Titan Sub Disaster | Cyclops | 2

0:00American scandal uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, might be invented, but everything is based on historical research.

0:20It's 2006 in Puget Sound near Seattle, Washington. Wendy Rush paces the deck of a small motorboat, her boots clacking against the fiberglass. It's a beautiful day. The late afternoon sun sends darts of light dancing over the waves, but Wendy barely notices. Her eyes are fixed on what's beneath the water. A cluster of bubbles appears, followed by a strange silhouette wobbling upward in the swell. Wendy leans forward as a bright yellow mini-submersible rises to the surface. A moment later, its top hatch swings open, and her husband's head pops out. For the past few months, Stockton Rush has been building this 13-foot mini-submersible using parts and blueprints obtained from a company in London.

1:05He insists it's safe, but Wendy couldn't shake the nerves when he took the sub under the waves for the first time half an hour ago.

1:15With a wide grin on his face, Stockton calls out from the sub. Oh, that was incredible! Incredible! Wendy throws him a rope, and Stockton loops it through a metal ring on the top of the yellow hull before throwing it back to her. She pulls him in. You said you'd be 20 minutes. I couldn't resist. I wanted to stay down a little longer. Here, help me out. Stockton reaches out for her hand. He pulls himself awkwardly from the hatch, wriggling like he's crawling out of a sleeping bag. When he's finally free, Wendy helps him climb up onto the motorboat. You look like someone's folded you into a suitcase.

1:49Well, it's a small price to pay. You wouldn't believe what it's like down there. Wendy raises an eyebrow. You were at 30 feet, Stockton, not the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Well, even at 30 feet, the world looks totally different. It's like stepping onto another planet. Well, I'm glad you had a good time. I've spent the last half hour imagining all the ways that little toy can sing. Hey, the K350 is not a little toy. It's a precisely engineered submersible. You said your elbows keep hitting the valves. Well, I can adjust that. Besides, lying on your stomach is an efficient use of space. You still need room to move your arms.

2:25No one said it's luxury travel. Besides, it's mine. I built that thing bolt by bolt, and it works. Wendy studies her husband, taking in the bright, almost feverish excitement in his eyes. She can't help smile it. All right, then. Tell me, what did you see? I can't even begin to describe it. There are forests of kelp down there, swaying like they're breathing. and so many fish. I had no idea. There's so much. But it's also so quiet. You just forget the entire world above you even exists. And I suppose that's why you took an extra 10 minutes, huh? You forget about me too? No, it just gets into your soul.

3:04That's my point. This is just the beginning. I'm going to be doing some big things. Wendy gives a wry smile and glances at the tiny yellow sun. With that thing, well, you got to remember, every great journey begins with a single step. Someday this is all going to be routine. We're going to take people to places that they've never dreamed of. All right, just make sure you always come back, all right? Wendy Rush fires up the motorboat as Stockton latches a submersible to the back. Once it's secure, they head toward land. All the way back home, every time Wendy looks over at Stockton, he's staring at the tiny yellow vessel rocking in the wake behind them.

3:43Over the 30 years that they've been married, Wendy's grown used to Stockton and his unusual obsessions, but she has no idea just how far this new one will take them.

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5:00From Audible Originals, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American Scandal.

5:24Fifteen years after his first trip beneath the waves, Stockton Rush would take a submersible to the most famous wreck in maritime history. The ocean liner Titanic had sunk on its maiden voyage in 1912, and for the next century and more, it maintained a hold on the world's imagination, featuring in countless books, plays, movies, and television shows. But the allure of Titanic would blind Rush to the risks of deep-sea exploration, and in June 2023, his hubris would catch up with him. His experimental submersible Titan suffered a catastrophic implosion, and the five people on board, including Rush himself, were killed instantly.

6:04Rush had been warned many times that he was courting disaster, but he was never the kind of man who listened to skeptics. This is Episode 2, Cyclops.

6:18It's 2007 in Puget Sound, Washington. 44-year-old Stockton Rush leans over the side of his motorboat, making final checks on the small, self-built submersible that's bobbing in the water. By now, Rush has taken several trips in this mini-sub. He's already met sharks, dolphins, and seals beneath the waves, and the deeper he descends, the more he sees and the further he wants to go next time. But before he takes his sub to a new depth, he always tests it first. As his wife Wendy watches on, Rush gets to his feet, dries his hands on his shorts, and steps over to the controls of an electric winch.

