Emergencies and World Disasters

Standing Tomb: The Ironclad That Drove 177 Men Underwater There are 177 men still inside a ship standing vertically on the bottom of the Gulf of Finland since September 7, 1893 - bow buried 74 meters into the mud, stern rising 33 meters toward a surface she never reached. How did a coast-defense ironclad sink nose-first with no survivors and leave only a dead sailor in a dinghy and scattered lifebuoys for over a century? In this episode, we trace the Rusalka from her construction and specifications to her final voyage and the storm that separated her from her escort, asking what combination of design flaws, damage history, and weather sent her straight to the seabed. Person: Captain Second Rank V. Kh. Ienish Date: September 7, 1893 Location: Gulf of Finland (departure from Reval to Helsingfors) Event: Found lifebuoys and one dead sailor in a dinghy; no survivors Ship class: Charodeika-class coastal defense ironclad - Keel laid: June 1866; launched: September 12, 1867; completed: 1869 at a cost of 762,000 rubles. - Displacement designed: 1,882 long tons; actual at launch: 2,100 long tons. - Engines designed: 900 indicated horsepower; in service: 705 ihp; top speed about 9 knots. - Deck plating thickness: 1 inch amidships; 0.25 inch at bow and stern. - Complement aboard on final voyage: 13 officers and 164 crew listed (total aboard 177). To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

The Upright Grave: Why the Monitor Rusalka Vanished Nose-First The thought of a warship standing nose-first in the mud for 110 years taps a cold fascination: 177 men vanished and the hull was found 74 meters deep with its rudder frozen to starboard - so how did a coastal ironclad seemingly "dive" into the seabed? What sequence of design flaws, storm conditions, and that locked rudder explain a disappearance with almost no surface debris? In this episode, we lay out the ship's construction, service history, the final crossing from Reval on 7 September 1893, and the storm that erased her crew, and we ask whether the vessel's buildup of weight, low freeboard, earlier grounding, and that starboard-turned rudder can together account for her upright burial. Person: Captain Second Rank V. Kh. Ienish Event: Departure from Reval on 7 September 1893 Location: Gulf of Finland, wreck at 74 meters depth Status: 177 men lost, single corpse found in a dinghy Technical: Delivered at 2,100 long tons vs. designed 1,882 long tons - Laid down: 1866 at the Admiralty Shipyard in Saint Petersburg - Launched: September 1867; completed in 1869 at a cost of 762,000 rubles - Engines rated: 900 indicated horsepower; trial output: 705 ihp; speed ~9 knots - Draft: 12 feet 7 inches with very low freeboard for coastal operations - Wreck reached: 2003, found standing nearly vertical with stern 33 meters toward the surface and rudder frozen to starboard To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

The Day All Anchors Held - The Vanishing of Loch Vennachar The sea swallowed a ship that had already survived a broken mast, a sinking in the Thames, and a gale - with every anchor later found still lashed in place; how could a vessel built in 1875, 250 feet long and carrying 1,557 gross tons, disappear with no survivors or immediate wreckage? What unseen force or event left only cargo washing ashore 23 days later on Kangaroo Island and a single brick on the cliffs for seventy-one years? In this episode, we trace the Loch Vennachar’s life from her launch on the River Clyde to her last sighting by the steamer Yongala, and lay out the concrete events and timelines that make her loss so baffling. Can the ship’s past survivals and the later discovery of anchors and debris point to what really happened on that September voyage? Person: Captain William Bennett Date: Launched 4 August 1875 Location: River Clyde, Dalmuir Event: Last sighting by steamer Yongala on 6 September 1905 Location: Kangaroo Island (cargo washed ashore 23 days later) - Built of iron, 250 feet long, 38 feet beam, 22 feet depth, 1,557 gross tons. - Launched by James and George Thomson on 4 August 1875 and registered PCVQ (official number 71748). - In June 1892 all three masts broke in a gale; repairs cost £9,071 and she reached Port Louis five weeks after the storm. - Sank after collision in the Thames on 12 November 1901 at ~4:15 a.m.; raised on 9 December and repaired for £17,000. - Last seen under full sail by the Yongala roughly 160 nautical miles west of the Neptune Islands on 6 September 1905; no distress call and no crew ever seen alive again. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Glasgow Brick, Silent Cliff: The Loch Vennachar Vanishing The salt‑eaten brick with the letters G L A S O W pressed into its face was found half‑buried on a Kangaroo Island cliff, one of twenty thousand identical bricks from a ship that disappeared with thirty-one men in 1905 - a vessel that had already survived a dismasting and a sinking. How could an iron‑hulled, 1,557‑ton ship experienced in the Southern Ocean vanish onto a cliff with everyone aboard? In this episode, we lay out the surviving facts of the Loch Vennachar’s final voyage and the material traces that washed ashore, and ask what those precise physical clues imply about where she met her end. Person: Thomas Pearce Date: 6 September 1905 (last sighting) Location: approximately 160 nautical miles west of the Neptune Islands (last seen) Event: cargo included 20,000 bricks stamped "Glasgow" Status: 31 men lost, no passengers - Brick found on West Bay cliff at Kangaroo Island with letters G L A S - O W, discovered 24 February 1976. - Loch Vennachar launched 4 August 1875, built at Dalmuir by James and George Thomson. - Ship dimensions: iron‑hulled, three‑masted, 250 feet long, 1,557 gross registered tons. - Crew noted last by the steamship Yongala on 6 September 1905; signals exchanged, then she passed out of sight. - Cargo included a reel of blue printing paper recovered by the ketch Annie Watt on 29 September 1905, 18 nautical miles northwest of Kangaroo Island. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

