The Quiet Zone, NSA Surveillance + WI-FI Daredevils

Was your screen-time up last week? How’d that make you feel? In a world where we underestimate our screen time by 100% and studies indicate that social media corrodes self-esteem - would we be happier with less tech in our lives? There’s a place that’s effectively a Petri dish for this question; a so-called Quiet Zone that stands against the tides of technology… and Jason and Peter were driven to find out all about it! Really, no really! In the Quiet Zone, anything that creates radio noise, like: microwaves, cellphones, combustion engines, Wi-Fi, even malfunctioning electric blankets are explicitly outlawed. Our guide this episode is Stephen Kurczy, an award-winning journalist and author of, “The Quiet Zone: Unraveling the Mystery of a Town Suspended in Silence.” In this episode: How the United States government forcibly set aside 13,000 squares miles for a Radio Astronomy Observatory and then established an NSA surveillance compound. What it’s like for the 8,000 people who live wirelessly in a space about the same size as Rhode Island. The lack of mobile tech and its effect on culture and society. The Quiet Zone’s mysterious murders, Neo-Nazi encampments, hippie communes and Electro Sensitives. The scientific study investigating how the absence of social media affects happiness. Peter’s Misophonia vs. Jason’s Electro Sensitivity! Can Quiet Zone residents stream Seinfeld? Learn more about Stephen: StephenKurczy.com He Tweets! @StephenKurczy You can follow us: Online: www.ReallyNoReally.com Instagram @reallynoreallypodcast YouTube: @reallynoreallypodcast TikTok @reallynoreallypodcast Facebook @reallynoreallypodcast Twitter @reallynoreally_ Watch full episodes on YouTube www.youtube.com/@reallynoreallypodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices