Explore every episode of the podcast Causality
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63: Wittenoom | 07 mars 2026 | 00:31:19 | |
With demand for Asbestos in building products in the 1940s, a discovery in Western Australia's remote Pilbara region of Blue Asbestos led to the creation of a mining town called Wittenoom. Despite the growing list of illnesses and deaths of workers from the mine and milling operation, the company pressed on until it closed for 'financial' reasons. We look at the dangers of dust inhalation and try to determine if we have collectively learned anything from the disaster at Wittenoom. With John Chidgey. News Articles:
About Asbestos: About Engineered Stone: General Information:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle, Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto and Steve Branam. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Ian Gallagher and Jamie Russell. With thanks to Christian French for the topic suggestion. | |||
| 62: OceanGate Titan | 02 févr. 2026 | 00:39:06 | |
A young company pushing to re-invent deep sea exploration with an initial focus on opening up tourism to the wreck of the Titanic, OceanGate garnered the fascination of many around the world. With a different approach to their hull design they forged ahead despite many warnings from experts in the field, concerned about their design decisions and materials choices. When the submersible imploded killing all five aboard including the company CEO, the experts were only surprised about how OceanGate had got as far as they had...before it all went horribly wrong. With John Chidgey. Formal Reports: General Information:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle, Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto and Steve Branam. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Ian Gallagher and Jamie Russell. | |||
| 61: West Gate Bridge | 29 nov. 2025 | 00:38:50 | |
Planned for nearly a century, when the time came to build a permanent link across the Lower Yarra River, a relatively new style of bridge, the box-girder, was chosen. Using new computer technology assisting the engineers to design a bridge that was too complex to calculate by hand, and using a unique lifting strategy promised time and cost savings. Ultimately though when the pieces didn't fit together in the air, their attempts to make them fit, didn't work. We dive into what went wrong on Australia's largest ever industrial disaster. With John Chidgey. Formal Report: Milford Haven Incident: General Information:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle, Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto and Steve Branam. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Ian Gallagher and Jamie Russell. | |||
| 60: Carnival Triumph | 26 août 2025 | 00:24:44 | |
A leaking flexible pipe started a fire in the Engine Room aboard the Carnival Triumph during its return journey from Mexico in early 2013. The fire caused minor damage in one, very important section of the Engine Room leading to a total loss of Mains Power. With only intermittent Emergency Power and over 4,000 people on board the ship drifted with the currents before it was tugged finally to safety. The Netflix Documentary 'Poop Cruise' looked at the human consequences...we dive into the engineering design that was inherently flawed from Day One. With John Chidgey. Formal Report: News Releases and Articles:
General Information:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle, Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto and Steve Branam. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Ian Gallagher and Jamie Russell. | |||
| 59: Bayer CropScience | 30 avr. 2025 | 00:50:22 | |
After an extended outage of the Methomyl Unit at the Bayer facility in Institute, West Virginia, the decision was made to commence a restart of the Unit even though the DCS upgrade was still incomplete and the newly replaced Residue Treater hadn't been fully recommissioned. An incident whose root cause was years in the making would ultimately cost two people their lives. With John Chidgey. Related Episodes: Formal Reports:
News Releases and Articles:
General Information: Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Ian Gallagher and Jamie Russell. | |||
| 58: West Fertilizer Company | 31 mars 2025 | 00:30:43 | |
In the early hours of the evening on the 17th of April, 2013 in the small city of West, Texas...smoke was seen emanating from the West Fertilizer Company building. In 20 minutes there was a massive explosion that levelled the facility and its surroundings, killing 15 people and injuring hundreds more. How this came to be, represented a failure of regulations, planning and grandfathering on every level. With John Chidgey. Related Episodes: Formal Reports:
News Releases and Articles: Regulations: General Information:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Ian Gallagher and Jamie Russell. | |||
| 57: Stardust Nightclub | 07 janv. 2025 | 00:27:40 | |
On Valentines Day in 1981 in the North of Dublin, Ireland a fire broke out in a nightclub just following a Disco Dancing competition. We look at how measures taken to prevent illegal entry and poor building material choices cost 48 young people their lives. With John Chidgey. Related Episodes: Formal Reports:
