Doomed to Fail

By Taylor Pineiro, Farz SokhansanjComedy True Crime History

Doomed to Fail episodes

May 12, 2025Ep 196: Table for 87? - The Donner Party
Consider, of course, the definition of 'doomed.' In 1846, several families left the Midwest in pursuit of the California Dream. Eventually, George Donner would be named their leader, and they would follow the Hastings Cutoff for a quick shortcut west. The rest is history.

Of the 87 travelers, 48 will survive, mostly women & children. All will encounter incredible hunger, fear, and destitution before they reach California. Join us as we tell the stories of these families who risked everything for a better life.

(There is also cannibalism, don't worry.)

The Indifferent Stars Above Daniel James Brown
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-indifferent-stars-above-the-harrowing-saga-of-a-donner-party-bride_daniel-james-brown/352874/item/10276420/?
Last Podcast on the Left
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-331-the-donner-party-part-i-salt-of-the-earth/id437299706?i=1000419328989
petticoatsandpistols.com
westfield-chorustrust.org
donnerpartydiary.com
Join our Founders Club on Patreon to get ad-free episodes for life!
patreon.com/DoomedtoFailPod
We would love to hear from you! Please follow along!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doomedtofailpod/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doomedtofailpod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doomedtofailpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doomed.to.fail.pod
Email: [email protected]
1 hr
May 09, 2025 BONUS: Fun in the sun - Ghost Ships
Why not do a Friday Re-release!?! Let's take a break from the horrors IRL and talk about The Mary Celeste and the MV Joyita - two ships found drifting with no people... where did the people go??

Bonus bonus - you shoud watch the movie 'Ghost Ship' from 2002
Bonus bonus bonus - Gabriel Byrne played Professor Bhaer in 1994's "Little Women"????
Join our Founders Club on Patreon to get ad-free episodes for life!
patreon.com/DoomedtoFailPod
We would love to hear from you! Please follow along!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doomedtofailpod/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doomedtofailpod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doomedtofailpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doomed.to.fail.pod
Email: [email protected]
54 min
May 07, 2025 BONUS: Queen of Hearts - Marie Antoinette
Grab your forks, friends - we're having cake! Today, we re-release Taylor's episode on our dear Marie Antoinette. Yes, we hold her dear - she was just a kid put in a ridiculous situation, YES, she cosplayed being poor, YES, she was addicted to gambling. BUT she was also a good mother.
Bonus - there's a time slip in this episode that we LOVE. In the Moberly–Jourdain incident, two teachers in 1911 saw Marie at her cottage, where she shouldn't have been (since it was 1911).
Join our Founders Club on Patreon to get ad-free episodes for life!
patreon.com/DoomedtoFailPod
We would love to hear from you! Please follow along!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doomedtofailpod/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doomedtofailpod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doomedtofailpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doomed.to.fail.pod
Email: [email protected]
59 min
May 05, 2025 BONUS: Re-Release - The 2008 Financial Crisis
It's a re-release! Let's revisit Episode 45, where we talked about the financial crisis of 2008—what do you remember? Taylor worked at a hedge fund, and she remembers the yearly 'work trip' moving from the Bahamas to..... the Hamptons.
How did we get there, and what can we learn from the experience?
Join our Founders Club on Patreon to get ad-free episodes for life!
patreon.com/DoomedtoFailPod
We would love to hear from you! Please follow along!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doomedtofailpod/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doomedtofailpod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doomedtofailpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doomed.to.fail.pod
Email: [email protected]
37 min
April 30, 2025 Ep 195: The men who wrote the Dictionary - Professor James Murray & Dr. W. C. Minor
Today Taylor tells the story of "The Professor and the Madman" - how the Oxford English Dictionary was created in the late 1800s. Professor James Murray took up the almost impossible task of cataloging the entire English Language, and asked for the public's help. One volunteer sent in over 10k definitions (which all include quotes and several references) - his return address was the Insane Asylum at Broadmore. Was he a Dr. or a patient??

