9/11

27:39At 9.03 a.m., when United Flight 175 hits the second tower, New Yorkers and the millions watching worldwide understand that this is not simply a terrible accident, but an attack.

27:54That 17-minute period from 846 to 903 has always been the most interesting period of 9-11 because you see in it the incredible innocence of the United States. You know, 40 % of the United States is too young to remember that attack. A lot of people forget or never knew how open and trusting American society really was before 9-11. Of course, in the 25 years since, we've had not just the fear of terror attacks, but also the now all too routine fear of mass shootings. America is a much more tightly coiled and fearful society than it was before 2001. And to me, the moment that happens is not 846, it's 903.

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30:17I'm Julie Andrews, and it is my great pleasure to return to Jane Austen Stories. This time, I'll be reading another beloved classic, Emma. Join me as we step into the village of Highbury, home to the handsome and clever Emma Woodhouse. But as new visitors arrive and quiet mysteries unfold, what will our strong-willed heroine learn, both of the secrets of others and of her own heart's desires. Listen to Jane Austen's stories now wherever you get your podcasts. With thousands in the North Tower still making their arduous way down the fire escapes, those in the South Tower start an evacuation too.

31:07Only 18 people escape from the floors above the impact zone via the one stairwell that remains possible. But first responders are moving in the opposite direction. With lifts out of action in the towers, firefighters, police, and paramedics climb towards the crash site. Facing smoke and intense heat, they carry fire extinguishers and hoses, axes, and breathing apparatus. They rescue and resuscitate people in stairwells and carry the injured down the steps. Thousands of first responders flood into Manhattan from every district, with more off-duty officers rushing to join the effort. Hospitals go into high alert, awaiting an influx of patients.

31:50Now the FAA stops departures to or through the New York airspace and turns away any aircraft already airborne.

32:01A thousand miles away, in Florida, US President George W. Bush is reading to school children at Emma Booker Elementary School in Sarasota. He already knew about the first crash, but now White House Chief of Staff Andy Card interrupts to whisper into his ear. President Bush live on camera there, I think actually does a really good job of not panicking. There was a lot of criticism that he faced later for, you know, staying and continuing to finish reading with the kids before he got up. But him jumping up in a panic and running out of the room would have actually been even more harmful. They rush him to his motorcade, rush him back to Air Force One, and rush Air Force One up into the sky where they think that they can protect the president that day.

32:55Air traffic control really still doesn't quite understand how many hijacked airplanes are still in the air. They soon discover there are at least two more. Flight 93 is cruising above Pennsylvania When hijackers take over the controls Some passengers use in-aircraft telephones to call home They are informed about the events in New York And the news spreads around the cabin They are violently subdued by the hijackers Armed with box cutter knives And forced to the back of the aircraft But many among the passengers feel that if this is a suicide mission Then they have nothing left to lose They start planning a way to fight back

33:39By this time, the other hijacked plane, Flight 77 Has fallen into a steep descent towards Arlington, Virginia Home to the Pentagon, the headquarters of US military and defense

33:54It is just after 9.30am In conference room 2E487 of the Pentagon 15 men and women are hurrying to take their seats around a wide table. Someone slams the door. Every cell phone is ringing, and the only topic of conversation is what's just happened at the World Trade Center. One woman, Lieutenant Colonel Marilyn Wills, stands before an electronic display, dressed as usual in her army sweater with epaulets on the shoulders. She checks her watch, then calls for quiet and starts her presentation. But as she does so, she's suddenly knocked off her feet.

34:38Seconds later, Marilyn comes to, finding herself sprawled on top of the conference table. In the pitch black, she instinctively covers her head as debris falls from above, landing all around her in a blistering deluge. The sudden heat takes her breath away, and in the distance, she can hear the roar of an inferno. Marilyn scrambles off the table. People around her are screaming, coughing through the smoke, trying to get out. Her eyes burning, she can just make out the shape of the door and reaches for it, but as it opens, a blast of smoke and embers hits her.

