Claim OwnershipUnsinkable: The Titanic Podcast
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© 2026 Unsinkable: The Titanic Podcast (L.A. Beadles)
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Welcome to Unsinkable, an intense look at the cultural history of Titanic and its era. The history of the ship is laden with: women, people of color, families that have spoken up and lived out loud to leave a legacy we cannot ignore. The past is present and the future. We cannot make the mistakes of our ancestors.
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Today's episode dives even deeper into the fascinating but complex familial history of Archibald Gracie IV, one of the most well-documented survivors of the Titanic disaster. We'll explore the layers of his lineage and how he viewed it, from his questionable passion for a Confederate military heritage to the personal tragedies that shaped the man who found himself aboard that ship in April 1912. In his memoir about the sinking, Archie the Fourth claimed that all lines of class had been ...
The Gracie family, starting with its original Scottish immigrant Archibald, built a shipping empire in 18th and 19th century America--New York to Alabama--that profoundly shaped economic development. But their wealth was deeply entangled with the slave trade, its plantation economy, and later the Civil War itself. Their legacy, memorialized in landmarks like Gracie Mansion (now the NYC mayor's residence), reflects the uncomfortable truth of how American prosperity was built on exploitation. W...
Happy 2026! Join me in a new season as I take a look at Titanic's historiography, changing legacy, and questions of its over-commodification. Feel free to reach out with feedback! All of the books I recommend can be found here, where you can purchase and support the podcast + local independent bookstores: https://bookshop.org/shop/unsinkablepod Support the show Support Unsinkable on Patreon for as little as $1/month: https://www.patreon.com/unsinkablepod Or buy me a coffee!: https://www...
Join author Richard Stone and myself as we discuss his work Project Mayflower: Building and Sailing a 17th Century Replica--a detailed and important dive into the legacy of the Mayflower and how its replica (a joint venture between the US and the UK) has also resonated for several generations. You can find the book here: https://bookshop.org/a/80949/9781493084364 The Titanic and the Mayflower stand as perhaps the two most iconic vessels in modern cultural memory, legacies enduring not t...
Come along as we unpack a veritable grab-bag of "what if" questions, some submitted by listeners! These are questions that perhaps can't warrant their own episode but are important to address nonetheless. Thanks to Pablo as always and to you, the listeners, for being here! Support the show Support Unsinkable on Patreon for as little as $1/month: https://www.patreon.com/unsinkablepod Or buy me a coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/labeadles Buy Unsinkable shirts here!: https://www.bonfire....
Titaniac alert! This is a fun and moving one. Tim Baker is an actor, screenwriter, and firm believer that iced coffee should be its own food group. A Midwest-born, East Coast-raised transplant, he now calls Los Angeles home. Fueled by a healthy dose of sarcasm and a lifelong love for history, he writes about dynamic, flawed, and multifaceted characters—probably because he finds perfect people incredibly boring. His daily routine consists of a three-mile run, followed by several hours of...
Noah Angell is an artist who has exhibited and performed internationally. He's also an author - last year he published his first book, Ghosts of the British Museum, a meticulously-researched, genre-defying narrative non-fiction work about the storied museum's many ghosts. He's currently at work on his first feature-length documentary film, and is speaking to us today from Durham, North Carolina. Join me for a truly meaningful conversation about artifacts, the energies they hold, the importanc...
Join me for a fantastic interview with renowned lawyer and journalist Adam Cohen, whose new non-fiction work--Captain's Dinner: A Shipwreck, an Act of Cannibalism, and a Murder Trial that Changed Legal History--takes a look at one of the most controversial maritime cases of all time, on the cusp of the age of steam. From Author's Equity: "On May 19, 1884, the yacht Mignonette set sail from England on what should have been an uneventful voyage. When their vessel sank in the Atlantic, Captain T...
*Yes, mange is real in humans, I looked it up! *The film podcast I mention is Unspooled, with Amy Nicholson! Enjoy this fun dive into the life, love and manic-pixie-dream-boy aura of our favorite fictional Titanic third class passenger. Thanks to Pablo, as always, for joining me on this adventure. Support the show Support Unsinkable on Patreon for as little as $1/month: https://www.patreon.com/unsinkablepod Or buy me a coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/labeadles Buy Unsinkable shirts he...
In this second part of my exploration of the Astor fortune and its relationship with Mackinac Island and native communities, I look at the ways by which the fur trader impacted the island and its ecosystems, both human and non-human. I also break down the evolution of the island into a tourist destination, how the Astors bowed out of it as the fur business died down, but how ultimately they ended up back there in spirit. The Grand Hotel’s history also highlights here the growth of tourism, a ...