News Releases and Articles:
Regulations: General Information: Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring and Ian Gallagher. With thanks to Aileen Brennan for the topic suggestion. | |||
| 56: BP Husky Toledo | 17 déc. 2024 | 00:40:08 | |
On the 20th of September, 2022 at the BP Husky Toledo refinery in Ohio, a level transmitter change out from a month prior triggered a chain of events that would cost two operators their lives. We look at how poor Management of Change, high alarm rates and a resistance to stopping the job, let a plant upset turn into a disaster. With John Chidgey. Formal Report:
News Releases and Articles:
General Information: Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring and Ian Gallagher. | |||
| 55: CrowdStrike | 19 oct. 2024 | 00:29:04 | |
On Friday the 19th of July, 2024 millions of CrowdStrike Falcon Agents the world over would lead to a Windows system crash on business machines throwing parts of the world into chaos. We look into exactly what caused it and how complacency and a lack of understanding amplified the effect of this wholly preventable incident. With John Chidgey. About Causality (TV): Formal Report:
News Releases and Articles:
General Information:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring and Ian Gallagher. | |||
| 54: Midland Resource Recovery | 25 juin 2024 | 00:28:01 | |
In 2017 during an Odoriser decontamination procedure in West Virginia, two people were killed when it unexpectedly exploded. Barely a month later, a similar procedure at the same site led to a second explosion, killing someone else. We examine how poor hazard analysis and legal interference led to yet another fatality...right in front of the eyes of the investigators on site. With John Chidgey. Formal Report:
News Releases and Articles:
General Information:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Lesley, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring and Ian Gallagher. | |||
| 53: Callide C Blackout | 30 mars 2024 | 00:50:52 | |
In 2021 the Callide C Power Station experienced a unit failure that tore the turbine-generator apart, resulted in hundreds of thousands of premises losing power, and cost hundreds of millions to repair. We look at how design errors and ultimately a lack of information led to the incident escalating out of control, when it could have been recovered. With John Chidgey. Formal Reports:
News Releases and Articles:
Super-Critical Boilers: Electrical Engineering References: Court Action:
General Information:
NOTE: Minor Corrections in audio updated: 31st March, 2024 Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Steven Bridle. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Lesley, Jared Roman, Joel Maher, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto and Ian Gallagher. | |||
| 52: Colonial Pipeline | 09 déc. 2023 | 00:26:12 | |
In 2021 many of Colonial Pipelines IT systems were locked by malware and out of caution they shutdown the fuel pipelines feeding nearly half of the Eastern US leading to chaos at the gas pump and a state of emergency being declared. We look at how poor off-boarding hygiene led to an easily preventable cyber-attack. With John Chidgey. Hearing:
General Information:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Steven Bridle. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Lesley, Jared Roman, Joel Maher, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Dave Jones, Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto and Ian Gallagher. | |||
| 51: I35 West | 27 août 2023 | 00:36:00 | |
The I35W bridge over the Mississippi River carried 140,000 cars every day. Inspections in 1999 and 2003 showed damage to support plates that was dismissed as unimportant at the time. We look into how poor design checking and assumptions led to the bridge collapsing in 2007, costing the lives of 13 people. With John Chidgey. This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced Only a Handful of T-Shirts Left! Reports: General Information: Articles:
Videos: Litigation:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Steven Bridle. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Lesley, Jared Roman, Joel Maher, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Dave Jones and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto. With thanks to Joe Stariha for the topic suggestion. | |||
| 50: 737 MAX Ethiopian Air | 22 avr. 2023 | 00:52:07 | |
Five months after Lion Air 610 crashed, another 737-MAX went down with a similar cause. However the official report was at odds with two other internationally respected investigative organisations. We dig into the detail of how the AOA Sensor was claimed to have failed, and review checklist discrepancies to extract fact from opinion as to what most likely triggered this horrible chain of events. With John Chidgey. This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced Celebrating Causality’s 50th Episode!! Previous Episode: Reports:
General Information:
Articles:
Regulations:
