Miss Alex makes her triumphant (?) return to discuss The Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, hurricane naming conventions, and most importantly, the supercentenarian index. Enjoy -- it's good to be back!

Episode 8: Banana Massacre

Dec 16th, 2015 22m 20s

As Miss Alex conquers an evil cold, gather 'round to hear of a far more evil incident in South American history: The Banana Massacre of 1928, an attack against fruit laborers on behalf of the behemoth fruit companies of the day. Not a tradition

Episode 7: Plague of Justinian

Nov 18th, 2015 20m 52s

Miss Alex hates rats. Really, really hates rats. Listen to her explain why she hates rats, why she disagrees with the rat defenders, and learn about the plague that started them all: the Plague of Justinian!Don't miss the ode to the plague doc

Episode 6: Tangiwai Disaster

Nov 8th, 2015 18m 46s

A cheerful holiday tale of the Christmas express train, a sudden torrent of devastating mud and rock, and horrible news on Christmas morning.Enjoy! I'll try to post some of the resources for this episode later today.

Episode 5: The Limnic Eruptions of Cameroon

Nov 7th, 2015 21m 48s

After a busy season delay, Miss Alex is back with a new episode! Hurray!Have you heard of exploding lakes? There are only three in the world, but two of them proved to be deadly in the mysterious phenomenon of limnic eruptions that occurred in

Episode 4: Intro to Stadium Disasters & Estadio Nacional

Oct 4th, 2015 19m 46s

In U.S. history, stadium disasters aren't as much of a thing -- other than in racing accidents, they're extremely rare. Elsewhere in the world, though, as different large crowds have fled for exits or rushed fields, stadium stampedes and other

Episode 3: The Great Tangshan Earthquake

Sep 30th, 2015 21m 1s

In 1976, as China mourned the loss of two of its most famous political leaders, it faced an ever greater loss in the mining city of Tangshan. On July 27, 1976, an approximately 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the city of more than 1.6 million, all

Episode 2: Ohio Penitentiary Fire

Sep 27th, 2015 21m 4s

The original Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, OH was described using a variety of friendly terms, ranging from the "inhumane" to the "primitive" to describe the conditions inside.On April 21, 1930, the prison was housing 4,300 inmates -- almost

Episode 1: The Sinking of the MS Estonia

Sep 25th, 2015 25m 50s

On September 27, 1994, 803 passengers and 186 crew boarded the MS Estonia for an overnight trip across the Baltic Sea from Estonia to Sweden. Unfortunately, a poorly-designed ship, bad weather, and some fatal green lights stopped those plans.

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