While the Rest of Us Die: Secrets of America's Shadow Government

Last updated

While the Rest of Us Die: Secrets of America's Shadow Government
Genre Documentary
Based on Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself—While the Rest of Us Die
by Garrett M. Graff
Narrated by Jeffrey Wright
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes14
Production
Executive producers
  • Shawn Efran
  • Garrett Graff
  • Lee Hoffman
  • Anthony Lappé
  • Jordan J. Mallari
  • Solly Granatstein
Producers
  • David McDougall
  • James Ellis
Production companyEfran Films
Original release
Network Vice TV
ReleaseNovember 16, 2020 (2020-11-16) 
December 16, 2021 (2021-12-16)

While the Rest of Us Die: Secrets of America's Shadow Government is a Vice on TV documentary television series exploring twentieth-century and twenty-first-century continuity of government (COG) measures of the United States federal government, the social, racial, and class inequalities these measures point to, the changing and inconsistent meanings of the concepts of "defense" and "homeland security", and the costs of COG infrastructure and maintenance to the United States federal budget. The series debuted November 16, 2020. [1]

Contents

The series was inspired by the 2017 book Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself—While the Rest of Us Die by Garrett M. Graff. [2] The Raven Rock Mountain Complex providing a title for the book is a nuclear bunker in Southern Pennsylvania intended to serve as a secondary Pentagon in case of the destruction or disabling of the primary headquarters in Washington, D.C. and is also discussed in the television documentary series. The series is narrated by American actor Jeffrey Wright. [1]

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 6November 16, 2020 (2020-11-16)December 21, 2020 (2020-12-21)
2 8October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21)December 16, 2021 (2021-12-16)

Season 1 (2020)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air date
11"Doomsday & The President"November 16, 2020 (2020-11-16)
Cold War disaster planning by the government and how these preparations led to conspiracy theories
22"C.O.G. Clusterf***"November 23, 2020 (2020-11-23)
Weaknesses in continuity of government planning, and priorities other than ensuring the function of government, are exposed during the September 11 attacks; the nuclear bunker for the United States Congress beneath The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, also known as Project Greek Island
33"The Enemy Within"November 30, 2020 (2020-11-30)
Disparities in planning and response to disasters such as the devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 emphasize and reinforce racial inequality in the United States
44"National Insecurity"December 7, 2020 (2020-12-07)
The involvement of the United States in post–Cold War era conflicts appears to imperil the average US citizen and members of the military services rather than provide security
55"Collapse"December 14, 2020 (2020-12-14)

66"Legacy of Lies"December 21, 2020 (2020-12-21)
National security propaganda related to the twenty-first century American invasion of Iraq; further discussion of conspiracy theories such as the 9/11 Truth movement and Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories; the QAnon conspiracy theory movement, its use of antisemitic canards, and parallels to Millenarianism and pareidolia; the "post-truth" concept; the interaction of government security interests, conspiracy theories, and the goals of the Trump Administration during the events of 2020, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic; the Milgram experiment and related study of amorality

Season 2 (2021)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air date [3]
71"The Game Is Rigged"October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21)
82"Food Kills"October 28, 2021 (2021-10-28)
93"Killing Power"November 4, 2021 (2021-11-04)
104"Toxic Wasteland"November 11, 2021 (2021-11-11)
115"Nuke Nightmares"November 18, 2021 (2021-11-18)
126"Pandemic Profiteers"December 2, 2021 (2021-12-02)
137"Radical Religion"December 9, 2021 (2021-12-09)
148"The Real Drug Lords"December 16, 2021 (2021-12-16)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Ryan (character)</span> Fictional character created by author Tom Clancy

John Patrick Ryan Sr. (Hon.), nicknamed Jack, is a fictional character created by author Tom Clancy and featured in his Ryanverse novels, which have consistently topped the New York Times bestseller list over 30 years. Since Clancy's death in 2013, five other authors, Mark Greaney, Grant Blackwood, Mike Maden, Marc Cameron and Don Bentley, have continued writing new novels for the franchise and its other connecting series with the approval of the Clancy family estate.

Continuity of Operations (COOP) is a United States federal government initiative, required by U.S. Presidential Policy Directive 40 (PPD-40), to ensure that agencies are able to continue performance of essential functions under a broad range of circumstances. PPD-40 specifies certain requirements for continuity plan development, including the requirement that all federal executive branch departments and agencies develop an integrated, overlapping continuity capability, that supports the eight National Essential Functions described in the document.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center</span> Civilian command facility for the Federal Emergency Management Agency

The Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center is a government command facility located near Frogtown, Clarke County, Virginia, used as the center of operations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Also known as the High Point Special Facility (HPSF), its preferred designation since 1991 is "SF".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continuity of government</span> Principle of emergency government

Continuity of government (COG) is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of a catastrophic event such as nuclear war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raven-Symoné</span> American actress and singer (born 1985)

Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman-Maday, also known as Raven, is an American actress, singer, and director. She has received several accolades, including five NAACP Image Awards, two Kids' Choice Awards, three Young Artist Awards, and four Emmy Award nominations. In 2012, she was included on VH1's list of "100 Greatest Child Stars of All Time".

