NASA's Skylab was one of the greatest scientific achievements of the 1970s. But in 1979, the 77-ton space station suddenly began to fall. As the world watched, it slowly lost altitude, becoming an uncontrolled, public countdown to disaster. On this week’s Very Special Episodes, Dana Schwartz revisits the strange, tense, and darkly funny story of Skylab’s final days — including the Australian teenager who found himself at the center of NASA’s worst-case scenario.

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On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday. Listen to VSE wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode is a production of iHeartPodcasts and School of Humans

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While sailing from France to the New World, Marguerite de La Rocque and her lover were punished, marooned on an island where they would be tormented by natural forces and, according to some stories, demons.

Support Noble Blood:

— Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon
— Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'

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Listen to Dana Schwartz's conversation with Kal Penn on his podcast Earsay: An Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club, where they dive into Remain: A Supernatural Love Story, a genre-bending collaboration between M. Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks.

Together, they discuss how two masters of their respective genres surprisingly complement each other and geek out over the intimate details that make books feel alive — from ATM passwords to beef bourguignon.

Listen to Earsay: An Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club wherever you get your podcasts.

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