Relative Disasters

It’s mushroom clouds over Hollywood in this episode, as we immerse ourselves in the tale of the 1956 making of “The Conqueror”, an 'historical' epic based on the life of Genghis Khan. Produced by Howard Hughes on the largest budget in RKO Studios’ history, the picture starred A-list actors John Wayne and Susan Hayward, and was shot in beautiful Snow Canyon, Utah. That location happened to be right next door to the Nevada Proving Grounds, where an aggressive series of nuclear test detonations was ongoing; but is that really what caused the cancer deaths of a quarter of the cast and crew? Grab your Geiger counter and join us for a closer look into Snow Canyon, Operation Teapot, the magic of CinemaScope, and the production of what is possibly the worst movie ever made.

Enjoy the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠⁠.

Sources for this episode include:

“Who Nuked the Duke?” by J W Law, 2014

'Screen: 'The Conqueror'; John Wayne Stars in Oriental 'Western'', A H Weiler for the New York Times, 1956

John Wayne’s 1971 Playboy Interview Transcript

'The Children of John Wayne, Susan Hayward and Dick Powell Fear That Fallout Killed Their Parents', by K G Jackovich and M Sennet for People Magazine, 1980

Nevada Test Site Oral History Project

'Cancer Incidence in an Area of Radioactive Fallout Downwind From the Nevada Test Site' by C J Johnson, as published in JAMA, 1984

'Cancer Mortality and Radioactive Fallout in Southwestern Utah" by S G Machado, et al, as published in American Journal of Epidemiology, 1987

Editor's Note: The audio in this episode is really, really bad. Ella and I tried recording in a new location and it backfired horribly! The discussion and story are (hopefully) good, but the audio is not. Thank you for your patience, and we'll be back to our old respective recording areas for the next episode.

Bibliography coming soon!

Come with us back to the Hundred Years' War, with a battle not between opposing armies but against (apparently) God. In the red corner: The English army of Edward the Third! In the blue corner: Lightning, freezing temperatures, 55-MPH winds, and hailstones bigger than your fist! The Black Monday Hailstorm of 1360 caused more deaths and injuries than any previous "battle" in the Hundred Years' War - come sit with us for a bit and find out why and how.

Enjoy the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠⁠.

Sources:

The Chronicle of Jean Froissart

The History of that Most Victorious Monarch Edward III... by Joshua Barnes

The Chronicle of London

The luxury liner SS Andrea Doria made the voyage from Italy to America a hundred times without incident, and earned rave reviews from her wealthy passengers, who loved her modern décor and fabulous food. On her hundred-and-first trip, however, a cascade of poor decisions, design flaws, and bad luck ended in her sinking just off the coast of Massachusetts. On this episode, we take you through one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century, and attempt to explain why so many experienced divers are still risking their lives trying to salvage the wreck.

Enjoy the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠⁠.

Sources for this episode include:

“The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria", by Greg King and Penny Wilson, 2020

“Setting the Hook: A Diver’s Return to the Andrea Doria” by Peter Hunt, 2011

“Andrea Doria 2020” dive video, 2020

“Down to the Andrea Doria” newsreel, 1956

“New images from submarine show current state of Andrea Doria wreck” by T. Thadani for the Boston Globe, 2016

“Andrea Doria Safe Opened” by M. Kernan for the Washington Post, 1984

“Andrea Doria – Tragedy and Rescue at Sea” collected and maintained by P. Grillo, consulted 2021

Personal correspondence by L. Siness, 1956

“Andrea Doria” page by R. Galino for New Jersey Scuba

“Everest At the Bottom Of the Sea” by B. McMahon for Esquire Magazine, 2000 

In this episode, we take a look at one man's personal disaster that led to a wonderful figure from American history - Emperor Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico. We'll discuss dogs, congress, a certain bridge, anti-Chinese racism of the mid-1800s, and we'll take a deep dive in to the truth of Norton's life as well as his posthumous mythology!

Enjoy the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠⁠.

