Catastrophe! Jess Phoenix
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- Society & Culture
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Catastrophes are part of life, but many of the worst are the direct result of human error. Whether it’s poor planning, design flaws, or simply greed or hubris, we are often our own worst enemy.
Join volcanologist Jess Phoenix as she explores the stories of natural disaster, failure, and calamity, and what we learn from our fascination with digging through the rubble.
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Can of Worms
How do we evaluate if something rises up to a catastrophe? In this mini catastrophe, co-host Carlos Phoenix and Emilie Fournier explore computer security and threats to our global infrastructure. They explore the virus/worm Stuxnet and how the United States used it in cyber espionage and attack against Iran's nuclear enrichment plant Natanz. This opened the door for the risk of weaponizing cyber attacks against global infrastructure. Will we convince you that this computer virus attack is a catastrophe?
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Raving Mad
How do we evaluate if something rises up to a catastrophe? This mini catastrophe explores rabies and whether its impact to humans and our pets rises to a level of catastrophe.
In this mini catastrophe format, co-host Carlos Phoenix welcomes a new producer and co-host Emilie Fournier. The vaccine for Rabies has made this a non-issue for some regions of the world, but for others the devastation is significant. Will we convince you that rabies is a catastrophe? -
No Prospect of an End
The second half of our season finale on climate change. It's the single greatest threat in our lifetime. It's the catastrophic global Dust Bowl of the 21st century and beyond. We answer listener questions and give some pointers about how to take action in your life.
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No Vestige of a Beginning
Climate change is the single greatest threat in our lifetime. It's the catastrophic global Dust Bowl of the 21st century and beyond. Cutting through the jargon and myths is essential if we want to stop this disaster-in-motion.
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Alpha & Omega
In the late 1980s, oil and gas production were common in the North Sea, off the coast of Scotland. Rig workers were accustomed to long hours in harsh conditions, but nothing could have prepared the men working on Piper Alpha for the catastrophic series of events that took the lives of nearly three-quarters of the crew one July night.
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Do No Harm
The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment was a 40-year lesson in how not to conduct medical research on human subjects. Sadly, it wasn't the only episode where the United States and its government researchers neglected ethical obligations to participants in experiments. The Guatemala Experiments were a ghastly violation of patient rights, and serve as a stark reminder of why we need someone to watch the watchmen.
Customer Reviews
Amazing but why did you disappear?
Five stars but pls come back
Fascinating
Extremely well done and I highly recommend it
Highly underrated pod!
This pod is super fascinating! I’m captivated by the episode topics. The delivery from Jess & Carlos is fantastic. The episodes aren’t over-produced or under-developed. And lastly, the episode length is just right!
It may take a couple of episodes to get into this pod, but wow it’s good!!