The weather. Tomorrow, expect a... Biting cold front. Mmm, how naughty. I wonder what I'll be wearing or taking off. The night will be wild and untamed. Expect heavy, lashing rain that'll soak you to the skin. By Monday, temperatures will rise, slowly but surely, reaching their peak in the afternoon.

Not in the mood for miserable weather?

Fly cheaply to Turkey with Sun Express.

Sun Express, non-stop sunshine.

This episode contains graphic content that may not be suitable for all ages.

Listener discretion is advised.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available.

Call or text 988 or chat with someone at 988 lifeline.org. Those outside of the U.S.

Reach out to someone at your local crisis center or hotline.

Please do not suffer in silence. A clear star-studded night sky stretched over the Mapimi desert in northern Mexico.

In the early hours of July 11, 1970, that silence was shattered. Without warning, a U.S. Athena test rocket launched

hundreds of miles away in Utah, streaked off course and slammed into the remote desert.

Tracking stations had lost contact with the wayward missile as it vanished beyond the horizon,

leaving officials briefly baffled as to where it had gone.

At daybreak, recovery teams descended on the crash site, only to find their radio calls home

crackling into static. In this barren patch of cactus and scrub, normal signals seemed to die in the

air. It was as if the desert itself refused to give up its secrets.

Rumors would soon spread of an eerie, silent zone around the impact site, a place where

radios fell mute and compasses spun astray. A local rancher watching the American convoy

arrive could only marvel. Something strange had awoken in the desert. The zone of silence

had announced itself to the world. Long before it had a name, this corner of the Chihuahuan Desert held a reputation for the

unexplained.

...