Oct 21

Winchester Mystery House: Ghosts, Legends, and Hoaxes

If you’ve heard of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, you’ve surely heard the rumors about its famous owner, Sarah Winchester. Like the claims she was an eccentric hermit who never left her 24,000-square-foot mansion. Or that she demanded construction crews wor ... Show More

47m 59s

Oct 14

The Possessed Nuns of Loudun

Beginning in 1632, a convent of young Ursuline nuns made startling claims – from seeing dead priests, to being possessed by a horde of Satan’s demons. A team of priests presided over daily exorcisms – some of them public – for months…until the blame was directed toward one man: F ... Show More

54m 24s

Oct 7

Panic in the Streets: The War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast

On Halloween Eve, 1938 Orson Welles' The War of the Worlds aired on CBS radio. It detailed an alien invasion so realistic that, according to legend, it caused widespread panic among listeners. People really believed aliens were invading Earth. The mass hysteria is an important pa ... Show More

47m 40s

Jan 2023

Rainmaker Charles Hatfield (San Diego Flood!)

<p><img width="150" height="150" src="https://sqpn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/MYS242-post-150x150.png" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />In 1915, during a particularly bad drought, San Diego hired rainmaker Char ... Show More

1h 31m

Jan 2023

The California Floods

<p>For weeks, a string of major storms have hit California, causing extreme flooding. While it might seem as if rain should have a silver lining for a state stuck in a historic drought, the reality is far more complicated.</p><p>Today, how California’s water management in the pas ... Show More

26m 49s

Feb 2024

Johnstown Flood | Overflow | 2

Engineer John Parke and a team of workers furiously shovel dirt, trying to shore up the South Fork Dam as it threatens to overflow, amid torrential rains. Parke knows these efforts are their only chance of preventing a terrible flood. He decides he has to warn the towns in the ri ... Show More

41m 10s

Feb 2024

Johnstown Flood | The Dam | 1

It’s May, 30th 1889, and the South Fork Dam in Western Pennsylvania is in danger. After nearly a month of hard rain, eight inches have fallen in one day, filling the lake behind the dam to capacity. And the dam’s owners, the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club, have cut corners i ... Show More

47m 2s

Oct 2025

The Plague of San Francisco | The Golden City | 4

Dr. Rupert Blue battles public apathy and political resistance to rally San Francisco behind his rat eradication campaign—only to see the city destroyed by a devastating natural disasterBe the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign ... Show More

37m 34s

Jan 2023

Too much water for California

Rain is good for California, but the state was not prepared for what might be a megastorm. KQED’s Dan Brekke assesses the damage from the San Francisco Bay Area and the Pacific Institute’s Peter Gleick explains how we can be better prepared for future storms. This episode was pro ... Show More

26m 10s

Feb 2020

The Great Flood of Paris Pt. 1

For the six months leading up to January 1910, France experienced record-setting rainfall that predicated one of the worst floods in history. By the time the rain stopped falling, the Seine River had risen almost thirty feet and inundated the city of Paris. Learn more about your ... Show More

44m 24s

Apr 2023

Boston Molasses Disaster | A Deadly Deluge | 1

On January 15, 1919 a giant storage tank holding more than two million gallons of molasses collapsed, sending a deadly wave crashing into the streets of Boston’s busy North End. The flood was over in minutes, but it left death and destruction in its wake. Victims and their famili ... Show More

41m 10s

Sep 2021

#312 - Surviving The Great Flood

Joe talks about how he was effected by the horrible New York flooding recently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1h 9m

The Man Who Flooded San Diego [VIDEO]