Sources:

The Emperor Norton Trust

http://emperornortontrust.org

Emperor Norton: Historical Essay by Chris Carlsson with Michael Whitson

https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Emperor_Norton

Funeral Fit For a Queen - Bay Area Reporter, 9/12/2013

Down for a vist to the world's largest cave system? In this episode, we look at the discovery and development of what is now known as the Mammoth–Flint Ridge Cave System, in the US state of Kentucky. These days, it's owned by the federal government and overseen by the National Park Service; but a hundred years ago, caverns and entrances to the system, as well as unconnected caves, were owned by private landholders, small corporations, and a railroad. With American tourists eager to visit, competition for their dollars escalated to lawsuits, sabotage, and deceptive-to-untruthful advertising - and rivalries became so intense that the first quarter of the 20th century is known locally as the Cave Wars. This period culminated in the horrific and extremely public death of cave explorer William Floyd Collins, a tragedy that led to improvements in caver safety, a Pulitzer prize for one of his would-be rescuers, and a painfully long and complicated attempt to find a peaceful resting place for his remains.  

Enjoy the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠⁠.

“Trapped! (Story of Floyd Collins)”, by R. K. Murray and R. W. Brucker

“The Kentucky Cave Wars” by D. R. Kem, 2016

“The Sucker’s Visit to the Mammoth Cave” by R. S. Thompson, 1879

“Human Chain Helps Loosen Prisoner in Kentucky Cave” staff writer, Associated Press article, 1925

“Tragedy at Sand Cave”, staff writer, NPS.gov

“Mammoth Cave National Park”, website, NPS.gov

Come join us in the water! On this episode, we explore how sharks are being driven to extinction and why that matters for humanity. We talk about Jaws, Megalodon, amiable sharks, human-left-foot-soup, and which shark Greg would go swimming with! Sit back, relax, and keep an eye on your toaster - that thing's gonna kill you.

Enjoy the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠⁠.

Sources:

Alarming Decline in Shark Populations Points to Need for Stricter Conservation Measures by Rachel Hopkins and KerriLynn Miller

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2021/03/09/alarming-decline-in-shark-populations-points-to-need-for-stricter-conservation-measures

Shark numbers in 'alarming' worldwide decline as many species face extinction, study says by Doyle Rice

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/01/27/shark-populations-declining-worldwide-study-reports/4279611001/

Sharks at unprecedented risk of extinction after 71 per cent decline by Adam Vaughan

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2265724-sharks-at-unprecedented-risk-of-extinction-after-71-per-cent-decline/

The Staggering Decline of Oceanic Sharks and Rays by David Sims

https://therevelator.org/decline-sharks-rays/

Shark Week Opens With Fake Megalodon Documentary by Rich Juzwiak

https://gawker.com/shark-week-opens-with-fake-megalodon-documentary-1028053485

Discovery Channel defends dramatized shark special 'Megalodon' by Breeana Hare

https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/07/showbiz/tv/discovery-shark-week-megalodon/

The history of Shark Week: How the Discovery Channel both elevated and degraded sharks by Matt Cohen

https://theweek.com/articles/444542/history-shark-week-how-discovery-channel-both-elevated-degraded-sharks

Shark Slaughter: 73 Million Killed Each Year by Ker Than

https://www.livescience.com/1027-shark-slaughter-73-million-killed-year.html

The Influence of Culture on the International Management of Shark Finning by Andrea Dell'Apa, M. Chad Smith, Mahealani Y. Kaneshiro-Pineiro

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00267-014-0291-1

Sharks and Tunas: Fisheries Impacts on Predators with Contrasting Life Histories by Daniel E. Schindler, Timothy E. Essington, James F. Kitchell, Chris Boggs, Ray Hilborn

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1890/1051-0761%282002%29012%5B0735%3ASATFIO%5D2.0.CO%3B2

The World Is Running Out of Fish Faster Than We Thought by James Wilt

https://www.vice.com/en/article/gvqmey/global-fish-stocks-are-in-even-worse-shape-than-we-thought

Shark Nets, Drumlines, and Safe Swimming by the Kwazulu-Natal Sharks Board

https://web.archive.org/web/20140128015833/http://www.shark.co.za/SharkNetsMore

Marine "Gold Rush": Demand for shark fin soup drives decimation of fish by Saeed Kamali Deghhan

