Doomed to Fail

Join us on a fascinating journey back in time as we dive deep into the lives of two intriguing figures - William Bradford and Thomas Morton. 🕰️ Explore the contrasting perspectives that shaped early American history. 🇺🇸 From Bradford's leadership in Plymouth Colony to Morton's controversial antics in Merrymount, this episode unveils the untold stories that shaped the foundations of our nation. 📚...

Oh, Texas! Always in a tizzy aren't y'all? Today we start off with the question what do John Wayne, Lyndon Johnson, and Phil Collins all have in common? You guessed it! they are obsessed with The Alamo. We'll discuss the truths (Yes, they all fought to the death) and the myths (no, they weren't 'heroes' - specifically because they were all fighting for their rights to enslave people). We'll talk a...

Should you believe everything you read? Today Farz tells the story of journalist Stephen Glass who made up a fantastic tale of hackers, data breaches, and early internet scare tactics! T/W Sexual Assault - This story was inspired by "You're Wrong About"'s reporting on The Duke Lacross Team case. We recommend checking out their episode - https://open.spotify.com/episode/41u0MLCM86ikQ4HPORsSJa  Join...

Taylor opens this week's re-release with a story of almost losing a friend in the back yard after a party - If you're listening to this in Jan 2024 it's topical because this just happened in Kansas City. It also sort of happens in the story of Pazuzu Algarad [née John Alexander Lawson]. Drug dealer, man who needed a lot of psychiatric help, child who was abused by his mother, and an eventual murde...

Today Farz tells the once-secret story of the creation of the SR-71 Blackbird stealth plane. Fasten your seatbelts as we unveil the mysteries and stories behind the iconic SR-71 Blackbird. From its groundbreaking design to the classified missions that pushed the boundaries of aviation, we'll explore the high-altitude adventures and the brave pilots who soared into the pages of history. Get ready t...

Have you heard of one of Germany's most popular authors, Karl May? Born in the 1800s, post a life of petty-crime, Karl took his imagination WAY west and wrote several books about a traveling duo - Apache chief Winnetou and German settler Old Shatterhand. Even though none of it was true, that didn't stop Karl from dressing the part and saying it was true. These books are deep in the German zeitgeis...

Today we are re-releasing our episode on Chris Watts and the brutal murder of his family. We've said it before and we'll say it again - Divorce. Is. Fine. Yes, it will be annoying and hard and expensive but it's better than murdering your family and ending up in jail for the rest of your life. We just looked it up and looks like Chris is currently a custodian at a supermax in WI - and still someho...

Picture it - Chicago, 1871 - it's dry, windy, and everything is made of wood (sound familiar?). Chicago's small force of firemen are exhausted from battling a fire at a lumber yard next to a cardboard box factory - if you put that in a movie people would think you made it up! Then, around 8 pm one dry October night, there's a fire in the O'Leary barn. A cow probably didn't do it... probably. Learn...

Let's head back up to the sky and talk about how terrifying and dangerous clouds are! After a little bit of cloud background info, Farz tells us two terrifying stories. First, the story of William Rankin, "The Man Who Rode the Thunder," who hung in the air for 35 minutes after ejecting from his plane. He basically was IN a cloud, lightning, rain, and more. Then, Farz tells us about Delta Flight 19...

Let's talk about one of the most epic love stories of all time - Cleopatra and Mark Antony (who she was with AFTER she had kids with Julias Ceaser) - There is incest, war, spies, intrigue, double-crosses, and more! Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt clash in this classic love story!  Pretty great that 2000 years later we are still talking about it!  Join our Founders Club on Patreon to get ad-free epi...

You would think that as an F1 Racecar Driver, Michael Schumacher had seen it all. Farz tells us about Formula 1's tragedies, including the death of Ayrton Senna. There are a lot more (a total of 52 since 1952. That's not today's tragedy - Michael Schumacher was just back from retirement when he went skiing. A fall on his head has led to Schumacher being out of commission for the last ten years, so...

Welcome explorers!! Today, let's go west with Lewis and Clark (and everyone they brought, including the child bride & new mom, Sacagawea). We'll start with Thomas Jefferson's big idea and end with Meriweather Lewis's suicide upon his return. Did you know that the story of Lewis and Clark was mainly forgotten until the 1970s? Now, every schoolchild in America knows them! Put on your adventure caps...

Travel back to 1666 London with us! Houses are made of wood and dangerously close together. The summer was intensely dry, and a gale-force wind was coming in from the East. It's the night of September 2, and a baker on Pudding Lane forgot to put out his oven. The bell was rung, but a series of non-decisions by politicians and the rush to evacuate let the fire burn down 5/6th of the city. We're get...

