After Things Podcast

The episode opens with a discussion of SpinLaunch after a headline about a NASA payload launched by a giant centrifugal system and later dug out with an excavator. The hosts describe how the concept uses a spinning lower stage in a vacuum to fling small payloads upward, with a conventional upper-stage rocket taking over later, and they debate whether it could realistically serve small satellite launches or other niche payloads. They also react to a test clip and note the company’s 10th successful flight test, while remaining cautious about how far the system can scale. The middle of the episode centers on a strange airline PA mystery involving human-sounding groans or voices reported on multiple American Airlines flights. The hosts review the official explanation that a mechanical PA amplifier issue caused the sounds, but they explore alternative possibilities such as interference, a hidden device, a prank, a hacker, or a spooky explanation, and they compare the audio to other odd intermittent sounds they hav