SNAFU with Ed Helms – S4E4: Paul Scheer and the Johnstown Flood

Original Air Date: October 29, 2025
Host: Ed Helms
Guest: Paul Scheer

Episode Overview

In this lively and harrowing episode, Ed Helms sits down with Paul Scheer (comedian, author, podcaster) to uncover the catastrophic story of the Johnstown Flood of 1889—one of America’s worst industrial disasters. Mixing history, humor, and hard truths, Helms and Scheer unpack the confluence of greed, bad engineering, and class divisions that turned a Pennsylvania boomtown into a site of mass tragedy. Along the way, they riff on infrastructure follies, disaster movies, and the bizarrely recurring figure of robber baron Henry Clay Frick. It’s a rollercoaster of historic faceplants, leavened by Scheer’s comedic perspective and Helms’s gift for drawing out the darkly absurd.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Catching Up with Paul Scheer & Establishing the Episode (01:54–06:49)

• Paul and Ed reminisce about their days in the New York comedy scene at UCB, recalling grimy venues and wild backstage stories.
  • Paul Scheer: “We were performing in an old strip club where sometimes you’d be doing a show and people would... get up and leave. And you’re like, did I do a bad job? No, they just thought they were coming to a strip club.” (04:39)
• Helms gives Scheer a warm intro, touting his prolific success as a comedian, podcaster, and now author.
• Scheer admits he’s long had a fascination with disasters—having even flooded his own home in L.A.

2. The Setup: Johnstown in the Gilded Age (08:06–11:49)

• Helms: Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1889 was a booming industrial town, its growth fueled by steel, coal, and an influx of European immigrants.
• Scheer: Notes the pitfalls of unchecked growth, likening the situation to SimCity: "You can’t build too quick. There are enough sewage plants? Things happen." (09:41)

3. The Dam, the Rich Men, and Big Mistakes (11:49–15:08)

• Helms explains how the South Fork Dam and Canal—vital infrastructure—ended up in the hands of Henry Clay Frick, a young “robber baron,” who converted Lake Conemaugh into the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club for the ultra-rich (11:49).
• Frick’s renovations included lowering the dam for a carriage road, selling off safety pipes and valves, and adding a fish screen—all degrading safety for the sake of leisure.
  • Scheer: “You can talk somebody into a bad idea really quickly... it’s a bunch of small things that make sense, but then when you pile them all together, it is disaster.” (14:11)
• Safety was repeatedly sacrificed for the convenience of the privileged.

4. Warning Signs and the “Perfect Storm” (15:08–17:49)

• The steel mills in Johnstown, needing more land for housing, started dumping slag into the rivers, shrinking their capacity and making the region prone to flooding.
• Helms connects the dots: “You’ve got a region undergoing massive, short-sighted infrastructure changes... all coalescing into—the perfect storm.” (16:29)
• Both compare the tension-building in historical events to that of disaster movies.

5. The Deluge Begins: The Storm of 1889 (18:02–22:01)

• In late May, an unprecedented downpour hits: 6–10 inches of rain falls in 24 hours, combining with melting snow to swell Lake Conemaugh to the brink.
• The dam’s president, Elias Unger, frantically tries to clear the fish screen and warn Johnstown by telegraph—but lines are down, and decades of false alarms mean warnings are ignored.
  • Helms: “Even so, there were people racing down on horses and stuff, telling people. But there had been so many false alarms... that there was also a kind of blasé sense about it.” (20:46)
  • Scheer: "This is the sky is falling, kind of Chicken Little moment." (21:09)

6. The Collapse: Johnstown Flood Unleashed (22:01–31:46)

• At 2:50pm on May 31st, the dam gives way, unleashing a 60-ft wall of water and debris traveling at 40 mph. The devastation is instant and nearly total.
  • Helms: "The flood was just beginning... it’s about to get real grim." (22:01)
• The destruction is described in vivid, cinematic terms, with railroad cars, barbed wire, buildings, and industrial waste swept along.
  • Helms: “Most people... are overtaken so quickly and there’s so much panic and chaos you’re just grasping for anything you can grab onto.” (31:15)
• Scheer and Helms riff on disaster movie tropes, the futility of “good swimmers” against such events, and infamous scenes from Titanic.
  • Scheer: “You have a train wrapped in barbed wire heading for you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a good swimmer.” (31:15)

7. Compounding Tragedy: Fire and Aftermath (34:10–36:06)

• The waterborne debris pile chokes a stone bridge and catches fire, burning for three days and adding inferno to flood.
  • Scheer: "It's almost overwhelming to even comprehend... No one can survive this." (34:10)
• By the end, the wreckage is a 30-acre heap, up to 70 feet high in places.
  • Helms: “Nearly three months to clear out.” (36:06)
• A photograph of a tree-impaled house, with the family inside surviving, becomes the iconic image of disaster.

