Nancy Glass (1:43)

Why?

WSECU Credit Union Announcer (1:43)

Because we put you first. Lower fees, early paydays, financial guidance and service second to none. As a member owned cooperative, we love Washington as much as you do. From the Olympic mountains to the rolling Palouse. Join us and discover how much we care about your financial well being. Because what we really do best is invest in you. Visit wsecu.org today to learn more. Washington let's Credit Union

Ed Helms (2:08)

welcome to snafu. The show about history's greatest screw ups. Or shall we say the real eye opening disasters that kind of show us who we really are. I am your host, Ed Helms and my guest today and I honestly don't know any other way to say this, she's just a fucking badass. She's a hilarious standup actor, writer, TV host, podcaster, producer and just general force of nature. She's written seven number one New York Times bestsellers, which is like honestly obscene. Like how do they even allow you to do that? Her latest book is I'll have what she's having. Which is yet another expression of her raw honesty, power, and zero tolerance for bullshit. She hosts the incredibly popular advice podcast Dear Chelsea, and her latest netfl special was Chelsea Handler the Feeling. She's one of the funniest people on the planet, and you probably know who I'm talking about. Welcome, Chelsea Handler.

Chelsea Handler (3:09)

Hi, good morning, good afternoon, good evening.

Ed Helms (3:14)

Yes, to all of our listeners, whatever time of day you are downloading this. What's happening? How are you?

Chelsea Handler (3:20)

I'm well, thank you, Ed. How are you doing?

Ed Helms (3:23)

I'm pretty splendid, I have to say. I mean, the world is burning down, but I'm trying to stay positive. I'm in this, like, deep state of denial, and so I'm just saying I'm great.

Chelsea Handler (3:34)

I, too, am also trying to remain positive. But, yes, it's very interesting. I. I find myself dipping in, dipping in and out of the news, but when I dip in, I feel so guilty for not having. For having dipped out that I can't then. It's a vicious, vicious cycle. I feel like I'm much better suited to handle the issues when I'm not reading about them all day. But when so many people are impacted, it's impossible not to want to know what's happening. So it's a. It's a good thing to be optimistic. There's that.

Ed Helms (4:04)

I also feel like when you dip into things by yourself, like, if you kind of get into the news or you get into the social media, sort of like, black hole by yourself, it's just like, despair. You. You don't. Whereas if you kind of engage with other people or if you're in a larger conversation, whether it's a dinner party or just a whatever, then at least you can commiserate and, like, there's, I don't know, more humanity to the whole situation.

Chelsea Handler (4:34)

Yes, yes, it's. It's very comforting to know other people, especially people in other countries, when they're as concerned. Because I'm in Canada right now, I spend a lot of time here in the winter, and Canadians, immediately, whenever I'm at a dinner party, immediately just make a beeline for me going, what is going to happen? And I'm like, ugh. But it makes me feel. It's heartwarming to know so. So many other people are as concerned about our country as we are.

Ed Helms (5:02)

I don't think there's any question how you feel, Chelsea Handler.

Chelsea Handler (5:04)

I know I've been very hopeful.

Ed Helms (5:06)

That's part of what's amazing about you. You crush it in so many different disciplines. Does any particular kind of outlet come more easily to you or feel like sort of the most natural fit? Whether it's writing books or doing standup or hosting your podcast, which one is kind of the most easy fit?

Chelsea Handler (5:28)

You know, if I do the same thing over and over again, I have a low tolerance for that. So everything's a little bit different than the other thing. Like, writing a book is a lot different than my standup. Even though they're both storytelling, my podcast is like me giving advice to people that are calling in. So real people. I love communicating with real people. There's overlap with that doing standup, you know, I'm about to start this tour this month called the High and Mighty Tour, where I get to see and, you know, have, like, you know, live audiences and thousands of people, and you're right in front of them. And that also means a lot to me, too. Definitely during times like this that we're experiencing, when you can get up and really look out into the crowd and see definitely two strangers who definitely did not arrive together. Laughing together and rubbing shoulders together like that makes me feel purposeful.

Ed Helms (6:13)

Is touring hard? Is it fun? Is it, like. I'm sure it's all those things, but

Chelsea Handler (6:19)

what's the tiring to travel all the time and go to a different city each day? But I'm so used to this. You know, I've been doing this my whole life that I operate the best out of a hotel room. That's when I'm peaking. It's when I get back to my house where I start to go, wait, wait, wait. Where is everything? I've grown so accustomed to being on the road that it's really not a big deal for me. I could tolerate a lot more travel than. Than your average person.

Ed Helms (6:41)

Yeah, it's just like, whatever patterns you get into, you just want to kind of stay in that. All right, well, the subject of today, it's interesting we're talking about travel, because the subject of today's snafu is about that. I'm really psyched to have you on the show. So I wanted to pick something really sort of juicy and iconic. This one's pretty epic and memorable. Today we're going to take a ride on the Hindenburg.

Chelsea Handler (7:07)

Ooh.

Ed Helms (7:08)

Oh, yeah. Yeah. That big ol. Yeah, Very sexual. I mean, it is sexual. It is the most phallic snafu in the repertoire. What do you remember or know about the Hindenburg disaster?

Chelsea Handler (7:20)

Oh, God. The Hindenburg is a German ship that was sunk. Was. Was it sunk.

Ed Helms (7:28)

It did crash.

Chelsea Handler (7:29)

Okay.

Ed Helms (7:30)

So no, yes. Essentially, it sunk from the sky.

Chelsea Handler (7:33)

Okay, so great.

