Compact Disasters
by Compact Disasters
Latest episode
The Delft Thunderclap
The Delft Thunderclap
About this podcast
Compact Disasters is a podcast that delivers bite-sized episodes exploring some of the world's most catastrophic events, from natural disasters to human-made tragedies. Each episode, lasting less time than it takes to enjoy a coffee, dives into the causes, consequences, and lasting impacts of these events, offering listeners a concise but comprehensive overview. Whether it's hurricanes, industrial accidents, or historical calamities, the podcast aims to engage and inform audiences with well-researched, fast-paced content that is both educational and gripping. Perfect for history enthusiasts, curious minds, or anyone looking to learn about significant disasters without a huge time commitment.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 102 episodes
- The Delft Thunderclap · 18 min · Episode 101On 12 October 1654, Cornelis Soetens entered a gunpowder magazine in Delft to take a sample. Later that morning, the store exploded, bringing down houses and workshops across the…
- The Überlingen Mid-Air Collision · 22 min · Episode 100On 1 July 2002, a passenger aircraft carrying a party of Russian schoolchildren and a DHL freighter collided above southern Germany, killing all 71 people aboard. In this episode…
- The Great Fire of Norwich · 20 min · Episode 99In the spring of 1507, Norwich was one of England's most prosperous cities. Then two devastating fires swept through its crowded streets, destroying hundreds of homes and leaving…
- The Great Galveston Hurricane · 21 min · Episode 98In September 1900, Galveston was a thriving Texas port with grand buildings, busy wharves and an ambitious future. Then a hurricane swept in from the Gulf of Mexico, overwhelming…
- The Sinking of the Royal George · 23 min · Episode 97One of Britain's most formidable warships lay at anchor among friendly vessels, preparing for another voyage. Within minutes, she would be on the seabed, with hundreds of…
- The Bristol Channel Flood · 24 min · Episode 96On 30 January 1607, floodwater overwhelmed communities along the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary, turning farmland into open water and leaving families fighting for their…
- The Doge's Palace Collapse · 24 min · Episode 95On 20 December 1577, a fire began in a soot-filled chimney inside Venice's Doge's Palace. Flames entered the timber roof above the Hall of the Scrutiny, melted its lead covering…
- The Late Antique Little Ice Age · 23 min · Episode 94In 536, the Byzantine historian Procopius reported that the Sun shone without its usual brightness. Other writers described summer frosts, failed harvests and seasons that seemed…
- The Silver Bridge Collapse · 24 min · Episode 93On 15 December 1967, the Silver Bridge between Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Kanauga, Ohio, collapsed during the evening rush hour. In less than 20 seconds, its suspended…
- The Bombing of Air India Flight 182 · 25 min · Episode 92On 23 June 1985, Air India Flight 182 was destroyed by a bomb over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 329 passengers and crew. The device had travelled from Vancouver inside an…
- The Laki Fissure Eruption · 23 min · Episode 91On 8 June 1783, a volcanic fissure opened in southern Iceland and began an eruption that would continue for eight months. Laki produced one of the largest lava flows of the…
- The Ronan Point Collapse · 24 min · Episode 90On 16 May 1968, a small gas explosion in an eighteenth-floor flat caused an entire corner of Ronan Point, a recently completed tower block in East London, to collapse. Four…
- The King's Cross Fire · 25 min · Episode 89On 18 November 1987, a small fire beneath a wooden escalator at King's Cross Underground station developed into a terrifying inferno. Within minutes, flames swept into the ticket…
- The Oppau Explosion · 21 min · Episode 88In this episode of Compact Disasters, we examine the Oppau Explosion of 21 September 1921, one of Europe's deadliest industrial disasters. At a BASF chemical plant in Oppau…
- The Lockerbie Disaster · 21 min · Episode 87On 21 December 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed by a bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground. This episode of Compact…
- The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster · 25 min · Episode 86In this episode of Compact Disasters, we follow the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster, from the earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011 to the loss of power, failed cooling…
- The Courrières Mine Disaster · 22 min · Episode 85In this episode of Compact Disasters, we go underground in northern France to examine the Courrières Mine Disaster, the 1906 coal mine explosion that killed 1,099 people and…
- The Black Saturday Bushfires · 26 min · Episode 84In this episode of Compact Disasters, we look at the Black Saturday Bushfires, the devastating fires that swept across Victoria, Australia, on 7 February 2009. With extreme heat…
- The Sandoz Chemical Spill · 24 min · Episode 83In this episode of Compact Disasters, we examine the Sandoz chemical spill, the 1986 industrial disaster that turned the Rhine red. What began as a fire at a chemical warehouse…
- The Kaprun Funicular Fire · 20 min · Episode 82In this episode of Compact Disasters, we examine the Kaprun Funicular Fire, one of the deadliest Alpine transport disasters in modern history. On 11 November 2000, a ski train…
