Marked Safe: A Disaster Podcast

Headlights Rained From the Sky: The Skyway Bridge Collapse

SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Child abandonment, possible rabid animal, bridge collapse, severe weather, ship collision, car accident(s), threatened drowning, animal abuse (dog) 1:16:50-1:17:36, animal abuse (birds) 1:28:00-1:29:15 Links: 39 years ago, Skyway bridge crash changed lives forever Anderson: Sarasota’s connections to the Skyway bridge disaster Couple on the run raced into disaster EX-SHIP PILOT SEEKS TO TELL STORY OF CRASH Florida is installing a suicide prevention net on the Su...

Pancake Houses Between 1 and 6AM: Nine Heroes

SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Snakes, wasps, animals killing each other in nature, violence in war, IED, fire, human being on fire, graphic description of severe burn injuries, hypothermia death, drug dealing, hurricane, interactions with the police, incarceration, gross media depictions of black men, racism, child in peril (abduction) who survives 51:10-53:53, brief and non-explicit mention of sexual assault of a child 52:00-53:53, child in peril (drowning) who survives 54:50-58:36, mass sh...

A How-to Guide for Boomers and Melanies: Death by Coconut

SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Death by accidental gunshot wound, vague discussion of shark attacks, death by falling projectile, a couple euphemistic dirty jokes (younger kids would not understand, adolescents might), specific description of gross food, cannibalism, starvation, death of infant 45:21-45:44, death of child 47:44-50:45, animal exploitation, brief mention of sex lube at 56:53 and 57:00, death of infant 57:49-58:30, death of infant 01:01:05-1:01:33, Links: Baby Dies After Being...

Answered in the Dark: Five Heroes

SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Racism in the military, stereotype of black men as sexual predators, gun violence in the context of war, grenades, bludgeoning death, stabbing death, disembowelment, coma/near-death, traumatic death/c-section, poor treatment of veterans, death from myocarditis, PTSD, alcoholism, poverty, death from blood loss, torpedoes, death by explosion, sucking chest wound, death in car accident, impalement, diabetes, depression, death of adult child from mother's perspectiv...

A Great Deal of Treatment for Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Experiment

SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Institutional/medical racism, COVID-19/vaccine hesitancy, syphilis, brief and euphemistic adult joke Links: 40 Years of Human Experimentation in America: The Tuskegee Study Black Airmen turn racism, bigotry into opportunity Blackface photo reopens long history of bigotry in medicine Condemned to Die for Science Decades later, infamous Tuskegee syphilis study stirs wariness in Black community over COVID-19 vaccine Descendants of Tuskegee Syphilis Study Survivors...

Shut the F*ck Up, Lucy: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927

Audio disclaimer: For my birthday this year, Melanie wanted to make sure I shone for this episode and recorded with the wrong microphone. The Audio Guy did what he could, but her parts don't sound quite as good as usual. We're sorry, it won't happen again! (Until my next birthday.) SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Extreme and graphic descriptions of racism throughout, often violent. A few joking references to adult toys, primary sources that use racist language, flooding, weather-related anima...

I Am Not a White Supremacist, and I Love Armadillos: The Tylenol Murders

SHOW NOTES Content warnings: White supremacists (in the context of their existence and that we dislike them), ghosts/paranormal, passing mention of exorcisms, extremely venomous animals, mention of intubation/ventilators, brief mention of child in peril who survives at 25:38, death of a child 31:05-47:44, premature birth, infertility, death of a mother in front of her child 47:55-48:50, deaths of multiple adults, death of a couple together, Catholic last rites, coma, two instances of a pers...

A Bat Dress of an Episode: The St. Mary's Orphanage Disaster

Content warnings: Having COVID-19, endangered animals, brief reference to children dying in a fire in previous episode, very brief mentions of miscarriage and infertility, being an orphan, forced medication, orphanages, tragic implications of poverty, violence against Native Americans, yellow fever, foster care, building fire with children in peril who survive, Catholicism, hurricane, large-scale death of children as an unavoidable part of the episode, drowning, decomposing bodies, mass casu...