The Last Radio: Why El Faro Steered Into Hurricane Joaquín Horror and disbelief: a seaworthy ship, 33 souls, and a captain who voiced confidence as a Category Four storm closed in - yet none returned. What made a vessel that passed every inspection sail straight toward Hurricane Joaquín and never come back? In this episode, we tell the story of El Faro from departure to silence, following the bridge audio, ship modifications, and the conflicting warnings that played out at sea - how did official approvals, a 40-year-old hull, and decisions on the bridge combine to send thirty-three people to the bottom of the Atlantic? Person: Captain Michael Davidson Person: Second Officer Danielle Randolph Date: October 1, 2015 Event: Sinking of El Faro during Hurricane Joaquín Location: Atlantic Ocean - 33 people were aboard El Faro when it sank on October 1, 2015. - El Faro was built in 1975 and by 2015 had been in service for 40 years. - The ship had a 90-foot midbody insertion performed in 1992 (was "stretched"). - New lift-on, lift-off cranes added 4,875 long tons of fixed ballast and raised the load line by ~2 feet in 2005-2006. - Investigators recovered a voyage data recorder with 26 hours of bridge audio and a 500-page transcript. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

The Pewter Plate That Outsmarted a Lost Dutch Galleon The oldest written European artifact in Australia sat exposed to salt wind for eighty years after its maker walked away - while the ship that carried him sank with a cargo of coins. How did a thirty-five-year-old Amsterdam merchant end up nailing a pewter plate into a rock cleft on an unmapped coast in 1616, and why did that plate alone survive the fate that took his ship? In this episode, we tell the recorded facts of Dirk Hartog's 1616 voyage on the Eendracht and the sequence of events from departure to the plate's recovery, focusing on the decisions and forces that placed him on that coast. What choices-commercial mandate, navigational gamble, or weather-led Hartog to make landfall no European had charted? Person: Dirk Hartog Date: 27 August 1616 (departed Cape of Good Hope turning south into the Roaring Forties) Ship: Eendracht, 700 tons burthen, launched 1615 Event: Pewter plate left in a rock cleft; later recovered and taken to Amsterdam (Rijksmuseum) Wreck: Ship wrecked 13 May 1622 off Ambon Island with a cargo of coins - Hartog was 35 years old when he made the unintended 1616 landfall. - The Eendracht carried a crew numbering in the dozens and was built as a cargo ship, not a warship or survey vessel. - Hartog departed Texel with a VOC fleet on 23 January 1616 and reached the Cape around August 1616. - He turned south into the Roaring Forties on 27 August 1616, using westerly winds to push eastward. - The plate remained in a rock cleft for eighty years before another captain found and carried it back to Amsterdam. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