35:16Feeling a hand on her back, she turns to see Lois Stevens, a civilian colleague who is clearly as blinded by the smoke as she is. Marilyn tells her to stay close But hesitates in the doorway Unsure whether to turn left or right Into the dark corridor Left seems somewhat lighter So she moves that way The floor is uneven Buckled and broken And soon they're on their hands and knees Choking now on acrid air Barely able to breathe The sprinkler system activates And Marilyn tears off her sweater And soaks it in the water She covers her face and takes a few breaths with the wet fabric filtering the toxic air, then passes it to Lois, who does the same, before sending it down the line of people who have made it out of the conference room.

36:04With oxygen depleting, Marilyn crawls towards a window up ahead, but it is locked. Someone grabs a nearby printer and attempts to smash the glass, but it merely bounces off the strengthened pane. Marilyn stumbles, horrified that she led these people this way, only to be trapped. But then her colleague, Colonel Philip McNair, climbs onto the windowsill. He kicks against the frame until it detaches from the wall, making a space big enough to crawl outside. Up here, on the second floor, it is a 15-foot drop to the ground, but there's no choice. One by one, they jump, with Lieutenant Colonel Marilyn Wills among the last to leave.

36:58Three people in the conference room don't make it. The crash destroys several parts of the building, including the corridor on one side of the meeting room. If Marilyn Wills had turned right, she and her colleagues would also have died. In total, 64 people on board Flight 77 are killed, including the five hijackers, along with 125 on the ground. And it's now that there is another major gear shift in the wider response. You see the U.S. military beginning to really gear up its response, scrambling more armed and unarmed fighters up into the sky to find and now potentially even shoot down. some of these hijacked airliners, and this begins to also really spread panic across the rest of the United States.

37:49You had skyscrapers evacuated all across the country, on the West Coast, in Chicago, in Boston, and elsewhere. Disney World shuts down in Florida, the Toronto subway actually is shut down in Canada, and there's a big question looming over all of the country, which is, you know, where's the next site of an attack? After the Pentagon crash, the FAA orders every aircraft in US airspace to divert to the nearest airport and land It is the first time in US history such an order has been issued And the man who makes the call is Ben Sliney, who is on his first day in the job Within 20 minutes, the majority of the 4 ,500 civil aircraft in US airspace are safely on the ground The order affects international flights too Aircraft over the Pacific and Atlantic are forced to turn back or divert Some 37 planes from Europe arrive in Newfoundland, Canada Where a tiny town will play host to 7 ,000 international passengers until the crisis is over But one hijacked plane is still in the air The passengers of Flight 93 have by now taken a vote And decided to turn the tables on the hijackers by storming the cockpit Before they do so, the aircraft swerves from its flight path and turns towards Washington.

39:16The passengers know what this means. Among them is Todd Beamer, a 32-year-old with a young family and a pregnant wife back home. He manages to phone airline authorities on the ground and say that he and some other willing passengers will try to reach the flight deck. At the end of his call, he drops the handset and is heard to say to his fellow passengers, Are you ready? Let's roll.

39:45Exactly what happens next is lost to history. At 9.57, the terrorist pilot rolls the plane violently side to side, perhaps in an attempt to knock his assailants off their feet. But the passengers continue to put up a fight. And in their final minutes and seconds, as the passengers and crew storm the cockpit, The hijackers nosedive the plane into a field outside a small Pennsylvania town called Shanksville. And this plane crashes in the field, kills everyone aboard. And at 10.03 that morning, the last hijacked plane in the skies over the United States is now crashed. Now the nature of the catastrophe changes.

40:37Back in New York, the World Trade Center is still being evacuated, and thousands of workers are streaming onto streets that are choked with response vehicles. Some 35 ,000 people escape from the Twin Towers, and neighboring buildings are also emptying. But then, at 9.59, precisely two hours after the first plane took off, evacuees hear a high-pitched scream of buckling metal and a roar like an avalanche. The south tower collapses. The second to be hit, it is the first to fall, possibly because of the speed and angle at which it was struck, but also because of the intensity of its fires. It concertinas from the top, each floor dropping onto the one below until momentum overtakes it and the structure disappears into wreckage.

41:26It takes just 10 seconds to fall.