Melanie Isn't Marked Safe

You Don't Have to Really Say it Like That: Air Florida Flight 90

SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Pigs eating people, animal death, plane crash with fatalities, water rescue, hypothermia, broken arms, loss of spouse/SO, loss of adult child, heart attack, depression, loss of infant in disaster 1:18:13-1:18:23 Links: AAR8208 Afterward Air Florida Flight 90 Air Florida Flight 90 At 3:59 p.m. he was on a plane to Florida; 2 minutes later, it crashed into the Potomac River Bridge of Sighs Cold Water Survival Eagle One: Rescue and Recovery of Air Florida Flight 9...

All the Hungriest Escalators with Something to Prove: Escalator Accidents

SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Death of birds, deer hunting, discussion of mortality and grief, crushing death of an adolescent around 22:00-24:00, strangling death, anti-Muslim racism 33:05-34:18, scalping, death of a mother in front of her small child and spouse, serious injury to leg, serious injury to child's arm, suffocation/stragulation death of a 4 year old 44:58-45:25, falling death of a 3 year old 45:25-46:36, falling death of adult, extremely vague mention of possible suicide, ablei...

Never Back Down From a Street Fight: A Sh*tty Goodbye to 2020

SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Poop, birds, plane emergency landing, mention of pornography, brief mentions of vomit Links: 12 Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Flavors Inspired By Musicians, Bands, and Festivals 2004 Dave Matthews Band Chicago River incident Aboard the Carnival Triumph cruise ship Accident: Ryanair B738 at Rome on Nov 10th 2008, engine and landing gear trouble, temporarily departed runway Cara's Basement Carnival Cruise Ship Ordered Held in Texas in Shipwreck Suit Carnival Triumph Di...

Backed Up (By a Day)

Let Your Kids Spread Their Wings at the Oceaneer Club: The Laroche Family

SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Racism, vaguely mentioned premature birth, specific children in theoretical peril, frostbite, loss of spouse, death by drowning (very vaguely mentioned), death by freezing (very vaguely mentioned), coma, blood loss, a quote containing a racial slur, general discussion of the impacts of PTSD, a disaster in which 59 children die but are not discussed specifically at all Links: Black passengers add another facet to Titanic story Black People and Titanic: The Reali...

The Mitten Thing: 1913 Italian Hall Disaster

SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Elephant hunting, brief mention of murder-suicide, old-timey racism, lung disease, feces, violent strike-breaking, dire poverty/food insecurity, mass death of children which is the topic of the episode but is not discussed until 58:15 and is addressed without graphic detail, trampling/stampeding/crushing deaths Links: 1913 Massacre 1913 Massacre Amelia Earhart Mystery: Was the Lost Pilot Eaten by Giant Coconut Crabs? Anna Clemenc Anna Klobuchar Clemenc Calumet,...

Weird Flex but Okay: Balloonfest '86

SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Drowning, water search, missing people Links: 25 years ago, thousands watched a balloon launch on Public Square Balloonfest '86 Balloonfest 1986, the spectacle that became a debacle: Cleveland Remembers (video) Claim to world record for 'Balloonfest '86' is not all hot air: Michael K. McIntyre's Tipoff Cleveland Summertime Memories: A Warm Look Back Releasing 1.5 Million Balloons Into The Air Is A Bad Idea That Time Cleveland Released 1.5 Million Balloons and C...

He Just Loved Firetrucks: The Our Lady of the Angels School Fire

SHOW NOTES Content warning: this episode discusses the large-scale death of children in moderate detail. BACK IN THE DAY: EPISODE 9 | OUR LADY OF THE ANGEL'S SCHOOL FIRE 1958 Chicago Fire Dept. - Our Lady Of The Angels School Fire 1958 Chicago Tribune 04 Dec 1958 Hunt Ransom Hoax Sadist in Pupil Deaths FLASHOVER AND BACKDRAFT: A Primer Our Lady of the Angels blaze. Chicago, 1958. Documents #2. Our Lady of the Angels (OLA) School Fire, December 1, 1958 Our Lady of the Angels School fire Our...