Litigation:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Steven Bridle. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Lesley, Jared Roman, Joel Maher, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Dave Jones and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto. | |||
| 49: Carmel Fireworks Explosion | 18 janv. 2023 | 00:29:04 | |
A fireworks company in Western Australia that had been in business for nearly a century, were preparing for a fireworks display in their packing shed when one ignited and set off a fire and an explosion. Onlookers were shocked when there was a subsequent explosion that was so big it was heard 30 kilometers away leaving the facility in ruins. With John Chidgey. This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced Celebrating Causality’s 50th Episode!! Reports:
Links of Interest:
News Articles:
About Pyrotechnics:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Steven Bridle. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Kevin Koch, Shane O'Neill, Lesley, Jared, Joel Maher, Katharina Will, Dave Jones and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto. With thanks to Heather Shaw for the topic suggestion. | |||
| 48: Instituto Goiano de Radioterapia | 18 nov. 2022 | 00:33:09 | |
When a radiation therapy machine was left behind during a move between buildings in central Brazil, it set in motion a series of events that would lead to one of the worst radiological incidents in history. We look into how bureaucracy and misdiagnosis cost four people their lives and how the actions of a concerned mother with no medical experience, saved the lives of countless more. With John Chidgey. This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced Create your own Credited Soundbite Official Report: Links of Interest:
Other Reports and Articles:
News Articles:
Related Incidents:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Steven Bridle. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Kevin Koch, Shane O'Neill, Lesley, Jared, Joel Maher, Katharina Will, Dave Jones and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto. With thanks to Shane O'Neill for the topic suggestion. | |||
| 47: Hyatt Regency Kansas City | 15 juil. 2022 | 00:41:31 | |
The tallest building in Missouri with a large atrium perfect for big bands and dancing, hosted a regular Tea Dance in the summer of 1981. When two walkways collapsed killing over a hundred people, the investigators found multiple fundamental design errors. We look at how assumptions, redrafting conventions and negligence led to an incident that has become the case study in how not to do civil structural design. With John Chidgey. This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced Create your own Credited Soundbite Links of Interest:
Engineering Analysis:
News Articles:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Steven Bridle. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Kevin Koch, Shane O'Neill, Lesley, Hafthor, Jared, Bill, Joel Maher, Katharina Will and Dave Jones. | |||
| 46: Mindbender | 16 mai 2022 | 00:29:29 | |
The longest, tallest, fastest indoor rollercoaster in the world was only open six months when the last carriage of a train came loose, killing three people and all that the day following an inspection that the ride was safe to operate. We look at how a design choice made maintenance more critical and then how wishing for a ride to be safe, doesn't really help. With John Chidgey. This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced Links of Interest:
Videos: News Articles:
Rollercoaster Articles:
Legislature Assembly Minutes: Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Steven Bridle. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Kevin Koch, Shane O'Neill, Lesley Law Chan, Hafthor, Jared, Bill, Joel Maher and Katharina Will. With thanks to Quinton Zaborski for the topic suggestion. | |||
| 45: Granville | 02 avr. 2022 | 00:25:53 | |
In 1977, a commuter train from the Blue Mountains, destined for Sydney central station would derail just before Granville Station, causing a bridge to collapse and crush many aboard. It remains Australia's worst ever rail disaster that was predicted by 11 engineering department heads just a year earlier. We look at how management decisions led to a completely avoidable disaster. With John Chidgey. This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced Links of Interest:
Formal Investigation Extracts:
Informal Investigations:
Video: Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Steven Bridle. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Kevin Koch, Shane O'Neill, Oliver Steele, Lesley Law Chan, Hafthor, Jared, Bill, Joel Maher and Katharina Will. | |||
| 44: Beirut Warehouse 12 | 10 févr. 2022 | 00:31:55 | |
In Beirut in August of 2020, an explosion at the Port of Beirut destroyed a huge part of the city. We look into how an oxidising agent, improperly handled can become an explosive and attempt to comprehend how something so dangerous was ignored repeatedly by key people, despite many warnings of an imminent disaster. With John Chidgey. This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced Links of Interest:
