American Scandal - Deepwater Horizon | The Insidious War | 4

Episode Date: November 11, 2025

As oil continues to leak into the Gulf, BP claims it will “make it right”. But the company does everything they can to silence critics and hide the scale of the disaster. Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterListen to American Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting wondery.com/links/american-scandal/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Want to get more from American Scandal? Subscribe to Wondry Plus for early access to new episodes, add free listening, and exclusive content you can't find anywhere else. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts. American Scandal uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, might be invented, but everything is based on historical research. It's May 2010 in Barataria Bay, Louisiana.

From a flat-bottom boat, Jeff Phillips scans the coastal wetlands with a pair of binoculars. The marsh around him is stained black with oil that's been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico ever since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded several weeks ago. Barataria Bay is a popular nesting site for pelicans, and Phillips is a part of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service team that is trying to save as many of the birds as possible. They have several rehabilitation centers where the pelicans can be nursed back to health,

but first, biologists like Phillips and his colleague in the boat have to catch them. Hey, Jeff, there's one over here. Phillips crosses the deck to his colleague on the other side of the boat. He raises his binoculars as the other man points out where to look. Yeah, just at the end of the bank there. Oh, I see, poor little guy. The bird should be silver-gray, but this one is the color of mud.

It dips its head, desperately trying to preen its oil-coated feathers. Phillips lowers his binoculars. All right, let's get going. Phillips climbs out of the boat into the waist-high water. The other man hands him a long-handled net before jumping into the water beside him. They trudge out of the water and onto the bank as Phillips presses his foot down. Black liquid oozes out of the ground. Ah, it's seeping into the peak, too.

God knows what it's doing to the plants. Philip sighs. There's nothing they can do about the spread of oil, but at least they can try to help the birds that make their home here. So slowly they move along the bank nearer the pelican. All right, this is close enough. I'll net her, you grab her. Okay.

Billets braces himself in the mud and swings his net down over the bird. The pelican beats its wings as it struggles to. to free itself. All right, grab her, grab her. I don't know, a little help here. Careful. The bird snaps at the man who flinches back. A pelican's beak can be as sharp as a knife. Phillips rushes forward and grabs a struggling bird, clamping his hand around the bill. All right, I got you. Oh, you're not going to make this easy, are you? He swings a struggling bird under his arm and grips its body tightly. With the other man's help, he slides down the bank into the water with the pelican and starts wading the short distance.

back to the boat. Oh, hey, Jeff, there's another one over here. All right, well, let's get this little lady back to the boat first. Then we'll grab her friend. During the summer of 2010, over 8,000 birds are rescued from the beaches, wetlands, and inlets of the Gulf of Mexico. But for every bird saved, a hundred more will be lost. The full environmental impact at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill won't be known for years, but right now, for Jeff Phillips, It already feels like they're fighting a losing battle. Grab a coffee and discover Vegas-level excitement with BetMGM Casino. Now introducing our hottest exclusive, Friends, the one with the Multi-Drop.

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But behind that story lies another one of conflict, betrayal, and brutal violence against the very people who helped them survive. Listen to American history tellers on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. From Wondery, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is American Scandal. By May 2010, the wreck of the Deepwater Horizon was at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. The explosion that sank the BP oil rig had killed 11 men and left many more severely injured. But it took weeks for the true scale of the disaster to become clear. As millions of gallons of oil leaked into the ocean from the Maconda well, BP insisted that it was doing everything possible to kill.

contained the damage. It hired local fishermen to lay boom and clean up beaches. It opened claim centers and promised to pay out compensation to affected communities. But all across the Gulf, frustration was mounting due to the lack of speed and effectiveness of the British company's response. And as reporters started to ask difficult questions, BP seemed more concerned with controlling the flow of information than the flow of oil. This is episode four, the insidious war. It's late May 2010 on Grand Isle, a barrier island just off the south coast of Louisiana. A reporter and photographer from the Times Picayune drive along a causeway, a suspended highway

that runs above the wide, flat wetlands. The reporter is in a passenger seat, looking at a map trying to find the road to Elmer's Island Wildlife Refuge. They've been told a BP cleanup crew is working there and want to ask them questions. A mile or two later, they turn off the highway onto a gravel road stretching off into the marsh, but find their way blocked by several police cars and a huddle of officers talking with a woman in yellow vest. The reporter winds down her window and calls out to the woman. Hey there, we're trying to get to the Nature Reserve. I'm sorry, it's closed, but the beach on Grand Isle is open. Y'all can head up there instead. Oh, no, we're not tourists. We just want to see the beach here. The woman narrows her eyes.

