The Thiokol Weapons Plant Explosion (1971) w/ Patrick Longstreth

In 1971, a massive explosion at the Thiokol plant in Woodbine, Georgia shook the small town and killed 29 workers, injuring dozens of others. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by director Patrick Longstreth to talk about how the plant provided good jobs for the rural community, but lax safety standards ultimately led to one of the worst industrial disasters in U.S. history. Patrick's new short film is called "The Day That Shook Georgia," you can watch it online now ! This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories. If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.com Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypod Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices