This American Life · Podcast summary
206: Somewhere in the Arabian Sea
Life on an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, where thousands of young people are cooped up together for months at a time, far from home, and trying to keep people from having sex with each other.
Listen on the show ↗Key takeaways
- 🚢The USS Abraham Lincoln's extended deployment of over nine months took a toll on the crew, with reported food shortages, resupply issues, and exhaustion.00:37
- ⚓Life on an aircraft carrier during deployment involves a lot of drudgery and dangerous jobs, as depicted in a previous episode of This American Life filmed on the USS Stennis after 9/11.01:21
- 🍬The USS Stennis, an aircraft carrier, has only 50-60 pilots who drop bombs, while over 5,000 other personnel support them, including those who fill candy machines.03:28
- 🌊Many sailors join the Navy to escape their current lives or to find something more, often without a clear plan, as exemplified by Jessica Phillips' story.10:52
- 💡Jessica Phillips joined the Navy in a split-second decision after feeling trapped in her small hometown, inspired by a Navy commercial and a desire for something more.11:53
- 🇺🇸Despite the harsh conditions and strict rules, many sailors, including those in undesirable jobs, feel a sense of pride and purpose in defending their country.17:41
Chapters
- 0:32Introduction
- 2:23The Vending Machine Operator
- 5:09Life on an Aircraft Carrier
- 18:29Joining the Navy
- 35:17Rumors and Relationships
- 1:26:35The Chiefs
- 1:31:33The American Military
The digest
This American Life revisits an episode from early 2002, shortly after 9/11 and at the beginning of the war in Afghanistan. Alex Blumberg, Wendy Dorr, and Ira Glass visited the USS John C. Stennis, an aircraft carrier cruising somewhere in the Arabian Sea, flying bombing missions over Afghanistan and monitoring the region for Al-Qaeda nautical traffic.
The Vending Machine Operator
Alex Blumberg interviews Krivon Scott, a 20-year-old sailor whose first time away from home is spent filling vending machines for 12 hours a day. She misses home and cries every day, but her parents email her daily to help her cope. She says the hardest part is just missing home, but if she can get over that, she'll be alright. She fills vending machines all day for 12 hours. The most popular items are Snickers and Starbucks, which go real fast. The least favorite candy is Bonkers, the fruit chews. Nobody likes Bonkers, but they still have them. She's been ordering a whole lot of new stuff and trying to keep a whole variety of things in the machines, like Crunchy Munch and Cheez-Its, which they normally didn't have.
Keep reading in The Digest
The full 13-minute article, 5 more sections, and every new episode from This American Life and the creators you follow.
- Life on an Aircraft Carrier
- Joining the Navy
- Rumors and Relationships
- The Chiefs
- The American Military
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