The Silent Shipwreck: 295 Men Lost Without a Signal A routine maiden voyage in January 1889 carried 120,000 pounds in gold sovereigns, yet twenty-six years later the same ship sank in 1915 with 295 men and not a single distress signal sent - what could have silenced her? This episode centers on a ship examined and rejected by the Admiralty in 1888 for weak engines, later requisitioned in wartime, that vanished off the Irish coast with no survivors and no confirmed cause. In this episode, we lay out the ship’s three separate lives, the technical details that mattered, and the sequence of events from launch to disappearance that leave one central question: how did a vessel fitted with wireless telegraphy and submarine signaling go down without a call for help? Person: Robert Napier and Sons Date (launch): 22 September 1888 Date (maiden voyage departure): 17 January 1889 Cargo (strongroom in 1889): 120,000 pounds in gold sovereigns, 2,000 pounds in jewellery, 400 pounds in silver bars Crew/Passangers (final loss): 295 men lost - Length: 421 feet and beam 50 feet, 5,347 gross register tons - Engine: single triple-expansion engine rated 687 nominal horsepower, cruising 14 knots - Boilers: eight boilers running at 150 pounds per square inch - Wireless: Marconi telegraphy fitted in 1910; call sign MVK registered in 1913 - Requisition: taken by the Admiralty in 1914, renamed HMS Viknor and sent to Northern Patrol To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

torpedo to anchor cable, remove pin, escape. Up to 18 prepared A night intended to break Napoleon’s invasion fleet ended with eighteen men paddling into a guarded harbor and not a single torpedo hitting its mark - every catamaran returned empty and one fireship detonated, killing an entire French boarding party. How did a forty-thousand-pound bounty, clockwork detonators, and a plan involving up to eighteen torpedo-catamarans fail so completely? In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of events that led Robert Fulton to Portsmouth Dockyard, the weapons he brought, and the choices made by commanders on both sides that shaped the raid on Boulogne - could secrecy, leadership, or sheer luck explain the outcome? Person: Robert Fulton Date: October 2, 1804 Location: Boulogne Event: Raid on Boulogne Reward: £40,000 - The French flotilla numbered roughly 2,000 vessels anchored in a double line. - Fulton prepared up to 18 torpedo-catamarans, each with one operator in dark clothes and a black cap. - Each fireship was packed with roughly 40 barrels of gunpowder and equipped with clockwork detonators. - Fulton was paid £200 per month during development and stood to receive £40,000 if a single decked French ship was destroyed. - The attack began around 9:00 PM on October 2, 1804, and every torpedo-catamaran returned empty. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