6:56He thumbs the button, and the motor whirs to life, its drum spinning, paying out rope. Rush and Wendy then lean over the rail as the bright yellow sub disappears into the dark water. Wendy jokes that it's probably the last time they'll ever see it. Rush grins back, but he's confident in the machine he's built. He keeps his eyes on the winch as it unwinds. So far, the sub has been to a maximum depth of 100 feet, but Rush is sure it can go far deeper. So when it reaches 100 feet, he keeps going. Wendy glances at him as it sinks deeper and deeper, but Rush still lets it run. He only shuts off the winch at 150 feet.

7:36For a moment, he lets the submersible dangle in the depths. Then he flips a switch and the winch reverses. The cable tightens, drawing the sub back up to the boat. Eventually, the submersible breaks the surface and Rush can't hold back. He immediately leans over the rail, wrestling open the hatch to peer inside. Wendy calls out from behind, asking what he can see, and Rush turns around triumphantly, declaring he can't see anything. The interior is bone dry. Pulling his head out, he quickly checks the exterior, too. There are no signs of damage, no gaps in the seals, no cracks on the window or the hull, and that's good enough for Rush.

8:15The next time this sub goes to 150 feet, he'll be inside. Over the next few months, Rush makes several more trips in his homemade submersible, going deeper each time. And with every trip, he notices subtle changes in the water. The light fades, the color shifts, and new species of plants and animals appear out of the gloom. But he's never satisfied. More than anything, he wants to reach the deep scattering layer, a twilight zone where marine life is so dense that early sonar operators mistook it for the bottom of the ocean. It's estimated that this layer contains more than a million invertebrate species, most still unknown to marine biologists.

8:56But there's a problem. The deep scattering layer begins at roughly 1 ,000 feet. That's almost twice the maximum depth of his homemade submersible. To reach that far, Rush will need to buy or build a far more advanced vessel. But Rush is not deterred. He sees himself as a pioneer. After all, it's in his blood. Rush was born in 1962 into a wealthy family with roots as old as the United States itself. He was named after two relatives who signed the Declaration of Independence, Richard Stockton and Benjamin Rush. And just like his founding father ancestors, the young Rush saw himself as a trailblazer.

9:34As a young man, he once dreamed of going into space, but poor eyesight put an end to that ambition. But after he made a fortune of his own in investment banking, he switched his attention to a different form of extreme exploration, the deep sea. The Kittredge 350 mini-submersible had given him his first exhilarating taste of underwater adventure, and now he's ready to go further. But even as a wealthy man, Rush can't achieve his ambitions alone. Luckily, he has a contact book full of friends who are even richer than he is. One stands out, the space-obsessed tech entrepreneur Guillermo Sondlein.

10:12And when Rush suggests to him that they can explore the oceans instead of the stars, Sunline quickly agrees to partner up. In 2009, the two men found a company together they named OceanGate. Their plan is to eventually run a fleet of submersibles, but they start with just one. The Antipodes is a five-person vessel with a steel hull rated to 1 ,000 feet. Although it's nearly 40 years old, the sub has plenty of life left in it, and OceanGate quickly begins renting it out to scientific researchers. Starting in 2010, OceanGate undertakes dozens of dives in Antipodes, many in partnership with the University of Washington.

10:49But the sub is not used solely for research. OceanGate also offers underwater excursions for paying customers. Its first tourism trips are to Catalina Island off the coast of California, but it soon adds other destinations, charging passengers up to$40 ,000 for a unique deep-sea adventure. And while combining tourism and research might seem like an awkward business plan, Stockton Rush finds a way to bring them together. He knows that tourists paying tens of thousands of dollars will have high expectations. And he can deliver a spectacular trip beneath the seas, but he's not a marine biologist.

11:26He can't tell his customers much about what they're seeing out the portholes, but thanks to his work with institutions like the University of Washington, he knows plenty of people who can. In early 2011, he reaches out to a marine biologist and invites him down to the jetty where Antipodes is moored. With a showman's flourish, Rush gives the biologist a tour of the submersible. He opens the hatch and the two men climb in. They peer through the domed windows at either end, and while they're still crouched inside, Rush outlines his proposal. He'll transport the scientists to the bottom of the sea free of charge.