Sources
The professsor and the madman - https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-professor-and-the-madman_simon-winchester/248697/item/5257676/?
Join our Founders Club on Patreon to get ad-free episodes for life!
patreon.com/DoomedtoFailPod
We would love to hear from you! Please follow along!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doomedtofailpod/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doomedtofailpod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doomedtofailpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doomed.to.fail.pod
Email: [email protected]
37 min
April 28, 2025 Ep 194: The Vatican State: How did it come to be?
Discover the rich history of the Papal States and the evolution of the Catholic Church in our latest episode! Learn about the intriguing interplay between politics and faith from Jesus to Napoleon. Don’t miss out on this deep dive into history! #PapalStates #CatholicChurch #HistoryPodcast
Join our Founders Club on Patreon to get ad-free episodes for life!
patreon.com/DoomedtoFailPod
We would love to hear from you! Please follow along!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doomedtofailpod/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doomedtofailpod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doomedtofailpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doomed.to.fail.pod
Email: [email protected]
37 min
April 24, 2025 Ep 193: How fast can this go? Più veloce!! - Enzo Ferrari
Let's talk fast cars and family rivalries! Today, we talk through the Ferrari and Lamborghini families, and how their patriarchs worked to have the fastest engine available, and not necessarily the coolest looking car. I think that just happened to happen!
Join our Founders Club on Patreon to get ad-free episodes for life!
patreon.com/DoomedtoFailPod
We would love to hear from you! Please follow along!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doomedtofailpod/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doomedtofailpod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doomedtofailpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doomed.to.fail.pod
Email: [email protected]
24 min
April 22, 2025 Ep 192: A Scenic Crash in Antarctica - Air New Zealand Flight 901
Join us for the sad tale of Air New Zealand's flight 901 that crashed in Antarctica in 1979. But first we need a little bit of context and we revisit several Doomed to Fail Episodes:

The Franklin Expedition Ep 58
Volcanoes - between 38 and 71
Antarctica - Ep 158
Mt. Everest - Ep 95

Then we get to the story of the trip, which sounds amazing until it isn't.
Join our Founders Club on Patreon to get ad-free episodes for life!
patreon.com/DoomedtoFailPod
We would love to hear from you! Please follow along!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doomedtofailpod/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doomedtofailpod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doomedtofailpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doomed.to.fail.pod
Email: [email protected]
32 min
April 16, 2025 Ep 191: Ancient Voices in Modern Warfare - Navajo Code Talkers
This is the incredible story of the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II! We'll talk a little about the history of the Navajo and how the United States really wanted them to forget their heritage, and especially their language. Navajo children were sent to boarding schools and forced to learn English, so much so that they were punished if they spoke any of their native language at school. Of course, they still spoke Navajo (an extremely complex language that you have to learn from birth or you have no chance) at home.
Forward to WWII, the US needed a truly unbreakable code for its invasion of Japan. 29 Navajo men were recruited into the Marines to create the Navajo Code. They used their words (like potato for grenade), plus a Navajo word for every letter of the English alphabet—creating a 400+ word code that truly was never once cracked!
Learn more with us!
Sources:
Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two - Joseph Bruchac - https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/code-talker-a-novel-about-the-navajo-marines-of-world-war-two_joseph-bruchac/246548/item/3819967/?
Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII - Chester Nez with Judith Schiess Avila - https://www.amazon.com/Code-Talker-Memoir-Original-Talkers/dp/0425247856/
Who Were the Navajo Code Talkers? - James Buckley, Jr, - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/537742/who-were-the-navajo-code-talkers-by-james-buckley-jr-illustrated-by-gregory-copeland/
Join our Founders Club on Patreon to get ad-free episodes for life!
patreon.com/DoomedtoFailPod
We would love to hear from you! Please follow along!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doomedtofailpod/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doomedtofailpod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doomedtofailpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doomed.to.fail.pod
Email: [email protected]
46 min
April 14, 2025 Ep 190: Suicidal pilots: Germanwings Flight 9525
At this point, maybe if we talk about plane crashes enough, the irony would be TOO intense if we actually died in one! Let's go back 10 years to March 2015, when Germanwings pilot Andreas Lubitz was absolutely not in the right headspace to fly a plane. We dig into the mental health of pilots, why some of them don't get help, and why those who do are stigmatized. Andreas, for example, was on a new medication, coupled with his history of depression, he took over the cockpit and crashed Germanwings flight 9525 on purpose. It's awful.
Join our Founders Club on Patreon to get ad-free episodes for life!
patreon.com/DoomedtoFailPod
We would love to hear from you! Please follow along!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doomedtofailpod/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doomedtofailpod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doomedtofailpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doomed.to.fail.pod
Email: [email protected]
29 min

About Doomed to Fail

From the publisher's feed

We bring you stories of history's most notorious disasters and epic failures. Join us as we analyze the red flags and ask the important questions. How did things go so wrong? Could these disasters have been avoided?