Ed Helms (7:39)

First, I'm going to ground you with a little bit of airship history. So we're going to go back to the 1930s, which was the golden age of zeppelins. Now, a zeppelin is a large, rigid airship. It is not to be confused with a blimp, which is basically just like a big balloon. Think of it as like a blimp is soft and a zeppelin has structure. So in aviation terms, a zeppelin is like an erect blimp, if you will.

Chelsea Handler (8:06)

An erect blimp. Okay. But a passenger carrier.

Ed Helms (8:09)

Yes. Well, they're used for all kinds of things that they can. Like they started out in World War I. They were actually used for bombing missions and reconnaissance. But it was all. It all originated in Germany by a German inventor, Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin, in the late 1800s.

Chelsea Handler (8:27)

I wonder why Led Zeppelin, the band didn't name themselves von Zeppelin.

Ed Helms (8:31)

I love this. You.

Chelsea Handler (8:32)

You.

Ed Helms (8:32)

You just brought up such a cool little nugget of music history, which is that I believe it was Keith Moon from the who, who was making fun of Jimmy Page when he first. Because Jimmy Page put this band together and they were originally called the New Yardbirds.

Nancy Glass (8:47)

I think that's a terrible name.

Chelsea Handler (8:49)

Yardbirds.

Ed Helms (8:50)

It's a terrible name. And then Keith Moon and the who was like, yeah, you guys will go down like a lead balloon. And so Jimmy Page just thought that was hilarious and decided to call the band Led Zeppelin on terms.

Chelsea Handler (9:04)

Back to the who for a second. I just want to make a quick shout out to the who because I went to go see a show of theirs at the Hollywood Bowl a few months ago. And who is the lead singer of the Hue? Daltrey. Is it Robert?

Ed Helms (9:14)

Roger Daltrey? Yeah.

Chelsea Handler (9:15)

Roger Daltrey's like 80 something years old, or I mean, something like that. He's old and he is out there with his little nugget body and his little belly with his, like, stonewashed Levi's on and his, you know, high heeled Reeboks, whatever. These old guys who are still performing at this level.

Ed Helms (9:31)

Hokas. He's probably wearing hocus.

Chelsea Handler (9:36)

Fucking Hokas. Honestly, it's enough with the Hokas. I can't take it. Anyway, he was with it wearing his Hokas. You've got a pair on right now.

Ed Helms (9:43)

I have to. I have plantar fasciitis.

Chelsea Handler (9:46)

The most exciting thing about this Hindenburg so far is that there will be no Hokas mentioned about. Because it was too soon. And he was swinging in lieu of dancing. Cause he can't really dance anymore. He was swinging his microphone around. It was one of the best shows I've ever been to. And Roger Daltrey was just like just screaming and jumping on the stage going, who are you? Who, who? And I was like, this guy. I'm attracted to this guy. Like, I was attracted at his tenacity, at his passion for his. I've seen Springsteen perform at this age, you know, similar ages. Yeah, it's pretty impressive what these guys are up to. And I would like to know exactly what peptides and blood transfusions they all have access to.

Ed Helms (10:28)

That's awesome. I'm so glad to hear that. That's. And it's. It's like Mick Jagger, right? The guy can just still move and groove at. And he's like 900 at this point.

Chelsea Handler (10:39)

Yeah, I mean he's. I don't know. Nobody can even keep track. He's already aged out of what we're keeping track of, age wise.

Ed Helms (10:44)

All right, well, let's get a little more specific about what a zeppelin is. It's basically a fabric covered metal framework of transverse rings and longitudinal girders, kind of like a big metal rib cage. And inside are a number of bladders filled with either hydrogen or helium gas because those are both significantly lighter than air. However, only one of those gases is also highly flammable. Ed, which one is that? Well, let's just say there's a reason we don't give kids hydrogen balloons at parties. So at first, Germany used zeppelins as bombers and scouting craft During World War I, as I mentioned before, and they were surprisingly effective. But not everyone was buying the zeppelin hype. One very early hater was orville Wright. In 1909, the New York Times ran an article titled Wright Sees no Hope in Zeppelin Airship. And I mean, come on, he's the inventor of the airplane. Of course he's going to shit on arrival.

Chelsea Handler (11:42)

Absolutely.

Ed Helms (11:43)

Air travel, right? Come on. Would you ride in like a blimp? Is that something that would be cool?

Chelsea Handler (11:49)

Yeah. I'm not scared of any sort of height, air travel type thing situation. The higher the better is my theory.

Ed Helms (11:55)

I was researching this story and I got so into the idea of riding in a blimp that I looked how you get tickets to ride on the Goodyear blimp.

Chelsea Handler (12:05)

Uh huh. And are there tickets available for that kind of.

Ed Helms (12:07)

No, they're not. They're only like occasional sort of like buzz, you know, like the charity buzz auctions or whatever.

Chelsea Handler (12:16)

Aren't blimps Unmanned.

Ed Helms (12:18)

Oh, no. They have little men. They have men. They have little men.

Chelsea Handler (12:23)

Little men.

Ed Helms (12:24)

Okay, so Count Von Zeppelin died before World War I ended in 1917. The whole operation passed over to Hugo Eckner. Eichner was not into war blimps. He believed zeppelins had enormous potential just in long distance travel. So he thought he was like, these can become the slow, elegant, floating luxury cruisers of the sky.

Chelsea Handler (12:47)

And that is a little bit too slow even for World War I. No, it's not.

Ed Helms (12:52)

These things were quick.

Chelsea Handler (12:54)

How. How many miles per hour?

Ed Helms (12:55)

They could get up to like 80 or 90 miles an hour.

Chelsea Handler (12:58)

So, okay, so nothing close to what a plane can accomplish, but a lot

Ed Helms (13:02)

faster than a ship. So when you're talking like transatlantic travel, the Hindenburg could cross the Atlantic in a couple of days, as opposed to five or 10 days on a cruise ship.

Chelsea Handler (13:15)

Okay.

Ed Helms (13:16)

Yeah, they're. They're pretty cool, I have to say. So this guy who's taken over the company, he's like, I think we can do luxury air travel on these things. And that brings us to the Hindenburg, which was named after former German president Paul von Hindenburg. Construction began in 1931, and it was the biggest airship ever built. There had been actually a lot of airship work over the last 30 years. Like I said, they were used in World War I, but they were starting to be used for cargo and all these different kinds of things. This thing was over 800ft long, which is basically like a small stadium size.

Chelsea Handler (13:54)

Wow.

Ed Helms (13:55)

Yeah.

Chelsea Handler (13:56)

To get that up in the air is quite a feat.

Ed Helms (13:58)

Yeah, yeah. And there's. Here's the. My favorite little dark detail. It was partially built using metal salvaged from another hydrogen airship that had already crashed. Which is less likely recycling and more like tempting fate, I think.

Chelsea Handler (14:13)

Well, I mean, listen, recycling had to start at some point.

Ed Helms (14:16)

Chelsea, why do we keep equating the biggest ever built with the best or like the smartest thing?

Chelsea Handler (14:23)

I think that's a very American thing. Even though we're talking about Germany right now, I feel like that's a very western thing. Right? The biggest and the best, rather than the most efficacious or the most like, yeah, bigger is America, better is America. We need the tallest buildings, we need the skyscrapers. We need the biggest phones. Remember when phones first came. Came out and they were like little flip phones and then all of a sudden you were talking on a fucking iPad.

Ed Helms (14:47)

Yeah.

Chelsea Handler (14:47)

Like, why, why do they keep going around in circles? Just leave them small and manageable. But I don't know, I find that to be a very American thing and a very war thing.

Ed Helms (14:57)

Well, you're so right. Also SUVs, right? There was a time in the 80s when cars got very small and efficient and then all of a sudden everyone just wanted like, these tanks, right?

Chelsea Handler (15:07)

And now we have that Tesla truck that is loitering around everywhere. They're very ugly.

Ed Helms (15:12)

Yeah. They give off to me, RoboCop. Yeah, it's like 80s violence. It just looks like a violent vehicle.

iHeart Podcast Awards Announcer (15:21)

Next Monday, our 2026 iHeart Podcast Awards are happening live at south by Southwest.

Ed Helms (15:26)

This is the biggest night in podcasting.

iHeart Podcast Awards Announcer (15:29)

We'll honor the very best in podcasting from the past year and celebrate the most innovative talent and creators in the industry.

Mind Games Podcast Narrator (15:35)

And the winner is.

iHeart Podcast Awards Announcer (15:37)

Creativity, knowledge and passion will all be on full display.

Chelsea Handler (15:41)

Thank you. Thank you so much, iheartradio. Thank you to all the other nominees.

Mind Games Podcast Narrator (15:44)

You guys are awesome.

iHeart Podcast Awards Announcer (15:45)

Watch live next Monday at 8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific free@veeps.com or the Veeps app.

Nancy Glass (15:53)

I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt season two podcast. This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumprite became the victim of a random crime.

Ed Helms (16:09)

He pulls the gun, tells me to lie down on the ground.

Nancy Glass (16:13)

He identified Jermaine Hudson as the perpetrator. Jermaine was sentenced to 99 years.

Ed Helms (16:22)

I'm like, lord, this can't be real. I thought it was a mistaken identity. The best lie is partial truth.

Nancy Glass (16:30)

For 22 years, only two people knew the truth until a confession changed everything.

Chelsea Handler (16:39)

I was a monster.

Nancy Glass (16:41)

Listen to Burden of guilt Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Jay Shetty (16:52)

Hey, I'm Jay Shetty, host of the On Purpose podcast. My latest episode is with Hilary Duff, Singer, actress, and multi platinum artist. Hilary opens up about complicated family dynamics, motherhood, and releasing her first record in over 10 years. We talk about what it's taken to grow up in the entertainment industry and stay grounded through every chapter. It's a raw and honest conversation about identity, evolution, and building a life that

Podcast Announcer (17:17)

truly matters you desire in family like this picture and that's not reality. A lot of the times for people, my sister and I don't speak. It's definitely a very painful part of my life and I hope it's not forever, but it's for right now.

Jay Shetty (17:37)

Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Mind Games Podcast Narrator (17:44)

What if mind control is real?

Ed Helms (17:46)

If you could control the behavior of anybody around you. What kind of life would you have?

Mind Games Podcast Narrator (17:49)

Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car?

Ed Helms (17:53)

When you look at your car, you're gonna become overwhelmed with such good feelings.

Mind Games Podcast Narrator (17:57)

Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you?

Ed Helms (18:00)

I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused.

Mind Games Podcast Narrator (18:03)

Can you get someone to join?

Chelsea Handler (18:06)

NLP was used on me to access my subconscious.

Mind Games Podcast Narrator (18:09)

Nlp, AKA Neuro Linguistic Programming, is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics and psychology. Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual for your brain.

Ed Helms (18:20)

It's about engineering consciousness.

Mind Games Podcast Narrator (18:22)

Mind Games is the story of nlp, its crazy cast of disciples, and the fake doctor who invented it at a new age commune and sold it to guys in suits. He stood trial for murder and got acquitted. The biggest mind game of all, NLP might actually work.

