History Book: 50 years ago, Joe Biden enters national politics

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Monday, November 7th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Coming up next, the WORLD History Book. Today, a milestone for the US strategic petroleum reserve. Plus 50 years ago, Joe Biden enters national politics.

But first the debut of a science fiction icon.

With research help from Harrison Watters, here’s WORLD Radio executive producer Paul Butler.

PAUL BUTLER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: 90 years ago today—on November 7th, 1932—the first science fiction radio show stormed American airwaves.

ANNOUNCER: Buck Rogers in the 25th Century! 

The earliest recordings of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century are no longer available. This audio is from a later season.

ANNOUNCER: As you probably know, Buck was born in our own times--in the 20th century. The story of how he got started on his amazing adventures so far in the future is mighty interesting. But instead of telling you about it, let's turn the dial that will project us ahead in time and find out all about it that way...

Buck Rogers was based on a popular syndicated comic strip. It featured the adventures of a young WWI veteran frozen in time until the year 2429—when another war is ravaging the planet and America is ruled by red Mongol invaders.

CLIP: Central Radio Bureau. Davidson speaking. | This is Buck Rogers Dave. | Oh yes Captain Rogers, what can I do for you sir?

With his new friends Wilma Deering and scientist Dr. Huer, Buck Rogers goes on various swashbuckling adventures fighting with futuristic weapons.

CLIP: Impenitride? | Well that's what he said before he went down there. | Oh, probably with the idea of making up another Gyro Cosmic Relativator. 

Buck Rogers made science fiction popular, moving tales of the Wild West to the furthest reaches of the galaxy.

CLIP: When Buck Rogers made his entry he zoomed past the cowboys who were the contemporary heroes of the youngsters of America. All of a sudden the American youth became fascinated with spaceships and cool ray guns.

Audio there from Marvelous Videos. Today, Americans have hundreds of options for science fiction movies and TV shows, from Star Wars to Marvel, but it all began with a 15-minute radio drama. 

CLIP: Beginning next week Buck Rogers will no longer be heard at this time. 

The Mutual Broadcasting network canceled the show after its 1947 season.

CLIP: This is the Mutual Broadcasting Network. 

Next up, 50 years ago this week Delaware voters elected Biden to Congress for the first time—making him the youngest Senator-elect, two weeks shy of his 30th birthday.

In 1973 Biden told ABC News that he was having trouble convincing people in Washington that he was really a senator, but said he hoped to win their respect.

BIDEN: I expect these fellas are going to eventually judge me on my merits and not on my age, and I have to establish that merit, assuming there is any there.

Joe Biden went on to be re-elected 6 times and unsuccessfully ran for President of the United States twice. Audio here from his 1987 concession speech.

BIDEN: There’ll be other presidential campaigns. And I’ll be there out in front. I’ll be there. There will be other opportunities. There will be other battles in other places, other times. And I’ll be there.

Turns out he was right. He served as Obama’s vice president from 2008 to 2016. And he became the 46th president of the United States on January 20th, 2021.

CLIP: BIDEN INAUGURATION

And in just under two weeks, Biden will celebrate his 80th birthday—making him the oldest President to serve.

And finally today, we end with a milestone for the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve—or the SPR.

On November 13th, 2001, President George W. Bush ordered the Secretary of Energy to refill the SPR to its capacity of 700 million barrels. The crude oil was to be held in four Louisiana and Texas underground facilities. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the price of crude fell to $32 dollars a barrel. Bush saw an opportunity to protect the country against the kind of oil shortages sparked by the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

Over the next four years, the department of energy worked aggressively to ramp up supply with US producers and expand the reserve’s overall capacity. On August 17th, 2005, the Department of Energy announced that the SPR met its goal of 700 million barrels, but it didn’t last long. Both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the gulf coast hard that year. President George Bush:

BUSH: It’s important for our people to know that we understand the situation and that we’re willing to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to mitigate any shortfalls in crude oil that could affect our consumers.

Under President Obama, the Department of Energy increased the SPR capacity to 727 million barrels in 2009. Subsequent presidents have ordered withdrawals that have drained the reserve down to just under 400 million barrels today.

BIDEN: The Department of Energy will release another 15 million barrels from the Strategic Oil Reserve...

If all other oil production and imports were to be suddenly cut off, the SPR would keep America running at its current consumption rate for less than 3 weeks.

That’s this week’s WORLD History Book. I’m Paul Butler.

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