PEOPLE Mag Podcast: Chappaquiddick Cover Up

[Gardenista]

Not sure if I'm putting this in the right spot - mods, please move if it needs to go somewhere else.

I haven't listened yet, but the podcast is getting great reviews. There is more of a description and there are six different ways you can listen to the podcast at the link below. Five episodes have been released so far.

On July 18, 1969, Sen. Ted Kennedy’s car crashed off a small bridge on the tiny Massachusetts island of Chappaquiddick and plunged into the dark waters below, killing 28-year-old passenger and political aide Mary Jo Kopechne — and sparking a mystery that endures to this day. Now the tragic car accident is the subject of Cover-Up, a new weekly podcast series from PEOPLE exploring the unanswered questions surrounding that fateful night.

The Scandal That Scarred the Kennedys: How to Listen to PEOPLE's First Podcast, Cover-Up

 

[Betty P]

Thanks for posting this. I've been listening to the podcasts the over the last few days, and the reporter has done a good job of assembling a lot of historic interviews.

I was a teen when this happened and most people back then were able to read between the lines to figure out what happened. It was no great mystery, most people assumed right away that it was a tragic accident from which Teddy tried to dodge the press and ended up making the whole thing appear more suspicious than it actually was.

It was a terrible tragedy and, even with a faster response, I don't think the outcome would have been different. It was a young woman trapped in a car that was upside down, underwater in a very dark, remote place. Teddy's cousin and friend dove in numerous times to attempt to rescue her, as did the policeman, and other first responders who came later. It was too dark and, after dawn, the water too murky to see anything. Only the scuba diver was able to locate her in the car. Most towns didn't have the kind of trained EMS services then like we have today.

And yes, rich, powerful people got away with things back then, just as they do today. That hasn't changed. I recall another story from around the same time, late 60's. A well known, powerful multi-millionaire in the business world lived in a big mansion with his family. He also traveled a lot and ended up having a long term affair with his secretary. Like in Mad Men, he rented an apartment in town where he stayed when working long hours. One weekend, he went missing for a few days. When they finally found him, he had been dead about 3-4 days. Turns out he was having a tryst with his mistress and had a heart attack. Instead of calling a doctor, she panicked and left, but didn't tell anyone for fear of scandal. His lawyer hired a private investigator and finally found him at a remote trysting place. The story told to the public and the news media was that the businessman was working alone at his apartment and died from a heart attack. His friends kept calling, getting no answer, then finally went to check on him and found him dead. Even today, that's the official story. The got the police to file a report saying the lawyer friend found him dead in his apartment. Nothing ever happened to the mistress.

 

[enelram]

BettyP, that sounds like the story of Nelson Rockefeller. I didn't
remember that being covered up though.
The Teddy Kennedy story sure changed a lot of people's opinion
of him. The Kennedy name was 'magical' prior to this happening.

 

[Betty P]

BettyP, that sounds like the story of Nelson Rockefeller. I didn't
remember that being covered up though.
The Teddy Kennedy story sure changed a lot of people's opinion
of him. The Kennedy name was 'magical' prior to this happening.

It does sound like him, but it wasn't. Someone also very wealthy but without the same legendary name recognition. Yes, Nelson Rockefeller's death is another example of bad judgment. That kind of thing wasn't too unusual.

That said, I don't think Teddy K meant for the woman to die. I believe him when he said he dove in and tried to rescue her, but it was too dark to see her. He should have called for help, though it seems unlikely the fire department would have been able to get the scuba diver out of bed and out to the island in time to rescue her.

Yes, tarnishing the family legacy must have weighed heavily on Teddy the rest of his life. What a terrible burden. His son, Patrick, seemed very upset with the way the family refused to discuss it. Poor Patrick had a miserable childhood.

 

[Gardenista]

Thanks for posting this. I've been listening to the podcasts the over the last few days, and the reporter has done a good job of assembling a lot of historic interviews.

I was a teen when this happened and most people back then were able to read between the lines to figure out what happened. It was no great mystery, most people assumed right away that it was a tragic accident from which Teddy tried to dodge the press and ended up making the whole thing appear more suspicious than it actually was.

It was a terrible tragedy and, even with a faster response, I don't think the outcome would have been different. It was a young woman trapped in a car that was upside down, underwater in a very dark, remote place. Teddy's cousin and friend dove in numerous times to attempt to rescue her, as did the policeman, and other first responders who came later. It was too dark and, after dawn, the water too murky to see anything. Only the scuba diver was able to locate her in the car. Most towns didn't have the kind of trained EMS services then like we have today.

And yes, rich, powerful people got away with things back then, just as they do today. That hasn't changed. I recall another story from around the same time, late 60's. A well known, powerful multi-millionaire in the business world lived in a big mansion with his family. He also traveled a lot and ended up having a long term affair with his secretary. Like in Mad Men, he rented an apartment in town where he stayed when working long hours. One weekend, he went missing for a few days. When they finally found him, he had been dead about 3-4 days. Turns out he was having a tryst with his mistress and had a heart attack. Instead of calling a doctor, she panicked and left, but didn't tell anyone for fear of scandal. His lawyer hired a private investigator and finally found him at a remote trysting place. The story told to the public and the news media was that the businessman was working alone at his apartment and died from a heart attack. His friends kept calling, getting no answer, then finally went to check on him and found him dead. Even today, that's the official story. The got the police to file a report saying the lawyer friend found him dead in his apartment. Nothing ever happened to the mistress.

I'm enjoying it too--I still have one to go and then a new one drops this Thursday.

I was struck by the one story that was told about him where he was speeding, got pulled over and the cop found him laying face down on the front seat--like if he couldn't see the cop, the cop couldn't see him, maybe? IIRC, he was a teenager at the time.

I wasn't super-familiar with all of the players so I made a ton bookmarks to go back and read/watch after I finish the podcast--this being one:

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[Gardenista]

Thoroughly disgusted after reading this very long article

The End of Camelot

When Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge and into a pond on Chappaquiddick Island in July 1969, Mary Jo Kopechne died and so did the last vestiges of the Kennedy-family myth. What has survived, however, is the blanket of lies and contradictions woven by the senator and his advisers in the days and weeks following the accident. In an excerpt from his explosive and controversial new book, The Last Brother, Joe McGinniss provides a compelling account of the story Ted Kennedy never told.