Podcast Announcer (18:39)

This is wild.

Mind Games Podcast Narrator (18:41)

Listen to mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Ed Helms (18:48)

So this Hindenburg, it was 800ft long. It was absolutely massive, but it had a cabin. So underneath was this sort of structure in which the crew and the passengers would ride. And it was really incred there. It had private cabins, a dining room with fine crockery, two promenades with large observation windows, a bar, and a lounge that featured a custom built Blautner baby grand piano that was made from aluminum so that it would be a lot lighter. It was only 350 pounds.

Chelsea Handler (19:23)

Okay, just for some modern reference, do we know how many feet a747 is long?

Ed Helms (19:28)

I love this question and I wish I could pull it up.

Chelsea Handler (19:31)

It's probably 747ft.

Ed Helms (19:33)

Okay, a Boeing 747 is 231ft long.

Chelsea Handler (19:39)

Okay, great.

Ed Helms (19:40)

This is four times longer.

Chelsea Handler (19:42)

And it sounds like it was before. I mean, obviously this is where when planes came on this closer to when planes came on the scene to begin with. So they weren't into stacking us like sardines in a plane. So they didn't know about that yet. Which. Yeah, which accounts for some of their luxury like the bar, the lounge.

Ed Helms (19:58)

Sure. Also, it was so expensive to operate, they wanted to attract hype paying customers. Kind of like, I mean, Orient Express. Yeah. Or the. Or the Titanic, which had like crazy first class accommodations for the wealthy passengers. The Hindenburg was essentially an airborne luxury hotel. Graceful, glamorous, and effortlessly refined. One of my favorite details is that they had a smoking room on the Hindenburg, which seems insane because it was filled with hydrogen gas, which is highly explosive. But. But the smoking room was like this pressurized room. The room itself was pressurized so that nothing could leak into it. And the theory was, if there's a hydrogen leak, it'll keep it from entering the smoking room and we'll be fine.

Chelsea Handler (20:46)

Absolutely. Well, the Hindenburg and the Titanic, which. Well, how many years apart were those two things? When was the Titanic?

Ed Helms (20:52)

1912.

Chelsea Handler (20:53)

1912. Okay, Titanic, 1912 and then 1931. We're talking. Okay, great.

Ed Helms (20:58)

Yeah. So it's not like fresh.

Chelsea Handler (21:00)

So both of them had great, great big plans and huge demises.

Ed Helms (21:05)

Yes.

Chelsea Handler (21:06)

So they're analogous in those ways.

Ed Helms (21:07)

Totally. It's a very apt comparison. And it's often made. Basically, they're both just a monument to human hubris. If you were to travel on a luxury airship for, like, three or four days, what are you bringing with you?

Chelsea Handler (21:23)

Well, probably lsd. Definitely some microdosing. You know how I feel about that. I would have to have alcohol. I would have to have some ls. I would bring, like, a really good book. Cause I would definitely get a book done in that amount of time. I would force myself to read a book before I could really enjoy the luxury aspect. Cause I feel like in order to have fun, I have to also put some stuff into my brain. So I would read a book, and then I would start to party, and then I would mingle, and I would bring a friend that hopefully I could either have sex with or just have a really good time with.

Ed Helms (21:56)

That's a fricking perfect hot take. I love the idea of going on a zeppelin like this because they don't fly that high. Like, you're probably about a thousand feet up, maybe less. And so you can really see what's around you. And it's a really beautiful float. People describe. People who rode in these airships describe the ride as, like, very gentle. And you're just floating. There's very little turbulence effect on the airship. It just feels like such a cool, special way to get around.

Chelsea Handler (22:30)

I mean, not everybody loves helicopters. I'm aware of this. But I love a helicopter ride. And one of the reasons I love a helicopter ride is because you are so close to the ground that you can actually see the terrain and the topography of what you're flying over, rather than see it from, you know, 30,000ft in the sky. And so I was just on a helicopter two days ago. We went to these ice caves in Pemberton, north of Whistler. And so we took a helicopter ride through the mountains. And you can spin around. And with helicopters, people think they're so Dangerous, and, you know, they're probably right. But with a helicopter, you can land three different ways. You can land with your propeller. You can land anywhere, pretty much on a mountain. You know, a plane can't. Doesn't have the ability to land on the jagged edge of a mountain, whereas a helicopter can. And if the engines go out, you have the propeller. So that's like a good thing about helicopters. And also, not being so high in the sky also really allows for a more enjoyable sightseeing adventure.

Ed Helms (23:22)

Oh, for sure. Yeah. I am so with you. I love, love a helicopter ride. Okay, so finally, interesting detail about the Hindenburg. On the tail fins were a couple of massive swastikas. Yep.

Chelsea Handler (23:34)

Whoopsie doo.

Ed Helms (23:35)

Yeah. Hugo Eckner, actually. He had huge disagreements with the Nazis, but was apparently happy to take their money. And when it was done, it actually became a massive symbol of Nazi pride. Here's the kicker. The Hindenburg was designed to be filled with helium, which is a very safe gas, but instead, it was filled with hydrogen. This is because the US had locked down the global helium supply under the Helium control Act of 1927. Who was

Chelsea Handler (24:06)

trying to control the helium? What were. People were just using that at parties to get their voices high.

Ed Helms (24:11)

You know, it has. I guess it has a lot of industrial uses or something. It was a hot commodity back in the day. It still is, because it's a limited. There's only a finite amount of it.