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/04/marine-gold-rush-demand-shark-fin-soup

Beware of shark meat, FDA warns by Al Hinman

http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/indepth.food/meat/seafood/shark.mercury/index.html

Neurotoxins in shark fins: A human health concern from University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120223182516.htm

The Book That Spawned a Monster by Stephen Dowling

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3400291.stm

Shark Trouble by Peter Benchley

Sharks Should Be Respected, Not Feared from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

https://www.fws.gov/news/blog/index.cfm/2020/8/11/Sharks-Should-Be-Respected-Not-Feared

In the early 1990s, a privately funded ecology experiment took place in the Arizona desert. Sealing humans inside with thousands of carefully selected plants, animals, and insects, the Biosphere 2 missions sought to show that people could survive and thrive in a contained ecosystem - if they could just get over the sleep apnea, cockroaches, orange skin, constant hunger, and difficult interpersonal relationships.

On this episode of Relative Disasters: what went right in Biosphere 2? What went terribly wrong? And what does Steve Bannon (yes, THAT Steve Bannon) have to do with any of it?

Enjoy the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠⁠.

Sources for this episode include:

“Pushing Our Limits: Insights from Biosphere 2” by M. Nelson, 2018

“The Human Experiment: Two Years and Twenty Minutes Inside Biosphere 2”, J. Poynter, 2006

"The Lost History of One of the World’s Strangest Science Experiments: The hummingbirds were dying. Cockroaches were everywhere. And then Steve Bannon showed up", C. Zimmer, New York Times, 2019

“Biosphere 2” website, University of Arizona, 2021

“'Bon voyage' 8 Biospherians Begin Journey in Greenhouse”, J. Erickson, Arizona Daily Star, 1991

“Take This Terrarium and Shove It”, M. Cooper, Village Voice, 1991

“Biosphere's image: rise, fall, and rehabilitation”, S. Veggeberg, Metanews, Columbia University, 1995

In 1991, eight people and nearly 4000 carefully chosen other organisms (plus cockroaches and invasive ants) were sealed inside a $200 million dollar vivarium in the Arizona desert, with the object of surviving in a completely closed ecological system. Over the following two years and twenty minutes, they endured hunger, paranoia, bad weather, depression, and less-than-flattering media reports; they also proved that humans could work together while hating each other, and pioneered some extremely efficient agricultural systems. Join us as we examine the Biosphere 2 project from the inside out, with special sidebars on Biospherian ants, anticapitalism sabotage, community theater people, oxygen problems, and what happens to your skin when the majority of your calories come from carrots, papaya, and sweet potatos.

Sources for this episode include:

“Pushing Our Limits: Insights from Biosphere 2” by M. Nelson, 2018

“The Human Experiment: Two Years and Twenty Minutes Inside Biosphere 2”, J. Poynter, 2006

“Take This Terrarium and Shove It”, M. Cooper, Village Voice, 1991

“Biosphere's image: rise, fall, and rehabilitation”, S. Veggeberg, Metanews, Columbia University, 1995

"The Lost History of One of the World’s Strangest Science Experiments: The hummingbirds were dying. Cockroaches were everywhere. And then Steve Bannon showed up", C. Zimmer, New York Times, 2019

“Biosphere 2” website, University of Arizona, 2021

“'Bon voyage' 8 Biospherians Begin Journey in Greenhouse”, J. Erickson, Arizona Daily Star, 1991

This episode focuses on the wreck of the ship Batavia off the coast of Australia and the horrific mutiny that followed. Join us for a discussion of stupid plans, intrepid heroes, and what happens when you let a psychopath take charge of a group of people. We'll take a few sidebars into the Dutch East India company, a torturous method of execution, and the moronic reason behind a major change in maritime law. All in all, a fun time for everyone.

Enjoy the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠⁠.

Sources:

BATAVIA (1629): giving voice to the voiceless symposium

Defining Moments: Wreck of the Batavia

"Batavia's Graveyard - The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny" by Mike Dash

"Island of Angry Ghosts: The Story of the Batavia" by H. Edwards

"The First and Last Voyage of the Batavia" by P. Godard