Steve shows up prepared, Mack drops a bombshell or two, and Anne gets wasted.

REFERENCES

It’s when the vase of flowers is suddenly on the left-hand side of the screen:

Film Draft. “What is Continuity in Film? Definitions, Types, and Examples.” August 26, 2025. https://filmdaft.com/what-is-continuity-in-film-definition-types-examples/

It really became a serious concern with the advent of the threat of nuclear war:

Tegmark, Max. “Here’s How Bad a Nuclear War Would Actually Be.” June 29, 2023. Time. https://time.com/6290977/nuclear-war-impact-essay/

During the Cold War:

Britannica Editors. “Cold War.” Updated February 18, 2026. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War

Including Washington, D.C.:

https://washington.org/

Sate, local, tribal, territorial:

FEMA. “Guide to Continuity of Government [PDF].” July 2021. https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_sltt-cog-guidance_070921.pdf

For Texas, it’s not a joke that we kind of rely on HEB:

HEB Newsroom. “HEB Disaster Relief.” https://newsroom.heb.com/disaster-relief/

Ye olde Continental Congress:

Britannica Editors. “Continental Congress.” Updated October 11, 2025. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Continental-Congress

We may have to leave Philadelphia and go to Baltimore because the British are coming:

United States House of Representatives. “Meeting Places for the Continental and Confederation Congresses.” https://history.house.gov/People/Continental-Congress/Meeting-Places/

Anne was just trying to be funny. It’s quite nice:

https://baltimore.org/

Basically, it’s an emergency plan. You could also call it a contingency plan:

This vs. That. “The Contingency Plan vs. The Emergency Plan: What’s the Difference?” https://thisvsthat.io/the-contingency-plan-vs-the-emergency-plan

In the previous episode:

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-n7xcc-1ad17a2

We talked about the Twenty-Fifth Amendment:

Constitution Annotated. “Twenty-Fifth Amendment.” https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-25/

The presidential succession:

USA.gov. “Order of Presidential Succession.” https://www.usa.gov/presidential-succession

Think about royal houses of Europe:

Veldman, Sarah. “A Comprehensive Guide to the Royal Families of Europe.” Updated September 20, 2025. The List. https://www.thelist.com/1524478/royal-families-of-europe-guide/

That was “Designated Survivor,” the series:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5296406/

Mack is right. They did start doing it when Reagan was president:

Su, Amelia. “The Designated Survivor Explained—Why One Leader Stays Hidden.” February 24, 2026. Los Angeles Magazine. https://lamag.com/news-and-politics/the-designated-survivor-explained-why-one-leader-stays-hidden/

At the State of the Union Address, you have the president, vice president, speaker of the house, but you also have all of Congress, most of the Cabinet, and some of the Supreme Court justices, joint chiefs:

Mullery, Way and Chol, Annette. “Who Sits Where at Trump’s State of the Union Address: A Visual Guide.” February 23, 2026. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/23/politics/seating-chart-state-of-the-union-vis

There have been threats (note that this list is a brief summary from 2024 so it is not comprehensive and does not include the attacks on President Trump):

Congress.gov. “U.S. Secret Service: Threats to and Assaults on Sitting Presidents and Vice Presidents [PDF].” Updated October 23, 2024. https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/PDF/IF11732/IF11732.4.pdf

Mack is again correct. It was for Obama’s inauguration:

Reuters. “U.S. Probes Potential Obama Inauguration Threat.” January 20, 2009. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/us-politics/us-probes-potential-obama-inauguration-threat-idUSTRE50J4RT/

The documentary about the presidents’ chiefs of staff is called The Presidents’ Gatekeepers:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2331119/

The line from Mars Attacks!:

https://youtu.be/HfcMl1OKJGw?si=IZwz2CgMPjVoqQ1X

Like the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia:

Matchar, Emily. “The Town That Kept Its Nuclear Bunker a Secret for Three Decades.” April 9, 2024. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-town-that-kept-its-nuclear-bunker-a-secret-for-three-decades-180984107/

Overnight, they lower them into a bomb shelter:

Kratz, Jessie. “Protecting the Bill of Rights: the Mosler Vault.” December 17, 2015. National Archives. https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2015/12/17/protecting-the-bill-of-rights-the-mosler-vault/

Soviets got the atomic bomb sooner than people thought:

Atomic Heritage Foundation. “Soviet Atomic Program—1946.” https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/history/soviet-atomic-program-1946/

And then the hydrogen bomb:

Britannica Editors. “Thermonuclear Bomb.” Updated February 6, 2026. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/thermonuclear-bomb

Eisenhower was really down and depressed about the threat of nuclear war:

Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home. “Atoms for Peace.” https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/atoms-peace

The concept of ballistic missiles:

Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance. “Ballistic Missile Basics.” https://www.missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-threat-and-proliferation/missile-basics/ballistic-missile-basics/

Because the Nazis built the V-2:

Britannica Editors. “V-2 Rocket.” Updated April 24, 2026. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/V-2-rocket

Sooner or later, we’re going to have intercontinental ballistic missiles:

Britannica Editors. “ICBM.” Updated April 29, 2026. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/ICBM

They’re carrying gravity bombs:

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. “What Are Gravity Bombs and Why is the U.S. Building the New B61-13 Nuclear Weapon?” https://www.icanw.org/faq_what_are_gravity_bombs_b6113

It’s not what was in “The Day After”:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085404/

The black-and-white movies:

https://youtu.be/P73Gz0TaJgE?si=tvYvoQQXg3KwHCZM

Our people knew about Bletchley Park:

Lewis, Robert. “Bletchley Park.” Updated April 6, 2026. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Bletchley-Park

And where Churchill ran the war from:

Imperial War Museums. “Cabinet War Rooms.” https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms/cabinet-war-rooms

They also looked at what the Germans had:

Fraga, Kaleena. “Inside the Führerbunker, The Nazi Hideout Where Adolf Hitler Lived, Got Married, and Died in the Waning Days of World War II.” Updated April 3, 2024. All That’s Interesting. https://allthatsinteresting.com/fuhrerbunker

The Maginot Line:

Britannica Editors. “Maginot Line.” Updated March 6, 2026. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maginot-Line

Turning into badgers:

Texas Parks and Wildlife. “American Badger.”