Hello and welcome to this day, a history show from Radiotopia. My name is Jody Avergan.

This day, June 20th, 1975, 50 years ago, it is the Summer of Jaws. Stephen Spielberg's shark epic was released

nationwide, became an absolute sensation.

It basically invented the summer blockbuster and changed the movie industry forever.

Look, listeners, there's going to be no shortage of Jaws at 50 coverage podcasts and articles

and screenings and so forth. One of my favorite podcasts, movie podcast, Blank Check,

recently did a big two-hour-plus episode about it.

Funny enough, because it had such a huge impact on the movie industry, people may be overlooked

that it is in many ways just like a perfect film.

If you haven't seen it recently, go watch it.

It's incredibly acted and paced and directed.

But we are a history and politics podcast, not any movie podcast.

We want to focus on some of those bigger impacts, culturally, politically, of Jaws.

In particular, two things.

One, the depiction of government and leadership in the movie, which is really interesting.

And two, the shark frenzy, anti-shark frenzy that it set off.

So here, as always, Nicole Hammer of Vanderbilt and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wellesley.

Hello there.

Hello, Jody.

Hey there.

Yeah, to me, Jaws is one of those things where it's like, it's everyone knows it as a blockbuster,

and it's almost so in the culture that people don't actually

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