Reports into the incident: Video and Images: Documentary:
Ammonium Nitrate Information:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Steven Bridle. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Kevin Koch, Shane O'Neill, Oliver Steele, Lesley Law Chan, Hafthor, Jared, Bill, Joel Maher and Katharina Will. | |||
| 43: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory | 09 nov. 2021 | 00:27:21 | |
In 1911 in Manhattan, New York, a clothing factory went up in flames just before closing time. We look at how faulty equipment, poor design and a fear of theft contributed to a wholly preventable incident that had such terrible consequences, but would trigger reforms that still impact the United States, a century later. With John Chidgey. This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced Links of Interest:
Cornell University’s Excellent Resource on the Incident:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Steven Bridle. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Shane O'Neill, Kevin Koch, Oliver Steele, Lesley Law Chan, Hafthor, Jared, Bill and Joel Maher. | |||
| 42: Royal Canberra Hospital | 16 sept. 2021 | 00:45:14 | |
The original Royal Canberra Hospital was flagged to be demolished in 1997 to make way for the new National Museum. A demolition via implosion was selected, but the implosion resulted in an explosion instead, and debris showered the huge crowd of onlookers with fatal consequences. With John Chidgey. This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced Report into the Incident: Video Footage of the Demolition:
Video of Interest: Links of Interest:
Explosives Used In Demolition: Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Steven Bridle. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Shane O'Neill, Kevin Koch, Oliver Steele, Lesley Law Chan, Hafthor, Jared and Bill. With thanks to Infamous Sphere for the topic suggestion. | |||
| 41: Florida International University | 08 juil. 2021 | 00:43:10 | |
The university wanted a bridge for its students over a busy roadway that would appear intriguing from afar. Instead it collapsed before it was even finished. We look into how design errors, poor peer review and denial led to a collapse that claimed six peoples lives. With John Chidgey. This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced Report into the Incidents: Design Criteria and Bid:
Civil Structural References:
Companies Involved: Links of Potential Interest:
Riverside Expressway: Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Steven Bridle. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Shane O'Neill, Kevin Koch, Oliver Steele, Lesley Law Chan, Hafthor and Bill. | |||
| 40: Ocean Ranger | 24 mai 2021 | 00:46:36 | |
The largest semi-submersible Offshore Drilling Rig of its day, sank in a storm in 1982 whilst two smaller nearby rigs survived with minimal damage. We dive into how not closing a portlight cover, triggered a series of events that cost 84 people their lives. With John Chidgey. This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced Report into the Incidents: Links of Potential Interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Chip Salzenberg. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Kevin Koch, Oliver Steele, Lesley Law Chan, Hafthor, Shane O'Neill and Bill. With thanks to Gregory Hess for the topic suggestion. | |||
| 39: Therac-25 | 23 mars 2021 | 00:53:10 | |
The successor to the Therac-6 and Therac-20 RadioTherapy machines would integrate the powerful DEC PDP-11 mini-computer to control all of the Therac-25s functions, including the safety interlocks, for the first time. In two years the 11 machines in service would overdose six people across two countries, killing three of them before they figured out why. With John Chidgey. This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced Reports into the Incidents:
Links of Potential Interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producers: 'r' and Chip Salzenberg. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Kevin Koch, Oliver Steele, Lesley Law Chan, Hafthor and Shane O'Neill. | |||
| 38: Thunder River Rapids | 24 janv. 2021 | 00:36:35 | |
A popular family-friendly ride at DreamWorld would claim the lives of four people in 2016. In nearly thirty years of operation the ride had several similar but non-fatal incidents with blame placed on the operator every time, when a three thousand dollar modification could have prevented a horrific incident. With John Chidgey. Investigation Report: Links of Potential Interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Kevin Koch, Oliver Steele, Lesley Law Chan, Hafthor and Shane O'Neill. | |||
| 37: Variola Birmingham | 26 nov. 2020 | 00:34:30 | |
In 1978 on the cusp of the eradication of SmallPox a Medical Photographer became infected and would ultimately die from the Variola virus. We look at how admiration, promotion and delegation led to a wholly avoidable outcome. With John Chidgey. Investigation Report: Medical Analyses: Links of Potential Interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Kevin Koch, Oliver Steele, Lesley Law Chan, Hafthor and Shane O'Neill. | |||
| 36: Big Dig | 15 sept. 2020 | 00:31:47 | |