Are you two reporters? Yes. Okay. Well, I'm going to need to ask you to turn around and head back to the highway. Well, hold on. I'm sorry. Who are you? The woman flashes her ID card. She's from BP. Ah, of course. You're with the company. Yes, we've set up an information point on the community center on Grand Isle. It's only a 10-minute drive. We came here to see the beach.

Well, if you want to film or take any photographs down there, you need to fill in the paperwork at the center, and then be escorted by a BP official. You're not suggesting we need a piece of paper to be on public lands. Well, this entire area. is off limits while the cleanup continues. And since when does a British corporation get to decide our access to public spaces? Well, it's BP's oil. BP's libel if anything happens. Oh, so you're saying it's a safety precaution?

Yes, that's right. I don't know. Sounds more like leaving criminals in charge of the crime scene. Look, I don't make the rules here. You're going to need to turn around. Hey, we have every right to be here. Ma'am, I don't want to have to call the deputies over. What, are they going to arrest me? The BP rep shrugs. Well, if you don't follow the rules,

then yeah, maybe. Despite the reporter's complaints, there's no way through the police roadblock without a BP escort. And it's not just beaches where the company is restricting press access. Out on the water, civilian boats aren't allowed

into many of the areas worst affected by the oil, and even aircraft must get special permission to fly over certain parts to the Gulf of Mexico. By land, sea, and air, BP is keeping the media at bay, but they can't hide the truth forever.

During the summer of 2010, it's not just reporters who are left frustrated by BP's lack of transparency. Despite repeated pleas from independent experts, BP will not measure the volume of oil still leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. Official government estimates put the leak at between 12 and 19,000 barrels per day, but BP calls requests for more precise figures a distraction. They insist that they're focused on stopping the leak, not measuring it. But scientists and environmental activists worry that BP is trying to downplay the severity of the spill, and over the summer, one marine scientist and oceanographer sets out to prove it. Dr. Samantha Joy has spent her career studying oil and gas and deep sea environments,

and she's been worried by what she's seen in the Gulf. Most of the media and most of the cleanup efforts have focused on the dramatic oil slicks visible from the air, but Joy thinks those slicks might just be the tip of the iceberg. She believes that oil leaking at high pressure from a deep sea well like Macondo might not rise to the surface at all, and instead it might float in vast plumes hidden beneath the waves. If that's true, no one in the government or the media has any idea how bad things really are.

So just a few weeks after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, Joy organizes an expedition to test her theory. A research vessel sets off into the Gulf, carrying a special probe, one that can be lowered into the ocean to collect water at different depths. A bad bag keeps joy on dry land, but from the computer in her office at the University of Georgia, she monitors the results as they come in. Soon, she sees something concerning. At around 2,000 feet below the surface, the amount of oxygen in the seawater begins to decrease.

This is precisely what Joy feared. She suspects that drop in oxygen level is caused by oil-eating bacteria, microbes that evolved over millions of years to consume hydrocarbons that naturally escape from the seafloor in the Gulf. These microbes use oxygen to break down oil, and the more oil they consume, the more they multiply, and the more oxygen they strip from the water. For the microbes, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is one enormous feast,

and they seem to be making the most of it. But that's just one day to play. point. Joy needs more. So her team spends days collecting water from different depths and locations around the Macondo well. When they retrieve the samples, some contain clear traces of oil, another sign that Joy is right. And by the time the research expedition draws to a close, Joy believes they have identified oil plumes as large as 10 miles long and three miles across. Oxygen levels in the affected waters are up to 50% lower than normal, making the deep sea almost uninhabitable for the fish, crab, and shrimp that usually live there. Joy is so disturbed by what

she's found that she decides to go to the media to tell the world what's going on under the surface of the Gulf. Newspapers and TV channels around the world quickly pick up the story, but when Joy presents her findings to industry experts and government agencies, she's met with more resistance. BP immediately tries to undermine her, issuing a statement that says there is no evidence of the plumes and implies Joy's findings are either inaccurate or exaggerated. Joy expected as much from the oil company, but even federal officials are skeptical. But their reaction only makes Joy more determined to prove that she's right. To shift opinion, she decides she needs more than just water samples as evidence,

so Joy raises funds for a second trip into the Gulf. This time, her back has recovered enough that she can join the expedition in person. She brings cameras with her to gather visual evidence, as well as sonar equipment, which uses to map the size, shape, and location of the plumes more precisely. And when she returns to shore, this additional data is harder for the government agencies to dismiss. And in early June 2010, officials confirmed that Dr. Joy was right. There are oil plumes in the water below the surface. But despite this growing scientific consensus, BP continues to insist that there are

