Bangkok History Highlight: The Samut Prakan Radiation Incident [Season 4, Episode 8]

Bangkok History Highlight: The Samut Prakan Radiation Incident [Season 4, Episode 8]

Greg tells the true story of the 'Samut Prakan Radiation Incident,' which happened in Thailand in 2000. A piece of medical equipment that contained the highly radioactive isotope Cobalt 60 was improperly disposed of, and after a series of transactions ended up in the hands of everyday trash collectors. Unaware of its true nature, the men cut open the container with an acetylene torch, unwittingly releasing deadly radiation into the atmosphere.

Those involved soon started showing up at local clinics with strange burns and other mysterious symptoms. Thankfully, the doctors were on the ball, and soon realized they had a full-blown nuclear incident on their hands. After alerting authorities, the Thai Government office in charge of atomic safety jumped into high gear to stop things from going from bad to way, way worse.

Greg and Ed dig into the significance of the incident and how it resulted in improved regulations, agreeing that even though lives were lost, Bangkok was very lucky to avoid a much broader tragedy.

As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. And we'll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

Episoder(561)

Thai Politics: Where We Are, Why We're Here, and What's Coming Next [S6.E33]

Thai Politics: Where We Are, Why We're Here, and What's Coming Next [S6.E33]

Greg begins by explaining the momentous time we live in: soon there will be a general election in the Land of Smiles. He turns to Ed, allegedly a professor of political science, to give a primer (long...

28 Mar 202342min

Authors Paul & Yuangrat Wedel Discuss the History of Radicalism in Thailand - Part 2 [S6.E32]

Authors Paul & Yuangrat Wedel Discuss the History of Radicalism in Thailand - Part 2 [S6.E32]

This is the second part of a two part interview with Paul and Yuangrat Wedel, longtime scholars and writers on Thai history and society. The first part of the interview focused on the roots of radical...

21 Mar 20231h

Authors Paul & Yuangrat Wedel Discuss the History of Radicalism in Thailand - Part 1 [S6.E31]

Authors Paul & Yuangrat Wedel Discuss the History of Radicalism in Thailand - Part 1 [S6.E31]

Greg and Ed interview a fascinating and very erudite couple, Paul and Yuangrat Wedel. Paul, a native of New Jersey, met Yuangrat, a native of Nakhon Si Thammarat, in Bangkok in the late 1970s and thro...

14 Mar 202354min

Bangkok vs the World: Reading the Data to See How We Stack Up [S6.E30]

Bangkok vs the World: Reading the Data to See How We Stack Up [S6.E30]

Greg and Ed look at a few recent world rankings to see where Thailand fits into a world with nearly two hundred different countries. First, Greg brings up the 'Global Power City Index,' a comprehensiv...

7 Mar 202336min

Richard Barrow on Twitter Trolls, Upset Officials & Train Guides [S6.E29]

Richard Barrow on Twitter Trolls, Upset Officials & Train Guides [S6.E29]

This is Part 2 of our epic interview with Richard Barrow, giant among expats in Thailand. In the second half of the discussion, Richard continues with explaining his slow rise as a 'citizen journalist...

28 Feb 202359min

Richard Barrow on Life in Samut Prakan and Finding a Niche Online [S6.E28]

Richard Barrow on Life in Samut Prakan and Finding a Niche Online [S6.E28]

Greg and Ed meet the icon Richard Barrow in Samut Prakan and interview him about his unusual life in Thailand. Richard begins by explaining his life roaming Asia as a young man on his way to Australia...

21 Feb 20231h 3min

What Does ChatGPT's Artificial Intelligence Make of Bangkok? [S6.E27]

What Does ChatGPT's Artificial Intelligence Make of Bangkok? [S6.E27]

Unless you've been living under a rock lately, you've probably heard of ChatGPT, a brand new AI writing tool that produces some shockingly advanced stuff. It's only a few months old but it's already t...

14 Feb 202336min

Talking Acting & American Grub with Actor "Poo" Boonthanakit [S6.E26]

Talking Acting & American Grub with Actor "Poo" Boonthanakit [S6.E26]

Ed interviews Sahajak "Poo" Boonthakit, Thai actor and entertainer. K. Poo begins by explaining his unusual childhood: his father was a Thai diplomat and when Poo was a young boy his family moved to N...

7 Feb 202345min

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