Chelsea Handler (24:20)

Of helium. Yeah. Well, why are they putting it in balloons, then? I mean, shouldn't we hold onto it?

Ed Helms (24:25)

I agree, I agree. Why are we putting it in children's party balloons?

Chelsea Handler (24:29)

First of all, we should get rid of balloons altogether. Balloons are terrible for the environment.

Ed Helms (24:34)

Yes, they are.

Chelsea Handler (24:34)

And I know we're watching the world end right now, but there's no reason to accelerate it beyond what we're already doing.

Ed Helms (24:40)

Come on, humanity, let's do better. But I. Evidently, and I don't know the reason why, but. But helium was. America had a stranglehold on the world helium supply, and they did not give it to anybody. The Hindenburg design was for helium, but then they were just like, I guess if we're not going to get helium, we'll just put hydrogen in there. And interestingly, that actually gave it more lift. Hydrogen is a lighter gas than helium, so it gave the whole airship more lift. They were able to add more cabins to the Hindenburg for passengers, but it was a lot riskier. But they just decided, like, hey, we're the Germans. We're like the kings of engineering. We've got this. We've got a lock on the safety protocols. It's going to be all good. So here's a picture. Let's take a look.

Chelsea Handler (25:32)

Oh, I like that body type.

Ed Helms (25:35)

You do? All right.

Chelsea Handler (25:36)

Corpulent things, you know, like things that are a little bit heavy and thick around the middle and also truncated a little bit.

Ed Helms (25:43)

Go on.

Chelsea Handler (25:44)

But that is. But that is very long.

Ed Helms (25:48)

Yeah, it's four 747s long.

Chelsea Handler (25:52)

Wow. That's amazing that they were able to get that in the sky.

Ed Helms (25:57)

Yeah. And here's. It's such a cool piece of engineering. You can definitely see the lateral struts through the skin of the blimp there.

Chelsea Handler (26:06)

Yes.

Ed Helms (26:07)

And then it also had these giant circular things inside. And the little gondola there is where the pilots operated. The rest of the cabins and crew facilities so forth were inside the belly of this tube. I think you can kind of see the observation windows sort of cut into the side there. They look like gills in the front.

Chelsea Handler (26:31)

So the guy who's the pilot is outside?

Ed Helms (26:36)

Well, he's in that little gondola, but is he.

Chelsea Handler (26:38)

He's dangling to the elements.

Ed Helms (26:40)

No, no, no. It's like a little cabin that's, that's hanging from under there.

Chelsea Handler (26:44)

I'm like, this guy's just. Yeah. Flying free while everybody else is. Okay.

Nancy Glass (26:49)

Wow.

Ed Helms (26:50)

And then there. There were a series of bladders throughout the airship filled with, with the gas. But there were catwalks and various ways that crew could kind of like, like maneuver around inside the zeppelin itself, which is really cool. And they would get to. You can also see the engines, the propellers off the side here, which were big diesel engines. And the crew could actually climb out onto those things and perform maintenance while in flight. So it was a really cool, just feat of design and engineering.

Chelsea Handler (27:26)

Sounds like a great place for a birthday party.

Ed Helms (27:28)

Yeah, right. It's like, do you want a helium balloon for your birthday party or do you want to ride in a fucking balloon? Do you want to ride in a giant one? Yeah, come on, let's do it. So we're going to get to the disaster in a second. But a lot of people forget that the Hindenburg actually made a lot of successful flights before it actually crashed. So in 1936, the ship flew round trip across the Atlantic 17 times, including trips to both the US and Brazil. That same year, the Hindenburg made an appearance at the Berlin Summer Olympics. Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels thought it would be a powerful symbol of German strength and technological superiority, which is an Interesting take, given how this story ends. All this brings us to May of 1937. The Hindenburg sets off on a routine flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Lakehurst, New Jersey. On board, we have 97 passengers and crew. Now you might be wondering, how much does a ticket cost? It was $450 in 1937, which in today's dollars is about 10 grand.

Chelsea Handler (28:38)

Wow. Yeah, that's almost exactly how much I'd like to pay for a flight.

Ed Helms (28:43)

It's like a lot of first class tickets on airplanes are in that zone.

Chelsea Handler (28:47)

Yeah.

Ed Helms (28:47)

Even like those I have. I haven't been on one yet, but I'm. I want to. I want to fly on one of those, like Emirates cabins.

Chelsea Handler (28:55)

Yeah.

Ed Helms (28:56)

Where you just get your own fricking hotel room.

Chelsea Handler (28:58)

Bathroom. You get your own and bathroom. And then you get a bedroom in your room.

Ed Helms (29:03)

Like, I just want to make a round trip.

Chelsea Handler (29:05)

Exactly.

Ed Helms (29:06)

I don't even want to get off the damn trip.

Chelsea Handler (29:07)

I want to even go to Singapore. You just want to fly there and then fly back.

Ed Helms (29:10)

I love long flights.

Chelsea Handler (29:12)

Me too. I love. There's nothing that gets me more excited than a 10 plus hour flight.

Ed Helms (29:18)

Oh, I love it. We're weird that way.

Chelsea Handler (29:21)

I don't know. I mean, it's pretty luxurious.

Ed Helms (29:24)

I also think in this case on the Hindenburg, if you're dropping 10 grand on a ticket, you shouldn't have to ask, but will it explode?

Chelsea Handler (29:33)

Which turns out that's not the intention of the flight to have it explode. So obviously nobody is going to be like, yeah, there's a good chance this will explode.

Ed Helms (29:44)

Yeah. No, you should have a reasonable expectation that you're not going to explode. I feel like for that ticket price

Chelsea Handler (29:49)

or a reasonable expectation that you'll be landing, you know, when you're on a plane and people clap when they land, when nothing untoward has happened.

Ed Helms (29:57)

Yes.

Chelsea Handler (29:57)

And you're like, this is an unnecessary reaction to what was supposed to be in the schedule.

Ed Helms (30:03)

Right. So you're not. You don't support clapping for a pilot for a successful landing.

Chelsea Handler (30:07)

Not unless you're landing on the Hudson, like Sully Sullen. Then that deserves a round of applause. Yeah.

Ed Helms (30:15)

You guys, before we get off the plane, I just want to get in a round of applause for Sully. Oh, my gosh.

Chelsea Handler (30:21)

While we're standing on the wing that's floating in the Hudson River, I still

Ed Helms (30:25)

think any airplane landing is kind of a miracle. It's like, I'm all. I'm for. I'm all for, like, you're for the clapping.

Chelsea Handler (30:33)

Yeah.

Ed Helms (30:33)

I'm for the clapping. So, May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg arrives in Lakehurst Naval Air Station and the weather is garbage. There's thunderstorms, delays. The Hindenburg circles for a while. This is. It's nothing unheard of, but the vibes are definitely off. So finally, at 7:25pm, the ship comes in to dock. It's an interesting process. In this instance, they were going to drop ropes from the. From the zeppelin that would then be attached to winches and they kind of pull it down to the ground gently. It also has ballast tanks inside of it full of water, which it can drop to change its sort of buoyancy in the sky. It's very cool technology. Anyway, it's coming in for the landing. It drops the winch cables and then. And something just goes horribly wrong. And it's like the sky itself explodes. In just 34 seconds. The largest airship ever built turns into a catastrophic inferno as it's still in the sky, and it collapses down onto the airfield in a massive, massive explosion. It is truly an incredible thing to watch. You can Google the newsreel footage. It is is. It is wild. We can look at a photo here. Oh, yeah.

Chelsea Handler (31:58)

You know what that reminds me of? The Challenger space shuttle. Watching that implode.

Ed Helms (32:02)

Yes. Yes.

Chelsea Handler (32:03)

Wow.

Ed Helms (32:04)

So it. In this picture, it looks like it's crashing into a tower that's actually just in the foreground. The zeppelin is way in the background of this photo. It's just simply exploding. This, I believe, is the same photo that Led Zeppelin used on their first album cover. Yeah.

Chelsea Handler (32:26)

Really?

Ed Helms (32:26)

Yeah. And apparently the Zeppelin family estate was outraged by this and tried to sue Led Zeppelin or something. But, yeah, this is the beginning of the explosion. It then sort of drops and hits the ground and the whole thing is enveloped in flames. There are a lot of harrowing firsthand accounts of what went down. One passenger was thrown out a window by his mother and survived. A cabin boy was miraculously saved by a ruptured water tank, which ended up tipping over and drenching him so that he could then kick open a hatch and escape without burning.

Chelsea Handler (33:04)

And did he survive?

Ed Helms (33:05)

He did. There's a really famous radio recording of. Herb Morrison was recording a broadcast during this. It became one of the most iconic disaster broadcasts of all time. It's where we get the phrase, oh, the humanity. This is what he shouts in real time as he's watching the Hindenburg crash. It's a really wild recording. I suggest Googling it because it's just such a fascinating little nugget. Of history. But he's sort of narrating in a very calm, like, oh, here we are in Lakehurst, New Jersey, with the famous Hindenburg dirigible coming in for a land. I mean, I'm making this up. But then all of a sudden, he's like, oh, no. Oh, the fire is starting. What is this? This is the worst catastrophe in humanity. And then he says, oh, the. And that's like something people say to this day.

Chelsea Handler (33:54)

Yeah, it is. It's interesting that that's how it was coined. Oh, the humanity. Cause it's. Oh, it's almost the opposite of humanity.

Ed Helms (34:02)

What he thought he was witnessing was total loss. He thought everyone on board the Hindenburg was just scorched. He was so mortified that he thought he was just witnessing a mass death. As we will learn, there were a lot of survivors, which is incredible when you watch the footage, it's totally incredible.

Chelsea Handler (34:23)

I would credit that with it not being a plane in the sky. Don't you think the proximity to the ground is a major factor? You could actually jump out.

Ed Helms (34:32)

Oh, for sure. And it's a much more gentle process. The landing of Zeppelin is like just sort of like a balloon coming down. And so it's inherently more like there's no high speed. All the things that make air travel so much more inherently dangerous.

Chelsea Handler (34:50)

Now disaster happens and there's no decency. A moment of decency where anybody can hold back their comments or actually mourn for the loss of a life. Yeah, it's just an attack. So, yes. God, I never thought I would want to be around during the Hindenburg, but now you're making me melancholy and nostalgic.

Ed Helms (35:10)

Well, that's what we do here at snafu.

Chelsea Handler (35:13)

I didn't even know exactly what the Hindenburg was when we started this podcast, so look how far I've already come.

Ed Helms (35:18)

I know. This is the fun. You get to come on and learn something, maybe have a few chuckles, and I might tug at your heartstrings a little bit. Who knows? Here's the wild part. Despite the scale of this disaster, which was huge, out of the 97 people on board the Hindenburg, only 35 were killed. That's 13 passengers and 22 crew members. Now, there was also one of the ground workers also perished, which brings the total to 36. Now, this is obviously still very tragic, but honestly, it's astonishing, given that photo we just looked at. Right?