are no large concentrations of oil under the sea. But while the company is publicly dismissive of Joy's research, according to a newspaper in Tampa Bay, Florida, BP is also failing to release any evidence that might contradict her. One scientist asks for a sample of oil from a condo, so it can be compared to the plumes, but BP refuses. To many onlookers, it seems that the company is trying to hide something, and indeed, behind the scenes, BP knows things may be far worse in the Gulf than they've been willing to admit. The U.S. government has revised its calculations and now estimates the flow from the Macondo well at between 35 and 60,000 barrels a day. But a BP document is leaked to a U.S. congressman contradicting that. The internal report suggests that, in the worst

case, as much as 100,000 barrels of oil a day may be leaking out of the well. The congressman who received this document accuses BP of being either incompetent or deceitful, and by now he's far from alone in thinking that. Many people suspect BP is lying about the extent of the spill and that it's in BP's financial interests to minimize estimates of the amount of oil in the Gulf. Under the Clean Water Act, penalties are based on the number of barrels spilled, so if BP can minimize the volume of oil being recorded,

it may also be able to significantly reduce the size of its eventual payout. And as part of the company's ongoing and concerted PR drive, BP CEO Tony Hayward has flown out from London to take charge of the cleanup efforts personally. And as part of his duties, he visits one of the community's hardest hit by the spill in South Louisiana. Hayward starts at a site on Grand Isle, one of the barrier islands off the coast. The day is planned around a standard mix of media-friendly activities carefully orchestrated by BP. The company's press team has prepared for the visit by taking out advertisements in the local area that proclaim, we will make this right, words that have become a catchphrase for Hayward.

He has a reputation as a straight talker, but at times his plain-spoken style can seem tone-deaf. He has already come under fire for suggesting that workers who fell sick after cleaning up the oil might have had food poisoning instead. Now he hopes to repair the damage of that incident with a smooth visit to Grand Isle. A camera crew follows Hayward as he walks along the beach, visits a supply depot, and talks to local fishermen. Howard's khakis and rolled up sleeves make for a stark contrast with the cleanup crews and their oil-stained coveralls and boots. Still, the workers appear pleased that Hayward has made the effort, and things seem to be going

well. But then Hayward turns to address the media. His PR team has prepared him for this moment. The communities impacted by the oil spill are expecting an apology, and Hayward intends to give one. He says BP is sorry for the disruption the spill has caused in their lives, but then he can't help making an awkward joke, saying, there's no one who wants this thing over more than I do. I'd like my life back. Within hours, footage of Hayward's self-pitying gaff is circulating

on news channels around the world. The backlash is swift. Politicians condemn BP, and the company's already battered reputation takes another hit. But for the families of the 11 crewmen who lost their lives in the explosion, Hayward's comment is an unforgivable insult. And to the American public at large, it seems confirmation that for all their conciliatory talk, BP executives care more about themselves and the communities devastated by their company's oil. And as this public outrage grows, politicians in Washington, D.C. become increasingly determined to make BP pay. In the fall of 1620, a battered merchant ship called the Mayflower set sail across the Atlantic. It carried 102 men, women, and children, risking it all to start again in the new world.

Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of American history tellers. Every week, we take you through the moments that shaped America, and in our latest season, we explore the untold story of the Pilgrims, one that goes far beyond the familiar tale of the first Thanksgiving. After landing at Cape Cod, the Pilgrims forged an unlikely alliance with the Wapinog people who helped the pilgrims survive the most brutal winter they'd ever known, laying the foundation for a powerful national mission,

But behind that story lies another, one of conflict, betrayal, and brutal violence against the very people who helped the Pilgrim survive. Follow American History Tellers on the Wonderry app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of American History Tellers The Mayflower, early and ad-free, right now on Wondery Plus. I'm Raza Jafri, and in the latest season of The Spy Who, we open the file on Morton Storm, The Spy Who lived inside Al-Qaeda. with his life in a notorious Danish biker gang, Morton's storm is lost. One afternoon he

stumbles into a library looking for answers. He finds them in the form of a book about Islam. The towering ginger-haired Dane doesn't know it yet, but that moment will hurl him into a world of radicalism and see him rise through the ranks of militant Islamist organization, Al-Qaeda, only to suffer a huge crisis of faith. He turns from devotee to spy, tasked with rooting out some of al-Qaeda's most feared generals. The CIA and MI5 bid for his allegiance as he loses himself in a life of cash-laden suitcases, double crosses and betrayal.

