Wreckage & Ruins

Episode 21: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire killed 146 workers in 1911 and became a turning point in labor history. CC and Kitty cover the factory conditions, the Uprising of the 20,000, Clara Lemlich, the locked-exit legacy, the trial, and the workplace safety reforms that followed. Subscribe for weekly disaster investigations from Wreckage & Ruins. SOURCES: https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/shirtwaist/ [https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/shirtwaist/] https://lithub.com/a-brief-history-of-mass-manufactured-clothing/ [https://lithub.com/a-brief-history-of-mass-manufactured-clothing/] https://aflcio.org/about/history/labor-history-events/triangle-shirtwaist-fire [https://aflcio.org/about/history/labor-history-events/triangle-shirtwaist-fire] https://www.history.com/articles/triangle-shirtwaist-fire [https://www.history.com/articles/triangle-shirtwaist-fire] https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/shirtwaist-kings/ [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/shirtwaist-kings/] https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography-clara-lemlich/ [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography-clara-lemlich/] https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/uprising-of-20000-1909#:~:text=Throughout%20the%20uprising%2C%20arrests%20and,named%20%E2%80%9Cindustrial%20feminism%E2%80%9D [https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/uprising-of-20000-1909#:~:text=Throughout%20the%20uprising%2C%20arrests%20and,named%20%E2%80%9Cindustrial%20feminism%E2%80%9D]). https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/triangle/#transcript [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/triangle/#transcript] https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/slides/182.html#screen [https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/slides/182.html#screen] https://shc.stanford.edu/arcade/publications/occasion/fire-stories/raining-blood-and-money-remembering-triangle-shirtwaist [https://shc.stanford.edu/arcade/publications/occasion/fire-stories/raining-blood-and-money-remembering-triangle-shirtwaist] https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/victimsWitnesses/unidentifiedVictims.html#:~:text=Michael%20Hirsch%20is%20an%20independent%20researcher%20who,Age%2022%2C%20lived%20at%2018%20Cornelia%20Street [https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/victimsWitnesses/unidentifiedVictims.html#:~:text=Michael%20Hirsch%20is%20an%20independent%20researcher%20who,Age%2022%2C%20lived%20at%2018%20Cornelia%20Street] https://www.famous-trials.com/trianglefire/964-home [https://www.famous-trials.com/trianglefire/964-home] https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/legacy/legislativeReform.html#:~:text=During%20its%20second%20year%20of,code%20after%20the%20Triangle%20Fire [https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/legacy/legislativeReform.html#:~:text=During%20its%20second%20year%20of,code%20after%20the%20Triangle%20Fire]. https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/mono-regsafepart07#:~:text=The%20main%20purpose%20of%20the,had%20stressed%20the%20health%20problem [https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/mono-regsafepart07#:~:text=The%20main%20purpose%20of%20the,had%20stressed%20the%20health%20problem]. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tammany-Hall [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tammany-Hall] Triangle: Remembering the Fire on HBO

Episode 20: Air Florida Flight 90

On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 took off from Washington National Airport in a snowstorm and crashed into the 14th Street Bridge before falling into the icy Potomac River. CC and Kitty walk through the deicing delay, the NTSB findings, the cockpit decisions, and the rescue that saved five people from the water. Subscribe to Wreckage & Ruins for weekly disaster investigations, aftermaths, and the decisions that shaped what came next. SOURCES:https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/626875246/ [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/626875246/] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Florida [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Florida] https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/accidentreports/reports/aar8208.pdf [https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/accidentreports/reports/aar8208.pdf] https://arlingtonhistorical.com/items/show/164 [https://arlingtonhistorical.com/items/show/164] https://people.com/trained-pilot-survived-1982-potomac-plane-crash-tragedy-exclusive-8783981 [https://people.com/trained-pilot-survived-1982-potomac-plane-crash-tragedy-exclusive-8783981]

