Hosts Linda and Sequoya explore the catastrophic 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens through the contrasting stories of two men: 83-year-old lodge owner Harry R. Truman, who stubbornly refused evacuation despite repeated warnings, and 30-year-old volcanologist David A. Johnston, whose final radio transmission—"Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!"—immortalized his ultimate sacrifice for public safety. Through vivid storytelling, the podcast chronicles the dramatic sequence of events from the first warning signs to the fateful morning of May 18, 1980, when a magnitude 5.1 earthquake triggered history's largest recorded landslide and an unexpected lateral blast. Truman, paradoxically both dismissive of the danger and accepting of his fate, chose to remain with the mountain that had shaped his identity. Johnston, though positioned at what was considered a safe observation distance, tragically found himself directly in the eruption's path. Beyond these personal stories, the episode captures remarkable survivor accounts, details the eruption's devastating economic consequences, and explores how this disaster fundamentally changed our scientific understanding of volcanic hazards and revolutionized monitoring approaches worldwide. ⏱️ Timestamps

INTRODUCTION:

00:00 – Welcome

01:50 – Why we made this episode

HISTORICAL CONTEXT:

02:50 – “Mount Fuji of the Pacific Northwest”

04:00 – Mount St. Helens Wakes Up

THE TWO MEN

06:40 – Meet Harry R. Truman

08:30 –Truman Refuses to Evacuate

11:20 – Meet David A. Johnston

12:15 – Johnston’s Bravery

13:00 – Red Zone Established

MAY 18, 1980 ERUPTION SEQUENCE

13:45 – Earthquake, Landslide, Lateral Blast

15:35 – Johnston’s Last Radio Transmission

16:00 – Truman’s Fate

16:35 – Gerry Martin’s Radio Transmission

17:20 – Photos of Landslide and Lateral Blast

19:00 – Plinian Eruption

19:50 – Lahars

AFTERMATH & IMPACT

21:05 – Economic Impact

21:30 – Advances in Scientific Understanding

22:10 – Public Safety Lessons

CLOSING

23:20 – Closing Thoughts

24:25 – What’s Next

📚 Learn More

▶️ Mount St. Helens – Full Playlist on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO683wv5Jx1EmLc_-N7vTUyw8mtNJNgJP

▶️ Gary Rosenquist Sequence – AI Animated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNlP9TGZOMI ▶️ Remembering David Johnston

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg2rufseJ_w 🔗 From Quiet Mountain to Cataclysm

https://quakefeed.substack.com/p/from-quiet-mountain-to-cataclysm

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🎵 Music By Soularflair

Bio on FMA: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Soularflair/bio

CC-BY License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/