{"podcast":{"title":"EarthDate","slug":"earthdate-7713094","podcast_index_feed_id":7713094,"rss_url":"https://feeds.blubrry.com/feeds/3957418.xml","website_url":"http://blubrry.com/3957418/","image_url":"https://assets.blubrry.com/coverart/1400/3957418-201603.jpg","author":"Switch Energy Alliance","episode_count":300,"summary":"EarthDate is a short-format weekly audio program delivering concise, science-based stories about the Earth: its geology, environments, and the processes that shape our planet over deep time and today. Beginning in 2026, EarthDate is managed by Switch Energy Alliance and hosted by SEA's founder Dr. Scott W. Tinker. Together, we explore earth systems, natural resources, and their relevance to everyday life, with a focus on clear, accessible science education for broad audiences. EarthDate is written and directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Harry Lynch, and researched by Lynn Kistler. We search for captivating stories to remind listeners that science can enlighten, educate and entertain.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/earthdate-7713094"},"episode":{"title":"Meteorite Victims","slug":"meteorite-victims","published_at":"2026-05-14T14:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/earthdate-7713094/meteorite-victims","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/earthdate-7713094","url":"https://blubrry.com/3957418/153852832/meteorite-victims/","audio_url":"https://media.blubrry.com/3957418/content.blubrry.com/3957418/EarthDate_S14_E08.mp3","summary":"Each year around 17,000 meteorites make it through Earth’s atmosphere to strike the surface of the planet. With that many impacts, you’d think they would sometimes hit people. But it’s surprisingly rare. The most damaging effects of such extraterrestrial objects are when large ones break apart in the atmosphere causing an airburst, as we discussed in a prior episode. These can superheat Earth’s surface and in the distant past have incinerated entire villages. In China, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, suspected airbursts broke into many tiny meteorites and reportedly killed hundreds of people. But in modern times, we have very few recorded examples. And to be scientifically verifiable, the meteorite itself must be found. We have documents from the late 1800’s when meteorites struck a village in Kurdistan, killing one man and paralyzing another. Supposedly one of the meteorites was sent to Istanbul, but it has not been recovered. In the U.S., in the 1930’s, a meteorite pierced the roof of a car and embedded itself in the car seat. That one was collected but caused no injuries. In the 1950’s, an eight-pound meteorite shot through a woman’s house, smashed her radio and bounced into her, bruising her hip. She had to win a court battle to keep it, ultimately paying $500 for the privilege—that’s more than $6,000 today—plus her home repairs. A pretty big “impact” for a small rock.","meta_description":"Each year around 17,000 meteorites make it through Earth’s atmosphere to strike the surface of the planet. With that many impacts, you’d think they would…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":120,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/earthdate-7713094/episodes/meteorite-victims/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/earthdate-7713094/meteorite-victims.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}