Everyone's the Asshole: Black Friday Incidents

This week, Brianne will never be prepared, friend gangs are not happening, Joann Fabrics is not having a good run, Melanie is judging people, Target offers no prayers just thoughts, and Melanie wants to be a Barbie. Content warnings: COVID shortages, poop, fatal trampling, fistfight, fatal shooting, violent transphobia 30:00-39:20, graphic oral/dental injuries, suicide 39:20, domestic violence/stalking that ends in death, death from heart attack, falling asleep at the wheel, car sinking in ...

Friends of Recovering Huffers: The Mississauga Train Derailment

This week, Melanie covers the cutest disaster ever, a model has his dick out, Brianne has a zombie bite, cartographers are sneaky, Hazel plays hockey, Melanie identifies the stuff for huffers, caustic soda sucks, Brianne identifies her comfort level on the cannibalism scale, Larry has big balls, a wife is left as collateral to protect 40 racing pigeons, and the mayor gets carried like a princess. Content warnings: inhalant abuse, discussion of cannibalism, train derailment, explosions, fire...

Bad News...Good News

The Floor is Lava: Centralia, Pennsylvania

This week, Melanie kicks things off with bad puns, we love Butterfingers for all the wrong reasons, Melanie strikes out on Halloween drugs, Brianne will not engage, Melanie is a hell of a fluffer, Brianne gives Melanie a surprise promotion to mayor, 36 steams of pee cannot stop an inferno, a zip code is eliminated, Melanie isn't a flat-earther, no one cares about drinking from garden hoses, and we are praying for Hot Garbage Town, USA. Content warnings: trash/bad smells, fire, urine, grueso...

Purely Frictional: The "Poltergeist" Movie Curse

SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Sleep paralysis, paranormal stuff, poltergeist activity, clowns, accidental non-fatal strangulation, misuse of human remains, exorcism, cancer, brief mention of rape, very detailed/graphic discussion of spousal abuse and injuries sustained, non-fatal intentional strangulation, failure of 911 to intervene, murder, coma, attempted suicide, death of child from GI illness 58:04-1:11:00, emergency surgery, birth defect, aliens Show notes: 13 Cursed Movies for Friday...

Dolphins Made of Darkness: The Hat Man

This week, we come close to free-balling an episode, Brianne has a horrific encounter while on her sleep bullshit, Curious George lightens the mood, we identify the spooky-lookers in our lives, and a savage six year old might be the only anecdote for Hat Man. Content warnings: sleep paralysis. Links: All Shadow People Are Terrifying, But The Phantom Hat Man May Be One Of The Worst Of All Shadow People: The Hat Man The Hat Man The Hat Man: Documented Cases of Pure Evil (2019 documentary)

Bad Things Were Gonna Happen To You: The Exorcist Film Curse

This week, Aunt Vada's dad is not having it, we envision a possessed child as Roland Schitt and a ghost as Lin-Manuel Miranda, and a sadistic director curses a film production. Content warnings: demonic/occult topics, reference to crucifix scene from The Exorlicist, possession, exorcisms, guns used to scare people, child abuse, spinal fracture, alcoholism/alcoholic relapse, family annihilation, fire, angiogram, murder, violent homophobia, dismemberment, hurricanes. 5 Movies That Wanted Aud...

A Good Way for Someone To Get Pregnant on a Hay Bale: The Spooky Episode

This week, Brianne returns from the dead, we speculate about our nemeses, Brianne coaches Melanie on how to care less, a haunted house surprise does not go according to plan, we revisit the Indiana State Fairgrounds, a prop noose isn't a prop noose, a chaotic magician's act goes wrong, a Halloween display isn't a display, a buried alive theme park attraction goes wrong, and a prop knife isn't a prop knife. Content warnings: Multiple accidental deaths by hanging including some by teenagers, ...

