logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2024
40m 3s

Johnstown Flood | Cascade | 3

Wondery
About this episode
Despite the efforts of engineer John Parke, the South Fork Dam does break. The ensuing flash flood sweeps up a vast, moving wall of debris: mud, rocks, trees, fragments of bridges and smashed-up houses. Residents in Johnstown, including Reverend H.L. Chapman and his family, have mere seconds to flee to higher ground as the floodwaters and debris crash into t ... Show More
Up next
Feb 2024
Johnstown Flood | Fire on the Water | 4
<p>After the flood leaves many Johnstown residents trapped by debris and fighting for their lives, several oil slicks from leaking industrial equipment catch fire, igniting a deadly inferno. Sixteen-year-old Victor Heiser must rescue a young woman whose leg is pinned by rubble as ... Show More
48m 18s
Mar 2024
Johnstown Flood | Prepare for the Worst | 5
<p>National Park Ranger Doug Bosley’s existence hinges on a few dangerous seconds in the life of his great-great grandfather, William Pickerill. On May 31, 1889, Pickerill worked as a telegraph operator down the valley from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Before it was washed away by th ... Show More
35m 8s
Mar 2024
Buried Alive | Taken | 1
<p>It’s December, 1968, and 20-year-old Emory University student Barbara Mackle is taken at gunpoint from the Atlanta motel room she’s sharing with her mother. Her two kidnappers drug her and then drive her to a remote spot in the woods outside the city. Their plan? To bury her a ... Show More
41m 41s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 26
Front Yard Floods
Frequent floods blight the poorest neighbourhoods of New Orleans but the residents are fighting back, one yard at a time. Physicist Helen Czerski joins the team behind the Front Yard Initiative as they strive to keep the Big Easy safe and dry, 20 years after the devastation of Hu ... Show More
24m 40s
Oct 27
How Do Levees Protect Us?
Levee systems make it possible for us to live alongside bodies of water with less danger of flooding. Learn how engineers design them -- and why levees sometimes fail -- in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural ... Show More
9m 56s
Jul 2024
The Man Who Flooded San Diego [VIDEO]
In January 1916, San Diego, California was hit by a deadly flood. Nobody had foreseen just how catastrophic the storms would be… including the City Council, who’d just hired the renowned “rainmaker” Charles Hatfield to fill the Morena dam with rainwater. Conspiracy Theories is no ... Show More
34 m
Jan 2024
RV Laws In Butte County Leave Many Fire Victims With Few Options
People are still struggling to find a place to live years after devastating wildfires ripped through Butte County.  In the remote town of Berry Creek, many are living in RVs on the lots where houses once stood. But they face deadlines to rebuild their homes or move. Reporter: Jam ... Show More
10m 27s
Jul 2024
Cyrus Family Feud | 59
<p>Fame, fortune, and family fractures: welcome to the world of the Cyruses. Billy Ray, Trish, and their five children have long navigated the entertainment industry's choppy waters. But 2023 brought unexpected turbulence: Trish's wedding saw only half of her children attend, ign ... Show More
49m 17s
Jul 2024
Louisiana’s billion-dollar coastal restoration project
It's the biggest operation of its kind in US history, as the state tries to save its coastline which is vanishing at an alarming rate.We travel to the Mississippi River and the city of New Orleans to see how billions of dollars are being spent to fix the rapid land loss.The proje ... Show More
17m 27s
Feb 2025
Crue montante (Rising flood)
<p>De fortes précipitations ont provoqué des inondations importantes dans l'Ouest de la France, touchant des milliers de foyers et perturbant les transports.</p><br><p>Traduction:</p><br><p>Heavy rainfall caused major flooding in Western France, affecting thousands of households ... Show More
4m 7s
Aug 8
Floods, mangroves and rampaging tractors
This week, floods have hit the global headlines. First up, we delve into the various reasons why floods form. After learning about the causes of floods, we discover a nature-based solution in the form of mangrove forests. Laura Michie from the Mangrove Action Project tells us why ... Show More
49m 30s
Jul 2025
311: The Great Flood of 1889: Johnstown Flood National Memorial
<div> <strong>Editors Note and Content Warning</strong>: This episode was recorded in June before the devastating floods that took place in Texas on July 4th. Listeners should be aware that this episode includes descriptions of mass death, including children. Please take care whi ... Show More
59m 58s
Feb 2025
The Ghostly Storm Watcher of South Carolina
A lone figure in gray stands on the shores of Pawleys Island. Those who see him are given an unspoken warning—and those who listen are spared from disaster. Who is he? Why does he appear before deadly storms? This is the chilling legend of The Gray Man and the eerie encounters th ... Show More
17m 8s