Episode 19: SS Eastland

Episode 19: SS Eastland CC and Kitty discuss the tragic story of the SS Eastland. The disaster on July 24, 1915, which claimed the lives of 844 people exposed critical failings in maritime safety regulations, inspection procedures, and the greed that prioritized profit over human life. While true accountability remained elusive for the victims' families, the memory of the Eastland disaster finally forced lasting, necessary changes to maritime law, ensuring that stability, not just lifeboat capacity, became the focus of safety. The legacy of the Eastland is cemented in the lives lost, the extraordinary community response that followed, and the silent promise of safer waters for all who sail today. SOURCES: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/CG-5PC/CG-CVC/MIR/Readings/Trident-History-1915-EASTLAND.pdf?ver=2020-06-30-195529-750 [https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/CG-5PC/CG-CVC/MIR/Readings/Trident-History-1915-EASTLAND.pdf?ver=2020-06-30-195529-750] https://eastlanddisaster.org/history/timeline [https://eastlanddisaster.org/history/timeline] http://www.deepbluesea.training/nautical-terms.html [http://www.deepbluesea.training/nautical-terms.html] https://www.nprillinois.org/illinois/2015-07-19/looking-back-at-the-s-s-eastland-disaster [https://www.nprillinois.org/illinois/2015-07-19/looking-back-at-the-s-s-eastland-disaster] https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/july-24/hundreds-drown-in-eastland-disaster [https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/july-24/hundreds-drown-in-eastland-disaster] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/eastland-disaster-killed-more-passengers-titanic-and-lusitania-why-has-it-been-forgotten-180953146/ [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/eastland-disaster-killed-more-passengers-titanic-and-lusitania-why-has-it-been-forgotten-180953146/] https://www.pbs.org/video/the-eastland-disaster-04xrn4/ [https://www.pbs.org/video/the-eastland-disaster-04xrn4/] https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/1998/december/why-we-call-ship-she [https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/1998/december/why-we-call-ship-she] https://www.iwm.org.uk/ [https://www.iwm.org.uk/] https://chicagology.com/notorious-chicago/eastland/ [https://chicagology.com/notorious-chicago/eastland/]

Episode 18: The Jungle

Episode 18: The Jungle This week, CC and Kitty look at the meatpacking scandal behind one of the most famous reform novels in American history. Sinclair wanted readers to care about exploited immigrant workers in Chicago, but the public became fixated on Chapter 14: spoiled meat, rejected sausage, contamination, and the fear that everyday food could be unsafe. This episode also covers Sinclair’s complicated legacy, including criticism of racist portrayals in The Jungle and his short-lived Colony in New Jersey. Subscribe to Wreckage & Ruins for weekly investigations into disasters, aftermaths, and the systems that failed. References: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair https://library.georgetown.edu/banned-books-week/2013 [https://library.georgetown.edu/banned-books-week/2013] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upton_Sinclair [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upton_Sinclair] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jungle [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jungle]

Episode 17: Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster

The Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster turned a West Virginia hydro project into one of the worst industrial tragedies in U.S. history. CC and Kitty trace how silica-rich rock, dry drilling, and brutal labor conditions led to a wave of acute silicosis among mostly Black migrant workers, and why the true death toll is still disputed. SOURCES: https://www.nps.gov/neri/planyourvisit/the-hawks-nest-tunnel-disaster-summersville-wv.htm [https://www.nps.gov/neri/planyourvisit/the-hawks-nest-tunnel-disaster-summersville-wv.htm] https://bridgestunnels.com/location/hawks-nest-dam/ [https://bridgestunnels.com/location/hawks-nest-dam/] https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/hawks-nest-tunnel-construction-leads-disaster [https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/hawks-nest-tunnel-construction-leads-disaster] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237452642_Summary_of_NIOSH_research_completed_on_dust_control_methods_for_surface_and_underground_drilling#pf2 [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237452642_Summary_of_NIOSH_research_completed_on_dust_control_methods_for_surface_and_underground_drilling#pf2] https://www.assp.org/docs/default-source/psj-articles/vpspencer_0223.pdf [https://www.assp.org/docs/default-source/psj-articles/vpspencer_0223.pdf] https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c2256/c2256.pdf [https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c2256/c2256.pdf] https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-05-mn-4579-story.html [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-05-mn-4579-story.html] https://mapwv.gov/shpo/docs/PDFs/ArchitecturalSurveys/RFA-25.pdf [https://mapwv.gov/shpo/docs/PDFs/ArchitecturalSurveys/RFA-25.pdf] https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Portals/50/docs/regulatory/Navigable%20Waters%20of%20the%20US.pd [https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Portals/50/docs/regulatory/Navigable%20Waters%20of%20the%20US.pdf]