National Geographic is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Entertainment and National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%), with the operational management handled by Disney Entertainment.

Irwin Allen was an American film and television producer and director, known for his work in science fiction, then later as the "Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genre. His most successful productions were The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974). He also created and produced the popular 1960s science-fiction television series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, and Land of the Giants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Wright</span> American actor (born 1965)

Jeffrey Wright is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award. Wright began his career in theater where he gained prominence for his role in the Broadway production of Tony Kushner's Angels in America (1993), for which he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He reprised his role in the acclaimed 2003 HBO miniseries adaptation, earning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Carolina Educational Television</span> PBS member network in South Carolina

South Carolina Educational Television is a state network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is operated by the South Carolina Educational Television Commission, an agency of the state government which holds the licenses for all of the PBS member stations licensed in the state. The broadcast signals of the eleven television stations cover almost all of the state, as well as parts of North Carolina and Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A&E Networks</span> American media company

A&E Television Networks, LLC is an American multinational corporation and broadcasting company. It is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its Entertainment division. The company owns several non-fiction and entertainment-based television brands, including its namesake A&E network, History Channel, Lifetime, FYI, and their associated sister channels. The company also holds stakes in, or licenses, their international branches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raven Rock Mountain Complex</span> US continuity of government bunker in Pennsylvania

The Raven Rock Mountain Complex (RRMC), also known as Site R, is a U.S. military installation with an underground nuclear bunker near Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, at Raven Rock Mountain that has been called an "underground Pentagon". The bunker has emergency operations centers for the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Along with Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center in Virginia and the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado, it formed the core bunker complexes for the US continuity of government plan during the Cold War to survive a nuclear attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Burns</span> American television and film producer (1955–2020)

Kevin Burns was an American television and film producer, director, and screenwriter. His work can be seen on A&E, National Geographic Channel, E!, Animal Planet, AMC, Bravo, WE tv, Travel Channel, Lifetime, and The History Channel. Burns created and executive-produced more than 800 hours of television programming.

<i>Conspiracies</i> (TV series) 2001 British TV series or programme

Conspiracies is a documentary television programme produced by the BBC and broadcast on both BBC Choice and TechTV. The series was hosted by Clive Anderson. Though a small number of episodes were produced, they focused on a variety of well known conspiracy theories.

Raven Rock and Raven Rocks may refer to:

The Smithsonian Channel is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its media networks division under MTV Entertainment Group. It offers video content inspired by the Smithsonian Institution's museums, research facilities and magazines.

The National Program Office (NPO) was an office of the United States Government, established to ensure continuity of government in the event of a national disaster. The NPO was established by a secret executive order signed on 14 September 1982 by President Ronald Reagan during the Cold War in preparation for a nuclear war, presumably with the Soviet Union.

Shawn Efran is an American filmmaker, journalist, television producer, and media entrepreneur. His work, including as producer for 60 Minutes on CBS, and as founder and executive producer of Efran Films, has garnered critical acclaim, including seven Emmy awards, a Peabody, a Polk, and four Society of Professional Journalists National Distinguished Public Service Award.

COGCON is a United States government readiness level, roughly analogous to the DEFCON alert state system, tracking the readiness of the government in the event of an emergency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">To The Stars Inc.</span> American company

To The Stars Inc., formerly known as To The Stars Academy of Arts & Sciences Inc., is a San Diego-based company co-founded by Tom DeLonge, Harold E. Puthoff (engineer), and Jim Semivan. The company, which is composed of aerospace, science, and entertainment divisions, has produced music recordings, books, television shows and films. A focus of the company is the promotion of UFOs and other fringe science.

References

  1. 1 2 Lee, Janet W. (November 12, 2020). "Vice TV Sets Debut of 'While the Rest of Us Die: Secrets of America's Shadow Government' With Jeffrey Wright". Variety. Yahoo News .
  2. Otiko, Manny (December 6, 2020). "VICE Disaster Planning Show Sounds Like Conspiracy Fare—But It's Real: Docu-series is more frightening than any disaster movie". Democracy Guardian. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  3. "Shows A-Z – While the Rest of Us Die on VICE". The Futon Critic . Retrieved August 3, 2022.