8. The Toll: Victims, Loss, and Miracles (36:08–38:33)

• Over 2,200 people die; the flood is the deadliest U.S. disaster of its kind until the Galveston hurricane.
• Rumors included a baby surviving a 75-mile journey on floating debris.
• Massive property losses: $17 million at the time (about $600 million today).

9. Response, Accountability, and Human Nature (43:39–49:59)

• The American Red Cross, led by Clara Barton, organizes its first major disaster response, cementing the organization’s legacy for relief work.
  • Scheer: “Is this the first time the Red Cross exists or...?”
  • Helms: “First time they were called into action in this capacity. Clara Barton was a huge part of this recovery effort...” (44:27)
• The hosts reflect humorously and seriously on resilience and the urge to rebuild (“we’re basically cockroaches” – Helms).
• Lawsuits against the South Fork Club and Henry Clay Frick go nowhere. The Civil Engineering society’s inquiry (funded by Andrew Carnegie, also a club member) finds no wrongdoing; the courts call the flood an “act of God,” letting the wealthy off any hook.

10. Reflection & Legacy (49:59–56:28)

• The event spurred some (too-late) infrastructure improvements, including an inclined railway to help Johnstown residents reach safer ground (52:05).
• Paul and Ed dive into the psychology of tycoons, culpability, and moral blindness among powerful figures, drawing parallels to contemporary leaders, presidents, and even disaster relief icons.
  • Scheer: "Every great leader, tycoon, even athletes, has to have this ability to separate themselves from their actions." (53:47)
• The story is retold in a spectacular 1926 silent film, which the pair marvel at for its early special effects.

Memorable Quotes

• “We knew each other when we were just comedy larva wriggling around.” — Ed Helms (04:22)
• “It’s a bunch of small things that make sense, but then when you pile them all together, it is disaster.” — Paul Scheer (14:11)
• “Basically Johnstown now had the cardiovascular health of a chain-smoking borscht belt lounge act.” — Ed Helms (16:15)
• “You have a train wrapped in barbed wire heading for you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a good swimmer.” — Paul Scheer (31:15)
• “Why do we have to wait for disasters for this side of us to emerge?” — Ed Helms (47:15)
• “Every great leader, tycoon, even athletes... has to have this ability to separate themselves from their actions, because I don’t think you could go to bed at night.” — Paul Scheer (53:47)

Notable Timestamps

• [04:39] – Scheer on UCB’s early days as a repurposed strip club
• [11:49] – The dam is bought by Frick, the rich get their fishing club
• [16:29] – “The perfect storm” setup for disaster
• [18:02] – Rainstorm hits: heaviest ever recorded in the region
• [20:46] – Communication breakdown: warnings ignored
• [22:01] – The dam breaks; the deluge begins
• [31:15] – The futility of “being a good swimmer” vs. disaster
• [34:10] – Flood is compounded by fire; town is devastated
• [43:39] – The Red Cross and nation’s rescue/relief response
• [49:59] – The courts rule disaster as “act of God,” absolving the Club
• [52:05] – Post-flood infrastructure: the inclined railway
• [54:29] – The 1926 silent disaster film and special effects spectacle

Tone & Atmosphere

• The tone is a mix of darkly comedic banter and genuine shock at historical negligence and suffering. There are sharp jabs at the upper class, self-deprecating humor about disaster preparedness, and a running throughline of Scheer and Helms marveling at both the absurdity and horror of how preventable the Johnstown Flood actually was. Despite the death toll, both manage to find moments of levity—often through cultural references and riffing on disaster movie tropes.

For New Listeners

This episode gives a fast-paced, compelling crash course in the Johnstown Flood—a tale with disturbing echoes today. The hosts courageously poke fun where they can, but never lose sight of the gruesome toll or the social lessons. If you liked the blend of historic catastrophe, comedy, and biting critique of the powerful, this is classic SNAFU.

Podcast fans and history nerds alike, you’ll end up a little smarter, and a little more wary of country clubs with dams.