Did We Go (Back) To The Moon? Michael Knowles Investigates Artemis II

10 min

•Apr 10, 202618 days ago

Summary

Michael Knowles examines NASA's Artemis II mission to the moon while exploring the history of Apollo missions and the moon landing conspiracy theories that emerged in the decades following. He visits Cape Canaveral to witness the launch firsthand and addresses skepticism about whether the original Apollo missions actually occurred.

Insights

Public skepticism about major government achievements persists due to cultural distrust, not necessarily evidence—people struggle to believe impressive accomplishments are real
The internet democratized conspiracy theory distribution, transforming fringe moon landing doubts into widespread cultural movements with millions of engaged followers
First-hand observation and direct experience can be more persuasive than theoretical arguments in resolving factual disputes about major events
Moon landing conspiracy theories reveal how the same evidence can be interpreted multiple ways depending on one's prior assumptions and media consumption patterns

Trends

Resurgence of government space exploration programs as geopolitical and technological prioritiesPersistent public distrust in institutional narratives despite technological advancement and transparency improvementsInternet-enabled conspiracy theory ecosystems creating self-reinforcing communities around disputed historical eventsGenerational shift in space exploration goals from Cold War competition to long-term lunar infrastructure developmentCultural polarization around factual claims with social media amplifying both conspiratorial and debunking content equally

Topics

NASA Artemis II MissionApollo Moon Landing HistoryMoon Landing Conspiracy TheoriesSpace Race and Cold War CompetitionRocket Technology and Space TravelGovernment Trust and Institutional CredibilityInternet Conspiracy Theory SpreadStanley Kubrick Moon Hoax TheoryLunar Surface ExplorationCape Canaveral Launch FacilityPhotographic Evidence AnalysisFuture Lunar Base DevelopmentAstronaut Training and MissionsMedia Literacy and Evidence EvaluationCultural Skepticism Toward Authority

Companies

NASA

Central focus of episode; managing Artemis II mission and historical Apollo program; subject of conspiracy theories

Fox

Aired documentary featuring moon landing conspiracy theorists and skeptics discussed in the episode

People

Michael Knowles

Host investigating Artemis II launch and moon landing conspiracy theories; visited Cape Canaveral for firsthand obser...

Neil Armstrong

First person to walk on the moon during Apollo 11 mission in 1969; became household name

Buzz Aldrin

Second person to walk on the moon during Apollo 11 mission; became household name

Michael Collins

Apollo 11 astronaut who orbited the moon while Armstrong and Aldrin landed on surface

Bill Casing

Former naval officer who wrote 1979 book claiming moon landings were faked Soviet propaganda hoax

Stanley Kubrick

Conspiracy theorists speculated he directed fake moon landing footage in a movie studio

Quotes

"We're so used to the general incompetence and perfidy of our decadent degenerate culture that we doubt that people can do important, impressive things. It's hard to believe because it is incredible."

Michael Knowles•End of episode

"I believe that we didn't go to the moon. I think it was fake."

Conspiracy theorist (quoted)•Mid-episode

"Why aren't there any stars in the photos? Do shadows appear from multiple light sources? Why does the flag look like it's waving when there is no air on the moon?"

Moon landing skeptics (quoted)•Mid-episode

"Four days and 13 hours later, Armstrong set foot on the surface. We went back five more times with Apollo 12, 14, 15 and 17."

Michael Knowles•Early episode

"All of a sudden, the people asking questions about starless skies and wavy flags found an audience of millions of people eager to listen to them."

