Japan’s Earthquake: Deciphering the Fury

The events that have afflicted Japan since the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami of March 11 are all too well known, but the events that occurred before and the even more ominous events that may occur in the near future are less known.

With the help of seismologist Chen Ji from the University of California, Santa Barbara, Curiouser & Curiouser host Jai Ranganathan explains the plate tectonics underlying the enormously powerful earthquake, how that crustal shift generated a deadly tsunami, and why that release of pent-up fury may presage even greater violence in the future, and not less.For more information on the Fukushima disaster, check out our three-part series on the topic:

Behind the Japanese Nuclear Reactor Crisis
Engineering professor Theo Theofanous, long recognized for his work on risk and accident analysis specifically focused on nuclear reactors, begins the first of three podcasts on the Fukushima incident with Curiouser & Curiouser host Jai Ranganathan.

Japanese Nuclear Crisis: How Does This End?
In Part II, Theofanous discusses the options Japan has to avert even greater catastrophe at the badly damaged Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant.The Dilemma and Future of Nuclear Power

In Part III, Theofanous talks about the health impacts of radiation leaking from the crippled Japanese nuclear power plant and about the future of nuclear power.