554 - Inflaishment
Summary
In this solo episode, Karen Kilgariff recounts the 1981 Manila Film Center disaster, where a rushed construction project under the Marcos regime collapsed, entombing workers in cement. She details the kleptocracy of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, including their massive wealth theft and the subsequent political crackdown that silenced dissent. The story highlights the regime's cover-up of the tragedy and its parallels to modern authoritarianism, drawing from Lauren Greenfield’s documentary The Kingmaker and the podcast Unexplained.
Topics discussed
Sponsors: YouTube Premium and dog food
Introduction and host introductions
Chat about wellness, saunas, and hyperbaric chambers
Promos for new books, awards, and merch
Introduction to the Manila Film Center story
Background on Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos
The Marcos power couple and early political rise
Kleptocracy and the 3,000 pairs of shoes
Martial law and suppression of dissent
Sponsors: SimpliSafe and Whatever It Takes
Construction of the Manila Film Center
The scaffolding collapse and worker deaths
The 1982 Film Festival and buried bodies
Economic crisis and the rise of Aquino
The 1986 People Power Revolution and exile
Sponsors: Scam Goddess and post-exile life
Imelda's political comeback and narcissism
Legacy of the Marcoses and modern parallels
Outro and production credits
Listen ad-free on Castria