Michael Knowles•Mid-episode

Full Transcript

NASA is going back to the moon. Or, depending on your particular perspective, NASA is attempting to go to the moon for the first time. As the Artemis II launches into deep space and bangs a U-E around the moon, we will take a trip down memory lunar lane and consider why we are so fascinated by Earth's favorite at rock. Since ancient times, man has looked up to the moon and thought, what is that? Why is it different shapes sometimes? And I wonder if I could get up there and walk on it. Then in the 1950s, American scientists and foreign communists figured out how to use rockets to explode our way into space. We began to race the Soviets and, while they got into orbit first, we set our sights on a higher, rockier goal. In 1969, NASA launched Apollo 11, the first mission to put men on the moon. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were strapped to the top of a Saturn V rocket, then hurled toward the moon using 6.5 million pounds of kerosene and liquid hydrogen fuel. Four days and 13 hours later, Armstrong set foot on the surface. We went back five more times with Apollo 12, 14, 15 and 17. 13 had a little bit of trouble so they didn't land, but they did get a movie out of it. Astronauts did experiments, played golf, and a couple of times they even brought a moon buggy with them. It was at that point that everyone looked around and thought, okay, I think we're probably good with this for a while. Big budgets and waning public interest ultimately shut down the Apollo program. Journeys to the moon changed from a lofty future goal to a thing of the past. America had won the space race. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became household names. Everyone seemed to look back fondly at the time the United States defied the odds and accomplished what man had dreamt of for millennia. But the whole experience was so incredible that some people began to doubt that it was credible. I believe that we didn't go to the moon. So there was a documentary that came on in Fox. You might not have looked into it. I have. No one went to the moon. I don't think we did. I think it was fake. In 1979, a former naval officer named Bill Casing wrote a book subtly titled, We Never Went to the Moon, America's $30 billion swindled. Four years after the final Apollo mission, Casing claimed that NASA simply did not have the technology required to make it to the moon, but the entire operation was an elaborate, anti-Soviet propaganda hoax. A small group of Americans began to examine the story closer and started to notice that some things seemed a little strange. Why aren't there any stars in the photos? Do shadows appear from multiple light sources? Why does the flag look like it's waving when there is no air on the moon? One theory answered all of these questions. The landing was fake. It was filmed in a movie studio, possibly directed by Stanley Kubrick. The conspiracy theories percolated for years among small numbers of weirdos, mocked by polite society, which was delighted to gobble up the government's slop story that they had been fed, as the doubters would have it. But then the conspiracy theorists had an Apollo 8 moment of their own, the invention of the Internet. I'm at the center of the web. In theory, I can pull in information from any other point at the speed of light. All of a sudden, the people asking questions about starless skies and wavy flags found an audience of millions of people eager to listen to them. People started making whole online careers at questioning the truth of the Apollo missions. Why don't you swear on the Bible that you walked on the moon? You're a coward and a liar and a thief. Then some other people made careers out of debunking those people. Then, a slightly smaller group of people made still smaller careers debunking the people who were doing the debunking. People began to take sides. If you thought they were faked, you're an idiot. If you thought they were real, you're a bigger idiot. Probably Jewish. Everyone claimed secret knowledge. Esoterica abounded. Which brings us to today. Artemis II took astronauts to deep space, around the moon and back, paving the way for future manned missions to the surface. To many, this is a grand return. A triumphant message that we still possess the skill and audacity to travel beyond this goodly framed the Earth, into and beyond the brave or hanging firmament. A mission that sets the stage for the future of space travel. Others, however, will never be satisfied. Every frame will be analyzed. Every assumption questioned. Every discrepancy will be evidence of another grand conspiracy. Whoever you are, whatever you believe, everyone was waiting for this moment. Wow. Unfortunately, NASA rejected my application to join the mission and see the evidence firsthand. But they did invite me to come to Cape Canaveral for the launch. I will admit, even though I am pretty Apollo-pilled, you know, I think it happened, I have gone down the internet rabbit holes. Now of course the question is just, where are they going to ditch that rocket ship, you know, so that they can pretend to go to the moon and, you know, I don't know, get on a boat or something. No, I'm joking, I'm joking, I think that's real. There have been several multi-hour long blocks in which I was convinced that the whole thing was a big hope. I made it my duty, not just to report, but to investigate. For the benefit of all mankind, I would use my access to try to answer the truth of this supposed launch. Hey, what's up? What's going on? I arrived and immediately set out to inspect the rocket up close, at which point NASA informed me that I would be stationed three and a half miles away. Something about safety or whatever. Suspicious? Well, call me what you will. Just don't call me late for dinner. At the very least, I saw and felt a very large rocket go very high in the air. If anything is going to the moon, I am confident that it is that. From my first-hand experience, I thought the case was closed, and then I opened X. Look at this, they're escaping through the side. Injured watching. What is this? Michael, go touch the grass, it looks like a green screen. Okay, you know what? Fine. You know what? Fine. I did not intend to take any hard lines on this subject today. This may come back to bite me when the truth of the universe is hopefully revealed to me after the particular judgment. I think that those guys and that lady and that Canadian went to the moon. And that is very, very cool. We're so used to the general incompetence and perfidy of our decadent degenerate culture that we doubt that people can do important, impressive things. It's hard to believe because it is incredible. Some apparently will never be convinced. Once we have the moon base up and running, there will be Twitter sleuths breaking down the doors of every movie studio, which is fine by me because Hollywood is Gomorrah by the sea. In the meantime, though, America is going back to the moon.