Startups

How ‘Stranger Things’ made the real-life Department of Energy a lot more human

An investigative reporter requested emails around the hit Netflix show and (spoiler alert) the emails are adorable.

Like everyone else, the Department of Energy <3 Stranger Things. (via Netflix)

In a surprising twist, a records request for government emails resulted in good press. Mostly.
Investigative reporter Lachlan Markey from the Washington Free Beacon requested from the Department of Energy (DOE) internal communications concerning the popular Netflix series, Stranger Things, in which the DOE is depicted in Stranger Things as a shadowy government agency run by mad scientists who (spoiler alert) loosed monsters upon the world when opening a way into parallel universes.
The e-mails from the DOE’s press office revealed that staffers (duh) loved the series and thought their agency was depicted as “sinister (but awesome)”.
However the staffers were less than pleased about spoilers.
https://twitter.com/lachlan/status/784092960958746628
An internal newsletter included in the FOIA request begins with, “You may have received a call from friends and family asking if you’ve encountered dimensional rifts or children with ESP at work…”

Yes that's a reference to cat videos

Yes, that’s a reference to cat videos. (via the Washington Free Beacon)

The FOIA documents include several email threads: mostly plot summaries of Stranger Things and plans for the DOE’s lighthearted blog post, which stated: “The show’s portrayal of the Energy Department was a little less than accurate.”

Markey did have one heavily redacted page concerning the DOE’s involvement with weapons manufacturing and human experimentation as alleged in Stranger Things:

https://twitter.com/lachlan/status/784091441987481600
The DOE tweeted back, what else? A shoutout to Barb, everyone’s favorite character on the show.


With an abundance of “sinister suit” stereotypes in movies, sometimes we all need a reminder about the humans who staff government agencies.
For more, you can peruse a scan of the entire FOIA release which Markey uploaded on Scribd.
 
 

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

The man charged in the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting had a ton of tech connections

Northern Virginia defense contractor acquires aerospace startup in $4B deal

From rejection to innovation: How I built a tool to beat AI hiring algorithms at their own game

Where are the country’s most vibrant tech and startup communities?

Technically Media