A couple of years ago Skribbal put me on to D.B. Cooper. Specifically there is a podcast called the Cooper Vortex he once recommended. Skribbal was obsessed. I got multiple voice notes on the topic and he very much recommended I get into the Cooperverse.
At the time, it didn’t seem that interesting. A podcast surrounding a literal unsolved mystery that appeared on the show featuring the same name, didn’t sound like the vibe. These days as I drive around wondering why no one tips the Uber Driver anymore, I also listen to podcasts.
I have never used podcast networks before. I watch stuff on YouTube as I work mostly. A lot of that was actually podcast content. Now that I drive for the second hustle (I work 2 jobs like that gum commercial), and hate searching for content, I decided to follow up Skribbal’s recommendation years later.
No one knows who D.B. Cooper is
The short version of the story is that in 1971, a guy by the name Dan Cooper got on a plane (later changed to D.B. Cooper via lore). He then stole 200K and jumped out of a Boeing 747 with a parachute and poof, he was gonesos. Oh, if the Cooper Vortex crowd sees this, forgive any inaccuracies here, I’m just adding context as I remember it.
This remains America’s only unsolved hijacking. The FBI investigated this case thoroughly but did not find enough proof to arrest anyone. The story has a lot of details that are curious like how D.B. Cooper had a clip on tie and suit. Who steals 200K and jumps out of a plane in a suit? He apparently tried to give money to stewardesses on board. He gave the pilots food to make sure they were gucci for some reason. He had this whole thing with the air stairs where he wanted to use them to parachute off the plane.
Anyway he does jack the cash and jumps out of the plane. Also why is there just 200K in cash on this plane? See so many questions start forming. After he jumps out of the plane no one knows anything. Except that a small amount of what is confirmed to be Cooper money shows up at some point.Also there’s weird stuff like how there’s no consensus on the passenger list. And as such, we don’t know who D.B. Cooper is.
While we don’t, others know who D.B. Cooper is
I started listening to the Cooper Vortex podcast with 0 knowledge on the topic outside the stuff Skribbal had told me. Skribbal did write a song on the topic:
I was not prepared for the Cooper Vortex. I started listening and person after person told me who D.B Cooper is. As of 2016 the FBI is no longer investigating this case. So the internet, being the place it is, did its thing. There is a D.B. Cooper forum and it has a post as recently as three days ago.
These fine folk have forged a real community of sleuths, trying to solve the case. Given the interest in D.B Cooper, many folk have learned so much, they start to identify suspects. They have such compelling arguments they literally write books about why their person has to be Cooper. This podcast has a lot of those people, pitching their books, but also breaking down their opinion.
I find it less of a sales pitch and more like two folk so obsessed with the topic they just have to share what they know. They speak so compellingly that the other day in my Uber, a girl asked me about the podcast. This guest that episode had her convinced he knew who Cooper was.
She and I had a great moment bonding over the Cooper Vortex the way the people on the forum bond over Cooper.
I like it when people are passionate like on the Cooper Vortex
I watch some creators who cover some objectively boring topics. Like Supply Chain Management or the logistics of trains. I don’t care about these topics however seeing the creator’s passion, that gets me going. Other people being passionate fuels my passion.
I wish I could say I was as passionate as when I was 21, but well, I’d be lying. I have to work very hard to keep any flames alive in my soul. So if it means watching someone break down how the US highway numbers work, so be it.
I know for a fact I don’t care who D.B. Cooper is. I can’t remember any of the suspects named. It’s not the interesting part to me. Listening to 8 people in a row, spend over an hour convinced they know the solution is amazing.
It’s truly surreal. It may take you 2 or 3 episodes to feel it but you will. This sense of, why in the fuck do they care so much? This is up there with the pointless endeavours one can pursue. I am sure some folk made bank off this, but that bank was only made because so many people care.
This is not meant to diss Darren Schaeffer (host of the podcast). Homie is about my age and frankly he is a master at his craft. I love the way he respectfully encourages his guests. On every episode Darren sounds convinced that the case is solved. This gets the guest to just open up and tell it all.
He also started interviewing the different experts who actually investigated key components of the cooper case. His curiosity forces you to listen to the next one. I also admire the Cooper fanatics, fanatical as they are.
That being said, I hope you follow Darren and give him some love.
Live Long on Prosper Everyone.
Edit: It was pointed out to me I remembered a detail incorrectly and it ended up sounding like I may be joking about an alleged rape. I listened to each episode I did once and just was trying to make the Cooper story compelling from my point of view. Thus I retract claims of Cooper getting his dick wet.