Chelsea Handler (35:58)

Yeah. That's pretty incredible that that many people survived. Wow. I would never have guessed that.

Ed Helms (36:04)

Yeah, it's totally incredible. So what actually happened? Why did it explode? The investigations that followed were murky. The US And Germany both had strong incentives not to take the blame. Germany pushed sabotage. Theories quietly pointing to crew members. Others floated the idea that Hitler himself might have ordered it as a way to punish Hugo Eichner for being openly anti Nazi. Most historians today agree there's no solid evidence for sabotage. No single cause was ever proven beyond doubt. The leading theory is that a static charge from the storm ignited a hydrogen leak somewhere in the Zeppelin itself.

Chelsea Handler (36:48)

Well, what was their reasoning for using the hydrogen rather than the helium? Because they didn't have access to the helium.

Ed Helms (36:53)

Yeah, because we wouldn't give them any helium.

Chelsea Handler (36:55)

Oh, okay. So it wasn't a secret that they used the hydrogen?

Ed Helms (36:59)

No, no, no. They definitely chose to use the hydrogen. And they, you know, they. They thought they had enough safety protocols in place, and to their credit, they had a lot of successful transatlantic flights with this thing.

Chelsea Handler (37:13)

Right. Okay.

Ed Helms (37:14)

So they. They just thought they could manage the risk, and it turns out they couldn't. There. If you really. If you do some real deep dives on it, there are some. Some really interesting theories on what might have caused the spark. All it would take is a spark. The prevailing theory is that it was a static charge from the storm. So in the 1960s, a former NASA scientist argued that it may not have been the hydrogen at all, but in fact, the flammable outer coating. That idea has some merit, but most scientists are skeptical of that. However it started, the result was that the Hindenburg permanently killed the dream of airship travel. And not because it was the first zeppelin to burn. Lots had gone up in flames before. This one was just too big and too hyped and too public. It was like such a massive thing. All of a sudden, the public is like, we ain't getting on those things anymore.

Chelsea Handler (38:09)

Tell me this, if you have the answer to this, Ed. So in terms of flight and air travel, this was happening while planes were also starting to be built, or regular planes, like, you know, what we know as jets. Or was this the prelude to air travel?

Ed Helms (38:25)

There's a lot of parallel development going on.

Chelsea Handler (38:28)

Cause that would have been a totally different way to travel than what we're doing. I mean, I don't know how long it would have lasted before there was another incident. But, I mean, it's an airship we're talking about, and we're talking about a blimp. You know what I mean? Like, it's a whole different kind of air philosophy.

Ed Helms (38:45)

Yeah, it is. And I still kind of hope that it comes back. I mean, there are some companies that are trying to develop modern airships. They do have certain advantages. They're extremely efficient. They can be very effective in disaster recovery because they can deliver things very gently to, you know, horrible disaster areas or remote areas. I personally hope that it starts to become passenger travel again because I'm. I'm just so fucking psyched to ride Blimp. I don't know why.

Chelsea Handler (39:15)

You are very passionate about it and I'm not disagreeing with you. Kind of sounds like I just. I worry about the alacrity with which you can get there. You know what I mean?

Ed Helms (39:24)

Yeah.

Chelsea Handler (39:24)

Why would you, why would you opt for that when you can get somewhere in half the time?

Ed Helms (39:29)

It's the slowness is the point. Right. Like that's. We were just talking about how long. We love long flights. To me, like, I don't know, two or three days to get to Hawaii or whatever. It's like, I'll take it. I'll just chill out.

Chelsea Handler (39:44)

Yeah. That would be an interesting survey to see how many people would be willing to forego. People want to go to Hawaii. Right. They want to go for seven days. They don't want to go for three days. If it takes you three days there and three days back. Or maybe you just use it on the outbound and then you take a regular plane on the way home. It's very retro.

Ed Helms (39:59)

Yeah. All right, so that is essentially the Hindenburg story. It's an Icarus story. We flew too close to the sun and we crashed and burned. Are there any modern comparisons? I weirdly think that AI is like our modern Hindenburg. Right. It's like this awe inspiring marvel. It's wildly hyped, it's insanely powerful, but maybe it's rolling out a little faster than anyone understanding stands. And everyone's in, everyone insisting that it's safe while it's quietly cutting corners.

Chelsea Handler (40:32)

I think the general consensus around AI is that we know it's not safe. You know what I mean? There's a lot of upside and there's a lot of downside and no one has really, you know, obviously without any regulation, it's just going to be a shit show. But I would also say traveling to space is probably similar to this. Like all these flight travels that everyone wants to take to go to the moon and I mean, I don't have any desire to go to the moon. Do you have a desire to land on the moon?

Ed Helms (40:57)

I don't.

Chelsea Handler (40:59)

Yeah.

Ed Helms (40:59)

If it turns out that like big, comfortable, like space cruise Ships are a thing in my lifetime, then, like, that could be cool. I would love to be in zero gravity. That seems like a ton of fun.

Chelsea Handler (41:14)

Yeah. And I like adventure. I like to bounce around. I just went to Antarctica, so that was a really fun adventure.

Ed Helms (41:21)

That's so cool. Did you get on a ship or.

Chelsea Handler (41:24)

Yeah, on a vessel. We crossed the Drake's Passage, which was another example of getting. Taking three days to get somewhere. It takes about three days to get. You have to pass 60 degrees latitude to get into Antarctica. And then so you're there for like two and a half, three days. And then it's three days travel back and forth. And all I wanted to do was be in Antarctica. You know what I mean? I was like, is there another way to return? Because I don't really need to be on that ship crossing Drake's Passage for another three days.

