Often when we imagine someone who defuses a bomb we immediately think of movies like The Hurt Locker or Speed. As it turns out there are actually people who defuse bombs on a regular basis here in Southern California and certain areas of the state are actually hotbeds for unexploded ordnance from WWII. This week Dr. Hirsch sits down with Bomb Technician spec ... Show More
Jun 2020
World War I and the Rise of the Peat Moss Bandage
War often drives innovation — often out of desperation. In World War I, doctors were overwhelmed and dangerously short on supplies, especially bandages. With no end in sight for the cotton shortage, ingenious doctors found an unlikely (and superior) alternative: peat moss. Learn ... Show More
35m 4s
Mar 2020
Oklahoma City Bombing | 19
25 years ago, on April 19, 1995, the face of terrorism in the United States changed forever when Timothy McVeigh detonated a 5-ton truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building. 168 people were killed in the blast, including 19 children who attended a daycare centre on the ... Show More
57m 10s
Jan 2018
E78: Wall Street Bombings
On September 16, 1920, an explosion went off at 23 Wall Street, killing 38 people and injuring hundreds more. But no one knew who set off the bomb, or why. We explore the political and financial turmoil that may have inspired the attack, and we look into the man who warned New Yo ... Show More
44m 8s
Jan 2018
The Atomic Whoops: When the US Air Force Bombed South Carolina
<p>During the height of the Cold War, both the US and the USSR constantly ran drills in anticipation of a possible nuclear conflict. While the Gregg family of Mars Bluff, South Carolina knew the Cold War was in full swing, they had no idea that they would become the first America ... Show More
29m 36s
May 2019
The Attack of the Japanese Balloon Bombs
Picture this: It's late 1944, and you, like thousands of other people on the west coast of North America, have noticed bizarre, jellyfish-like objects floating through the sky. You call the local authorities, maybe even the Air Force, only to be ignored. You don't see anything ab ... Show More
34m 8s
Apr 2018
Nuclear War... Total Annihilation?
Nine countries, including North Korea, have nuclear weapons. What would happen if a nuclear bomb was dropped-- say, in New York City? We talk to nuclear historian Dr. Alex Wellerstein, nuclear engineer Dr. Tetsuji Imanaka, and epidemiologist Dr. Eric Grant. UPDATE 04/27: We've ad ... Show More
34m 4s