Causality

Latest Episodes:

35: San Bruno Jul 27, 2020

Show notes

A modification made in 1956 to a pipeline built in the 1940s would ultimately fail costing 8 people their lives in 2010. We look at what went wrong with PG&Es gas pipeline in San Bruno, California.
With John Chidgey.

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Episode Gold Producer: 'r'.
Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Joseph Antonio, Kevin Koch, Oliver Steele and Shane O'Neill.
With thanks to John for the topic suggestion.

34: Aberfan May 08, 2020

Show notes

One Friday morning in 1966 in a small town in Wales a mining spoils waste tip let go with a river of liquified rubble destroying buildings and a school. Killing 144 people, mostly children in their classrooms. The mechanics of how this happened are simple. The ignorance and economics of why this happened boggles the mind.
With John Chidgey.

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Investigation and Reports:

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Episode Gold Producer: 'r'.
Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Joseph Antonio, Kevin Koch and Oliver Steele.

33: 737 MAX Jan 31, 2020

Show notes

With two crashes in five months of the new 737 4th Generation a design flaw seemed likely. We look at how Boeings focus on cost-avoidance, grandfathering and bending probabilities during design would ultimately cost 346 people their lives.
With John Chidgey.

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Support Causality on Patreon
Episode Gold Producer: 'r'.
Episode Silver Producers: John Whitlow, Joseph Antonio, Kevin Koch and Shane O'Neill.

32: Walkerton Dec 07, 2019

Show notes

In 2000 the small township of Walkerton Ontario witnessed the largest outbreak of E.Coli infections in Canada's history. The water utility claimed the town water was safe, but it wasn't and many people paid with their lives.
With John Chidgey.

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Support Causality on Patreon
Episode Gold Producer: 'r'.
Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen, John Whitlow, Joseph Antonio and Kevin Koch.
With thanks to Jon Paul for the topic suggestion.

31: Black Energy Oct 04, 2019

Show notes

The evening before Christmas Eve in 2015 saw a widespread blackout of the power grid across the Ukraine. We look at how a cyber-attack on electric utility companies in Europe, changed how cyber-security is regarded in control systems, forever.
With John Chidgey.

Links of potential interest:

Support Causality on Patreon
Episode Gold Producer: 'r'.
Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen, John Whitlow, Joseph Antonio and Kevin Koch.

30: Tim Maia Jul 05, 2019

Show notes

As part of Rio's preparations for the Olympics in 2016 a cycling pathway was built adjacent to a narrow, congested roadway along a picturesque shoreline. When a section collapsed only months before the opening ceremony killing two people, the world looked on with growing concerns about the imminent Olympics.
With John Chidgey.

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Support Causality on Patreon
Episode Gold Producer: 'r'.
Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen, John Whitlow and Joseph Antonio.

29: Flight 1549 Jun 05, 2019

Show notes

In 2009 an AirBus A320 departing LaGuardia Airport in New York suffered a dual engine failure due to a bird strike during takeoff. In a highly improbable event an equally highly improbable landing in the Hudson River shocked and amazed the world. We look at what went right on Flight 1549.
With John Chidgey.

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Support Causality on Patreon
Episode Gold Producer: 'r'.
Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen, John Whitlow and Joseph Antonio.

28: Hotel New World May 10, 2019

Show notes

In 1986 an unremarkable building in Singapore collapsed killing dozens of people. We look at how the supervision of the construction and the design itself resulted in a structure that was at best critically stable, and ultimately one that could only ever fail.
With John Chidgey.

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Support Causality on Patreon
Episode Gold Producer: 'r'.
Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen, John Whitlow and Joseph Antonio.

27: Gare De Lyon Apr 05, 2019

Show notes

On the 27th of June, 1988 in central Paris a runaway train collided with a stationary train in Gare De Lyon station, claiming 56 lives and injuring 60 more. Whilst the court found the driver guilty and sent him to jail, was he solely to blame? We look at how poor design decisions made Gare De Lyon inevitable.
With John Chidgey.

Prior Episode References:

Causality Episode 6: Amagasaki

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Support Causality on Patreon
Episode Gold Producer: 'r'.
Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen and John Whitlow.

26: Bhopal Feb 08, 2019

Show notes

In December, 1984 in the city of Bhopal in central India, a Union Carbide Pesticide plant would fail and release tonnes of toxic gas into the city, killing thousands of people. It was the worst industrial disaster in human history. We follow the threads and trace back the root causes behind the incident at Bhopal.
With John Chidgey.

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