Three Mile Island Meltdown
Did human error trigger the Three Mile Island meltdown?
4.4 (20)
59 mins
Explore the breakdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant where equipment failure and confusion led to a partial reactor meltdown. Discover how operators misinterpreted critical readings, delaying key decisions during the escalating emergency. Learn about how the crisis was eventually contained before it became a full nuclear disaster.
Ep 1:
Thirteen Seconds That Broke the Core
A stuck valve, a lying gauge, and rational men making fatal calls in the dark—follow the exact minute-by-minute unraveling that turned a routine night into America's worst nuclear accident.
Ep 2:
Panic, Spin, and a Hydrogen Bubble
As the core melts, a communications catastrophe unfolds—garbled press conferences, a hydrogen bubble that terrifies a nation, and a president who walks into the reactor himself to prove it's safe.
Ep 3:
Fallout, Fear, and an Unexpected Rebirth
The radiation barely touched Pennsylvania, but fear, a billion-dollar cleanup, and a dying industry did—until decades later, the ruined plant finds shocking new purpose powering artificial intelligence.
Ep 4:
Two Stories of a Meltdown
Beyond blame: uncovering the deeper systemic truths behind the meltdown, and asking what Three Mile Island's near-catastrophe really means for trusting complex technology today.
Discussions (10)
Maya
Level 7 · 4 mo agoNormal accident. Sure, Jan.
Rosemary
Level 10 · 4 mo agoso Babcock & Wilcox KNEW the PORV had failed 11 times and just... said nothing?? and there was a nearly identical incident at Davis-Besse 18 months before?? the audacity 💀
Augustus
Level 9 · 4 mo agoBlame the valve, save the world
