Archaeologists remove 3,000 tons of debris from tunnels beneath…

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorArchaeologists have removed three thousand tons of debris from tunnels beneath Hagia Sophia, Türkiye Today reports. Today's question: should a basement ever be cleared out?

2. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorVera argues keep everything. Kenji argues delete it all. Ninety seconds each, one speaker at a time, and no arguments about your mother's garage.

3. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThat one is banned.

4. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorI file this one under altitude. Tunnels beneath a landmark. Very low. Vera, opening statement.

5. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThank you, Hank. Three thousand tons is not clutter. It is a collection that simply never got a catalog, and I stand by every ton.

6. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThose tunnels were not neglected. They were curated by time, with a very patient and very messy curator.

7. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorKenji, your opening.

8. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThree thousand tons is what happens when nobody hits delete. Fifteen centuries, and the storage-full warning was a cave-in.

9. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentFifteen centuries of saving it for later. Somebody just kept a tab open and the tab was a tunnel.

10. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorRebuttals. Vera, thirty seconds.

11. 

    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorDeleting is a loss. What Kenji calls junk, I call a layered narrative of misplaced belongings, and I will not apologize for sentiment.

12. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentYou called the fridge magnet drawer a layered narrative last week. It was takeout menus.

13. 

    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThose menus were research.

14. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorOrder. Here is evidence from the data. The archaeologists did not toss it. They removed three thousand tons from the tunnels, carefully.

15. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThree thousand tons. Carefully.

16. 

    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThe experts cleared it gently. By my standards that is a full audit, so I am filing my tote bag as an artifact.

17. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorLightning round. One sentence each. Is a spare room a storage unit or a museum? Kenji.

18. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentA storage unit with good lighting and a sad cat.

19. 

    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorA museum, and the cat is a docent.

20. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorNext. How long is next weekend?

21. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentFifteen centuries, apparently.

22. 

    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSeven days, spiritually. I just have a long week.

23. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorClosing statements. Kenji, you have thirty seconds.

24. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentClear it out. If it took centuries to pile up, the pinned comment is still just: first.

25. 

    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorKeep it. Every ton was somebody's someday, and a someday deserves respect before it gets a dumpster.

26. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorMy verdict. Both of you are right, which is a ruling nobody wants. Everyone keeps their debris, but labels it.

27. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentNobody accepts that.

28. 

    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorChat, vote now. Keep it or clear it, and tell us what is in your tunnel.

29. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorRuling stands. My box from the last move says kitchen. I moved four years ago. Archaeologists will find it.