general slocum

In 1904, a fire broke out on a steamboat full of families enjoying a ride along New York City’s East River. The panicked passengers quickly discovered they had an even bigger problem on their hands - the ship’s life preservers. The safety equipment turned an emergency into a catastrophe. 

When you run a business, you build relationships with other businesses. They become your vendors and suppliers. But what happens when these third parties make decisions that put your customers and your business at risk?

We talk with Edward T. O’Donnell, author of Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum, and Matt Moog, General Manager of Third Party Risk Management at OneTrust, to find out how an untrustworthy vendor can sink your brand and your business.

This week on Legends & Spirits we're making the final stop on our tour of NYC’s Erie Islands. We'll run our ship aground on North Brother Island, whose ghostly remains have witnessed death and disease of the many souls who’ve perished on and off its shores. Is North Brother Island haunted?… OH BROTHER, you have no idea!

In this week’s Macabre Mixology, we’re ending our ‘Summer Spirits Series’ with the new reigning champ of brunch bevies and in our Spooky Saloons, we’ll duck into yet another one of NYC’s oldest and longest operating watering holes that dates back to the 1800s. This classic HAUNT is just that, with some of its regulars still frequenting after almost 150 years.

Welcome to Legends and Spirits!

Visit us: legendsandspiritspodcast.com

Instagram: legends_and_spirits_podcast

Twitter: Legends and Spirits Podcast

Facebook: Legends & Spirits Podcast

Patreon: patreon.com/legendsandspiritspodcast 

Email us: cheers@legendsandspiritspodcast.com 

Artwork by: zombienose.com

Music by: Burton Bumgarner, Ken Peters music@legendsandspiritspodcast.com

Full credit list and references at: legendsandspiritspodcast.com

Tips (via PayPal) are always appreciated:  TIP JAR

In this episode we cover the tragic tale of the paddle steamer General Slocum, which caught fire in New York's East River in 1904, leading to the deaths of at least 1,000 people - many of whom were children.

"A Spectacle of Horror - The Burning of the General Slocum"
- This is the Smithsonian article referenced in the episode

Manhattan Melodrama (opening sequence)

Henry Slocum monument at Gettysburg

*Originally released 7/19/21; edited and re-released 2/25/22

A bright, sunny New York morning turned to disaster in a matter of moments - and it would be the city's most deadly disaster for almost a hundred years. This heartbreaking disaster literally decimated a community, with a death toll of over a thousand, mostly women and children.

Drawing from contemporary reports and eyewitness accounts, I'll tell the story of the General Slocum disaster.

Visit www.greatdisasters.co.uk for the full transcript and more.

Check out the Great Disasters Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - let me know what you think of the show.