12:00In return, the biologist will serve as a guide for three paying passengers who will be with them. To Rush, it's a perfect arrangement. The scientist gets to carry out his research for free, and the tourists get a genuine expert on board. The biologist can even put the tourists to work, giving them simple survey tasks and turning them into citizen scientists. A few minutes later, Rush and the biologist climb out of Antipodes and back onto the jetty. It's right there that the biologist extends his hand. OceanGate's offer is too good to refuse. Hiring a deepwater sub like this would normally blow his entire budget.

12:35Getting it for the cost of playing tour guide is an incredible deal. So the two men shake hands, sealing the deal with a grin. Over the next few months, Ocean Gate pushes ahead with its hybrid research and tourism strategy, and it works. Antipodes is regularly booked out. It's used to map the wreckage of the SS Governor, a ship that sank in Puget Sound in 1921. And on the other side of the continent, it surveys the coral reefs off Miami, Florida, where it even stumbles across a crashed World War II fighter plane on the seabed. With this business model proving a success, Rush starts to dream even bigger.

13:11And even deeper. But if he wants to take customers into the farthest depths of the ocean, he'll need a far more advanced sub than Antipodes. There's no suitable vessel on the second-hand market. So in 2013, OceanGate begins to design its own submersible. It's a pivotal moment that sparks a shift at the top of the company. Co-founder Guillermo Sonline's interests lie in exploration and research, not engineering. And recognizing that the company has moved on from its initial vision, he steps back from day-to-day operations. He still retains a minority stake in OceanGate. But now that the business is up and running, Stockton Rush is confident he can lead the company forward alone.

13:51So Rush launches himself into the development of OceanGate's first custom-built submersible. Cyclops is created in collaboration with the University of Washington and the aviation giant Boeing. But this new vessel isn't built entirely from scratch. Ocean Gate acquires a 12-year-old submersible from a company in the Azores, then uses its cylindrical steel hull as the basis of Cyclops. Then the Ocean Gate engineering team adds some innovations of their own, including a new maneuvering system, which they operate with an off-the-shelf Sony PlayStation controller. After two years in development, Cyclops is unveiled to the world in 2015 and immediately begins transporting paying passengers to underwater sites with expert guides on board.

14:35But not every mission goes according to plan. In June 2016, Cyclops embarks on a tourist excursion to the wreck of the Andrea Doria. This Italian ocean liner sank in 1956 off the coast of Nantucket after colliding with another ship. Since then, it's become an iconic destination for scuba divers. Lying on its side on the seabed, the liner is usually only accessible to the most daring and experienced. But now, though, thanks to Ocean Gate, the Andrea Doria is open to all. And as it descends into the depths, the metal walls of Cyclops vibrate faintly, the hum of its thrusters blending in with the muffled weight of the Atlantic pressing in from all sides.

15:17Passenger David Lockridge shifts its weight carefully inside the cramped home. He was recruited as Ocean Gate's Director of Marine Operations due to his years of experience as a submersible pilot. But today he's just along for the ride with the three paying passengers. It's his boss Stock and Rush who's at the controls.

15:39Lockridge checks a gauge and then another. They're on the seabed, just over 160 feet beneath the surface. He peers through the upper porthole and his blood runs cold. Enormous, dark mass of the Andrea Doria looms over them, like a mountain rising out of the fog. Hey, Stockton, back up. We're too close. From the pilot seat, Rush doesn't turn around. His eyes are locked on the murky green water ahead. No, we're fine. I got it. We're drifting under the bow. Pull back. Rush waves a hand, shooing away the warning. Relax. We're just getting a better look. Lockridge presses a palm to the cold acrylic dome, trying to judge the distance through the haze.

16:18Hey, Stockton, I'm serious here. Reverse thrust. Back away. Look, we're nowhere near. The sub jolts. Lockridge almost topples over. Oh, we've hit her, Stockton. We've hit the wreck. I told you. I'll just back us out, okay? Lockridge shakes his head. He wants to say more, but he knows now's not the time. They shouldn't have an argument in front of the customers. Rush forces a smile for them. Hey, folks. Sorry for that. Just a little delay here. We told you we'd give you a close-up view. Rush toggles the controls for a few moments, but the submersible doesn't move. Hey, you want me to take over?