When a Rescue Became a Massacre: The SS Patria Secretollapse Fear that a desperate rescue could become a deadly disaster drives this episode: a two-kilogram bomb tore a three-meter hole in an 11,000-ton liner and sank it in 16 minutes, killing more than 200 people - so what went wrong with a plan meant to save lives? In this episode, we tell the documented sequence of events aboard the SS Patria in Haifa harbor, from the refugees’ forced transfer to the Haganah operation intended to disable the ship and the aftermath that buried the truth for 17 years; how did a device meant to cripple engines instead destroy a ship and lives? Person: Yitzhak Sadeh Date: November 25, 1940 Location: Haifa harbor Event: Explosion and sinking of SS Patria Fatalities: more than 200 - The explosive charge weighed two kilograms, described as roughly the size and weight of a bag of flour. - The bomb tore a hole three meters high through the Patria’s steel hull. - The 11,000-ton ocean liner rolled onto its side and sank in sixteen minutes. - Approximately 1,904 people were on board when the explosion occurred. - The ship’s certified civilian capacity was 805, while it had been authorized for up to 1,800 troops in wartime configuration. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Sealed Below Deck: 402 Banned Pesticide Found in Sinking Ferry A locked cargo container holding 402 drums of endosulfan - 25 kg each, 10,000 kg total - lay sealed on D deck eighty-five feet underwater while survivors and bodies floated around the capsized ferry for six days. How did banned pesticide meant for a different ship end up aboard the MV Princess of the Stars, and who failed to stop it before departure? In this episode, we lay out the timeline and decisions that placed a banned, acutely toxic cargo on the flagship ferry during Typhoon Fengshen and the consequences that followed. You will hear how the drums were discovered, what the salvage recovered, and the unanswered questions that tied cargo manifest errors to a maritime catastrophe. Person: Nanette Tansingco Date: June 21, 2008 Location: MV Princess of the Stars, Manila-Cebu route Event: Capsizing during Typhoon Fengshen Cargo: 402 drums of endosulfan (25 kg each; 10,000 kg total) - 870 people were aboard the ferry when it capsized; 56 survived. - The ship measured 193 m length, 29 m width, gross tonnage 23,824, built 1984 and refitted to increase capacity from 554 to 1,992. - The 402 drums were discovered sealed in a forty-foot container on D deck by a diver on June 27, six days after the sinking. - Salvage operations led by Titan Salvage began September 24, 2008; the last drum was confirmed recovered October 11, 2008. - Approximately 200,000 liters of fuel were recovered and cleared by around October 17, 2008. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Sixteen Inches from Disaster: How Skagit's Span Suddenly Fell Sixteen inches was the difference between safe passage and sudden collapse when a permitted oversize load struck the Skagit River bridge on the evening of May 23, 2013 - a fracture-critical span built in 1955, struck repeatedly over decades, and carrying 71,000 vehicles a day. How did routine inspections, a noted three-inch gash, and a pilot car on a cellphone all align to make a bridge fail in seconds? In this episode, we walk through the sequence of events, the design limits of a through-truss bridge, and the human and regulatory gaps that left an inner lane with 17 feet of clearance unused. Could a single missed radio call and two extra inches on a truck be enough to topple a span? Person: Professor Charles Roeder Date: May 23, 2013 Location: Interstate 5 between Mount Vernon and Burlington, Washington Event: Bridge span collapse into the Skagit River Traffic: 71,000 vehicles per day - Bridge originally built in 1955 and classified as a fracture-critical through-truss design. - Clearance: outer lanes 14 feet 7 inches, inner lanes approximately 17 feet. - Permitted load height: 15 feet 9 inches; measured actual load height: 15 feet 11 inches (2 inches over permit). - Recorded damage history: impacts documented back to 1979, including a three-inch gash noted after an October 22, 2012 strike. - Three people entered the river on the night of the collapse and all three were rescued alive. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Flag Still Flying: The Towboat That Blew Herself Apart at Memphis The Confederate flag flew as the towboat went down - a steam vessel built in 1847, 161 feet 10 inches long, and still flying her colors when a boiler explosion scalded 14 men on June 6, 1862. How did a commercial towboat, converted with cotton bales for armor and carrying only two cannons across eight ships, end up blowing herself apart while her guns pointed forward? In this episode, we tell the story of the steamer Ocean turned CSS General Beauregard, tracing her construction, conversion, and final actions at Plum Point and the First Battle of Memphis to ask: could a slow, lightly armed towboat ever be made into an effective warship? Person: Captain James Hurt Date: June 6, 1862 Location: Memphis, Mississippi River Event: Boiler explosion and sinking at the First Battle of Memphis Period: Built 1847, converted April 5, 1862 - Built in 1847 at Algiers, Louisiana, with dimensions 161 feet 10 inches length, 30 feet beam, 10 feet draft - Registered tonnage recorded as 454 tons and fitted with two funnels - Converted to CSS General Beauregard and completed conversion on April 5, 1862 - Part of an eight-ship River Defense Fleet that carried a total of two cannons between them - Boiler explosion on June 6, 1862, resulted in 14 men scalded and the vessel sinking with her Confederate flag still flying To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

