its complete history, bookended by an elaborate examination of the appeals and pitfalls of easy metaphors, pop science, and other claptrap. Follow The Tower Record everywhere:  https://linktr.e...

TTR doesn't have a subscribers-only bonus feed yet, so when S&K talk for ten minutes about their top 5 Arnolds in the middle of a discussion on an otherwise on-topic, post-9/11 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, everybody gets to hear it, if they want.  Follow The Tower Record everywhere:  https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord Follow Arnold Schwarzenegger here: https://www.instagram.com/schwarzenegger/ New e...

A firefighter suffers immense tragedy when terrorists strike on American soil one dark day. It's not real life — it's Collateral Damage, the 2002 (née 2001) action-thriller movie starring TTR fave Arnold Schwarzenegger, delayed and edited in response to the events of 9/11! They shoulda blown this movie up with a bomb.  Follow The Tower Record everywhere: https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord New episod...

On 9/11, terrorists struck, and President Bush just sat there, reading a children's story to a classroom in the nation's hour of need. Or did he? TTR digs into the truth about the oft-repeated meme, laying out the reality of a widely-misunderstood story. Follow The Tower Record everywhere:  https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord Music by Rrrrrose Azerty. Recorded March 21, 2026 in Astoria, Queens.

Award-winning writer Tom Junod joins TTR to discuss his memories of working as a journalist in post-9/11 New York, researching and writing "The Falling Man" for Esquire with Andrew Chaikivsky in 2003, and his masterful new memoir, "In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man." Follow The Tower Record everywhere:  https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord Read "The Abortionist" by Tom Junod...

In which The Tower Record and TTR's mutual friend come back from the bar and go shopping on eBay for the never forgettiest items the nation ever forgot about. Play along: Kevin's list: September 11th 15th Anniversary Never Forget Tribute Sculpture Lights Up Thomas Kinkade commemorative lighthouse Diecast Tony Stewart 9/11 Nascar livery 9/11 Crystal flag sculpture September 11th Remembrance Limited...

The Tower Record breaks from chronology to take a giant leap forward, analyzing and reacting to Donald Trump's 2026 State of the Union address, a quarter-century into the post-9/11 era. Unlike the SOTU, the podcast also discusses, exhaustedly if not exhaustingly, the US and Israel launching their war on Iran. Follow The Tower Record everywhere: https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord Music by Rrrrrose Az...

The Tower Record examines two pivotal post-9/11 addresses from President George W. Bush. In one, he appeals to the world for its sympathy. In the next, he lays out for that same world a detailed plot to destroy it.  Follow The Tower Record everywhere:  https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord New episodes every Tuesday morning. Recorded February 7, 2026 in Astoria, Queens. 

The Tower Record discusses and reminisces about Grand Theft Auto III — a landmark piece of video game history, an extremely fun experience, and an unforgettable cultural touchstone of the post-9/11 era. Follow The Tower Record everywhere: https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord New episodes every Tuesday morning. Recorded February 7, 2026 in Astoria, Queens. 

The Tower Record discusses the first post-9/11 Super Bowl in 2002, analyzing the rise of the security state, the treacly U2 halftime show, and the startlingly paranoid commercials.  This is an NYC-Boston alliance podcast. Go Pats. Follow The Tower Record everywhere: https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord Music by Rrrrrose Azerty. Recorded January 25, 2026 in Astoria, Queens and South Slope, Brooklyn. SC...

"The sky was so blue that day." In this episode, The Tower Record runs the gamut from meteorology to memoir to poetry to culture at large, examining every imaginable angle of September 11's indelible clear blue sky. Follow The Tower Record everywhere: https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord Read "Hum" by Ann Lauterbach here:  https://poets.org/poem/hum Music by Rrrrrose Azerty. Recorded January 25, 2026...

The Tower Record becomes the Tarot Record as Sarah drags Kevin to the sacred altar to divine the future and make sure 9/11 never happens again.  Normal eps resume next week! Follow The Tower Record everywhere:  https://linktr.ee/thetowerrecord Music by Rrrrrose Azerty. Recorded January 19, 2026 in Astoria, Queens and South Slope, Brooklyn.