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PODCAST

The Outfall Podcast

Welcome to The Outfall – a podcast that explores the backstories of our water world and its infrastructure through unique stories. Whether you’re a curious learner or simply looking for an engaging listen, this podcast is designed to cater to a diverse audience. We aim to deliver short and engaging episodes for our audience, have a blast creating them, and uncover the fascinating tales about our water world.

science natural sciences

All Episodes

5:20

When Undersea Cables Break

The Outfall Podcast ·

2026/10/02

An undersea cable breaks in the middle of the Atlantic, and the answer to “what happens now?” takes us back to 1866. The Great Eastern is searching for a lost cable with a hook, a winch, and a crew trying to hear one word from Ireland. Then Samanth Subramanian explains why repairing the internet still involves dragging a grapnel across the ocean floor.Full show notes for this FIVE MINUTE SHORT and resources Support The Outfall on Patreon: The Outfall on Patreon Instagram: @the_outfall Featuring:

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18:42

Where the Internet Comes Ashore Part 2

The Outfall Podcast ·

2026/09/26

A cable from Argentina comes ashore through a manhole at Myrtle Beach State Park, and it does not stop there. In Part 2 of Where the Internet Comes Ashore, DC BLOX, the company that built the landing station, follows it 470 miles to Atlanta and the data centers waiting at the other end. One building on that route is already too small. Visit the show notes here.

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14:25

Where the Internet Comes Ashore, Part 1

The Outfall Podcast ·

2026/09/12

We found a line on a map that runs nine thousand miles up from Argentina and comes ashore at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We didn't believe it, so we called Samanth Subramanian, who wrote a book about the cables that carry the internet across the ocean floor. Somebody decided the internet should climb out of the sea under a beach full of mini golf and pancake houses. See the show notes.

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5:41

The Hidden Committee That Names America

The Outfall Podcast ·

2026/08/24

Somebody decided Pikes Peak would have no apostrophe. Somebody decides what every mountain, creek, and reservoir in America is officially called, and has since 1890. Almost nobody can name the committee, and most years nobody notices it is there. Show Notes. Join us on Instagram.

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5:58

My Creek Is Bigger Than Your River

The Outfall Podcast ·

2026/08/14

A creek beside Clemson outmuscles a river forty five minutes up the road, draining twice the land and carrying close to twice the water. No agency will call that wrong, because no official line between a CREEK and a RIVER exists anywhere in America.The reason the smaller word went to the bigger water is four hundred years old and has almost nothing to do with the water itself. Show Notes.

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11:46

The Wastewater Movie You Can't Stream

The Outfall Podcast ·

2026/07/31

Two filmmakers spent years inside the East End Wastewater Treatment Facility in Portland, Maine, and came out with a comedy. It has screened at festivals and museums across New England, and it is not on Netflix, not on Hulu, not for rent anywhere. Co-director Alex Wolf Lewis explains why, and the answer draws a line between independent film and the pipes under your city. Also, we have a special event planned. Learn more here.

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10:03

The Year of the Turtle: When the Wild Calls

The Outfall Podcast ·

2026/07/17

In 1993, Joel Jones got a wildlife biology degree and a dream of working in the woods. He ended up on the night shift at a sewer plant instead. He stayed thirty-two years and retired as CEO. And boy, did he come away with some stories. Show Notes and Pictures.

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18:57

Blank Space: The Land the Map Missed

The Outfall Podcast ·

2026/07/02

A man flipping through old tax map books finds a piece of land with no parcel number, no taxes paid, and no explanation. The county can't tell him why, so he spends two years of weekends with a compass and a stack of field notes from the 1750s trying to find out. What's still sitting out there in the woods changed the way we think about the ground under our feet. Visit our Show Notes.

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23:07

What's Beneath: 100 Episodes of The Outfall

The Outfall Podcast ·

2026/06/17

For seven years we thought we knew what this show was about. Listening back through 100 episodes proved us wrong. Episode 100 is the story of what we found underneath. Visit our website.

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4:06

Season 8 Trailer: Unclassified

The Outfall Podcast ·

2026/05/29

Season 8 of The Outfall starts with a set of coordinates, a fence line, and a wife who wisely stayed in the car. What comes next is bigger, quieter, and a lot stranger than where it began. New episodes begins in June. Visit our website. Join us online.

