Episodes

  • 12 - The contaminated blood affair, the French state responsible but not guilty - Disasters, True Stories

    12 - The contaminated blood affair, the French state responsible but not guilty - Disasters, True Stories
    Jun 10 2022
    A rare genetic disease known since ancient times, hemophilia affects nearly 8000 French people today. In the 1950s, Dr. Emile Remigy, pushed back the limits of their life expectancy. He developed a treatment, a frozen cryoprecipitate which, once injected into the patient, made up for their lack of coagulant proteins. The industrialization of this product was made possible in France thanks to blood donations, a practice encouraged since 1949, when the National Blood Transfusion Center was created in Paris, which advocates volunteerism, anonymity and non-profit. But what if the State was capable of putting its population at risk for the sake of financial gain? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    13 mins
  • 11 - The collapse of the Morandi bridge, Genoa cut in two - Disasters, True Stories

    11 - The collapse of the Morandi bridge, Genoa cut in two - Disasters, True Stories
    Jun 10 2022
    In 1959 ANAS, or "National Roads Company", organized a contest in Italy to connect two sections of the A10 freeway, nicknamed "the freeway of flowers", over the Polcevera river, to Genoa. The task is not obvious, even turns out to be quite a headache. Who would have thought, 50 years later, that it would lose its footing and collapse like a house of cards? No one did. And yet, there was no lack of warning signs of the disaster... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    12 mins
  • 10 - The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a human catastrophe - Disasters, True Stories

    10 - The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a human catastrophe - Disasters, True Stories
    Jun 10 2022
    Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the junction of the Eurasian, Pacific, Philippine and Okhotsk tectonic plates, Japan has always been exposed to high seismic activity. Every year, thousands of tremors, ranging from 4 to 7 on the Richter scale, are felt. Most of them are hardly noticeable, but the most violent ones bring with them devastating tsunamis. The tragedy at Fukushima Daiichi could also be called genpatsu-shinsai: an earthquake, the strongest ever recorded in Japan, rocked a nuclear power plant... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    16 mins
  • 09 - The explosion of the AZF factory, Toulouse in turmoil - Disasters, True Stories

    09 - The explosion of the AZF factory, Toulouse in turmoil - Disasters, True Stories
    Jun 10 2022
    At the end of the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles forced the German chemical group BASF to make public its know-how and manufacturing secrets. The victorious allies, and in particular France, seized it in the wake of the war, without suspecting for a second that it could be a poisoned gift. In 1924, Toulouse welcomed the ONIA, or Office National Industriel de l'Azote, which specialized in the production of agricultural fertilizer. At the same time, the natural expansion of the city was bringing the industrial area, which is only 5 km south of the center, dangerously close... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    23 mins
  • 08 - The sinking of the Erika, one oil spill too many - Disasters, True Stories

    08 - The sinking of the Erika, one oil spill too many - Disasters, True Stories
    Jun 10 2022
    Is this the result of chance, a curse, or a sea tired of so much traffic? For decades, Brittany has had the sad habit of seeing ships run aground not far from its coasts. On December 8, 1999, it was the Erika's turn to take this route, a tanker flying the Maltese flag, a 25 year old veteran, 184 meters long, and carrying 31,000 tons of fuel oil in its 14 holds. It left Dunkirk, crossed the English Channel, passed the Ushantrail and reached the Atlantic in one piece. Headed south to Milazzo, Sicily, where the cargo must be delivered. There's no need to prolong the suspense any further: the Erika would never see the tip of the Vesuvio... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    23 mins
  • 07 - The Heysel Stadium tragedy, chaos in the stadium - Disasters, True Stories

    07 - The Heysel Stadium tragedy, chaos in the stadium - Disasters, True Stories
    Jun 10 2022
    In the year 1985, if there was a soccer match not to be missed, it was the final of the Champions League, announced on May 29 and scheduled in Brussels, at the Heysel stadium. The match would oppose two of the most prestigious clubs of the continent. If some enthusiasts would be ready to do anything crazy to vibrate in the Heysel's enclosures, many of them still ignored that they would pay a high price... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    17 mins
  • 06 - The Great Fire of Rome - Disasters, True Stories

    06 - The Great Fire of Rome - Disasters, True Stories
    Jun 10 2022
    In 64 AD, Rome was suffocating under the heat of a scorching summer, formerly known as "the period of the boilers", in front of which the citizens were not all equal. The aristocracy took refuge in the countryside, looking for coolness in the gardens of their homes and the plebs, trapped in their dilapidated apartments in the city center, had no choice but to suffer the heavy temperatures. The poorest contracted fevers, went mad or perished in the overcrowded metropolis, with a million people crammed into 1800 hectares. The situation degenerated during the night of July 18, when a fire broke out and threatened to reduce the entire city to rubble... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    13 mins
  • 05 - The crash of Germanwings A320 - Disasters, True Stories

    05 - The crash of Germanwings A320 - Disasters, True Stories
    Jun 10 2022
    It is 9:40 AM, on March 24, 2015, at the "Centre en route de la navigation aérienne Sud-Est", in Aix-en-Provence. A controller sees on his radars an Airbus A320 suddenly disappear and his heart skips a beat. He had been trying in vain for almost 10 minutes to contact the crew of Germanwings, which had left Barcelona this morning for Düsseldorf. The plane had left its cruising altitude of 11,600 meters without authorization, descending inexorably on the one hand and gaining speed on the other... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    26 mins