For a music scene that generated such awesome bands, the Norwegian black metal community sure were a bunch of miscreants. Church burning, stabbing, blast beats, stabbing, the dark circle, and stabbing. Leigh's song pick:: Kathaarian Life Code by Darkthrone https://open.spotify.com/track/5gTMAY6YiojUKbOjhO1JeJ If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a review ! Tell your friends! Tell your enemies too, we're not picky. Become a patron, get cool stuff, and help us make some exciting n...
Oct 20, 2020•49 min•Ep. 80
The Great Chicago Fire wasn't the worst fire ever to hit the United States. It wasn't the worst fire in 1871. It wasn't even the worst fire in October of 1871... The second episode in our October of Sorrow features one of the gnarliest fires yet, and maybe even a "darkbar". Human torches, flaming logs, and hell on Earth. Peter's song pick:: Chronicles of Annihilation by Our Place Of Worship Is Silence https://opowistl.bandcamp.com/track/chronicles-of-annihilation Leigh's song pick:: Hell by King...
Oct 14, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 79
Things got a bit hairy in Salem in 1692... let's just say it wasn't a good time to be feeding urine cakes to dogs and cracking eggs into Venus glasses. Oomancy, divination, possession, the 17th-century legal system, and a dark prophecy... Peter's song pick:: Arcanae Manifestia by Aevangelist https://open.spotify.com/track/1GzGkAytLKlLgh9g3GleKX?si=g92ywjMBS0-sFGQ2rK05iw SHIRTS! Pre-order for the next run is open now until October 16th! Visit https://shop.thisdisasterpod.com and backorder your sh...
Oct 06, 2020•39 min•Ep. 78
In the late 1970s, two friends got straight-As in fruit-eating and crystal meth. Luckily for the trajectory of punk rock, they turned their talents to music, gave up their real names for punk alter egos, and began wreaking havoc on stages across Los Angeles. Cast your mind back to a time when The Germs weren't just responsible for a global pandemic... Leigh's song pick:: Lexicon Devil by The Germs https://open.spotify.com/track/0Hl2Vuhhhh8buesoxUk1DW Peter's song pick:: TV Party by Black Flag ht...
Sep 30, 2020•59 min•Ep. 77
When the going gets good, Marvel got weird. Forget Iron Man and Thor, it's time for Nightmask and Star Brand! Sorry, you've never heard of them? Maybe sticking to what works is the best way after all. Come take a ride into Jim Shooter's mind as he steered the Marvel ship into some really strange places... Leigh's song pick:: Tarred and Feathered by Cardiacs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVjSycDJatc&ab_channel=loudlikenature SHIRTS! Pre-order for the next run is open now until October 16th!...
Sep 22, 2020•43 min•Ep. 76
In the time it takes you to read this, the city of Tangshan shook apart in 1976. Peter tells Leigh about one of the most devastating of Earth's ancient disasters, with a truly staggering death toll. Earthquakes, seismology, Richter, and toeing the party line... Leigh's song pick:: Auf Wiedersehen by Cheap Trick https://open.spotify.com/track/4lGF1MDPkeWbOSROAxXTFS Peter's song pick:: Tarpit Carnivore by Torche https://open.spotify.com/track/3kw1aKvgU4HE3dVMHeUmxn If you like what you hear, pleas...
Sep 16, 2020•56 min•Ep. 75
It usually takes a disaster to change regulations... case in point British Airtours Flight 28M and the Boeing 737. Ultra-narrow aisles? Armrests that don't raise up? Seats in front of the emergency exits? Yup, this all seems fine. An inferno, design flaws, and Terminator is better than Robocop. Peter's song pick:: Ohms by Deftones https://open.spotify.com/track/6mfrK1kvsOjiiH64Ier962 Britney Spears - Toxic But It's Change (In the House of Flies) by Deftones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13wwnd...