41:32A cloud resembling a nuclear blast races through the narrow streets of Lower Manhattan, enveloping first responders and those still leaving the buildings. No one inside the South Tower survives the collapse. Less than half an hour later, the huge antenna on top of the North Tower sinks into the black smoke surrounding the pinnacle, and then the skyscraper follows its fallen twin back towards the ground.

41:58The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center are the most iconic representation of the New York skyline and have been for decades since the 1970s. And now these television cameras playing live across the country capture a skyline that no one can really even wrap their heads around. The collapse kills hundreds of people who are still in the building, as well as hundreds of first responders who had been sent in to rescue the injured and help with the response, including 343 members of the New York Fire Department, 37 members of the Port Authority Police Department, and 23 members of the NYPD. And then they spread this incredibly thick cloud of debris and pulverized concrete all over lower Manhattan.

42:59And hundreds of thousands of people who were in neighboring buildings or had evacuated earlier from the World Trade Center now find themselves really trapped on the tip of lower Manhattan. Hundreds of thousands of people streaming from the buildings in Lower Manhattan are now running from what resembles a war zone. But those south of the World Trade Center discover there is nowhere to go. Getting to Upper Manhattan means traversing the choking clouds of concrete dust, broken glass, and other debris. Passable streets soon become bottlenecked with evacuees. The subway is closed, and the bridges and tunnels linking the island of Manhattan to the mainland have already been physically blocked off to most traffic by police in response to the initial plane crashes.

43:47Many evacuate on foot over the bridges, but those stuck downtown gather at the water's edge, looking for a way to escape.

43:59It's 10.45, 20 minutes since the Twin Towers disappeared from the New York skyline. Docked in the harbor across the water, a captain stands in the wheelhouse of his pleasure boat, watching helplessly, listening to a continuous wail of sirens and horns from the city. He usually offers tourists a panoramic view of the famous sights, but now the financial district is obscured. It looks like a volcano has erupted, nothing but rolling black smoke and pale clouds of dust. He watches the orange Staten Island ferry power through the waves and disappear into the pole. But then his ship radio crackles to life.

44:43All available boats, a voice says. This is the United States Coast Guard. They call for anyone who can help with an evacuation to head to lower Manhattan. Sparked into action, he doesn't hesitate. After unraveling ropes from the metal cleats and gunning the engine, he sails into the chaos. It takes minutes to cross the harbor, but as he approaches Manhattan, it is as if the weather has changed. The air turns dark, smoke hanging over the water like fog. On each side, more and more boats, summoned by the call, stream into view. As he closes in, he sees that the piers are overladen with people. pale as ghosts or walking statues.

45:29It takes his breath away until he realizes they are covered in thick, concrete dust. People pour onto waiting ferries that quickly depart, but behind them, the lines are ten deep. More evacuees stand along the sea walls, desperate to reach fresh air. Reaching a pier, he maneuvers the party boat into the dock beside a tug. The sound of sirens and air horns is deafening, and all around people are screaming or crying or both. Some have even thrown themselves into the fast-flowing Hudson in a desperate attempt to swim to safety, and smaller vessels are changing course to pluck them out of harm's way.

46:10A coast guard now approaches, radio in hand. He asks the captain the capacity of his boat before allowing the correct number of people to file on board. Two businessmen in torn suit jackets help an elderly man climb up. A woman carries a large, panting dog. A child is passed over people's heads to safety. His pleasure boat, which is usually full of partygoers, now resembles a refugee camp. The Coast Guard slams the gates, and the Captain gets behind the controls, firing the engines. On the pier, lines refill fast. More ghost-like people pleading for help. I'll come back, the captain shouts, as the pleasure cruiser pushes back from the dock.

46:58I'll come again.

47:06You know, this incredible response of pleasure yachts and tugboats and fishing vessels and commuter ferries, you know, I still get choked up even just talking about it, begin to rush across New York Harbor. and in the matter of a couple of hours with no real organization and no real preparation, they affect a maritime evacuation that is larger than Dunkirk, that is actually the largest maritime evacuation in human history. Somewhere on the order of 300 ,000, 400 ,000 people are evacuated by boat from lower Manhattan that morning. As the day goes on, there is a further shock when the smaller, and thankfully now empty, Tower 7 of the World Trade Center collapses.