Ed Helms (41:49)

Days, which is. Drake's Passage is notorious. Supposed to be like a super rough crossing. Was it?

Chelsea Handler (41:54)

Yeah. Turbulent, for sure. I mean, people and you're walking around the boat and you're. Everyone's falling all over the place, holding on to the railings. You know, it's kind of a hot mess situation. And so anybody who has a weak stomach or gets seasick should not be taking that trip.

Ed Helms (42:07)

Did you get sick?

Chelsea Handler (42:08)

I did not. Well, no, not from the seasickness.

Ed Helms (42:11)

Oh, God. So there's another kind of trip that I feel like you're an expert in that I just am not. And I want to know more about. Will you sell me on microdosing hallucinogens?

Chelsea Handler (42:24)

I just feel like it's. You know what the best way to describe it is? We just took some lsd, me and my friends, when we went to these ice caves in Pemberton. And I would say the best way to describe it is it puts an exclamation point on whatever experience you're having. So if you're outside, especially if you're in some sort of cool nature environment. We were in a glacier, in a cave, underneath a glacier. So that was pretty cool. And it just kind of makes you really sit and appreciate whatever experience you're having. It adds a little giggle, too, to the situation, which is always welcome for me. I like to laugh and like to. Not to be, you know, taking myself too seriously, but it's just an accentuation of life. And it kind of makes you have a little bit extra gratitude, which is one of the aspects that I don't think people talk about enough. It makes you really grateful to be exposed to the things that we're exposed to. Even if I go skiing for an afternoon with my girlfriends up here, you know, and if I take a microdose, it's like I spend more time looking at the trees, looking at the view, looking at all the beauty that's surrounding me, rather than just, you know, kind of being in your head, you kind of. It gives you a release. So I feel like the whole world needs a microdose.

Ed Helms (43:26)

I am very interested in this. Now, would you also advocate the occasional macro dose?

Chelsea Handler (43:32)

I would, I would. It really depends on your personality and how much you can handle. But those years of me and the macro dosing, that was like, years and years ago. Now, I like just a little punch. Like, I like that. I like a little an mdma. They do. Everything's a microdose now, so you don't have to be scared to do it, you know, And. And also I would like to say, you know, not everybody gets along so well with drugs. I. I do. We have a good working relationship, so I know what my limits are. I've done lots and lots of testing, so I know exactly what's going to work for me and what isn't. And in Canada, they have the cleanest drugs. So that's. So. Yeah. So I'm a big advocate of that. I think it helps a lot of people and helps people, you know, in more serious ways than it's helping me. And I love sharing my drugs, too. I love giving them away. My whole tour is basically about me traveling around the world, handing out LSD to strangers.

Ed Helms (44:21)

That's so great. You're just. You're like the little.

Chelsea Handler (44:25)

I'm a Sherpa healer.

Ed Helms (44:26)

You're the Pied Piper of microdosing.

Chelsea Handler (44:29)

I like to think of myself as a Sherpa. It's unexpected, you know, coming from me, but that's where I'm at in my life.

Ed Helms (44:36)

I. Honestly, you're so transparent in everything that you think, feel, and believe. And I. I think in many ways you are like an aspirational figure for a lot of people because of just how. Just how much you. Just how in touch you are with yourself, which I think a lot of people are. But then you are also just an open book. And, like, you don't hold back when it's. When you've got something, like, difficult to say. And you also don't hold back when you have, like, these sort of joyful, fun expressions. And it's. It's awesome. So keep doing what you're doing.

Chelsea Handler (45:16)

Thank you, Ed. I appreciate that. Thank you.

Ed Helms (45:19)

So this tour coming up, very exciting news. I'm hoping to catch you on the road.

Chelsea Handler (45:25)

I'm currently on the High and Mighty tour, you guys, so you can get your tickets@chelsea handler.com, i will be coming to a city near you.

Ed Helms (45:32)

Amen. Well, thanks for being on Snafu. It was super fun to have you.

Chelsea Handler (45:35)

Well, thanks for my learning lesson today. I mean, now I'm gonna go. This was such a nice way for me to start my day. I'm much more well informed about the Hindenburg than I was when I started this podcast.

Ed Helms (45:45)

Yeah, and I'm more informed about microdosing, so.

Chelsea Handler (45:48)

Exactly. It's a trailer, so there you have it.

Ed Helms (45:51)

All right, thanks, Chelsea.

Chelsea Handler (45:52)

Okay, thanks, Ed. Take care.

Ed Helms (45:55)

Snafu is a production of I Podcasts and Snafu Media, a partnership between Film Nation Entertainment and Pacific Electric Picture Company. Post production and creative support from Good Egg Audio. Our executive producers are me, Ed Helms, Mike Falbow, Glenn Basner, Andy Kim and Dylan Fagan. This episode was produced by Alyssa Martino and Tori Smith. Our managing producer is Carl Nellis. Our video editor is Jared Smith. Technical direction and engineering from Nick Dooley. Additional story editing from Carl Nellis. Our creative executive is Brett Harris. Logo and branding by Matt Gossen and the Collected Works Legal review from Dan Welch, Megan Halson and Caroline Johnson. Special thanks to Isaac Dunham, Adam Horn, Lane Klein, and everyone at iHeart podcasts, but especially Will Pearson, Carrie Lieberman, and Niki Ator. While I have you, don't forget to pick up a copy of my book, snafu the Defin to History's Greatest Screw Ups. It's available now from any book retailer. Just go to snafu-book.com thanks for listening and see you next week.

Podcast Announcer (47:14)

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.