Hey, it's 99. A quick message up top to the UNFTR audience. Today's show is a departure from our

normal format. We still have show notes at the end, but most of the regular features of the show

will return next week. Today, Max walks us through 9-11 in three distinct chapters. For new listeners

to the show, especially from Pitchfork Economics, please check out our archive for our usual takes.

To our loyal UNFTR listeners, welcome back as we examine the legacy of 9-11,

the historical coincidence of an event that likely paved the way for our response,

and what comes next.

It's that time of year.

When the seminal event in modern U.S. history gets dissected in a million pieces.

Because the effects of 9-11 are lasting, and the events of the day are still burned into our minds,

new takes on this day will continue to emerge, and our response to it will forever be litigated

and analyzed.

According to Pew Research, 9-11 sits alone atop the list of the most significant moments in American history for millennials, Gen Xers, Boomers, and the Silent Generation.

It's a dubious ranking, of course.

You're talking about four generations, two that witnessed the assassinations of JFK and MLK,

the Moon Landing, and World War II.

Three that witnessed the tech revolution, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the massacre at Columbine. The only other event

that reaches across each one of these generations is the election of Barack Obama, a stunning

achievement. But again, alone at the top is 9-11. It changed us all. Of this, there can be no doubt.

How it changed us is up for debate. The causes

behind the event, our response to it, the failures and the overwhelming retribution we wrought upon

the world at large, turned an otherwise isolated moment in time, into the most significant

...