47:54And while New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is concerned that other hijacked aircraft might target high-profile sites like the Empire State Building, it does not come to pass. The terror is no longer in the air, but on the ground. This September, on the Noiser Podcast Network. On Jane Austen's stories, Dame Julie Andrews continues to bring Austen's beloved classic Emma to life. On Short History of, we're in medieval England for the fascinating story of the Peasants' Revolt. And 25 years on from 9-11, we're on the ground in New York City. On Real Survival Stories, we're on a luscious winery in Northwest America, and venturing into a missile silo in the dead of night as the US is threatened with nuclear disaster.

48:40And in Sherlock Holmes' short stories, get two episodes each week as Hugh Bonneville explores Conan Doyle's great novel, A Study in Scarlet. Get all of these shows and more early and ad-free on Noiser Plus.

48:57With emergency services using the military term Ground Zero to describe the epicenter of the tragedy, the phrase is picked up by news media and becomes synonymous with the site. It will take eight months to clear ground zero of 1.8 million tons of debris and steel. There is also a meticulous forensic search to identify human remains in the rubble, in order to name the dead. In total, 2 ,753 people lose their lives in New York, including nearly 400 first responders. Another 233 people are killed at the Pentagon and Shanksville.

49:37While the recovery effort begins, the government turns its attention to uncovering those behind the atrocity. In fact, US intelligence agents intercept calls between Al-Qaeda members in Afghanistan while the attacks are still underway, which link Osama bin Laden to the events. Using flight manifests and credit card receipts, the FBI identify the hijackers within hours, and at 9.30 p.m. that evening, President George W. Bush is briefed that Al-Qaeda is responsible. The next day, he gives a speech calling 9-11 an attack on the heart and soul of the civilized world and calls on global allies to support a war on terror.

50:21You see this incredible global support rally to the United States. A lot of people forget or don't know that the one and only time that NATO has ever invoked the so-called Article 5 of its charter, that an attack on one is an attack on all, was to come to the aid of the United States in that wake of 9-11. In October 2001, Operation Enduring Freedom begins. The US-led military invasion of Afghanistan is intended to topple the local Taliban regime that shields Al-Qaeda. Within months, Allied forces drive the Taliban from power and establish an Afghan interim administration. But the senior leadership of Al-Qaeda escape into the rugged Tora Bora mountains of eastern Afghanistan.

51:15Bin Laden is cornered by US and Afghan troops in December, but manages to slip across the border into Pakistan. He spends the next years living a secretive, nomadic existence between safe houses. In the meantime, in 2003, US and coalition forces also invade Iraq. Although Iraq had no direct involvement in 9-11, the US believes that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction could be used by terrorists like Al-Qaeda. The invasion topples the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. But no weapons of mass destruction are found. Meanwhile, Osama bin Laden remains at large. The fear, the chaos, the confusion, and the trauma that 9-11 unleashes on the country unfolds in further crises and catastrophes and disasters around the world.

52:05It launches the two forever wars of Afghanistan and Iraq. Almost 10 years after the events of 9-11, Americans still want justice.

52:24In Pakistan, U.S. intelligence is paying close attention to a tightly guarded compound in Abbottabad, a town roughly 30 miles north of the capital, Islamabad. They have been following a courier who passes messages to Al-Qaeda. Agents track the courier to a residence that houses multiple families, but has high walls topped with barbed wire, armed security, and, unusually for 2010, no internet or telephone. Believing the compound is designed to conceal someone important, operatives using long-lens surveillance spot one individual making frequent walks in an outdoor area that is shielded from view.

53:05They call him the Pesa, but suspect he could be Osama bin Laden. Though they watch for months, they never positively confirm the man's identity. By early 2011, the mission cannot wait any longer. A squad of special operations troops called Navy SEAL Team 6 train by conducting rehearsals at a replica compound built in the US. In May, they put boots on the ground in Pakistan for Operation Neptune Spear. There are approximately 25 SEALs, along with an interpreter and a combat dog named Cairo. They plan to enter the compound by Black Hawk helicopters.

