Unsinkable: The Titanic Podcast

Latest Episodes:

What If: Captain Smith Survived? (w/ Pablo O'Hana) Sep 07, 2025

Show notes

What is Captain Smith hadn't gone down with the ship but instead lived to attend the inquiries and be inevitably torn apart by the press? How does he live with himself? How does Titanic's legacy change? Is there a chance it did happen and someone saw Smith in Baltimore years later? Wild to imagine right...?

Support the show

Support Unsinkable on Patreon for as little as $1/month: https://www.patreon.com/unsinkablepod
Or buy me a coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/labeadles
Buy Unsinkable shirts here!: https://www.bonfire.com/unsinkable-the-first-t-shirt/
Support the pod via my Bookshop Storefront: https://bookshop.org/shop/unsinkablepod
Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unsinkablepod/

State of the Podcast w/ L.A. (+ Season Five Coming SOON!) Sep 05, 2025

Show notes

I'm back and energized for a whole new relevant and real era of Unsinkable. Take a listen! xLA

Support the show

What If: Titanic Had Enough Lifeboats? w/ Pablo O'Hana Aug 27, 2025

Show notes

Join me and Pablo for another riveting "what if" in Titanic land! What if Titanic had enough lifeboats for all its passengers and crew? Would they have been loaded in enough time? Would all lives have been saved? More? What would change about the ship's legacy?

Support the show

The Gorgeous Liberation of One Rose Dawson Aug 08, 2025

Show notes

Ever wonder what became of Rose after she walked off of the Carpathia? Get in, let's go find out...

Support the show

What If: James Cameron's Titanic Flopped?! (w/ Pablo O'Hana) Jul 28, 2025

Show notes

This is a fun one! Pablo and I unpack the utter DESOLATION of a world without the success of 1997's Titanic. Imagine if somehow the Hollywood nutjobs who harassed James Cameron during the production were...right? That audiences wouldn't respond? How would it have affected what museums and memorial sites we have now, or how Titanic's legacy survives? What is pop culture without Jack and Rose? What is film history without this particular monocultural moment?

I shudder to think!

Support the show

What If: Robert Ballard Never Found the Wreck of Titanic? (with Pablo O'Hana) Jul 11, 2025

Show notes

Join me and Pablo as we reflect on the wonder that swept the world when the shipwreck of Titanic was finally found in 1985 by Robert Ballard, and how it changed not just history books, but our own lives. We dive into a fascinating “what if”—imagining a world where Ballard never found the wreck. We discuss how the cultural history of the Titanic would be completely different: museums in Belfast, Southampton, Cobh, the United States might never have opened, millions of people may never have become enamored, and the ship’s story might have faded into obscurity. This series is a study of the world’s enduring connection to the Titanic.

Support my work on Patreon, or consider leaving a review on Apple or Spotify! Cheers, and thank you as always for listening!

Support the show

What If: Bruce Ismay Never Boarded Titanic? (with Pablo O'Hana) Jun 22, 2025

Show notes

Join me and fellow Titanic expert Pablo O'Hana for an intriguing and oft-narrative-bending journey into the "what ifs" of Titanic's sinking. For decades historians and fanatics alike have tossed around theories of who was to blame, or what might have happened if a few details were different that fateful night. In this conversations series we'll unpack some of the most controversial questions in an attempt to present Titanic's cultural and social history in a brand new light. Cheers!

Make sure you're subscribed to the podcast on your player of choice.

Episodes will air on Patreon two days before the main feed.

Support the show

Introducing New Episodes From Unsinkable: What If Jun 20, 2025

Show notes

Make sure you're subscribed to the podcast on your player of choice.

Episodes will air on Patreon two days before the main feed.

Support the show

Unsinkable: Harriet Tubman Feb 14, 2025

Show notes

Happy Black History Month! Today we explore the life of Harriet Tubman, who every American school child learns a LITTLE about. Her life was much more complex and grittier than typical textbooks will lead one to believe; her work on the Underground Railroad is just the tip of our proverbial iceberg. During the Civil War, Tubman risked her life to scout and spy for the Union Army as well as worked tirelessly to provide social services for recently-freed slaves. Join me as we unpack the mythologies, bust them open as usual, and give thanks for those historical figures who have spoken loudly and acted with purpose.

Here's Dorothy Wickendon's book: https://bookshop.org/a/80949/9781476760742

Consider buying it via my Bookshop link above to support the pod.

Support the show

An Obsession with Size and Luxury! The White Star Line and Titanic's Marketing, featuring Pablo O'Hana Jan 05, 2025

Show notes

Join Pablo O'Hana, record-breaking fourth time Unsinkable guest, and me for a lively discussion of the evolution of modern marketing in the US and the UK. We take a look at the strategies used by the White Star Line and her competitors to bolster their reputations of luxury and size ("Have you heard of Dr. Freud, Mr. Ismay?") on the coveted Trans-Atlantic route in the early twentieth-century. A marketing and public relations expert himself, Pablo walks us through what advertising looked like in 1912 and what parts of that era stay with us even now in our everyday lives.
Settle in. Grab a dram or an oolong, take a seat, get cozy. This is the deep past.

Support the show