A Toxic Turkey Day - a podcast by HISTORY

November 24, 1966. Millions of spectators flood Broadway in New York City to watch the Macy’s Day Parade on Thanksgiving morning. The iconic floats – Superman, Popeye, Smokey the Bear – are set against a grey sky that can only be described as noxious. A smog of pollutants is trapped over New York City, and it will ultimately kill nearly 200 people. How did the 1966 Thanksgiving Smog help usher in a new era of environmental protection? And how have we been thinking about environmental disasters all wrong?

Special thanks to our guest Professor Frank Uekotter, author of The Age of Smoke.

---

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Further episodes of HISTORY This Week

Further podcasts by HISTORY

Website of HISTORY