Ignition sequence start. You think you know the story of Apollo eleven, but you don't. What you know is only a small part of the most profound human achievement in history. I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal of landing a man on the Moon and
returning him safely to the Earth. Less than three weeks after launching the first American into space, a trip that lasted only fifteen minutes, the President went before Congress and charged the country with landing on the Moon before the end of the decade. And why so that we could wallop the Russians? Could I need to look? This was one of the most tumultuous eras in American history. The profoundly unpopular Vietnam War was raging on without an end
in sight. Back home, at the Democratic National Convention, thousands of demonstrators clashed violently with police. They said they were there to protest the war, poverty, racism, and other social illiments. Some of them were also determined to provoke a confrontation. The United States seemed to be coming apart at the seems America needed a reason to reach for a greatness
beyond our misfortunes. We needed Apollo left speed. Pulling off Kennedy's audacious vision required hundreds of thousands of people, tens of thousands of companies, and tens of billions of dollars to go to the moan and this decay and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because
they are on. Using never before heard mission audio, I'm going to take you through the family lives that fueled the astronauts, the political intrigue that cleared the way, and the collective drive of the country that pushed us into the future. This is Nine Days in July. New episodes arrive every Thursday through February six. Listen to Nine Days in July on the radio app, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.