1993 was known as the peak of a disturbing trend in America: post office shootings, carried out by postal workers. A stunned country looked for answers and turned up a toxic workplace that seemed to be driving some workers past their breaking point.
AI Summary
# Stuff You Should Know: Going Postal
In this episode, Josh and Chuck dive into the phenomenon of workplace violence at the U.S. Postal Service, tracing the history of postal worker shootings from the 1980s through the early 2000s. They explore how a series of tragic incidents became so prevalent that "going postal" entered the cultural lexicon, appearing in shows like Seinfeld and The Simpsons, and examine why the workplace environment at the post office may have been uniquely toxic. The guys also unpack how the postal service's attempt to downplay the problem through a commissioned report actually backfired, revealing deeper truths about workplace culture and labor relations that deserved serious attention.
Arrested Development
2003
★ 7.9
"Wasn't that from Arrested Development? That was Mr. F. — Making a reference to 'Mr. F' from Arrested Development when a listener mentioned 'Mr. X', a famous safe cracker."
— Chuck
Frozen II
2019
PG
1h 43m
★ 7.2
"My daughter was watching. She frozen in Spanish the other day, and I went to change it. — Josh mentioning his daughter watching Frozen 2 in Spanish and speaking gibberish trying to mimic the language."
— Josh
Full Metal Jacket
1987
1h 57m
★ 8.1
"He was basically like Pyle from Full Metal Jacket when he was in the mood — Comparing Patrick Henry Sherrill's behavior and characteristics to the unbalanced character Private Pyle from the film."
— Chuck
"That same year, Seinfeld debuted, I think they debuted Newman as a character. — Referencing how Seinfeld introduced Newman, a postal worker character, and referenced postal workers going crazy in 1993."
— Josh
"There was a Simpsons, and I don't know what year it came out, but I'll bet it was around 93 — Discussing a Simpsons episode where a postal carrier casually produces an assault rifle, showing how normalized the 'going postal' concept had become."
— Chuck
Waking Life
2001
1h 41m
★ 7.5
"It's done in like the animation. Oh, wow. We've done it through the animation software like in Waking Life. — Comparing the animation style of a documentary about the 1966 clock tower sniper to the rotoscope animation technique used in Waking Life."
— Chuck
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