Relative Disasters

Latest Episodes:

The London Beer Flood of 1814 (Episode 136) Apr 15, 2024

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A flood is a flood, whether it's water or beer - and a 571-ton, 15-foot tall wave is going to be destructive, no matter what it's made of. Join us as we talk about beer, rookeries, prejudices, and settle some myths.

The Australian Cane Toad Invasion (Episode 135) Apr 08, 2024

Show notes

Back in the 1930s, some folks in Australia's sugar industry imported the Cane Toad from South America to help control a destructive beetle population. It... did not go well. It continues to not go well. It will likely keep not going well.

The Chi'Ing-yang Event of 1490 (Episode 134) Apr 01, 2024

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The city of Chi'Ing-yang got flattened in the late fourteen hundreds... and nobody really knows what happened. We'll talk about meteorites, comets, and explosions as we examine some of the more plausible theories.

A nerdy brother and sister talk about disasters - that's what the show's all about. Especially in early April.

The 1887 Nanaimo Mine Explosion (Episode 133) Mar 25, 2024

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We're headed underground yet again, to visit beautiful British Colombia and talk about what happens when you mix explosives, methane, and coal dust. It's a tragedy that affected an entire city and is still relevant today.

The Malleus Maleficarum (Episode 132) Mar 18, 2024

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A guy wrote a book, collecting and codifying religious and social suppression of women. That book became a sensation, propelling the man to fame and fortune. No, we're not talking about some modern "MRA" idiot or so-called "incel"... no, this guy existed over half a millennium ago and we're still seeing his fingerprints on modern misogyny today.

The 1933 Business Plot (Episode 131) Mar 11, 2024

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This week we're looking at an attempt to overthrow the American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt by a group of Wall Street financiers and big business leaders. Mocked and dismissed at the time - in newspapers owned by said business leaders - this attempted coup was a uniquely American close-call with facism.

They Read The Fine Print (Episode 130) Mar 04, 2024

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Join us for three stories of people exploiting - or trying to - ill-thought-out corporate promotions. We'll talk about Vacuums, Soft Drinks, and Pudding, all tied together by an odd connection to airplanes - The Hoover Free Flights promotion, the Pepsi Points Harrier Jet legal case, and the Healthy Choice airline miles promotion.

The L-8 Ghost Airship Incident of 1942 (Episode 129) Feb 26, 2024

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Join us in the skies off the coast of California in this episode. We'll talk about the US Naval airship L-8, the mysterious disappearance of its crew, and its brief time as an airborne ghost ship!

The 1975 Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Episode 85) Feb 21, 2024

Show notes

Re-upload.

Join us as Ella explains the events of a fateful night that sent a crew of 29 to the bottom of the largest freshwater lake in North America. We'll discuss shipping tonnage, the incredibly dangerous weather systems of the Great Lakes, and talk a little about Gordon Lightfoot's haunting tribute to the disaster.

This episode was taken down due to a copyright concern; we'd quoted some lyrics from Lightfoot's song in the initial version of this episode. Those quotations have been removed and I'm glad to be able to put this one back up for everyone.

-Greg

The Great French Wine Blight (Episode 128) Feb 19, 2024

Show notes

Join us as we head to the mid-1800's and learn about a very specific blight that nearly crippled the French wine industry!

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