A series of concrete ceiling tiles in a tunnel portal collapsed on a moving car killing the passenger in downtown Boston in 2006. The selection of the epoxy used in the ceiling tile anchors was unusual and a failure to heed the warning signs were at odds on a huge project under pressure to deliver when already twice over time and five times over budget. With John Chidgey. Investigation Report: Technical Links: Links of Potential Interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Kevin Koch, Oliver Steele, Hafthor and Shane O'Neill. With thanks to Sean for the topic suggestion. | |||
| 35: San Bruno | 26 juil. 2020 | 00:49:33 | |
A modification made in 1956 to a pipeline built in the 1940s would ultimately fail costing 8 people their lives in 2010. We look at what went wrong with PG&Es gas pipeline in San Bruno, California. With John Chidgey. Investigation and Reports: Technical Links:
Links of Potential Interest:
Legal Links:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Joseph Antonio, Kevin Koch, Oliver Steele and Shane O'Neill. With thanks to John for the topic suggestion. | |||
| 34: Aberfan | 07 mai 2020 | 00:34:44 | |
One Friday morning in 1966 in a small town in Wales a mining spoils waste tip let go with a river of liquified rubble destroying buildings and a school. Killing 144 people, mostly children in their classrooms. The mechanics of how this happened are simple. The ignorance and economics of why this happened boggles the mind. With John Chidgey. Related episodes: Investigation and Reports:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, John Whitlow, Joseph Antonio, Kevin Koch and Oliver Steele. | |||
| 33: 737 MAX | 30 janv. 2020 | 01:05:52 | |
With two crashes in five months of the new 737 4th Generation a design flaw seemed likely. We look at how Boeings focus on cost-avoidance, grandfathering and bending probabilities during design would ultimately cost 346 people their lives. With John Chidgey. Related episodes: Investigation and Reports:
History of Boeing: Technical Information:
Standards and Bulletins:
Fallout:
Forum Articles:
Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: John Whitlow, Joseph Antonio, Kevin Koch and Shane O'Neill. | |||
| 32: Walkerton | 06 déc. 2019 | 00:33:48 | |
In 2000 the small township of Walkerton Ontario witnessed the largest outbreak of E.Coli infections in Canada's history. The water utility claimed the town water was safe, but it wasn't and many people paid with their lives. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen, John Whitlow, Joseph Antonio and Kevin Koch. With thanks to Jon Paul for the topic suggestion. | |||
| 31: Black Energy | 03 oct. 2019 | 00:26:13 | |
The evening before Christmas Eve in 2015 saw a widespread blackout of the power grid across the Ukraine. We look at how a cyber-attack on electric utility companies in Europe, changed how cyber-security is regarded in control systems, forever. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen, John Whitlow, Joseph Antonio and Kevin Koch. | |||
| 30: Tim Maia | 04 juil. 2019 | 00:19:06 | |
As part of Rio's preparations for the Olympics in 2016 a cycling pathway was built adjacent to a narrow, congested roadway along a picturesque shoreline. When a section collapsed only months before the opening ceremony killing two people, the world looked on with growing concerns about the imminent Olympics. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Photo Gallery Links:
Links of Interest (Portuguese):
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen, John Whitlow and Joseph Antonio. | |||
| 29: Flight 1549 | 04 juin 2019 | 00:23:29 | |
In 2009 an AirBus A320 departing LaGuardia Airport in New York suffered a dual engine failure due to a bird strike during takeoff. In a highly improbable event an equally highly improbable landing in the Hudson River shocked and amazed the world. We look at what went right on Flight 1549. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen, John Whitlow and Joseph Antonio. | |||
| 28: Hotel New World | 09 mai 2019 | 00:25:18 | |
In 1986 an unremarkable building in Singapore collapsed killing dozens of people. We look at how the supervision of the construction and the design itself resulted in a structure that was at best critically stable, and ultimately one that could only ever fail. With John Chidgey. Prior Episode References: Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen, John Whitlow and Joseph Antonio. | |||
| 27: Gare De Lyon | 04 avr. 2019 | 00:28:05 | |
On the 27th of June, 1988 in central Paris a runaway train collided with a stationary train in Gare De Lyon station, claiming 56 lives and injuring 60 more. Whilst the court found the driver guilty and sent him to jail, was he solely to blame? We look at how poor design decisions made Gare De Lyon inevitable. With John Chidgey. Prior Episode References: Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen and John Whitlow. | |||
| 26: Bhopal | 07 févr. 2019 | 00:35:53 | |