Happy New Year!! Let's kick it off with the most Doomed body of water in America, The Salton Sea. What was once rich farmland and a Palm Springs-style paradise is now a salt-filled body of water surrounded by wasteland. What happened to change the landscape of The Salton Sea so quickly? Where will you be when the Water Wars start? This and more this week on Doomed to Fail!  Join our Founders Club...

Let's learn about volcanoes together. This year, Taylor hosted SEVEN episodes on volcanoes. We learned SO MUCH about the earth, humanity, tectonic plates, Ancient Rome, pyroclastic flows, and our inevitable doom. I am very proud of this work and I hope that you enjoy this wildly long omnibus as much as we do! 1. Mt. Toba's Echo: Journey into Earth's Cataclysmic Past 2. Time Capsule of Tragedy: Exp...

Hello! Casual re-relase of Episode 12 part 2 - the Nika Riots! Cue the robots! 🎉 Dive into the chaos of history with our latest episode on the Nika Riots! 🏛 Join us on 'Doomed to Fail' as we unravel the gripping tale of rebellion and mayhem in ancient Constantinople. 🌐 Get ready for a rollercoaster ride through the past! 🕰 #DoomedToFailPodcast #NikaRiots #HistoryUnleashed #PodcastTime #Historica...

Hello! Happy Holidays! This week, we're casually releasing re-releases at random times! Join us for Episode 12, part 1 - where Farz tells the tragic story of Phil Hartman - who was murdered by his jealous wife (and she was jealous because she wanted to be famous and she wasn't). It's devastating - but a good reminder to check out some of his SNL skits! We 11/10 recommend Bill Clinton at Mcdonald's...

Today we are re-releasing the tragedy of Kurt Cobain & Courtney Love. Farz will take us into the murky depths of the American North West to tell the tale of an entirely new genre of music that defined a generation. Wrap your flannel around your waist and grab a cup of coffee, we're going from the beginning of Grunge and the end of an icon.  Pics via the CC and AI.  Join our Founders Club on Patreo...

We're back with Engineering Disasters - this time, we're going to South Korea in 1995 for one of the most horrible disasters on record. The Sampoong Department Store was never meant to be a store - it was built as an apartment building and converted into a store. Developer Lee Joon ignored all the warning signs and made bad decisions after bad decisions - resulting in a collapse that killed over 5...

It's our final #volcano episode! We are going to #yellowstone #nationalpark to talk about what might happen if the #supervolcano erupts - but before that, we'll talk about the volcanoes on the moon & other planets in our solar system. We'll also talk about the 5 previous #MassExtinctions that Earth has seen. Will it happen to humans? Yes. Will it happen in our lifetimes? Probably not.   We are hon...

Dive into the fascinating world of Tulipmania with our latest re-release! 🌷💰 Join us as we unravel the captivating tale of the 17th-century Dutch craze that swept the nation, turning simple tulip bulbs into objects of desire and economic speculation. In this intriguing episode, we explore the origins of Tulipmania, its meteoric rise as a symbol of wealth and status, and the eventual bubble burst...

A couple of centuries before the Tenerife Airport Disaster that we covered recently, The Guanche people lived on the Canary Islands, until, of course, conquests etc. From 1402 - 1496, the Spanish ravaged the islands, finalizing their conquest with the takeover of Tenerife, the largest of the islands. There's a lot we don't know - but we do have some caves, mummies, and snippets from Pliny the Elde...

We're back from vacation! Farz went to Dollywood, was brave, and rode all the rides! Then, he came home and researched Roller Coaster accidents so the rest of us would never go on a ride again! First, he tells about 52-year-old Rosa Ayala-Gaona Esparza, who was violently thrown from a coaster at Six Flags Over Texas. Then, the story of John Harter, a 17-year-old who met his end in a fake Eifel Tow...

The key is not to be a Kennedy, or at least never get on a small plane with one. Re-visit the harrowing story of the Kennedy Clan - from Papa Joe's pretty racist stint as the US Ambassador to the UK, Joe Jr's Death in WWII, John & Bobby's assassinations, ski accidents, lobotomies, and plane crashes --- this one has it all! Explore the history of the most American Family of all time with us! Thank...

Finally re-releasing the stories from Doomed to Fail Episode 10!!! We are finally telling the stories that are in our theme song - Farz starts out with the story of OJ Simpson & his ex-wife Nicole. If you were alive in the 1990s, this is all you talked about the entire time. It was either OJ's spectacular Football career, his acting, rumors of domestic violence, and the most famous murder in Ameri...