16:53That's fine, David. Please, I'm the pilot. Let me do this. But whatever he tries, the subs still won't move. They're pinned beneath the enormous ocean liner. Rush stares out the porthole, his jaw clenched. Then, with a sudden, frustrated motion, he shoves the controller into Lockridge's chest. All right, fine. You do it. Are you sure? Yeah, just get us the hell out. Lockridge closes his hand around the controller, settles his breath, and slides into the pilot seat. Okay, everyone, hold on. David Lockridge toggles the thrusters, using gentle puffs at first to see how much play they have. The sub rocks a bit, scraping against the wreck again, but the nose lifts a fraction of an inch.

17:37Lockridge then angles the rear thrusters, pulses them carefully, and watches the sediment swirl around the porthole, Bit by bit, Cyclops shimmies backward, metal grinding on metal. Eventually, they slip free. David Lockridge has saved the sub as well as the lives of everyone on board, but he was too close for comfort, and he knows exactly who was to blame. Stockton Rush was reckless at the controls and ignored warnings. He can only hope now that Rush has learned his lesson.

18:09I'm Raza Jaffrey, and in the new season of The Spy Who, they open the file on Benedict Arnold, the spy who betrayed the American Revolution. America is fighting to free itself from the British Empire, and one of its foremost generals is Benedict Arnold. He's a smuggler turned battlefield hero and admired for his aggressive tactics. But when a war wound, a new wife, debts and politics test his loyalty to the max, he turns spy and devises a plot to shatter the revolution. and help Britain capture rebel commander-in-chief General George Washington. And that plot would make him the most infamous traitor in U.S.

18:52history. Follow The Spy Who now, wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen to the full season of The Spy Who Betrayed the American Revolution early and ad-free on Audible.

19:09As Americans, we're constantly grappling with a fundamental question. Do we settle for the world as it is, or do we strive to create the world as it should be? Our answers tend to ebb and flow through the decades. But once, just after a war that nearly tore us apart, we came as close as we've come to answering it. And it's a story worth a closer look. I'm Michelle Obama, and I'm proud to announce Higher Ground's new podcast, Reconstruction, The Unfinished Promise. Guided by bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell and featuring my husband, Barack Obama, this limited series uncovers the untold stories of reconstruction, what they mean for us today, and how our past can shape the future we choose to build.

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20:19Despite the near-miss during the dive to the Andrea Doria, the tourists aboard Cyclops don't seem to realize how close they came to disaster. When the sub returns to the surface, they gush with enthusiasm. They praise David Lockridge's steady handling of the vessel, and they can't stop talking about the eerie beauty of the wreck. As OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush listens to these excited tourists, their words confirm something he's noticed over the past few months. Shipwrecks ignite people's imaginations more than anything else in the sea. And if doomed ships sell tickets, then perhaps there's an easy way to supercharge OceanGate's growth.

20:57Rush decides he's going to lead expeditions to the most famous wreck of them all, the Titanic. What if Ocean Gate is to offer trips to the Titanic? It will require another vehicle upgrade, a whole new submersible that can go even deeper. The wreck of the Titanic lies over two miles below the surface of the North Atlantic, far beyond the capabilities of the Cyclops. At those depths, the pressure reaches around 6 ,000 pounds per square inch, Even a pinprick-sized hole in the hull would create a jet of water so powerful it would cut through flesh like a laser. All the previous submersibles that have made it to the Titanic were equipped with thick titanium hulls.

21:37But even though titanium is a lighter metal, its weight limits the size of the sub and the number of people it can carry. Three is the maximum, and that's no good to rush. To make tourist excursions to the Titanic a viable business, he will have to be able to carry three or four passengers on each trip, plus a pilot. So he rules out titanium and goes looking for a different approach. Together, they design a new craft, built out of a material that's never been used on a deep-sea submersible before, carbon fiber. It's a strong but lightweight material made out of strands of almost pure carbon that are bundled together and embedded in resin.

22:15It's durable enough that it's already widely used in airplane wings, high-performance sports cars, and wind turbine blades. So Rush figures it's time to try it in submersibles. But there's a problem. No one knows for certain how carbon fiber will behave under such pressure. Even multiple layers of the material may not be enough to withstand the crushing depths of the ocean. But that does not deter Rush. In his mind, he's a pioneer, and pioneers push forward where others fear to tread. So in January 2017, Oceangate signs a contract with a Sacramento-based company that specializes in carbon fiber.