53:52Back in Washington, the current President, Barack Obama, is called to the Situation Room. He monitors the operation in real time, along with a group of key political and military advisors The raid starts badly, with one Black Hawk losing control and crashing inside the compound But no SEALs are injured, and the hunt is on

54:15They move floor by floor through the residence Individual gunfights break out as the Americans meet resistance The courier who gave away the location is killed, as is the man later identified as Bin Laden's adult son Khalid. On the third floor, the man known as the Pesa is located, and is shot twice after resisting capture. The SEALs destroy the crashed stealth helicopter and depart the compound with the body of the suspect. Photos and DNA tests confirm that the The dead man was indeed the mastermind of the September the 11th attacks, Osama bin Laden. Several of the survivors who are left in the custody of the Pakistani authorities are confirmed to have been his wives and children.

55:06In New York and Washington, spontaneous crowds gather to celebrate a bittersweet victory. After 10 years of recovery, the news brings comfort to some of the relatives of the 3 ,000 people who died But everyday lives have changed due to events that occurred over a few hours a decade earlier Around the world, the aviation industry undergoes a revolution to ensure better security on aircraft and in airports The freedom of travel that people enjoyed before 2001 is a thing of the past with the introduction of widespread passenger screening, luggage restrictions, and armed air marshals on some flights in the U.S.

55:45All passenger aircraft are fitted with reinforced cockpit doors. In the U.S., counterterrorism measures dominate intelligence and law enforcement budgets. Immigration and surveillance policies are reshaped, and the war on terror drags on to be the longest conflict in U.S. history, costing an estimated$8 trillion. Today, the main site of the atrocities of 9-11 is one of New York City's key landmarks. A museum in the bedrock beneath what was once the World Trade Center tells the story of what happened that day in September, while the memorial above commemorates those who lost their lives and welcomes several million visitors every year.

56:29Though the towers are long gone, 9-11 continues to cast a long shadow over the American psyche for those who experienced that day or grew up in its aftermath. It has fundamentally changed the nature of our democracy. It changed our politics. It changed the way that we board airplanes, the way that you walk into office buildings, the way that you walk into schools. The presidency of Donald Trump in 2026 follows naturally out of the politics that grow out of the ashes of 9-11. You know, the security fears and the nativist fears of immigrants and others that are a natural byproduct, in some ways, of the way that the country responds to the trauma of 9-11.

57:21Whereas I think the hours and days after the attacks represent the best of America. You know, America at its most caring and resourceful. I don't think the United States has ever recovered from 9-11. I think it fundamentally rewrote the DNA of our country and our society. It turned the United States into a country that is much more fearful. You know, that innocence of 8.46 a.m. on Tuesday, September the 11th, is, I think at this point, probably gone forever.

58:16Next time on Short History, we'll bring you a short history of the Empire State Building. We still think of New York as defined by skyscrapers. Big difference is that the skyscrapers going up today are residential. They're not commercial. In some sense, I could feel that I have every right to be in the lobby of the Empire State building to go up the top. It's a public space. I mean, it's owned by somebody and I have to pay money to do it, but it's a public space. The tall buildings now are on Billionaire's Row. And I promise you, the billionaires don't want me anywhere near their lobby or going up to the top of their building.

58:46Thank you, the door is closed. And that is a big change in how the city sort of sees itself. The Empire State Building is still, even without that title, it's not the tallest building in New York, never mind the world, nobody cares. It's still the quintessential landmark of New York. That's next time. You can listen to the next two episodes of Short History of right now, without waiting and without adverts, by subscribing to Noiser+. Just hit the link in the episode description or head to www.noiser.com forward slash subscriptions to unlock more episodes today. This September, on the Noiser Podcast Network.

59:22On Jane Austen stories, Dame Julie Andrews continues to bring Austen's beloved classic Emma to life. On Short History Of, we're in medieval England for the fascinating story of the Peasants' Revolt. And 25 years on from 9-11, we're on the ground in New York City. On Real Survival Stories, we're on a luscious winery in Northwest America, and venturing into a missile silo in the dead of night as the US is threatened with nuclear disaster. And in Sherlock Holmes' short stories, get two episodes each week as Hugh Bonneville explores Conan Doyle's great novel A Study in Scarlet. Get all of these shows and more early and ad-free on Noiser Plus.