Deepwater Horizon | The Summer of Tears | 3

American Scandal

Wondery

True Crime, Exhibit C, Society & Culture, History, Documentary, History Daily, American History Tellers, Lindsay Graham

4.6 • 18.7K Ratings

🗓️ 4 November 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When the Deepwater Horizon explodes on April 20, 2010, 11 men are killed, while the rest of the crew tries to escape the burning rig. In the days that follow, vast quantities of oil leak into the Gulf of Mexico. As the spill spreads, coastal communities struggle to deal with the scale of the environmental and economic disaster.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Want to get more from American Scandal?
0:02.8	Subscribe to Wondry Plus for early access to new episodes,
0:06.4	add free listening, and exclusive content you can't find anywhere else.
0:10.1	Join Wondery Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.
0:13.8	American Scandal uses dramatizations that are based on true events.
0:18.1	Some elements, including dialogue, might be invented,
0:22.5	but everything is based on historical events. Some elements, including dialogue, might be invented, but everything is based on historical research.
0:46.7	It's 9.45 p.m. on April 20th, 2010, on the Deepwater Horizon Oil rig, 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
0:51.4	In his office, Mike Williams turns away from the computer and picks up the phone.
0:55.0	Williams is in charge of keeping the rigs electronic and safety systems running. He's just finished a long day of repairs and maintenance reports, because
1:00.0	despite Deepwater Horizon's reputation as one of the most technologically advanced rigs in the world,
1:05.3	it hasn't had a major overhaul since it was launched almost a decade ago. Now it's showing its age.
1:11.9	For the past few months, the horizon has been floating above the Macondo exploratory well.
1:17.5	The drilling here has proven difficult, and the rig's crew is tired and on edge.
1:21.9	Almost everyone is looking forward to going home.
1:28.2	Cradling the phone under his chin, Williams calls his wife.
1:31.9	She picks up right away.
1:33.4	Hey, honey.
1:34.7	Hey, how are you? How's your day?
1:36.5	Oh, the kids have been running me ragged, but what's new?
1:38.9	How are things out there?
1:40.6	Williams sighs and leans back in his chair.
	...

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