In January 1919, Boston was hit by one of the strangest and deadliest industrial disasters in American history, a wave of molasses that killed 21 people and vanished from textbooks.

In this Deep Dive episode of At The Mic, Keith Malinak is joined by historian and author Stephen Puleo, whose book Dark Tide remains the definitive account of the Boston Molasses Flood. Together, they examine the corporate negligence that caused the disaster, the human stories behind the tragedy, and the landmark civil trial that followed, one of the first major cases to hold a corporation accountable for public harm. The conversation explores how the aftermath permanently changed American building codes, safety standards, and the legal relationship between corporations and the public, revealing why this overlooked moment in history still matters today.

Chapters:
00:00 Why Forgotten American Disasters Matter
10:17 The Day Boston Drowned in Molasses
20:12 Corporate Greed and a Tank Never Tested
28:10 Blaming Anarchists to Escape Responsibility
30:34 The Moment the Tank Collapsed
35:53 Rescue Efforts and the Human Toll
40:13 The Trial That Changed Corporate Accountability
45:02 How the Flood Reshaped U.S. Building Codes
50:15 Cleaning a City Buried in Molasses
53:07 The Victims’ Final Moments
55:34 The North End and Italian Immigrant Resilience
59:23 Why This Story Still Matters Today

Don’t be like the molasses company, neglecting basic responsibility. Like, subscribe, and follow At The Mic for more Deep Dives into overlooked American history.

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