| Core | 1997 | No | The thought of over a thousand tons of unexploded American bombs rusting in the Thames Estuary is at once absurd and terrifying - the masts of the SS Richard Montgomery still break the surface at low tide while its cargo sits in salt water in 2026; who is legally responsible for that ticking wreck? Could one medieval office, created under Edward II, really be in charge of every ounce of it? In this episode, we follow the line of authority from a fourteenth-century office to a modern civil servant as the story explains what the Receiver of Wreck does, why royal fish matter to the same desk, and how centuries of law shape one unresolved hazard in British waters; how did those legal categories and a single national post end up guarding a ship loaded with explosives? Person: Stephen White Event: Sinking of SS Richard Montgomery Date: 20 August 1944 Law: Merchant Shipping Act 1995 Category: flotsam, jetsam, lagan, derelict - The SS Richard Montgomery sank in the Thames Estuary on 20 August 1944 carrying thousands of tons of ammunition. - More than one thousand tons of unexploded ordnance remain in the ship's hold as of 2026. - The Receiver of Wreck office dates to the reign of Edward II in the early fourteenth century. - The Merchant Shipping Act of 1894 consolidated maritime law; the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 is currently operative. - In 1993 wreck reporting duties were unified into a single national post based in Southampton. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Fifty-eight men sailed into the North Atlantic that winter. One came back Cold, wind-driven ice silently tipped working trawlers until buoyancy failed: fifty-eight men died and one survivor, Harry Eddom, washed ashore in a liferaft on 6 February 1968 after sharing it with two men who were already dead. How did a mayday go unpassed, liferafts float by for weeks, and three ships from Hull disappear in a single month? In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that led from normal departures out of Hull to the Triple Trawler Disaster, outlining the missed mayday, the ignored liferaft, and the timing of sinkings that left families waiting for answers. What chain of failures allowed three trawlers to be lost in twenty-six days? Person: Harry Eddom Event: Hull Triple Trawler Disaster Date: 6 February 1968 (Eddom washed ashore); mayday heard 11 January 1968; liferaft found 13 January 1968; Kingston Peridot last contact 26 January 1968; liferaft traced 29 January 1968 Location: North Atlantic, north of Iceland Ships: Ross Cleveland, St. Romanus, Kingston Peridot - Fifty-eight men died across three ships over a span of twenty-six days. - Harry Eddom was the sole survivor and was found on 6 February 1968 inside a liferaft on an Icelandic beach. - A mayday from the St. Romanus was heard on 11 January 1968 by another vessel but was not passed on. - An empty liferaft marked like the St. Romanus was found floating on 13 January 1968 and no search was launched. - The Kingston Peridot reported ice accumulation on 26 January 1968 and a liferaft traced to it washed ashore on 29 January 1968. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Propeller Embedded in a Cliff: The Night the Regulus Vanished A propeller was found hammered into solid rock high above the water after the SS Regulus disappeared - the ship had survived an iceberg in 1907 and a head-on collision in July 1910 yet was lost off Newfoundland on October 23, 1910; how did a tow in a gale, begun after an unexplained two-hour delay, end with a wreck that returned nothing? What exactly happened in those lost hours that night? In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the Regulus’s construction to her final voyage, describing the decisions made aboard the John Green and the evidence recovered afterward, and we return repeatedly to the central unresolved question of why the crew chose to tow at night rather than take safer options. Person: A. Harvey and Company Date: October 23, 1910 Location: Off Newfoundland coast, anchored off Shoal Bay Event: Tow began around 1:00 a.m.; hawser snapped around 2:30 a.m. Period: Built October 26, 1878 - The Regulus was built October 26, 1878 at Tyne Iron Shipbuilding yard in Willington Quay. - She struck an iceberg in 1907 and sustained severe damage requiring substantial repairs. - On July 15, 1910 the Regulus and SS Karema collided head-on 25 miles southeast of Nantucket; both were badly damaged but survived. - On October 22, 1910 the tail shaft broke and the Regulus anchored off Shoal Bay; two tugs were dispatched from St. John’s. - The tow began around 1:00 a.m. on October 23, 1910 after the anchor was weighed by hand, losing between one and two hours; the hawser snapped around 2:30 a.m. as the Regulus drifted toward the coast. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Night Rails of Fire: How an Overloaded Train Erased Duffy Street The quiet of a May night turned into a street erased: seven houses gone, six locomotives and dozens of hopper cars piled where front yards had been, and two boys never found alive. The train’s true weight was later reconstructed at approximately 8,900 tons-nearly 3,000 tons heavier than the crew believed-and only two of six locomotives had fully functional dynamic brakes; how did a freight that heavy roll through a community like that without anyone realizing the danger? In this episode, we lay out the timeline, the crew assignments, and the mechanical failures that converged on Duffy Street in San Bernardino on May 12, 1989, and ask how a TOPS printout, a misentered car weight, and multiple inoperative brakes combined to produce a catastrophe the neighborhood could not survive. Person: Frank Holland Person: Everett Crown Person: Allan Riess Date: May 12, 1989 Location: Duffy Street, San Bernardino, California - Train manifest listed 69 hopper cars and a total weight of 6,151 tons on the TOPS printout. - Actual reconstructed train weight by the NTSB was approximately 8,900 tons. - A clerk entered car weight using 60 tons per car for trona instead of about 100 tons per car. - Only 2 of the 6 locomotives had fully functional dynamic brakes (lead SP 8278 and rear helper SP 7443). - Four of the six locomotives had braking problems, including one unit dead-in-tow and others with limited or zero dynamic braking. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

They Told Them It Was Just A Fire - 29 Women Killed in Explosion They believed it was a manageable fire and stood outside watching the building burn - until a pressure wave hurled bodies 400 feet and rattled windows 11 miles away. The Army had reclassified the material as Class Seven explosives 14 weeks earlier, but that order never reached the plant; how did five tons of processed magnesium and 56,322 tripflares become a bomb without anyone knowing? In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of events on a February Wednesday when Building M-132 vanished, the safety gaps at a remote Thiokol Chemical plant, and the aftermath for the families who survived - could a single missed memo explain 29 deaths? Person: 29 workers (mostly Black women) Date: February 3, 1971 Location: Thiokol Chemical complex, Camden County, Georgia Event: Explosion/Detonation at Building M-132 Material: nearly 5 tons processed magnesium and 56,322 tripflares - The pressure wave was felt 50 miles away and threw human bodies up to 400 feet. - Windows were rattled 11 miles from the site by the blast. - The Army reclassified the material as Class Seven on October 29, 1970, 14 weeks before the explosion. - Building M-132 held nearly five tons of processed magnesium plus 56,322 assembled tripflares on the morning of the blast. - Thirty-nine minutes? No - 3 to 4 minutes elapsed between the initial fire and full evacuation; everyone was outside when the building detonated. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