In December, 1984 in the city of Bhopal in central India, a Union Carbide Pesticide plant would fail and release tonnes of toxic gas into the city, killing thousands of people. It was the worst industrial disaster in human history. We follow the threads and trace back the root causes behind the incident at Bhopal. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen and John Whitlow. | |||
| 25: Deepwater Horizon | 08 janv. 2019 | 00:47:22 | |
In 2010 an Oil Drilling Rig suffered a catastrophic well blowout, killing 11 people, destroying the rig and leading to the worst maritime oil spill in history. It all happened a few hours after the well was declared safe and ready for handover. We look at the human and financial factors that led to the incident at Macondo. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen and John Whitlow. | |||
| 24: Columbia | 13 déc. 2018 | 00:26:39 | |
In 2003 the Space Shuttle Columbia launched successfully but after its mission was completed burned up on re-entry with the loss of all onboard. We look at how normalisation of deviation blinded many at NASA to a risk that had existed since 1981. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen and John Whitlow. | |||
| 23: Kipton | 31 août 2018 | 00:19:25 | |
When two trains collided head on at Kipton, Ohio in 1891, it was a wake up call for the railroad industry in North America whose impacts would be far-reaching and would lead to a new timekeeping standard that was unprecedented. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen and John Whitlow. With thanks to Clinton Philips for the topic suggestion. | |||
| 22: Chernobyl | 08 juil. 2018 | 00:47:06 | |
The largest nuclear incident in human history released an estimated 400 times the radioactive material compared to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It all happened because of a test that was delayed by one shift, or was it the ultimate inevitability of a flawed reactor design? With John Chidgey. Prior Episode References: Technical References:
Timelines:
Essays, Regulations and Miscellaneous:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen and John Whitlow. | |||
| 21: Milford Haven | 29 avr. 2018 | 00:31:39 | |
A turning point in control systems user interface design and alarm management happened in an unlikely place that few have ever heard of. We look at what went wrong at Milford Haven. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Chris Stone and Carsten Hansen. | |||
| 20: Stava Dam | 24 févr. 2018 | 00:21:45 | |
On the 19th of July, 1985 in Tesero, Northern Italy, a tailings dam gave way and killed 268 people. With the most common tailings dam design in the world, what went wrong and how widespread are the risks? With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Chris Stone, Eivind Hjertnes and Carsten Hansen. | |||
| 19: Smiler | 22 nov. 2017 | 00:20:00 | |
In 2015 at Alton Towers in the UK, The Smiler Rollercoaster experienced a major incident leading to severe injuries for multiple riders. We look at how pressure to get the ride running again and mis-communication defeated the system designed to protect the riders. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Chris Stone and Eivind Hjertnes. | |||
| 18: The Fog | 14 sept. 2017 | 00:20:03 | |
In 1952 a fog in London left 4,000 dead in just 4 days but many more would die before the causes could be rectified. Worse than that, it had happened before and it’s happening again right now, somewhere else. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Chris Stone and Eivind Hjertnes. | |||
| 17: Three Mile Island | 02 juin 2017 | 00:32:31 | |
On March 28, 1979 Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant in the United States of America an incident would lead to a partial reactor core meltdown. Many blamed the operators for stopping the reactor cooling system but the real root causes showed a known flaw in the design and alarm flooding had blinded the operators to what was actually happening. With John Chidgey. Related episodes: Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Carsten Hansen, Eivind Hjertnes and Daniel Dudley. | |||
| 16: Tenerife | 10 mars 2017 | 00:28:45 | |
In 1977 on the small island of Tenerife two 747 Jumbo Jets collided on the runway in poor visibility. A miscommunication clearly occurred, but even today, the same elements still exist and it could happen again. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producers: Chris Stone, Eivind Hjertnes and Daniel Dudley. | |||
| 15: Sampoong Department Store | 27 janv. 2017 | 00:27:36 | |
The Sampoong Department Store in South Korea collapsed in 1995 killing over 500 people. The investigators were shocked to find just how many rules had been broken but the true root cause might have been something more innocuous. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producer: Chris Stone. | |||
| 14: Concorde | 22 déc. 2016 | 00:25:06 | |
The Concorde was the first commercially successful supersonic aeroplane that flew for nearly 25 years without a fatality and was considered the safest aeroplane in the world at the time until it crashed. The incident ended the lives of 113 people and it ultimately ended the Concorde itself. With John Chidgey. Links of potential interest:
Support Causality on Patreon Episode Gold Producer: 'r'. Episode Silver Producer: Chris Stone. | |||