Episode 652: The Du Pont Foxcatcher Murder Part I - The Merchants of Death
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What is the story behind the Du Pont family and the Foxcatcher murder?
There's no place to escape to. This is the last podcast. On the left.
That's when the cannibalism started.
Who's that? Oh, yeah! Remember that?
What?
No, I don't know what you're talking about.
You make me feel the way that you do. You're right aside. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Feel deep.
Feel dumb. Look out, baby. You're not saying words. That's right. There's a lot of mumbling.
It's like mumbling. It's just living in my head. So are you telling the audience to get ready? Sure. Get ready. Here we come. It's the last podcast on the left. My name is Marcus Parks. I'm here with Henry Zebrowski, the man who vaguely knows the words to songs, but not really.
I know a lot of words to songs. It really depends if they're playing on the radio while I'm listening to it. Yeah, and I said the word radio. I'm ancient. Fuck all of you.
He's 42.
He's not ancient.
And we have with us the eldest member of the Last Podcast family, Ed Larson.
That's right. You can see the morning, but I can see the light. Ride, ride, ride, let it ride. Yes, correct. He'll always be correct. Bachman-Turner overdrive. Now, that's a family I would agree in letting them run the United States of America. The Bachman-Turners? Yes. Yeah, okay, yeah.
They're Canadian, I believe.
Yeah. Yeah.
Why are we talking about the men who run America? Well, today we are starting a series. It started off as a one-parter, then it moved to a two-parter, and now it is a fucking three-parter. This is the DuPont Foxcatcher murder. On January 26th, 1996, an Olympic gold medal winning wrestler named Dave Schultz was murdered on a sprawling estate in Pennsylvania called Foxcatcher Farms. He was murdered by the farm's multimillionaire owner, an heir of the DuPont family named John E. DuPont. Now, was he dressed like a fox?
Because that would have been his first mistake. These would then be the DuPont furry murder. But it's not.
Honestly, I wish they were. John E. DuPont is indeed a fascinating and bizarre character worthy of an episode. But after looking into this story further, we decided that the story of John DuPont would work as a nice companion piece to our series on Alec Murdoch. See, while Alec Murdoch was an example of what happens when privilege gets out of control within a family that controls just five counties in one of America's poorest states, the story of John E. DuPont is what happens when the same thing occurs within one of the families that controls America itself. It's kind of amazing it took that long. Yeah. Well, it took that long that we know of. Yeah. The history of the DuPont family, who were nicknamed the merchants of death by journalists after World War I because of the insane profits they made off of the war, that history is inextricably linked to the darkest sides of American history.
It goes back to damn near the founding of our country. The DuPont family's companies have provided munitions and explosives to the American government in every war in our country's history, save the Revolution. From the gunpowder used in the War of 1812 to the enriched uranium used in the atomic bombs dropped in Japan. So congratulations.
That's not what the point you're trying to make. Okay. Oh, I thought you were saying they were really good at business. If this was a different podcast, that would have been like a praise.
From the gunpowder used in the war of 1812 to the enriched uranium used in the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, the DuPont company truly is a titan of industry.
Good on you, DuPont. I can't wait to be a billionaire myself. All I have to do is pull my dick that seems to be swollen inside of my sister out of her, and I'm certain I'm on my way to millions of dollars.
The DuPonts, however, are not just involved in war profiteering. As their 1935 slogan put it, the more public-facing side of the DuPont company provides, quote, better things for better living through chemistry.
Yeah, I would put it more like better things for better living through chemistry Yeah, well that is how it went like some guy read it like that like we can't talk to the people like that Barney we stop doing these commercials better things for better living through chemistry company
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the story behind the Du Pont family and the Foxcatcher murder?
0:01–10:13
2
How did the Du Pont family influence American industry and warfare?
10:13–23:13
3
What role did the Du Ponts play in the history of war profiteering?
23:13–29:22
4
What were the working conditions for Du Pont employees throughout history?
29:22–36:45
5
How did the Du Ponts respond to labor movements and strikes?
36:45–46:50
6
What impact did the Du Ponts have on environmental policies and public health?
46:50–55:47
7
How did the Du Ponts' actions shape their public perception over time?
55:47–1:06:45
8
What can we expect in the next episode regarding the Du Pont family's legacy?
1:06:45–1:32:14