Season 1
Arsenic
Structure Fires
Moose
Avalanches
Rabies
Volcanoes
Frozen Lakes
Crowds
Plane Crashes
Arsenic is all around you. It’s in the soil. It’s in the groundwater. It’s the poison in the glass of wine your neighbor just handed you. Arsenic is known as the king of poisons for a reason. This week, Marina and Fin cover England’s first serial killer, Mary Ann Cotton, the Borgias, the 1998 Wakayama arsenic poisoning incident, mithridatism, and how to avoid arsenic poisoning.
Hot air burns your lungs. Smoke fills the room with darkness. You begin to feel light headed and nauseated from carbon monoxide. Structure fires move quickly. Within minutes, temperatures can climb above 1100F. You need to get out, now. This week, Marina and Fin discuss structure fires including the Childers Palace Backpackers Hostel fire, how to prepare yourself for a structure fire, and how to stay alive if you find yourself in the middle of one.
Moose are big. Moose are dumb. Moose can be vicious. You should fear moose. Marina and Fin discuss a moose attack on a dogsled team, how to avoid being attacked by a moose, and what to do if one is trying to murder you.
A dry slab avalanche can hit you at 80 miles per hour...and then your friends may only have minutes to dig you out. This week, Marina and Fin discuss avalanches in their many forms -- including signs of where they might form, how to prepare for them, the 1910 Wellington train disaster, and the Dyatlov Pass incident.
Rabies 100% fatal...or is it? Yes, yes it is. Know the symptoms of infection, but it's almost certain you will die after they start appearing. The only way to save yourself is to get vaccinated as soon as possible. This week, Marina and Fin go on a deep dive into rabies, including their own firsthand account of an encounter where they least expected it.
Extreme heat. Flying tephra. Poisonous gasses. Pyroclastic flows. Explosions. Lahars. This week, Marina and Fin discuss volcanoes including the 1980 Mt. St. Helens eruption, what would happen if Yellowstone erupted, and what to do if you're right there on the slopes when a volcano erupts.
If you fall through the ice, you may only have a few minutes to save yourself before you succumb to the icy depths. This week, Marina and Fin discuss the Regent’s Park skating disaster of 1867, how to determine the relative safety of ice, and what to do if you plunge through the surface into the freezing water below.
Crowd collapses and crushes can happen quickly. Know the signs and keep yourself safe. This week, Marina and Fin discuss real-life cases of crowd collapses and crushes, the physics behind them, and what to do if you find yourself in the midst of one.
Is that normal turbulence, or did something go wrong? Plane crashes are a common fear, but many are survivable. This week, Marina and Fin cover the Andes tragedy as well as what to do if you find yourself in a crashing plane.
You could feel a pinprick, or you could feel nothing. Then the venom hits you. Marina and Fin discuss venomous spiders and what to do if you are bitten, including real-life horror stories.