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14:45

Down the Drain: A Wastewater Crime

The Outfall Podcast ·

2025/12/30

A maintenance worker's suspicious 911 call. A toxic chemical banned since the 1970s. And a $2.5 million cleanup that started with one man's $6,000 shortcut. Former Spartanburg Water CEO Sue Schneider takes us inside the crisis. See the Show Notes.

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24:12

Chattooga: The Soul of a River

The Outfall Podcast ·

2025/12/03

For nearly a century, the Chattooga River has shaped the lives of the people who ran it, fought for it, and tried to keep it wild. In this episode, Jack Wise, Owner of Wildwater and conservationist Buzz Williams share how a once-secret river exploded after Deliverance, reshaped an entire community, and now faces a quieter kind of pressure. Along the way, we hear about a buried rapid, a new species, and a simple idea of “giving something up” that might decide the river’s future.Visit the Show Notes

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10:09

How to Steal a Golden Toilet in 300 Seconds

The Outfall Podcast ·

2025/11/18

In September 2019, thieves broke into Blenheim Palace and stole Maurizio Cattelan's "America"—a fully functional solid gold toilet worth $6 million—in under 5 minutes. But this isn't just a heist story: it's about an artwork that made 100,000 people equal for three minutes at a time, proving that true value can't be stolen. Join us for the wildest art infrastructure crime you've never heard of, where democracy met plumbing and lost. Visit our website. Visit us on Insta.

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5:05

SOLVED: The Swamp Lights Were Real

The Outfall Podcast ·

2025/10/29

For 400 years, people reported eerie blue lights dancing over marshes, which science often dismissed as folklore. Now, a stunning new paper from Stanford scientists proves the lights were real. The cause is stranger than any ghost story and connects directly to a topic in this season of stories. We explain in five minutes the phenomenon behind these "cool flames" and explore why the last major sighting was nearly a century ago. See the show notes.

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22:39

Chattooga: The Fight to Keep It Wild – Episode 3

The Outfall Podcast ·

2025/10/22

In the series finale, we go on set for the chaotic, death-defying filming of Deliverance and find out what really happened during Burt Reynolds's infamous waterfall stunt. Then, we follow Governor Jimmy Carter on his own daring canoe run down Bull Sluice. Finally, we explore how this perfect storm of Hollywood fame and political will converged to save the Chattooga River forever. Link to the Show Notes and Pictures. Join us on Instagram.

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16:25

Chattooga: The Fight to Keep It Wild – Episode 2

The Outfall Podcast ·

2025/10/03

In the 1960s, the Chattooga River was set to disappear. A series of massive dams were planned to turn 50 miles of wild rapids into a staircase of lakes. Meanwhile, a political battle raged in Washington over the future of America's wildest places, and a South Carolina poet named James Dickey was writing a terrifying novel about a canoe trip that would change everything. Visit the show notes here.

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15:15

Chattooga: The Fight to Keep It Wild - Episode 1

The Outfall Podcast ·

2025/09/22

Welcome to the premiere of our new series, Chattooga: The Fight to Keep It Wild. In this first episode, we journey back to a time when the Chattooga's fate seemed sealed. Like most major rivers in the American Southeast, it was destined to be tamed. This episode uncovers the extraordinary and unlikely convergence of events that set the stage for its survival. We trace the story from a campfire conversation where James Dickey conceived of his haunting novel, Deliverance, to a frustrated WWII aircraft

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17:30

When the Water Stopped: Helene’s 53-Day Siege on...

The Outfall Podcast ·

2025/09/02

When Hurricane Helene hit Asheville in September 2024, Water Resources Director David Melton watched his reservoir fill eight feet overnight and knew they were in trouble. Within hours, all three main transmission lines were gone, leaving 200,000 people without water for what would become a 53-day crisis. In this raw, unfiltered account, David shares the impossible decisions that kept a city alive – including the moment he told his staff, “The zombie apocalypse is here.” Visit the show notes

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26:30

The Invisible Revolution (Nanobubbles)

The Outfall Podcast ·

2025/08/18

What if the future of water came down to bubbles you’ll never see? Nanobubbles—thousands of times smaller than a grain of salt—are invisible, powerful, and already changing how we treat water, grow food, and even package beverages.In this episode, we trace the surprising journey of nanobubbles from lab accident to global adoption. See the Show Notes.

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05:58

The Banned Maritime Practice That Saved Lives

The Outfall Podcast ·

2025/08/04

For over a century, dumping oil overboard was how sailors survived deadly storms. This five-minute episode reveals the science behind this now-banned life-saving technique. See Show Notes.

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