62 – Of Course It’s Cyanide! – The Cuyahoga River

About the Episode

What’s that phrase? Oil and water don’t mix?

This week, Colin puts Cleveland back on the basement map while Sierra explains conspiracy theories about the Big One. Join us as we discuss the cost of bridge infrastructure, the flammability of drywall, and the only good thing Richard Nixon has ever done.

Subjects Covered

The 1969 Cuyahoga River Fire • Cleveland, Ohio • Mansplaining • The Civil War • Fireboats • River Fires • Pollution • President Richard Nixon • Founding of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • "Burn On" by Randy Newman • "Cuyahoga" by R.E.M. • "River On Fire" by Adam Again • EPA Administrator Carol Browner • Time Magazine • National Geographic • Clean Water Act • Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement • Jet Fuel and Steel Beams •

Sources

• Smithsonian Mag - Cuyahoga River Fires
• Britannica - Cuyahoga River
• Wikipedia - Cleveland During the Civil War
• Ohio History Central - Cuyahoga River Fire
• Wikipedia - Cuyahoga (song)
• Wikipedia - Cuyahoga River
• National Geographic - The Cuyahoga River Fires
• Case.edu - Cuyahoga River Fire Drama
• Excerpt from Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility by Ted Nordhaus & Michael Shellenberger (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)