When Sugar Became Fuel: The Night Port Wentworth Exploded The sweet, familiar smell in a sugar refinery turned into an unstoppable weapon that tore through a plant in minutes and burned for seven days; investigators later noted the industry had known about dust explosions since 1926 - an 82-year warning left unheeded. Who chose not to act, and why did that decision cost lives in the dark tunnels beneath the silos? In this episode, we tell the story of the Dixie Crystal refinery on the night of February 7, 2008, describing the plant, the people working there, the sequence of the blast and the chaotic response - and we return to the central question of responsibility that survived the demolition of the silos. Person: Lawrence Manker Jr. Person: Malcolm Frazier Date: February 7, 2008 Location: Port Wentworth, Georgia Event: Explosion and seven-day fire at Dixie Crystal/Imperial Sugar refinery - 112 people were working the shift inside the refinery when the blast hit at 7:00 PM. - The refinery had been processing enough sugar to cover roughly 9% of the U.S. supply by fiscal year ending September 30, 2007 (14.5 million hundredweight). - The sugar industry had known about dust explosion risks since 1926 - 82 years before the 2008 blast. - Roughly 12% of the refinery was demolished in seconds by the chain of secondary explosions. - Forty workers reported they had never received evacuation training and only five recalled ever participating in a fire drill. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Minutes to Obliteration: The Pier That Turned Brooklyn Inside Out A routine welding spark on Pier Thirty-Five turned into potentially the largest explosion in New York City history: thirty-seven thousand pounds of detonating cord, twenty-six minutes from ignition to detonation, ten dead and 274 injured. How could a man standing roughly one thousand feet from the waterfront be killed while firefighters at the blast edge were left unharmed? In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events on December 3, 1956 at Bush Terminal: the materials on the pier, the maintenance work with an oxyacetylene torch, and the physical evidence that explains the blast - and the question of why distance and placement mattered in fatal ways. Person: Irving T. Bush Location: Bush Terminal, Sunset Park, Brooklyn Date: December 3, 1956 Event: Pier Thirty-Five explosion Casualties: 10 dead; 274 injured - The complex covered roughly 200 acres with 43 miles of internal railroad track by 1928. - Norton Lilly and Company had operated inside the terminal since 1902 and had been there 55 years by 1956. - More than 25,000 workers were employed inside the terminal on the December afternoon of the explosion. - Pier Thirty-Five had over 26,000 pounds of ground foam rubber scrap on its surface and an additional 11,000 pounds spilling from broken burlap bags. - Approximately 37,000 pounds of Cordeau Detonant Fuse were staged somewhere in the cargo on the pier. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

When 37,000 Pounds Exploded: Brooklyn's Pier That Shuddered 35 Miles The afternoon smelled of burning rubber before anyone knew how close they were to disaster: 37,000 pounds of explosive cord and foam rubber scrap ignited on Pier That-Fifth Street and the sound carried 35 miles. Ten people died, 274 were injured, and one man standing a thousand feet from the blast was killed without touching the fire - so how did that much explosive material end up on a commercial pier surrounded by 25,000 workers? In this episode, we tell the sequence of events on December 3, 1956 at Industry City, describe the setting and the people who worked there, and lay out the documented chain from broken burlap bags to a torch and 26 burning minutes - but the core question remains: why was so much explosive material stored on Pier That-Fifth Street? Date: December 3, 1956 Location: Pier That-Fifth Street, Industry City, Sunset Park, Brooklyn People at work: 25,000 Deaths: 10 Injuries: 274 - 3:15 PM: an oxyacetylene torch ignited shredded foam rubber scrap on the dock. - 26 minutes: duration the fire burned before the final detonation occurred. - 37,000 pounds: total explosive cord and foam rubber involved when the blast happened. - 1,000 feet: distance from the blast where one man died (about three city blocks). - 35 miles: how far the sound of the explosion traveled. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.