Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre and the Film That Never Stopped

Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre and the Film That Never Stopped

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Episode description

Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre and the Film That Never Stopped

On 20 October 1973, President Richard Nixon fired two Attorney Generals in a single evening in a desperate attempt to halt the Watergate investigation. The Saturday Night Massacre, as it became known, spectacularly backfired and set Nixon on the path to resignation. But the 20th of October also marks the 1995 release of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, the Bollywood film that has played continuously at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir cinema for decades. And in 1983, the world quietly redefined the metre, tying it to the speed of light rather than a metal bar in a Parisian vault. Clara Vale explores three moments from the same date: political self-destruction, enduring cultural impact, and the elegant precision of modern measurement.

Chapters

  • Introduction Clara introduces the Saturday Night Massacre of 20 October 1973, when President Nixon fired senior Justice Department officials in an attempt to stop the Watergate investigation.
  • The Saturday Night Massacre A detailed account of the evening Nixon ordered the firing of special prosecutor Archibald Cox. Attorney General Elliot Richardson refused and was fired. Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus also refused and was fired. Solicitor General Robert Bork carried out the order. The public reaction was immediate and catastrophic for Nixon, leading directly to his resignation in August 1974.
  • Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Thirty Years and Counting The 1995 Hindi film starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol opened at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir cinema on 20 October and has played continuously there ever since, becoming a cultural institution and pilgrimage site.
  • The Metre Gets a New Definition On 20 October 1983, the Seventeenth General Conference on Weights and Measures redefined the metre based on the speed of light in a vacuum, replacing the physical platinum-iridium bar standard with a universal constant.
  • Outro Clara reflects on three disparate events from 20 October: political self-destruction, enduring cinema, and elegant scientific redefinition.

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