Podcast Summary: Slow Burn – "One Year: Elvis, the Pledge, and Extraterrestrials"
Original Air Date: August 5, 2021
Host: Josh Levin

Overview

This episode of Slate’s "Slow Burn: One Year" examines three striking and deeply American stories that all unfolded on August 16, 1977. Through a blend of archival audio, interviews, and narrative reporting, host Josh Levin explores the feverish media response to Elvis Presley’s death, a high schooler’s battle over the Pledge of Allegiance, and the recording of the enigmatic "Wow! Signal"—a possible message from extraterrestrial life. Each of these stories, while rooted in a single day, resonates in today’s culture wars, media landscape, and collective imagination.

1. The Death of Elvis Presley & The National Enquirer’s Tabloid Triumph

(00:32–17:20)

Main Points

• Frenzy in Memphis:
  News of Elvis Presley’s death gripped the nation. Major mainstream media outlets stuck to traditional reporting, but the National Enquirer, led by editor Ian Calder, seized on the event with a brash, rule-breaking approach.
• Tabloid Tactics:
  Calder put together a rapid-response team, sent them by private jet to Memphis, and handed them $100,000 in cash to buy exclusive scoops, breaking with standard journalistic ethics.

  “We did have money, and we did bribe people. We just did it legitimately.” – Ian Calder (03:40)

• Buying the ‘Big Get’:
  The Enquirer secured exclusives with the paramedics who carried Elvis’s body and with Elvis’s girlfriend, Ginger Alden—a coup competitors couldn’t match.
• The Coffin Photo:
  The tabloid’s owner, Generoso Pope Jr., pushed for the ultimate scoop: a photo of Elvis in his coffin. Through a covertly coordinated deal with Elvis’s cousin, and with the use of a Minox spy camera, the Enquirer obtained and published the now-infamous photo.
• Media Outrage, Massive Sales:
  The photo and stories sold a then-record 6.7 million copies, despite drawing condemnation from mainstream journalists.

  "The major thing was you got to get a photo of Elvis in his coffin. That was like going to be the pièce de résistance." – Ian Calder (09:59)
  “This is disgraceful. This is disgusting stuff.” – Tony Brenna, on the media backlash (14:24)

• Lasting Impact:
  The Enquirer’s methods and triumph with the Elvis issue marked a turning point for American tabloids, blending journalism, commerce, and spectacle.

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• Tabloid Ethos:
  “If you were second, that was a problem. You had to fight your way because the other guy would do the same thing.” – Ian Calder (05:40)
• On paying for stories:
  “That’s true. We did have money, and we did bribe people. We just did it legitimately.” – Ian Calder (03:40)
• On the coffin photo acquisition:
  "He said, the guy had the camera in the wrong direction. He took a picture of himself. ... We're only two left. The third time, he said, fantastic!" – Ian Calder (12:31)
• On tabloid culture:
  “It was the only place in the world where you had an unlimited budget. ... If you wanted to sit beside a celebrity on the Concorde, you could do it.” – Tony Brenna (06:44)

2. Deborah Lipp and the Pledge of Allegiance Protest

(17:20–33:22)

Main Points

• Deborah Lipp’s Rebellion:
  Deborah Lipp, a high school sophomore and self-described “loudmouth,” refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance after transferring from a "hippie school" to a conventional public school in New Jersey.
• Social and Institutional Backlash:
  Lipp faced harassment from students and teachers and threats of expulsion as her refusal escalated into a constitutional battle.
• Legal Showdown:
  Despite a 1943 Supreme Court ruling protecting students from being forced to say the pledge, a New Jersey law compelled students to "show full respect" by standing. Lipp, with ACLU support, challenged the law.
• Victory in Court & Societal Fallout:
  Lipp won her case on August 16, 1977—coincidentally, the same day Elvis died—but was subjected to intense local backlash, hate calls, and emotional trauma.

  “They were passionately vitriolic. And the level of nastiness and just craziness to this day blows my mind.” – Deborah Lipp (27:35)

• Ongoing Relevance:
  The battle over compulsory patriotism and symbolic speech continues in schools nationwide, as highlighted by recent cases.

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On American freedoms:
  “The way to be a loyal American to me is not to make a pledge of loyalty. ... The way to be an American is to be fundamentally a revolutionary, to fight for what’s right...” – Deborah Lipp (24:22)
• On winning in court:
  “Judge Curtis Meaner declared the New Jersey State law unconstitutional. ... I felt great. I felt vindicated. I felt patriotic.” – Deborah Lipp (29:46)
• On the personal toll:
  "If I’m in a public place today and everybody stands for the Pledge of Allegiance, I actually do stand because my tolerance for being attacked by crowds has gone down as I’ve aged. ... I learned the hard way that making a spectacle of myself isn’t an easy thing to live with." – Deborah Lipp (31:18)

3. The Wow! Signal: Science, Mystery, and the Search for Intelligent Life

(33:22–52:46)

Main Points

• SETI & "Big Ear":
  Ohio State University’s John Kraus and his team ran the world’s first long-term Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project using the massive "Big Ear" radio telescope.
• Discovery of the "Wow! Signal":
  On August 15, 1977, volunteer Jerry Ehman discovered a peculiar and powerful 72-second radio burst while reviewing data printouts, annotating it with "Wow!" in red pen.

  “I just, without thinking, wrote the word wow exclamation point with my red pen.” – Jerry Ehman (38:09)

• Analysis and Theories:
  The signal's strength and pattern suggested it wasn’t ordinary background noise or a terrestrial source, but it never recurred. Debate persists: was it a message from aliens or an unknown Earth-based signal?
• Meaning and Impact:
  The incident influenced both science fiction and scientific inquiry, as the fascination with the unknown continues, mirroring humanity’s search for meaning and place in the universe.
• Philosophical Resonance:
  Author Jamie Greene observes that how we imagine aliens is as much a reflection on ourselves as any potential discovery.

  “I think once you could know that life has evolved more than once, to me, that's the ball game. That means that it's probably everywhere.” – Jamie Greene (46:04)

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On the mystery:
  “All of the information that we have is that one spike of a signal ... There's no data from the telescope other than that that we could dig into or process or squeeze for more information.” – Jamie Greene (43:36)
• On searching for life:
  "Our galaxy even is so vast ... it just doesn't seem likely that life evolved only on this particular planet." – Bob Dickson (51:40)
• On cosmic humility:
  "You should never assume that we are central, that we are special ... I want it to be. I want there to be lots of other people out there." – Jamie Greene (51:57)

Notable Quotes – All Segments

• “The major thing was you got to get a photo of Elvis in his coffin. That was like going to be the pièce de résistance.” – Ian Calder (09:59)
• “If I’m only free to stand and not sit during the pledge, then I’m not free at all.” – Deborah Lipp (26:08)
• “I just, without thinking, wrote the word wow exclamation point with my red pen.” – Jerry Ehman (38:09)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Elvis and the National Enquirer: 00:32–17:20
• Pledge of Allegiance and Deborah Lipp: 17:20–33:22
• The Wow! Signal and SETI: 33:22–52:46

Takeaways

"One Year: Elvis, the Pledge, and Extraterrestrials" uses its three narratives to illuminate themes of American spectacle, the ceaseless tension between individual rights and conformity, and our enduring wonder (and insecurity) about our place in the cosmos. Personal conviction, the power of media, and humanity’s search for connection drive each segment, with echoes that still reverberate today.

For more on these stories and the era, listen to the full episode or check additional materials at slate.com/oneyearplus.