logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2022
38m 7s

Exxon in Crisis | The Accident | 1

Wondery
About this episode
In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground off the coast of Alaska. More than ten million gallons of crude oil gushed out of its shattered holds into the pristine waters of Prince William Sound. It was an environmental disaster which caused the death of thousands of wild animals and scarred the beautiful landscape for years. The damage was equally deep ... Show More
Up next
Jan 2023
The McDonald's Invasion | New Beginnings | 1
George Cohon gives up his career as a Chicago attorney to open the first McDonald’s fast food restaurant in Canada. As George moves up the McDonald’s corporate ladder, a chance meeting with members of the Russian Olympic Committee sets him on a path to attempt to open the first M ... Show More
37m 57s
Feb 2023
The Apple Genius: Tim Cook | The Visionary | 1
After a thirteen year rise through the ranks at Apple, Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook faces the daunting task of replacing the company’s iconic co-founder Steve Jobs after the billionaire’s death from cancer.Want to listen to the remaining episodes of The Apple Genius: Tim Cook ... Show More
39m 19s
Mar 2023
Sam Walton: Building a Walmart World | Planes, Trains, and Discounts | 1
In the 1970’s, Sam Walton steps away from his retail empire, Walmart. But with Sam gone, the company nearly buckles under the weight of a power struggle at the executive level. Distressed with how his company is being run in his absence, Sam comes out of semi-retirement with a ve ... Show More
39m 25s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2019
Exxon Valdez: Oil Meets Water | 1
A supertanker carrying 53 million gallons of crude oil runs aground in Prince William Sound sparking the worst man-made ecological catastrophe in the country’s history at the time. As Exxon struggles to get the cleanup underway, fishermen worry that this is the end of life as the ... Show More
37m 18s
Nov 2025
Deepwater Horizon | The Summer of Tears | 3
When the Deepwater Horizon explodes on April 20, 2010, 11 men are killed, while the rest of the crew tries to escape the burning rig. In the days that follow, vast quantities of oil leak into the Gulf of Mexico. As the spill spreads, coastal communities struggle to deal with the ... Show More
36m 19s
Jan 2021
Deepwater Horizon Pt. 1
In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and then sank, kickstarting one of the largest oil spills in history. The companies who ran the rig became targets of lawsuits and heavy government regulation — but was the world looking at the wrong culprits? Learn more about your ... Show More
45m 30s
Aug 2024
Piper Alpha: Oil Rig Disaster | The Leak | 1
On July 6th, 1988, workers clock in to a typical night shift aboard Piper Alpha, the world’s largest offshore oil rig, in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. Then, around 10 p.m., a series of mistakes leads to a gas leak and explosion. Soon, 226 men find themselves trapped o ... Show More
43m 17s
Nov 2025
Deepwater Horizon, Part 1: “Operate to Failure”
In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and leading to the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. But for Deepwater’s operator, BP, it was just the latest in a series of accidents, spills, and other mishaps that all poi ... Show More
39m 47s
Jan 2024
Rescues at sea, and how to make a fortune
At around 1 a.m. on the morning of November 15, 1994, Captain Prentice "Skip" Strong III woke to a distress call. Skip was the new captain of an oil tanker called the Cherry Valley. He and his crew had been making their way up the coast of Florida that evening when a tropical sto ... Show More
26m 15s
Nov 2025
Deepwater Horizon, Part 2: BP’s Disaster
On April 20, 2010, the crew aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig was in the final stages of sealing up an exploratory well off the coast of Louisiana. It should have been a routine procedure, but something went horribly wrong. By the next morning, Deepwater was sinking to the bot ... Show More
37m 35s
Oct 2025
Deepwater Horizon I The Well from Hell | 2
When Chief Electronics Technician Mike Williams joins the Deepwater Horizon in 2009, he’s told it’s the safest rig in the world. But as BP rushes to finish drilling the Macondo well, systems fail and standards slip—with disastrous consequences.Be the first to know about Wondery’s ... Show More
33m 46s