Sep 08, 2020•40 min•Ep. 74
What? An episode on a Friday?? We come to you to talk Skittles and announce the winner of our first-ever draw! Our sincerest thanks to everyone that participated, and we'll do more soon. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a review ! Also, tell your friends! Tell your enemies too, we're not picky. Become a patron, get exclusive content, help us make more disasters! www.patreon.com/thisdisasterpod SHIRTS! Pre-order for the next run is open now until October 16th! Visit https://s...
Sep 04, 2020•5 min•Ep. 73
Nuclear Norm comes back to finish what he started, this time telling us about why some people distrust science, and why they might never change their mind. Petitions, angry fictitious coal miners, reverse-cherry-picking data, and a whole lot of climate denial. Norm's song pick:: The American Dream by Walls of Jericho https://open.spotify.com/track/2H2gDrojHBPjq9sucp94rs Leigh's song pick:: Greenhouse Effect by Testament https://open.spotify.com/track/1vTUW5hxptfEp83z1Pl1O2 Peter's song pick:: Ba...
Sep 02, 2020•58 min•Ep. 72
It's all fun and games until Steven Spielberg brings you his precious property to turn into a video game. In the early 1980s, Atari was unstoppable... but the little brown extraterrestrial did his best. A crazy short development time, a waning interest in video games, and the worst game ever made (according to some). Leigh's song pick:: The Working Hour by Tears for Fears https://open.spotify.com/track/23DKn3AP0fpx1aAYth2Pax?si=NCHlKLgyT4a_AX1AMJi__w If you like what you hear, please subscribe a...
Aug 25, 2020•37 min•Ep. 71
Our special guest drops by for a two-part series about the slow-burn disaster happening all around us. What's a greenhouse gas? Are we in an ice age? Will the poles melt and send us spinning off into outer space? You never know what could happen when Nuclear Norm is around... Norm's song pick:: Backroads by Lonely The Brave https://open.spotify.com/track/33dunxmWFO2n1a2sjD1wGD?si=FukIhYt9REmU_d_Xryfbww Music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk2phEP7AWU Leigh's song pick:: Journeys by Divin...
Aug 19, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 70
In 1958, Los Alamos National Laboratory was buzzing with new and exciting ways to eradicate humanity and leave the Earth a desolate, radioactive wasteland. Turns out we've been nuking ourselves willingly for over a century... unless you're Cecil Kelley, in which case the radiation was far less voluntary. Plutonium, critical mass, and excursion event, and an alarmingly quick end... Peter's song pick(s):: Down in the Park by Tubeway Army https://open.spotify.com/track/2vmBGX73EXJIAAN6nesH6T?si=zVz...
Aug 11, 2020•32 min•Ep. 69
When you're known as the meanest tub-bassist around, you're bound to attract all kinds. Sometimes it's a self-proclaimed Harmonica Jesus who stumbles into being the head of a cult. Charles Manson made having a "family" a la mode, so maybe it was bound to happen? Bank robbery, arguing hippies, blue grass music, and harmonica... so much harmonica... Leigh's song pick:: Jug Band Music by Jim Kweskin https://open.spotify.com/track/2CL8Rg2okXt0FFNNzwmzk3?si=jg7b2nCHQ1yJ7-9pgzIEYg Peter's song pick:: ...
Aug 05, 2020•55 min•Ep. 66
In 1969, the Woodstock festival became the stuff of legends. In 1999, the Woodstock festival became infamous. In 2019, the Woodstock festival became... nothing. With fifty years of colossal brand recognition, how could Woodstock 50 NOT be a massive success? A master class in not paying your bills, and not getting the permit... Leigh's song pick:: The Ground Below by Run The Jewels https://open.spotify.com/track/4MHwb2IwcCmVP2QuFXrcXs Peter's song pick:: Smile Like You Mean It by The Killers http...
Jul 28, 2020•45 min•Ep. 67
What's so cool about Patreon anyway? Here's a free bonus episode from our series of micro disasters that come out every two weeks! What's the worst thing that has ever happened as a consequence of you flushing a toilet? Peter brings you something to think about next time you think you're having a crappy day. There's a new bonus episode every second Saturday! Head over to our Patreon to check them out: https://www.patreon.com/thisdisasterpod If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a...