Visit my Bookshop link to buy the book club books and support the pod plus indie booksellers! https://bookshop.org/shop/unsinkablepod New pod merch can be found here: https://www.bonfire.com/store/unsinkable-the-titanic-podcast/ 20% of proceeds will be donated to World Central Kitchen! Support the show Support Unsinkable on Patreon for as little as $1/month: https://www.patreon.com/unsinkablepod Or buy me a coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/labeadles Buy Unsinkable shirts here!: ht...
The Astor family name conjures images of Gilded Age opulence and tragedy—perhaps most famously embodied by John Jacob Astor IV, who perished aboard the Titanic in 1912. But the roots of one of America's first great fortunes stretch back much further, to the late 18th century when German immigrant John Jacob Astor built a fur trading empire that spanned from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Northwest. His American Fur Company turned remote outposts like Mackinac Island into crucial commercial hu...
What is Captain Smith hadn't gone down with the ship but instead lived to attend the inquiries and be inevitably torn apart by the press? How does he live with himself? How does Titanic's legacy change? Is there a chance it did happen and someone saw Smith in Baltimore years later? Wild to imagine right...? Support the show Support Unsinkable on Patreon for as little as $1/month: https://www.patreon.com/unsinkablepod Or buy me a coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/labeadles Buy Unsinkable...
I'm back and energized for a whole new relevant and real era of Unsinkable. Take a listen! xLA Support the show Support Unsinkable on Patreon for as little as $1/month: https://www.patreon.com/unsinkablepod Or buy me a coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/labeadles Buy Unsinkable shirts here!: https://www.bonfire.com/unsinkable-the-first-t-shirt/ Support the pod via my Bookshop Storefront: https://bookshop.org/shop/unsinkablepod Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unsinkablep...
Join me and Pablo for another riveting "what if" in Titanic land! What if Titanic had enough lifeboats for all its passengers and crew? Would they have been loaded in enough time? Would all lives have been saved? More? What would change about the ship's legacy? Support the show Support Unsinkable on Patreon for as little as $1/month: https://www.patreon.com/unsinkablepod Or buy me a coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/labeadles Buy Unsinkable shirts here!: https://www.bonfire.com/unsinkab...
Ever wonder what became of Rose after she walked off of the Carpathia? Get in, let's go find out... Support the show Support Unsinkable on Patreon for as little as $1/month: https://www.patreon.com/unsinkablepod Or buy me a coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/labeadles Buy Unsinkable shirts here!: https://www.bonfire.com/unsinkable-the-first-t-shirt/ Support the pod via my Bookshop Storefront: https://bookshop.org/shop/unsinkablepod Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unsink...
This is a fun one! Pablo and I unpack the utter DESOLATION of a world without the success of 1997's Titanic. Imagine if somehow the Hollywood nutjobs who harassed James Cameron during the production were...right? That audiences wouldn't respond? How would it have affected what museums and memorial sites we have now, or how Titanic's legacy survives? What is pop culture without Jack and Rose? What is film history without this particular monocultural moment? I shudder to think! Support the show...
Join me and Pablo as we reflect on the wonder that swept the world when the shipwreck of Titanic was finally found in 1985 by Robert Ballard, and how it changed not just history books, but our own lives. We dive into a fascinating “what if”—imagining a world where Ballard never found the wreck. We discuss how the cultural history of the Titanic would be completely different: museums in Belfast, Southampton, Cobh, the United States might never have opened, millions of people may never have bec...
Join me and fellow Titanic expert Pablo O'Hana for an intriguing and oft-narrative-bending journey into the "what ifs" of Titanic's sinking. For decades historians and fanatics alike have tossed around theories of who was to blame, or what might have happened if a few details were different that fateful night. In this conversations series we'll unpack some of the most controversial questions in an attempt to present Titanic's cultural and social history in a brand new light. Cheers! Make sure...
Join me and fellow Titanic expert Pablo O'Hana for an intriguing and oft-narrative-bending journey into the "what ifs" of Titanic's sinking. For decades historians and fanatics alike have tossed around theories of who was to blame, or what might have happened if a few details were different that fateful night. In this conversations series we'll unpack some of the most controversial questions in an attempt to present Titanic's cultural and social history in a brand new light. Cheers! Make sure...
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Woke lady talks Titanic and toxic masculinity
Really glad I discovered your podcast. I have to admit I am a Titanic buff, but my fascination was launched before Cameron's film. I recall the 53 Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyick film, Kenneth More in ANTR in 58, then the 96 George C. Scott and Catherine Zeta-Jones tv film. I feel we are somewhat kindred spirits when it comes to Titanic. I am constantly in search of new books and articles. I am sure you are aware of Jack Thayer, the 17 year old survivor whom, found amongst his never published memoir, articulated his memories from before, during, and after that fatal morning. If I could, I would get this tattooed on me. "There was peace, and the world had an even tenor to its way. Nothing was revealed in the morning, the trend of which was not known the night before. It seems to me that the disaster about to occur was the event that not only made the world rub its eyes and awake, but woke it with a start, keeping it moving at a rapidly accelerating pace ever since with less and less