Read the Room: The #freebritney Movement, Part 2

This week, our Britney episodes conclude even as Britney's plight does not, weird interviews about, and emojis tip off fans that something is amiss. Content warnings: conservatorship abuse, mental illness, emotional abuse. Links: #FreeBritney: Secrets Britney Spears's Conservatorship Does NOT Want Public?? 730 Evaluation About Probate Conservatorships Association of Trial Counsel Bessemer Petition Britney Spears' Conservatorship Legal Fees Cost Her Over $1.2 Million Britney Spears’ dad cal...

Britney Cake: The #freebritney Movement, Part 1

This week, Melanie goes totally spooky with it and meets her put-together neighbors in a Britney t-shirt, Midwesterners are polite aloof little goblins, we reinvent the disaster wheel, Britney eats crawfish, Brianne courts a lawsuit from k-fed, and the Britney machine does Britney wrong. Content warnings: abuse of conservatorships, discussion of mental health and mental illness, unsafe driving with child in car, abuse by paparazzi, toxic relationship dynamics, inpatient mental health treatm...

Turtles in the Water, Tortoise on the Land: The Sixth Extinction Event

This week, Melanie doesn't know the safe word (because it's really The Audio Guy guest starring), TAG victim blames dinosaurs, frogs are dying, we're angling for a curriculum sponsorship, and TAG sucks at palate cleansers. Content warnings: extinction events. Links: Killer frog disease 'part of Earth's sixth mass extinction' Frog chytrid fungus Fungal Parasites and Pathogens Caecilians: The other amphibian What we lose when we lose the world’s frogs Why the Loss of Amphibians Matters Thre...

The Safe Word is Bubbles: The Faithway Drive Disaster

This week, the day all podcasters dread arrives, Melanie encounters a choad in the wild, we set a demon safeword, a bedroom disappears in an instant, we learn a lot of spooky sinkhole geography, wonder about grief rituals, and unpack religious rhetoric around death and randomness, and a wolf spider makes crude gestures. Content warnings: Joking references to demons/possessions/exorcisms, death of adult in natural disaster, child witnessing non-gory death of adult, discussion of disaster pre...

Spring, Summer, Fall, Halloween, & Winter: The Imperial Sugar Refinery Explosion

This week, Brianne is cooked medium well and wants to be a freelance brain surgeon, Adelaide gives a bird presentation, Melanie gets slammed by a hurricane and joins the current millennium, sugar turns out to be combustible, we commemorate the Great Glitter Explosion of 2020, and a factory explosion changes OSHA standards. Content warnings: brain surgery, hurricanes, structure fire, death by explosion/fire. SHOW NOTES 2008 Georgia sugar refinery explosion A burning chemical plant may be ju...

You Have The Best...Titles: The Richmond Hill Explosion

This week, Melanie is evacuating a hurricane double-whammy, Brianne hits up Taco Bell in her wedding dress, Melanie is inspired to step up her jammy game in case she ever has to watch her house burn down in the middle of the night, firefighters don't need an address to locate a fire, a Prince Charming with bleach blond hair and a Hummer comes along, Brianne tempts litigious Indiana men, there's a derpy brother named Bob, a renowned arsonist sucks at starting fires, good henchmen are hard to ...

There's Eighty Billion Gallons Headed for Us: The Teton Dam Collapse

This week, Brianne and Melanie go back to the podcast coal mines, Melanie discovers that she's a ghost, we get a Drunk Melanie Math Lesson, a 5,000 foot dam collapses, and there's an 80 foot wall of water. SHOW NOTES Content warnings: water disaster, dead cattle, drowning, multiple deaths. Links: FAMOUS FAILURES:REVISITING MAJOR DAM CATASTROPHES Museum of Rexburg: Home of the Teton Flood Exhibit Museum of Rexburg: Teton Flood Exhibit Report to U.S. Department of the Interior and State of ...