Jul 24, 2020•10 min•Ep. 68
There's gotta be a better way to go east than going east, or at least that's what Franklin thought when he set sail for the fabled Northwest Passage. Maybe if you're going to risk life and limb on an expedition, don't take a ship called "The Terror" along for the ride. Erebus, The Terror, Lord Franklin, silk slippers, hundreds of kilometers over ice and snow, and not a whole lot of hope... The Franklin Expedition. The Mummified Remains of John Hartnell of the Erebus https://www.macleans.ca/socie...
Jul 22, 2020•50 min•Ep. 65
We're not going to get into the specifics, but if you combine ammonium nitrate and some other nasty things on a repurposed warship, you've got a floating time bomb. Nobody told the spectators in the Port of Texas City on April 16th, 1947 though... Munitions, flying anchors, the mob, the Texas City Disaster. Peter's song pick:: Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra https://open.spotify.com/track/5ZXHIeyneAhJHjR1JQ2cYs?si=ELA6BCD7ThOkcXVTrQAb8Q If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a review...
Jul 14, 2020•28 min•Ep. 64
John Romero went from arcade wizard, to programming prodigy, to visionary responsible in large part for classic games like Doom, Doom 2, and Quake. Unfortunately, there's only really one way to go when you're at the top... id Software, an Ion Storm, a Deus Ex, a too-expensive-and-impractical office, and one big sword. Daikatana. Masters of Doom by David Kushner https://www.amazon.ca/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155 Andy's song pick:: Self-Obsessed and Sexxee by Sonic Youth ...
Jul 08, 2020•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 63
Let's get it on: Marvin Gaye was a landmark soul and R&B artists, but his life didn't mirror the carefree coolness of his music. The perils of drug use, living in destructive environments, and arming your aggressor... even if it's your father. Sexual healing, bringing your mouth to a gunfight, and why exercise is better than cocaine. Leigh's song pick:: Nightshift by The Commodores https://open.spotify.com/track/5stHnMIM1zwRS24mH6dAzS?si=kbO5lMKLQxmZUwbAQfuBWg If you like what you hear, plea...
Jun 30, 2020•28 min•Ep. 62
What better place to build a fishing and country club than at the edge of a recently-compromised dam? A flood made particularly horrific by all of the debris it took with it, and Johnstown Pennsylvania didn't see it coming... or didn't want to. Conemaugh Lake, 19th-century industrialists, broken telegraphs, and a demonic Katamari Damacy. Leigh's song pick:: Domsbore by Boredoms https://open.spotify.com/track/1Slx16FJ2gCtfEKenXXqGZ?si=Mdzxd6jOQ4aZob1q6i-rOw Peter's song pick:: Brought To The Wate...
Jun 24, 2020•58 min•Ep. 61
Young boys get stranded on an island, and anyone who's read the book knows the rest of the story... or do they? A group of Tongan teenagers in the 1960s acted as a real-world experiment to see whether humanity is more "Lord of the Flies" or "The Coral Island". Polynesia, 'Ata, shipwreck in the Pacific, and humanity exposed. Peter's song pick:: In My Mind At Least by PS I Love You https://open.spotify.com/track/0kJdZcOa5qJixMvDblsn0E?si=KAiv4uosT-aj0-ek67N3eQ If you like what you hear, please sub...
Jun 16, 2020•27 min•Ep. 60
Hey, we heard you like wood, so we stored wood in your wood so you can wood when you wood! When they first built the Windy City, perhaps they should have considered building materials that were a bit less timber-based. Controversy about Mrs. O'Leary's cow versus Daniel "Peg Leg" Sullivan aside, the great fire that tore through Chicago in October 1871 took no prisoners. A cow, a lamp, a drunk, a city made of kindling, and twenty-four hours of one of the worst infernos to hit a major US city. Leig...
