FAILUROLOGY - podcast cover

FAILUROLOGY

Nicole Imeson & Brian Moynihanwww.failurology.ca
A case study on engineering failures
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Episodes

Ep 135 Mini Failure 49 Artemis

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Artemis Project. It’s not really about a failure, but as our last mini failure before our hiatus, we wanted to talk about an engineering project we thought was interesting. The artemis project is aiming to put people back on the moon. Original Air Date: August 20, 2023 Episode Sources https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_program Wa...

Aug 25, 202425 min

Ep 134 Titan Submersible

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Titan Submersible. A relatively small carbon fibre vessel that imploded on its way to the Titanic. Original Air Date: August 6, 2023 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_(submersible) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_submersible_implosion Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodcast@gmail.com Website - www.failurology.ca

Aug 18, 202416 min

Ep 133 Mini Failure 47 1955 Le Mans Crash

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the 1955 LeMans Crash. It was the most catastrophic crash in motorsport history, which led to Mercedes-Benz to withdraw from motor racing until 1989. Original Air Date: July 23, 2023 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_Le_Mans_disaster https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/lifestyle/article/le-mans-1955-disaster Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodca...

Aug 11, 202417 min

Ep 132 Mini Failure 46 Vasa Ship

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Vasa Ship which sank 1.3km into its maiden voyage. Original Air Date: July 9, 2023 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship) Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodcast@gmail.com Website - www.failurology.ca

Aug 04, 202417 min

Ep 131 Mini Failure 45 Therac-25

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Therac-25. A radiation therapy machine that was supposed to help people causes radiation overdoses at least 100x the limit. Original Air Date: June 25, 2023 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25 Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodcast@gmail.com Website - www.failurology.ca

Jul 28, 202410 min

Ep 130 Mini Failure 44 Bay Bridge Hydrogen Embrittlement Failure

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the hydrogen embrittlement failure of the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland. Almost 100 rods were at risk of failure, after a construction delay and lack of protection subjected the rods to standing water and weakened them to the point that a third failed. Original Air Date: June 11, 2023 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco%E2%80%93Oakland_...

Jul 21, 202418 min

Ep 129 Mini Failure 43 Cheesegrater - Hydrogen Embrittlement

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the hydrogen embrittlement failure at the Cheesegrater building in London, UK. 3,000 very large bolts making up the exoskeleton of the cheesegrater were significantly weakened by the introduction of hydrogen during manufacturing. Original Air Date: May 28, 2023 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/122_Leadenhall_Street https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/...

Jul 14, 202414 min

Ep 128 Mini Failure 42 MF 42 Alexander Kielland Flotel

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about Alexander Kielland Flotel. In 1980 the floating hotel (flotel) capsized, killing 123 people on board. This led to enhanced safety regulations for the deployment of lifeboats from platforms and vessels. Original Air Date: May 14, 2023 Episode Sources https://www.lifeinnorway.net/alexander-l-kielland-disaster/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_L._Kielland_(platform) http...

Jul 07, 20248 min

Ep 127 Mini Failure 41 Eigiau and Coedty Dam Failures

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Eigiau and Coedty Dam Failures. A pause in construction led to a catastrophic dam failure and a wall of water into the town downstream. Original Air Date: April 30, 2023 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coedty_Reservoir https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/11/the_eigiau_dam_disaster/ Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodcast@gmail.com Website...

Jun 30, 20248 min

Ep 126 Mini Failure 40 DeLorean

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the DMC DeLorean. A car that would have likely been forgotten if Marty McFly and Doc Brown didn’t turn it into a time machine for Back To The Future. Ahead of its time in looks, but well behind its time in reliability, sales, and a marketing plan. Original Air Date: April 16, 2023 Episode Sources https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/30/23147339/delorean-alpha-5-first-look-gull-wi...

Jun 23, 202422 min

Ep 125 Mini Failure 39 Pemberton Mill

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Pemberton Mill. In 1860, the mill collapsed and then caught on fire in the worst industrial accident in Massachusetts history. Original Air Date: April 2, 2023 Episode Sources https://www.in2013dollars.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemberton_Mill https://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2022/01/the-pemberton-mill-collapse-and-changes-in-engineering-design/ https://chronicling...

Jun 16, 202411 min

Ep 124 Mini Failure 38 Granville Train Derailment

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Granville Rail Disaster. A poorly located bridge support and wooden rail cars led to the worst rail disaster in Australian history. Original Air Date: March 19, 2023 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_rail_disaster https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-38645976 http://danger-ahead.railfan.net/accidents/granvill.htm https://search.records.nsw.gov.a...

Jun 09, 202410 min

Ep 123 Mini Failure 37 Cypress St Viaduct

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Cypress St Viaduct. A double decker freeway that served as one of the approaches to the San-Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the viaduct collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Original Air Date: March 5, 2023 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypress_Street_Viaduct https://www.in2013dollars.com/ https://www.engineering.com/story/cypress-street-viaduct...

Jun 02, 202411 min

Ep 122 Mini Failure 36 Frank Slide

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about Frank Slide. In the middle of the night in 1903, part of the town of Frank was buried under a rock slide in 100 seconds. Original Air Date: February 19, 2023 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank,_Alberta https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Slide https://frankslide.ca/ https://frankslide.ca/learn https://frankslide.ca/sites/frankslide/files/editor_files/Frank_S...