A Freak Deal & A Gory Story - Russell Lee Phillips

SHOW NOTES Crash Claims Young Race Driver Russell Phillips Sportsman Driver Killed at Charlotte The Era's Foundation: Russell Phillips' Gruesome Crash (GRAPHIC) Who Was Russell Phillips? (GRAPHIC)

A Freak Deal & A Gory Story: Russell Lee Phillips

This week, Brianne doesn't have malaria, Melanie buys a house full of demons, a squeamish firefights meets a terrible end, Brianne is mad about college sports, an arm falls out of a car, there's a guy named Humpy Wheeler, and a decapitation fails to end a NASCAR race early. SHOW NOTES Content warnings: ghosts/demons, car accident, death, description of gore/decapitation/dismemberment with in-episode warning. Links: Crash Claims Young Race Driver Russell Phillips Sportsman Driver Killed at...

Hookie

Bad news - no new episode this week. Good news - lots of stuff coming up for the ten dollar patreons! Marked Safe is on a one week hiatus. Sorry horrible ghouls! 

I Like My Queens Petty: Scheele's Green

This week, Melanie tells us about a guy named Carl, there's an old-timey inventor brawl, discoveries are licked, pompous assholes are always celebrated, ugly wallpaper makes someone throw up, Melanie needs to make a report to The Director of History,  Melanie overlooks a huge shaft.  and beautiful green dye kills a bunch of people. SHOW NOTES Content warnings: poisoning, deaths of children 16:46-17:36, graphic description of death by poisoning. Show notes: Carl Wilhelm Scheele Carl Wilhel...

Get back on board, for F---’s sake: The Costa Concordia Disaster

This week, Brianne peaks in episode 11, we all get a villain to cathartically blame, a ship full of 13s is doomed from the start, an off-duty captain gets shit done, a guy with a punchable face gets his ass handed to him by a guy who looks like Ed Harris, and someone maybe uses cocaine as dry shampoo. SHOW NOTES Content warnings: sinking ship, kids in peril, older couple being separated in a particularly upsetting way 25:50 and again at 47:36, water rescue and body recovery, various deaths...

The Water Turned Red with Blood: The Black December Shark Attacks

This week, Brianne finally watches Hamilton, something brushes a leg underwater, there's a whole explosives hospital, a shark turns somersaults in a few feet of water, Melanie's husband has a hammock phobia, it turns out sharks grunt, we fall in love with the name Erna, and the South African government bombs the ocean. SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Indirect reference to child loss in the context of Hamilton, sharks, severed leg, various deaths of people of varying ages, various shark-attack...

That Eagle Has COVID: Fireworks Incidents

This week, Melanie bites off more fireworks than she can chew, fireworks warehouses detonate, a hot dog is replaced with TNT, a fire department takes one look and peaces out, an obituary tells it like it is, a Gaston actor meets a terrible end, a suburban middle-aged couple has a secret in their garage, and we draw a line in the sand on Transitions lenses. SHOW NOTES Content warnings: explosions, gore/decapitation 18:00-19:19, multiple deaths of adults, alcoholism. Links: 20 Questionable ...

That Eagle Has Covid: Fireworks Incidents

SHOW NOTES 20 Questionable Fireworks Advertisements Explosion in a fireworks storage facility Eyewitness: Fireworks Accident Decapitates Fargo Man Fireworks probe could lead to charges in death of Fargo man Fourth of July reveler is killed launching a firework off his HEAD: Tragic scenes in Maine as ex-Disney dies in front of brother Jesse Burley Maine man dies after launching firework off his head Seest fireworks disaster UPDATE: Homeowner cited for illegally possessing fireworks following ...

