⚠️ Content warnings: * Emetophobia (~5:00–8:30): Maggie shares a story about her twins getting a bug, including some graphic detail about cleanup. If v* content is a trigger for you, skip ahead to around 8:30. * 9/11 & war discussion (~20:50–50:00): This episode includes firsthand accounts of the September 11 attacks, discussion of the wars that followed, combat casualties, PTSD, and suicide among veterans. Listen with care. Twenty five years ago this week, the world changed. Maggie and Nick, both young active duty service members on 9/11 (Maggie a nuke electrician on the USS Enterprise, Nick a military police supervisor at MCAS Beaufort) share where they were that day and what the quarter century since has taught them about patriotism, protest, and loving your country without checking your brain at the door. They talk about the homecoming pride and the underbelly that followed it (the Islamophobia, the friends and family who became targets), the wars and the mental health toll that came after, and why they believe real patriotism includes the right to critique leadership, not the obligation to stay quiet. Along the way: social media echo chambers, checking your voter registration at vote.gov ahead of the midterms, life with ME/CFS and Zoloft, a stomach bug that took down the whole house, and a lighter closing round on what they’ve been watching, reading, and listening to. Takeaways: patriotism and critical reflection on leadership aren’t opposites, they can and should coexist. Social media is built to keep you agreeing with people who already agree with you. The country’s response to 9/11 was both unifying and, for a lot of people, dangerous, and that same pattern is resurfacing now without a new tragedy to trigger it. The costs of that day are still being paid, in Ground Zero exposure illnesses and in veteran PTSD and suicide. And civic participation (registering, voting, showing up) remains one of the most concrete things any of us can do with all of that. Don’t forget to check your voter registration or register to vote ASAP and check your early voting dates at vote.gov (this is the official nonpartison site, avoid any private .org links). Chapters * 00:00 – Catching up, Facebook rage baiting, and thrift store finds * 03:00 – Voter registration: vote.gov vs. look-alike scam sites * 05:00 – ⚠️ Emetophobia CW: the stomach bug that took down the house * 09:40 – Living with ME/CFS, viruses, and everyday anxiety * 16:00 – One year of Out of the Boxeys * 20:50 – ⚠️ 9/11 CW begins: remembering the Challenger, then 9/11 * 23:10 – Maggie’s story: aboard the USS Enterprise on 9/11 * 38:25 – Nick’s story: MCAS Beaufort on 9/11 * 41:00 – Why they joined before 9/11, and how that changed * 43:35 – Xenophobia masked as patriotism, then and now * 46:35 – Midterms, false flags, and what’s different this time * 47:20 – Ongoing costs: Ground Zero exposure, PTSD, and veteran suicide * 49:20 – Patriotism as the right (and duty) to critique leadership * 51:50 – Voter registration reminder and Georgia early voting dates * 53:20 – America’s Favorite Couple thank-you * 54:15 – What we’ve been watching, reading, and listening to * 59:00 – Closing thoughts: keep asking questions Get full access to Out of the Boxeys at outoftheboxeys.substack.com/subscribe
