Edmund Fitzgerald: 50 Years Below

How did the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald become more famous than any shipwreck besides the Titanic? When Gordon Lightfoot read a Newsweek article about how Lake Superior "never gives up her dead," he was inspired to write a song that would become one of the most unlikely pop hits ever. Hear from a musician who knew Lightfoot, and from staff at four sites that keep the Fitzgerald's memory alive w...

Duluth TV anchor Dennis Anderson was preparing for the 10:00 news when he received a call asking about a 729-foot freighter that had gone down in Lake Superior. He realized he was going to have to cut into "Monday Night Football" and tell viewers that 29 men had died. Meanwhile, John Crowley was at a Duluth bar with some Coast Guard shipmates when they were all called back to their cutter — immedi...

The Edmund Fitzgerald made no distress call. During a Lake Superior storm on the night of November 10, 1975, the ship suddenly disappeared from radar, with no survivors left to tell the tale. What exactly happened out there? You'll learn what we know — and what we never will — about the circumstances surrounding the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Follow the vessel's last run across the lake, into...

Could anything reasonably have been done to avert the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald? What did Captain McSorley know about the weather he was facing when he steamed out of Superior on November 9, 1975? Listen to what the ship's last inspection revealed about the state of its hatches, and what we now know about why the next day's storm turned deadly. You'll also learn more about the Fitzgerald's cr...

Why was the Edmund Fitzgerald a legend long before its loss? What was it like to ride on the Great Lakes' largest vessel? We put the ship in historical context, explaining why ships like the Fitzgerald are crucial to American industry. You'll hear the story of the Fitzgerald family, learn about the ship's troubled launch, and hear how regulation changes may have contributed to the vessel's ultimat...

On November 10, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald disappeared beneath the waves of Lake Superior without so much as a distress call. What, exactly, happened out there 50 years ago? This five-episode limited podcast tells the story of the Edmund Fitgerald from its launch to its loss — and explores the legacy of what has become one of the world's most famous shipwrecks. You'll hear from a former coast...