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On November 10, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald disappeared beneath the freezing waters of Lake Superior with all 29 crew members aboard. The ship had been battling a powerful storm, taking on water, losing radar, and listing heavily—but just minutes before it vanished, the crew reported that they were “holding their own.”

Nearly 50 years later, the exact cause of the sinking remains debated. In this episode, we follow the Fitzgerald’s final voyage and break down the theories surrounding its disappearance—from massive waves and flooding hatch covers to shoaling, structural failure, and damage sustained during the storm. With no survivors and the wreck sitting hundreds of feet beneath Lake Superior, the final moments of the Fitzgerald remain a mystery.

Sources: 

SS Edmund Fitzgerald - Wikipedia 

Edmund Fitzgerald | Sinking, Ship, Bodies, Song, & Facts | Britannica 

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Description: In May 1996, a group of climbers set out to reach the summit of Mount Everest. What followed was a series of delays, difficult decisions, deteriorating conditions and a devastating blizzard that would leave eight people dead.

In this episode, we follow the climbers through the events of May 10th and 11th and look at what went wrong on the world's highest mountain.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Mount_Everest_disaster

https://explorersweb.com/1996-everest-tragedy-30-years-later/

https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1asq6c9/eli5_the_1996_everest_disaster_please/

https://www.history.com/articles/the-single-deadliest-day-for-climbers-on-mount-everest

https://www.himalayanrecreation.com/blog/1996-mount-everest-disaster

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What was supposed to be a short fishing trip turned into an unimaginable fight for survival. After being stranded in the Pacific Ocean, José Salvador Alvarenga spent 438 days drifting at sea, facing hunger, storms, and complete isolation.

Sources:

The Story Of Jose Alvarenga, Who Survived 438 Days Adrift In The Pacific 

Real-life castaway survived 438 days lost at sea | CNN 

Lost at sea: the man who vanished for 14 months | José Salvador Alvarenga | The Guardian 

Castaway Jose Salvador: Blame the Tehuantepecer? 

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Description:

From political violence and deadly bombings to suspicious packages, smoke-filled tunnels, and mass evacuations, Montreal's Metro has repeatedly found itself at the center of major emergencies. In this episode of Crash Lessons, we explore the FLQ bombing campaign, the 1984 Central Station bombing, the security changes brought by 9/11, and the modern incidents that continue to bring parts of the Metro to a halt.

Some threats were real. Others were false alarms. But each one revealed an important lesson about emergency response, public fear, and how quickly uncertainty can spread beneath a city.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Metro

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/october-crisis

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/front-de-liberation-du-quebec

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Montreal_bombing

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dnd-tightens-security-after-montreal-bomb-threat-1.190969

https://donnees.montreal.ca/fr/dataset/incidents-du-reseau-du-metro

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel-Groulx_station

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1269574/montreal-transports-commun-berri-incendie-evacuation

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In October 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed high in the Andes Mountains, leaving 33 survivors stranded nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. What followed was a 72-day fight for survival against starvation, freezing temperatures, avalanches, and impossible choices.

In this episode of Crash Lessons, we dive into one of the most extraordinary survival stories ever recorded. From the navigational error that doomed the flight, to the desperate struggle on the mountain, to the incredible expedition that ultimately led to rescue, this is the story of the 16 people who made it home—and the 29 who never did.

Sources:

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 - Wikipedia 

Miracle of the Andes: How Survivors of the Flight Disaster Struggled to Stay Alive | HISTORY 

Inside The 1972 Andes Plane Crash When Survivors Ate The Dead 

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A fire that was never meant to last more than a few hours… has now been burning for over sixty years. In 1962, a routine landfill burn in Centralia, Pennsylvania ignited something no one could control — an underground coal seam fire that would slowly consume the town from below. What followed wasn’t a sudden catastrophe, but a long, quiet disaster marked by toxic gas, collapsing ground, and a community forced to make an impossible decision: stay, or leave everything behind.In this episode, we explore how a normal mining town became one of the most haunting environmental disasters in North America — and why, decades later, the fire is still burning.

Sources:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/centralia-pennsylvania-rebirth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania

https://www.history.com/articles/mine-fire-burning-more-50-years-ghost-town

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In the 1980s, a state-of-the-art radiation machine was supposed to save lives. But patients started coming back with burns that didn’t make sense… pain that shouldn’t have been possible… and symptoms doctors didn’t believe. The machine said everything was fine. It wasn’t. This is the story of the Therac‑25 — and what happens when we trust technology more than people.

Sources:

https://web.stanford.edu/class/archive/cs/cs240/cs240.1236/old//sp2014/readings/therac-25.pdf

http://sunnyday.mit.edu/papers/therac.pdf

Therac-25 - Wikipedia 

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Mauled by a grizzly bear. Abandoned by his own men. Left with nothing in the wilderness.

Hugh Glass survived one of the most extreme ordeals in American frontier history — but surviving didn’t mean peace. In this episode, we explore how Glass kept going when everything failed, what really kept him alive, and why his story still matters today.

Sources

hugh glass real story - Reddit Search!

Hugh Glass | Biography & Facts | Britannica

Mountain man Hugh Glass mauled by a grizzly bear | HISTORY

Conquering the Frontier: Homesteading Challenges & Opportunities in Westward Expansion

Quest for Revenge - The Real Story of Hugh Glass

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On July 6, 1944, what was meant to be a joyful afternoon at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus turned into one of the deadliest fires in American history. In this episode of Crash Lessons, we tell the story of the Hartford Circus Fire — how a perfect storm of unsafe practices, wartime shortages, and human error led to tragedy, and how the disaster permanently changed public safety standards in the United States.

Sources:

Hartford circus fire - Wikipedia

Inside The Hartford Circus Fire That Killed 167 People

The Hartford Circus Fire - Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project

How a Deadly Circus Fire on the 'Day the Clowns Cried' Traumatized a Community—and Led to Lasting Safety Reforms

Hartford Circus Fire 1944: Tragic Big Top Disaster Revealed — Northeast Legends and Stories

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Deep beneath the waters of Deer Island, one of the largest wastewater treatment plants in the United States was under construction—an ambitious project meant to clean up Boston Harbor and protect the environment. But behind the engineering feat lies a much darker story.

In this episode, we explore the construction of the Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant and the dangerous conditions workers faced while building massive underwater tunnels. We focus on the tragic deaths of two divers who lost their lives deep below the surface, operating in a pressurized, high-risk environment where one mistake could be fatal.

Sources:

https://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=15-P13-00023&segmentID=7

https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/state/1999/07/22/two-workers-die-in-sewage/50511841007/

https://theworld.org/stories/2015/06/10/death-tunnel

https://www.mwra.com/your-sewer-system/sewer-treatment-facilities/deer-island-wastewater-treatment-plant

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