He Was Wearing His Finest Pajama Pants: Pokemon Go Incidents

This week, newlywed Melanie lives in a city with lawless drive-thru daiquiri shacks, we unpack the etymology of a gross old-timey phrase, Melanie plays Pokemon Go while she delivers a baby and railroads another kid into choosing the team of her preference, PoGo players make a grisly discovery, a couple people play "gotta catch 'em all" with court cases, and a good-hearted trainer helps a fellow veteran. SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Fairly vague reference to miscarriage/infertility, c-secti...

A Bad Dream I Wouldn't Have Even Thought to Have: Elevator Accidents

This week, Brianne has to make her own daiquiri at great personal risk, Melanie plans a meeting in Japan, a welfare clerk, some gold miners, a surgery resident, and a high school student meet horrific fates, elevators operate at unnatural speeds with or without power, we offer otter and elephant and goat palate cleansers to get through the intense parts, and Melanie can't cope with the word shaft. SHOW NOTES Content warnings: mild hand cut, dangerous elevators, gore/decapitation 8:16-10:45...

A Bunch of F***ing Useless Meatloafs: The Monongah Mine Disaster

Melanie unbuttons it, we educate the public and ourselves about chicken testicles, Melanie gets the gift of goat murder for her wedding, a mining company is evil, a mine explodes, a train plunges, and Father's Day is born. SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Unusual/weird/gross meats, bad labor conditions, death of horses, somewhat detailed description of grief following loss of spouses and children, death of parents, someone being present for the death of their sibling, explosion, mining disaste...

This Shambling Corpse of a Rollercoaster: Amusement Park Disasters Part 2

This week, Brianne offers a charcuterie board of amusement park accidents, a wholesome dad saves the day, we clarify that water is wet, teenage lifeguards have too much work ethic, Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class gets out of control, redneck dads lose their hog wild budgets, Melanie loves sandblasters, and we try to buy a rollercoaster on eBay. SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Heights/falling, vague mention of drowning, non-fatal electrocution in water, bees, life-threatening language...

I Don't Know Why, I Had to Look: The Arkansas B-47 Crash

This week, we have a delightful guest speaker, Melanie does math, Marked Safe is a hostile work environment, we make Melanie's aunts join our Patreon to find out who's the favorite aunt, Melanie invents morbid optimism, a plane crashes into a residential area, a dictator throws a tantrum about Disneyland, and we learn a lot about g forces. SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Explosions, plane crash, school bomb drills, dead body, wartime threat of child loss, Cold War, death in a fire, loss of ho...

Maybe We're All Just Horrible Ghouls: Amusement Park Disasters Part I

This week, a security guard deserves a raise, Busch Gardens leans into some horrifying PR, Brianne ventures into the underbelly of the internet for research, the phrase "funny hop" ruins our lives forever, a group of roller-coaster riders has the most terrifying few minutes imaginable, a New York school fails in every way possible, Brianne gets 7 year old street cred from the Brownie Girl Scouts, a fake Hasselhoff peaces out, The Mind Eraser makes good on its name, and a teenager says "Not t...

Relax, Have a Beignet, Stop Being So Modern: Hard Rock Hotel Collapse

This week, Brianne has a haunted attic, audio was still finding its sea legs, gentrification ruins everything, a building collapses, and developers drop the ball. SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Building collapse, loss of spouse, loss of adult child, human body decomposition, death, person speaking on phone to spouse at the moment of their death, mugging/"jumping," ICE/border patrol, whistleblower retribution. Links: Built to Kill Dramatic Eyewitness Footage Captures New Orleans Hard Rock Ho...

A Big Creaky Danger Machine: Indiana State Fair Collapse

This week, we start a podcast, Melanie fingers her soil, some mom groups implode, shortcuts are taken, a prayer circle saves some celebrities but no one else, 43 lawsuits get filed, LGBTQ survivor benefits get an historic win, a guy on a roof rides a five story collapsing stage to the ground, and we learn to stop shuffling papers next to a mic. SHOW NOTES Content warnings: Weather disasters, LGBTQ civil rights, spousal loss, death, serious injury to child who survives, crushing injuries, s...