Touring History 8-5-25

TOURING HISTORY - AUGUST 5TH SCRIPT

COLD OPEN

LANE: Welcome to Touring History, I'm Lane—

DAVE: And I'm Dave, and today we're exploring August 5th, a date that really shows history's range – from incredible achievements to absolute tragedy.

LANE: Yeah, we've got Neil Armstrong being born on this day in 1930, literally the first human to walk on the moon, and then we've got Marilyn Monroe found dead in 1962 at just 36 years old.

DAVE: Plus the first transatlantic telegraph cable was completed on this date in 1858, basically creating the first instant communication between Europe and America. Talk about shrinking the world.

LANE: And on a lighter note, it's National Underwear Day, because apparently even August 5th needs some levity after all that heavy history.

DAVE: From the sublime to the ridiculous. Speaking of personal moments, let's hear from one of our listeners.

LISTENER VOICE MEMO

SEZSO (as Coach Brock): [friendly, slightly nostalgic coach voice] Hey Lane and Dave, this is Coach Brock! So you guys mentioned that photo history trick a few episodes back – where you check your phone's photo library by entering specific dates to see what happened that day in past years. Well, I tried it and man, it's become my new morning routine! I punch in the date and just see what memories pop up. August 1st brought up this amazing kayaking trip I took in Marina del Rey with one of my former high school students who graduated in 2019. Kid wanted to show me around the water since I'm definitely not a "water guy" – more of a land-based coach, you know? But we saw sea lions, seals, even some stingrays! It was incredible. Such a fun memory I'd completely forgotten about until that photo showed up on my phone. Now I start every day with a little time travel. Thanks for the tip, guys – you've made this old coach a little more nostalgic!

LANE: Coach Brock sounds like he's got the right idea! There's something beautiful about rediscovering those random moments.

DAVE: Plus I love that he admitted he's not a water guy but still went kayaking. That's good coaching – stepping outside your comfort zone.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

LANE: Speaking of stepping outside comfort zones, let's talk about today's birthday legends. Born August 5th, 1930, Neil Armstrong – the first human being to set foot on the moon in 1969.

DAVE: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Though apparently he wanted to say "one small step for A man" but the transmission cut out the "a." Still iconic.

LANE: Also born today in 1850, Guy de Maupassant, the French writer who basically perfected the short story. If you've ever read "The Necklace," that's his masterpiece about vanity and irony.

DAVE: And Patrick Ewing was born on this day in 1963 – the basketball legend who dominated the NBA in the '90s, primarily with the New York Knicks. Seven feet tall and absolutely unstoppable.

LANE: Three guys who were literally the best in the world at what they did. Armstrong conquered space, Maupassant conquered literature, and Ewing conquered the paint.

SALACIOUS DAVE SEGMENT

DAVE: Time for some salacious history, and today we're talking about something that happened exactly on August 5th, 1962 – the death of Marilyn Monroe, which sparked one of the most enduring scandals in American history.

LANE: Oh boy, here we go. I assume this involves the Kennedys somehow?

DAVE: You assume correctly! Monroe was found dead in her Brentwood home on the morning of August 5th, 1962, after a barbiturate overdose. Officially ruled a probable suicide, but here's where it gets juicy – she had been having affairs with both President John F. Kennedy AND his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy.

LANE: Both brothers? That's... messy.

DAVE: Extremely messy. Just three months before her death, Monroe had sung that famous sultry "Happy Birthday Mr. President" to JFK at Madison Square Garden, which basically confirmed the affair rumors to the entire world. But according to recent documentaries and investigations, Robert Kennedy was actually at Monroe's house the day she died, and they had a massive fight.

LANE: What were they fighting about?

DAVE: Monroe was reportedly threatening to go public about her relationships with both Kennedy brothers, potentially revealing state secrets she'd learned through their pillow talk during the Cold War. Some theories suggest she was silenced to protect national security, though others point to organized crime connections through Frank Sinatra.

LANE: So her death potentially changed the en