May 26, 202414 min

Ep 121 Mini Failure 35 New Orleans Hard Rock Hotel

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the partial collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans. During construction, the northern section of the building collapsed in 2019 and is still under investigation. Original Air Date: February 5, 2023 Episode Sources https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region6/04032020 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1031_Canal https://www.ktbs.com/news/engineer-hard-rock-hotel-designe...

May 19, 202413 min

Ep 120 Mini Failure 34 Juliana Bridge Crane Collapse

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Juliana Bridge crane collapse in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands. A poorly planned lift that had little to no consideration for safety led to the collapse of two cranes and a new bridge section in the middle of this small Netherlands city. Original Air Date: January 22, 2023 Episode Sources https://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en/media/attachment/2018/7/10/67a752ae6374summary_...

May 12, 202413 min

Ep 119 Mini Failure 33 Sudbury Effect

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Sudbury Effect. Undoing a century of damage, little by little and what went from green and lush, to black and barren, back to green again. Sudbury is now said to have the cleanest air of any city in Ontario. Original Air Date: January 8, 2023 Episode Sources https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/the-sudbury-effect-lessons-from-a-regreened-city-1.5102540 https://en.wikipedia.org...

May 05, 202414 min

Ep 118 Mini Failure 32 PFOA/C8 Contamination

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about PFOA/C8 Contamination (Dupont Scandal). PFOA has been poisoning living creatures in the Ohio river basin for decades. One brave lawyer took on a huge corporation in this real life David and Goliath story. Original Air Date: December 12, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuPont https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/dupont-lawsuits-re-pfoa-pollut...

Apr 28, 202414 min

Ep 117 Mini Failure 31 Asbestos

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about asbestos. Deadly little fibers that are in seemingly everything and can lay dormant for decades before wreaking havoc. Original Air Date: November 27, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos https://www.asbestos.com/asbestos/ Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodcast@gmail.com Website - www.failurology.ca

Apr 21, 202416 min

Ep 116 Mini Failure 30 Bhopal Gas Leak

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Bhopal Gas Leak disaster in India. Due to malfunctioning safety systems and a lack of safety culture, many people were poisoned and their lives impacted forever. Original Air Date: November 13, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodcast@gmail.com Website - www.failurology.ca

Apr 14, 202415 min

Ep 115 Mini Failure 29 Minamata

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about Minamata Disease. How one small Japanese town suffered from decades of mercury poisoning. Original Air Date: October 30, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata,_Kumamoto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Big_Pollution_Diseases_of_Japan Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodcast@gmail.com Web...

Apr 07, 202410 min

Ep 114 Mini Failure April Fools Bonus - Airplane!

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. Based on the movie Airplane!, this week’s mini failure is a bonus episode about the harrowing events of Trans American Flight 209. Trans American Flight 209 from Los Angeles to Chicago made a miraculous landing in Chicago after the flight crew was incapacitated by food poisoning and a former Air Force Pilot along with a flight attendent were successful in bringing the aircraft to the ground. Original Air Dat...

Mar 31, 202418 min

Ep 113 Mini Failure 28 Love Canal

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Love Canal. After a decade of dumping toxic waste, the location was a bad spot to put a school. Even the chemical company knew it, but it would take years for the school board to understand the consequences of their decision. Original Air Date: October 16, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Canal Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypod...

Mar 24, 202413 min

Ep 112 Mini Failure 27 Exxon Valdez

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Exxon Valdez. The second worst oil spill in US waters that took decades to clean up. Original Air Date: October 2, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodcast@gmail.com Website - www.failurology.ca

Mar 17, 202418 min

Ep 111 Mini Failure 26 SS Sultana

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the SS Sultana. A steamship that exploded and sank on the Mississippi River in 1865, claiming the title of the worst US maritime disaster. Original Air Date: September 18, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultana_(steamboat) Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodcast@gmail.com Website - www.failurology.ca

Mar 10, 202419 min

Ep 110 Mini Failure 25 Gretna Rail Disaster

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Gretna Rail Disaster. Too many trains, some of them knowingly unsafe, water cooler chatter about the war, and an unofficial shift change led to the the worst rail disaster in British history. Original Air Date: September 4, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintinshill_rail_disaster Animation - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Quintin...

Mar 03, 202422 min

Ep 109 Mini Failure 24 Texas Padre Ocean Tower

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Ocean Tower. It was a 31 storey luxury condo tower that was demolished in 2009 after finding significant structural concerns. Original Air Date: August 21, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Tower https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_voluntarily_demolished_buildings Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodcast@gmail.com Websit...

Feb 25, 202418 min

Ep 108 Mini Failure 23 Ronan Point

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about Ronan Point. A bad fitting and a lit match led to the collapse of the SE corner of this tower block in east London, UK. Original Air Date: August 7, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronan_Point Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodcast@gmail.com Website - www.failurology.ca

Feb 18, 202421 min

Ep 107 Mini Failure 22 Johnstown Flood

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Johnstown Flood AKA that Great Flood of 1889. After heavy rainfall, the poorly maintained South Fork Dam failed, greatly impacting the unsuspecting residents downstream. Original Air Date: July 24, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodcast@gmail.com Website - www.failurology.ca

Feb 11, 202425 min

Ep 106 Mini Failure 21 Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire. A completely preventable fire that took the lives of hundreds and changed the shape of public assembly fire protection and life safety regulations. Original Air Date: July 10, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoanut_Grove_fire https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/Public-Education/By-topic/Occupancies/NFPA-Journal-2007_Coco...

Feb 04, 202421 min
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