In this episode of Trolling with Logic, the team learns that the only thing better than blasting off for Mars is a high-stakes helicopter chase in a desert on Earth. Nathan, Cal, and Jenn review the 1977 action thriller “Capricorn One,” the story of three astronauts who are unwittingly recruited to participate in a government conspiracy to fake a Mars landing and who must run for their lives from government mercenaries when they refuse to play along with the ruse. It’s also the story of an intrepid journalist who helps expose the hoax thanks to the government being powerless to kill him no matter what.

We talk about the cultural impact this film had on the conspiracy-theory community in general and the moon-landing conspiracy theorists specifically and the implausibility of such a massive conspiracy ever getting off the ground. We also ask some important questions: Why are government snipers such poor shots? How much does it cost to crop-dust a field? Will Nathan’s prediction that this movie will get the Michael Bay remake treatment come true? We wrap up with Nathan doing a dramatic reading of Dr. Seuss’ “Fox in Socks.”

Links:

“Capricorn One” on IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077294/

David Robert Grimes, “On the Viability of Conspiratorial Beliefs,” PLOS ONE 11(3): e0151003. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0147905.