Jun 10, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 59
Bad things come in fours. Leigh tells us about a bottleneck at a Who concert, a stampede at the Roskilde festival, a human garlic press at a Hillsborough soccer match, and the perils of Ten-Cent Beer Night. The Who, Pearl Jam, Liverpool versus Nottingham Forest, and the Cleveland Indians versus the Texas Rangers... and beer. Lots and lots of too-cheap beer. Leigh's song pick:: Riot by Dead Kennedys https://open.spotify.com/track/1aCf2VZNBccqLAJgzusAdx?si=Ovw7LG3qTdiN0PoiDabd4g If you like what y...
Jun 02, 2020•47 min•Ep. 58
Leigh tackles one of his White Whales, talking about the ups, downs, and eventual collapse of the production of what could have been the Beach Boys' greatest album. Human-sized kitty litter, songs about surfing, California girls, a questionable psychotherapist, and untold kilometers of magnetic tape. Leigh's song pick:: Our Prayer by The Beach Boys https://open.spotify.com/track/11D5wiWcxrLLI2G0yxsykJ?si=uL9FIpKeRJ67ppPasFRT9g Peter's song pick:: Living Every Single Hell by The Sun Through A Tel...
May 27, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 57
What happens when you pick a fight with Mikey Mouse, and all you have at hand is two million latex balloons? In 1986, United Way of Chicago found out. A charity balloon release, a Guinness World Record, spooked prize horses, and a peek into Peter's past. Peter's song pick:: Just A Simple Plan by Piebald https://open.spotify.com/track/5FK94aMxWNjZEVUtyxRG2B?si=Fb74UNqPQCqcOG9HyBhdfA T-shirt pre-orders are on now until May 31st! First batch is being made to order, and not sure when we'll be doing ...
May 19, 2020•26 min•Ep. 56
Special guest Karol (aka doom-rapper "garbageface") drops by the podcast to tell us about possibly the original sticky situation. How could such a sweet treat turn deadly? Maybe by storing two million gallons of it in a paper-thin water tower? A cautionary tale about paying attention to warning signs, and the children running home with cups of molasses. WW1, building codes, and so much molasses. Video about the efforts to simulate the Boston Molasses Flood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5sYoU...
May 13, 2020•39 min•Ep. 55
How many tragic folk musicians from the 60s could there possibly be? Leigh helps answer that question with the story of Gram Parsons. You know you're hitting the rocks when Keith Richards tells you to slow down... Acoustic guitar, tequila and morphine binges in the desert, and a botched cremation. Leigh's song pick:: Love Hurts by Gram Parsons and https://open.spotify.com/track/72DefuF22C6aPKrWhRFCBS If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a review ! Tell your friends! Tell your en...
May 05, 2020•38 min•Ep. 54
Some disasters reverberate throughout history. Santorini wasn't always a ring of islands... there was a time it was the beautiful peak of a mountain island called Thera. The archeological site at Akrotiri is our main portal into what exactly happened to the Minoan civilization on Crete and Thera... but the effects of Thera's eruption were felt thousands of kilometers away, and may have even shaped the course of history. The Exodus, the parting of the red (reed?) sea, ancient Egyptian plagues, an...
Apr 29, 2020•58 min•Ep. 53
When it comes to measurement, there's the right way, and there's the Imperial system. Sometimes when you make the switch from one system to the other, wires get crossed and things can go south. Was that in liters, or gallons? The history of the metric system, an airplane flying light, and a decommissioned air base that maybe wasn't so decommissioned. Nuclear Norm brings the aerial terror! Norm's song pick:: Gravity by Four Year Strong https://open.spotify.com/track/3imHubPTLDHmh75y98jzdN If you ...
Apr 21, 2020•43 min•Ep. 52
Did you know that June 30th is International Asteroid Day? Possibly because of a massive explosion in Siberia on that day in 1908. While Russia was revolting (the first time), the Tungusic people of Eastern Siberia watched as the sky was torn in half by a column of fire. Celestial police, this history of asteroid spotting, meteors on their way to meet us, and a nuclear solution. Leigh's song pick:: The Last Act of Defiance by Exodus https://open.spotify.com/track/0T4d6Pn20ar2JB1jI4MVKs Peter's s...
Apr 15, 2020•53 min•Ep. 51
