DisasterCast Safety Podcast

After both technical and production difficulties, DisasterCast is returning on a regular schedule. This episode discusses the Longford Gas PlantRead more »

Episode 54 – Stadium Disasters

Jul 29th, 2017 33m 20s

Episode 53 – Interlocks and Quintinshill

Jun 2nd, 2015

This episode discusses interlocks in general, and also the application of interlocks to train safety. Britain’s worst rail disaster, Quintinshill,Read more »

Episode 52 – Columbia and Cable Cars

Apr 19th, 2015

This episode dives into the background of the Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster. It also discusses the aftermath of a USRead more »

Beyond Unsafe Behaviors

Apr 8th, 2015

Ron returns to ask the question “Which causes more accidents: unsafe conditions, or unsafe behaviors?” Once he’s finished unpacking theRead more »

Episode 51 – USS Iowa

Apr 3rd, 2015

This episode describes the USS Iowa explosion, the subsequent investigation, and the dangers of hindsight analysis. The post Episode 51Read more »

Stop Telling People Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility

Mar 25th, 2015

This is the third episode of Ron Gantt’s “Two Cents Worth of Safety”. Ron discusses the use of safety slogans,Read more »

Episode 50 – Why?

Mar 19th, 2015

This episode takes a new look at the really big safety question – “Why do accidents happen?” We discuss howRead more »

Blindspots of Behavioral Observations

Mar 10th, 2015

This is the second “Two Cents Worth of Safety” by Ron Gantt. Regular DisasterCast has been slightly delayed, and willRead more »

Growing into Uncertainty

Mar 3rd, 2015

This is the first episode of “Two Cents Worth of Safety”, which will interleave with the regular DisasterCast episodes. InRead more »

Episode 49 – Aberfan

Feb 24th, 2015

This is an episode about large piles falling over. We start with the physics of sandcastles, and move quickly toRead more »

Episode 48 – Metro North Railroad

Feb 10th, 2015

The NTSB has released a report examining common organisational factors in five accidents on Metro North Railroad in and aroundRead more »

Episode 47 – Apollo 1

Jan 28th, 2015

After a brief hiatus, DisasterCast returns with Episode 47. In this episode we ask what it means for something toRead more »

Episode 46 – Term Around Again

Dec 11th, 2014

This episode returns to the language of safety. As an illustration the 2013 incident involving a lithium-ion battery fire onRead more »

Episode 45 – Mann Gulch

Nov 25th, 2014

Episode 45 of DisasterCast tries something a little different. This episode has three different stories of exactly the same accidentRead more »

Episode 44 – Hinsdale Fire

Nov 12th, 2014

This episode is about single points of failure, common cause failures, and the Hinsdale Central Office Fire. The post EpisodeRead more »

Episode 43 – Explosive Mixtures

Oct 28th, 2014

In this episode I discuss some of the people who’ve helped shape my own thinking on safety research. The secondRead more »

Episode 42 – Lightning Strikes

Oct 14th, 2014

This episode covers an Iranian military transported downed by lightning, the Milford Haven Texaco Refinery explosion, and the dangers ofRead more »

Episode 41 – West Gate Bridge

Sep 23rd, 2014

One of the weird things about safety is that we spend so much effort on safety analysis during design, despiteRead more »

Episode 40 – Shootdown

Sep 9th, 2014

Sean Ellis visits DisasterCast this episode to provide a detailed discussion of TWA 800 and the associated conspiracy theories aboutRead more »

Episode 39 – Boston Molasses Flood

Aug 26th, 2014

DisasterCast has covered some pretty weird topics. We’ve dealt with pilot defenestration, spontaneous human combustion, and exploding death stars. IRead more »