On January 28, 1986, millions watched as the Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off with a teacher on board - only to explode 73 seconds later. Thirty-seven years later, five passengers dove toward the Titanic wreck in OceanGate’s Titan submersible - never to return.
What connects these two tragedies? Not just technology or risk, but human psychology: normalcy bias, diffusion of responsibility, and the seductive power of a good story. In this episode of This, Again, Mallory Faust takes you through the eerie echoes between Ch...
On January 28, 1986, millions watched as the Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off with a teacher on board - only to explode 73 seconds later. Thirty-seven years later, five passengers dove toward the Titanic wreck in OceanGate’s Titan submersible - never to return.
What connects these two tragedies? Not just technology or risk, but human psychology: normalcy bias, diffusion of responsibility, and the seductive power of a good story. In this episode of This, Again, Mallory Faust takes you through the eerie echoes between Challenger and Titan, revealing how warnings were ignored, why accountability gets blurred, and why we still keep making the same mistakes.
Featuring vivid storytelling, historical context, and Mallory’s signature dark humor and empathy, this episode asks: when the evidence is right in front of us, why do we look away? And what does it take to finally listen?
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- The behind-the-scenes warnings before Challenger’s launch.
- Why engineers begged for a delay, and why no one listened.
- How Stockton Rush framed safety as “waste” before Titan’s last dive.
- The psychology of normalcy bias, ego, and diffusion of responsibility.
- Why good narratives often silence bad news.
- What Challenger and Titan reveal about us, not just our machines.
📚 Resources & Sources
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Rogers Commission Report: Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (Vols. I–V) NASA SMA+2GovInfo+2
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Hearing – Investigation of the Challenger Accident (Volume 1, Senate Hearings) GovInfo
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Rogers Commission Summary / Britannica: overview of commission findings and NASA’s fault Encyclopedia Britannica
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“Titan implosion: Highlights from the Coast Guard's … hearing” (ABC News) — hearing summary, witness input on Titan ABC News
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“Titan submersible implosion final report critical of CEO’s inadequate oversight” (ABC News): latest on Coast Guard’s report and criticism of Stockton Rush ABC News
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“All good here’: Last messages revealed from Titan submersible” (ABC News): on the final messaging from Titan before loss of contact ABC News
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“Witness gets emotional recounting doomed Titan dive” (ABC News): testimony from a former volunteer during the Titan expedition hearings ABC News
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“Chilling audio before sub imploded” (KATV / ABC affiliate): audio captured matching Titan implosion timing during tracking KATV
Attribution Notes:
- Every effort was made to cross-check primary sources and modern research. Where paraphrasing is used, it’s drawn from the texts above with narrative license for clarity and flow.
- If you spot an error or have a source to suggest, DM @thisagainshow
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This, Again is written, produced, and hosted by Mallory Faust.
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