QAA Podcast
Episode: Nuked in the Midwest feat. Devin O’Shea (Premium E280) Sample
Date: March 5, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, the QAA crew—Jake Rockatansky, Travis View, Liv Agar, and guest Devin O’Shea—dive into the disturbing and darkly comedic story of St. Louis’s radioactive legacy. They explore the bizarre, hazardous, and often covered-up history of nuclear waste disposal in the Midwest, focusing particularly on the ongoing crisis of a radioactive landfill in St. Louis, Missouri, and the inept government and corporate responses over the decades. The conversation mixes humor, history, and local reporting, with a focus on how dangerous material from the Manhattan Project ended up threatening a densely populated American city.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Simpsons as a Cultural Reference & Real-Life Parallels

• [00:48] Devin O’Shea opens by comparing a Simpsons episode’s comical depiction of nuclear waste to the grim reality in St. Louis.
• [00:48-01:23] "In St. Louis we said, oh, yeah, you think that's funny? How about a radioactive landfill that's on fire for 14 years?" — Devin
  The group uses satire to underscore the absurdity of the actual situation.

St. Louis’s Radioactive Landfill Disaster

• [01:25] Devin describes seeing alarming headlines about radioactive waste in two major North St. Louis landfills—West Lake and Bridgeton Landfills.
• [01:46-02:21] They lampoon the logic of storing Manhattan Project waste in a busy city, questioning the sense of moving radioactive material from New Mexico to Missouri.
  • “I would have expected like a really big, like, hole…with one of those weird like universal signs—none shall enter here.” — Julian, [01:46]
  • “I think they should have put it in Manhattan since that's the name of the project.” — Devin, [02:21]

The Comedy of Failed Nuclear Waste Disposal

• [03:01] Jake reads out the various failed “techniques” used for disposal—burying by the airport, forgetting about it, then reburying in a slightly “better spot.”
  • “Secretly burying the stuff near a creek by the airport… Forgetting about it and hoping no one notices… Finally admitting there's a problem, digging up millions of cubic meters of soil, then reburying it all in a slightly better spot.” — Jake, [03:01]
• The panel riffs on American bureaucratic culture and the tendency to “fix” disasters as minimally as possible.
  • “Wait till the absolute last second to tell everybody you did a big boo boo and then you fix it. Minorly.” — Jake, [03:17]
• They joke about the absurdity of mutation, referencing Chernobyl and The Simpsons, wondering how the U.S. would handle a nuclear disaster.
  • “I'm really happy that Chernobyl didn’t happen in America…they would have just played it off like, whoops, don't worry about that.” — Julian, [03:29]

The Current Threat: Subsurface Smoldering Event

• [04:07] Devin explains the ongoing crisis: an underground fire (“subsurface smoldering event”) has been burning beneath Bridgeton landfill for 14 years, threatening to reach the radioactive waste.
  • “For the last 14 years, something called the subsurface smoldering event has haunted a large part of St. Louis. It's a very DeLillo name. I like a lot. The subsurface smoldering event.” — Devin, [04:07]
• The crew lampoons the naming, likening it to a trendy festival.
  • “It's like a festival… you could buy a three day pass.” — Jake, [04:42]
• [04:50-05:17] Discussion of the real-life contingency plans for locals, including “go bags” and prepping to shelter in place if the radioactive material combusts.
  • “There are a whole bunch of emergency services…if the bad thing happens, people are supposed to either flee or shelter in place and close the air ducts and ventilation of their houses and hope for the best.” — Devin, [04:50]

Worst-Case Scenarios & Government Evasion

• [05:23] Jake asks what could happen if the fire meets the radioactive waste.
• [05:25-06:33] Devin shares details from an investigative report: radioactive contamination might already have reached the fire, risking cancerous particulate spreading over miles of populated neighborhoods. Officials remain dismissive.
  • “If the fire creeps into the Westlake landfill, the smoke will carry thorium and radium particulate up out of the subterranean and cancer pollen will waft up and out… Officials say chill out and they've never lied.” — Devin, [05:25]
  • “So yeah, one of those ‘it could be already this bad’ situations.” — Jake, [06:33]

Local Activism & Institutional Apathy

• [05:25-06:33] The story of tireless activism, especially by local mothers, highlights both the power of grassroots organizing and the extreme resistance they’ve met from public officials.
  • “A battalion of women activists have been catastrophically pissed off about this for a long time… helped me understand how much harassment public officials need and the ends to which officials will go to avoid talking to you.” — Devin, [05:25]

The Noonday Club and the Dark Social History of St. Louis Elites

• [06:37] Devin shares the strange and “cursed” history of St. Louis’s elites gathering at the Noonday Club, tying together threads of social club privilege, Charles Lindbergh’s Nazi associations, and links to the Manhattan Project scientists.
• [08:13] Reflections on the personalities and aesthetics of Nazi elites, likening Goering to a “Trump style Nazi” who loved big, shiny things.
  • “Goering really was like a Trump style Nazi. Like, he just liked owning big things. Like, that was his ideology.” — Julian, [08:13]

Tying It Together: American History, Satire, and Danger

• The episode weaves a surreal tapestry connecting seemingly ridiculous—yet true—realities of American disaster, elite mismanagement, and the haunting legacies of nuclear hubris.

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “Oh, yeah, you think that's funny? How about a radioactive landfill that's on fire for 14 years?”
  — Devin O’Shea ([00:48])
• “Wait till the absolute last second to tell everybody you did a big boo boo and then you fix it. Minorly.”
  — Jake ([03:17])
• “It's like what they did with cigarettes for like 100 years. They're like, it's actually good for you, all the radiation. It's gonna make you stronger. You'll have more children with more limbs.”
  — Jake ([03:48])
• “A battalion of women activists have been catastrophically pissed off about this for a long time.”
  — Devin ([05:25])
• “If the fire creeps into the Westlake landfill…the smoke will carry thorium and radium particulate…cancer pollen will waft up and out…It might be secretly doing that right now, but officials say chill out and they've never lied.”
  — Devin ([05:25-06:33])
• “Goering really was like a Trump style Nazi. Like, he just liked owning big things. Like, that was his ideology.”
  — Julian ([08:13])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:48 — St. Louis landfill vs. The Simpsons satirical reality
• 01:25 — Manhattan Project waste in Missouri: origins and mismanagement
• 03:01 — American strategies for hiding nuclear disasters
• 04:07 — The “subsurface smoldering event” and ongoing risks
• 05:25 — Harrowing potential for radioactive smoke and local activism
• 06:37 — The Noonday Club, St. Louis social history, and Nazi connections
• 08:13 — Reflection on authoritarian personalities, aesthetics, and legacy

Tone & Style

The tone is conversational, irreverent, and satirical, blending gallows humor with investigative reporting. The hosts keep the mood light even while discussing sobering topics—often using sarcasm and pop culture references to highlight the surreal intersection of American bureaucracy, corporate negligence, and environmental catastrophe.