A podcast about disasters throughout history - what caused them, how people survived, and how we've responded to keep those disasters from happening again.
Latest episodes
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1 h 00
Episode 271: The Sampoong department store collapse
It might have felt like just a bad day at work - cracks in the walls, the merchandise shaking on the shelves, the air conditioning needing to be turned off. But the Sampoong depart…
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52 min
Episode 270: The Nika riots
In 6th century Constantinople, Emperor Justinian would lead the Byzantine empire into conquering other lands, constructing impressive architecture, and instituting a new legal code…
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1 h 14
Episode 269: The 1972 Black Hills flood
We all know what a good strong summer thunderstorm looks like, and we know just how much rain one of them can douse us in. But on a warm Friday night in 1972, the eastern foothills…
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59 min
Episode 268: Pacific Southwest Flight 182
It was a beautiful Monday morning in San Diego on September 25, 1978 - sunny and hot with not a cloud in the sky. There was no reason whatsoever to think the day would be ruined by…
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1 h 05
Episode 267: The sinking of the Doña Paz
When we think of deadly peacetime maritime disasters, Titanic is the first ship to come to mind. But there is a far deadlier disaster which holds the record for the worst in terms…
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8 min
The Mystery of the Missing Podcast Host
Or where have I been the past three months? (Alas, it's not as interesting as the title makes it sound.)
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50 min
Episode 266: The Club Cinq-Sept fire
It should have just been a regular Saturday night dancing to rock music and having a good time at the relatively new dance hall outside of Saint-Laurent, France. But in the early m…
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1 h 07
Episode 265: The Cutter incident - part three
It would start with a headache, a fever, maybe a funny tummy. But soon enough your knee would give out, or your arm would hang limp, or you would struggle to breathe. You'd be take…
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41 min
Episode 264: The Cutter incident - Part Two
It would start with a headache, a fever, maybe a funny tummy. But soon enough your knee would give out, or your arm would hang limp, or you would struggle to breathe. You'd be take…
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1 h 12
RERELEASE: Episode 254: The Cutter incident - Part One
NOTE: This was released in May of 2025, but due to life being what it is, I didn't get to finish the final two parts of the episode. So I am rereleasing this episode this week, and…
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58 min
Episode 263: Eastern Air Lines Flight 212
2001 was not the only year in which something tragic occurred on September 11th. On that day in 1974, eighty-two people would board a plane from Charleston, South Carolina, to Char…
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1 h 22
Episode 262: The sinking of the White Ship
King Henry I of England had grand plans for the future of his sole legitimate male heir, William Aetheling. None of those plans would come to pass. Articles and books: The Sinking…
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53 min
Episode 261: The SS Sultana disaster - Part Two
On a cold April night in 1865, the calm across the waters of the Mississippi River was shattered by a sudden explosion - one which destroyed a steamboat and most of the Confederate…
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39 min
Episode 260: The SS Sultana disaster - Part One
On a cold April night in 1865, the calm across the waters of the Mississippi River was shattered by a sudden explosion - one which destroyed a steamboat and most of the Confederate…
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6 min
Happy birthday!/Plans for the New Year
It's the podcast's tenth birthday! Also, where we've been and where we're going.
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55 min
Episode 259: The Big Bayou Canot rail disaster
In the early morning hours of September 22nd, 1993, a cross-country train departed from Mobile, Alabama, on its way to Miami. As it headed up along the train tracks out of the city…
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1 h 01
Episode 258: The Sutherland Springs church shooting - Part Three
On a sunny Sunday morning in 2017, a man in an SUV pulled up outside a small white church in Sutherland Springs, TX. The people inside would become the targets of the weapons he ca…
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47 min
Episode 257: The Sutherland Springs church shooting - Part Two
On a sunny Sunday morning in 2017, a man in an SUV pulled up outside a small white church in Sutherland Springs, TX. The people inside would become the targets of the weapons he ca…
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53 min
Episode 256: The Sutherland Springs church shooting - Part One
On a sunny Sunday morning in 2017, a man in an SUV pulled up outside a small white church in Sutherland Springs, TX. The people inside would become the targets of the weapons he ca…
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60 min
Bonus: The 1987 Guadalupe River disaster
A week ago, the Guadalupe River in Texas overflowed its banks and swept away dozens of campers. It turns out that this is not the first time it's done so - and not the first time s…