Follow The Spy Who on the Wonderry app, or wherever you listen to podcasts, or you can binge the full season of The Spy Who lived inside Al-Qaeda, early and ad-free with Wondery Plus. By mid-summer 2010, many Americans have become exhausted by BP's response to the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. Rather than taking accountability, BP and its contractors, TransOcean and Halliburton have repeatedly withheld information. They've downplayed the disaster's impact and used press releases to point the finger at one another.

BP executives, including CEO Tony Hayward, have even told reporters that this was not out of accident. This was not our drilling rig. But while the companies involved bicker over who's to blame, deep beneath the Gulf, oil continues to gush from the Macondo well. BP's attempts to stem the leak have so far proved unsuccessful. And despite initially promising that a relief well to siphon off the oil would be drilled in a matter of weeks by mid-June 2010, those operations are nowhere near complete. But it's not just BP and its contractors that are under fire. Regulatory failures almost certainly contributed to the disaster as well. And now congressional committees, federal watchdogs, and an independent commission established by President Barack Obama

begin to scrutinize the government's role in the ongoing crisis. Troubling details soon emerge. An investigation by the Department of the Interior reveals that Minerals Management Service officials allowed drilling at Macondo to commence without full environmental or safety impact assessments. And what's worse, BP's oil spill response plan was hopelessly out of date. The plan was meant to show how the company would prevent and respond to a worst-case scenario oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Minerals Management Service signed off on it without comment. But when investigators examine the plan, they find it riddled with errors.

It lists phone numbers for experts who have been dead for years, and warns are the risks to seals, walruses, and sea lions, species that are not found. in the Gulf of Mexico. One section even names a Japanese home shopping website as an emergency equipment provider. It was a sloppy copy and paste job, but the federal regulators just waved it through. And as the investigations continue, it becomes increasingly clear to lawmakers that there is a fundamental conflict of interest at the Minerals Management Service. On one hand, the MMS is meant to regulate offshore drilling, but on the other, the agency raises billions of dollars in royalties from the companies it overseas, and the more oil extracted, the greater the revenue for the MMS.

These are competing incentives. The results have been disastrous. MMS inspectors have developed cozy relationships with the companies they are supposed to police. According to the Interior Department, they've accepted bribes and shared drugs and pornography with oil industry employees. These incestuous dealings seem to have led the MMS to turn a blind eye to serious safety violations and risky drilling practices like those on the Deepwater Horizon.

Following these explosive revelations, the Obama administration immediately moves to break up the MMS. The agency is replaced by three separate bodies to distinguish the roles of regulation, revenue collection, and enforcement. The hope is that separating these responsibilities will eliminate the conflicts of interest that plagued the old agency and contributed to disasters like Deepwater Horizon. The government also interested in introduces a series of new safety measures. It issues a moratorium on offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and orders safety inspections of all deepwater operations there.

In response, there are howls of complaint from the oil companies. But the administration is undeterred. Following Deepwater Horizon, the White House believes the American public expects new and tougher regulation of the oil industry and it wants to deliver. And as part of their crackdown, the administration is determined to make an example out of BP. But there's a limit to what the government can demand.

BP must cover the full cost of the cleanup, which will almost certainly run into billions of dollars. But under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, it is currently liable for only a fraction of that in damages. The act was introduced by Congress after the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, when an oil tanker ran aground in Alaska. This law created new environmental rules for the industry to follow, but thanks to lobbying by oil companies, The Act also placed a cap on corporate liability. BP may be liable for only 75 million in damages unless the government can prove gross negligence, willful misconduct, or a violation of federal regulations,

and the court cases to do that could take years. And in the meantime, Americans are demanding immediate action. So the White House knows it needs to find another way to hold BP accountable. So on June 16, 2010, the administration summons BP's top executives to the White House. The company delegation is already in the Roosevelt room when President Barack Obama and his senior officials march in. BP has sent its controversial CEO, Tony Hayward,

along with its chairman and a team of lawyers. As the two groups exchanged greetings, Obama steps forward to shake Hayward's hand. Thank you for joining us today, Mr. Hayward. Hayward cracked a smile. Well, I would say it's a pleasure to be here, Mr. President, but I suppose that's not quite the right word, given the circumstances. Please take a seat.

I want to start by thanking BP for joining us here today. We all know the terrible toll this incident has taken on the Gulf. By meeting with us, you're showing a commendable willingness to cooperate. Well, of course, you know, as I've always said, we want to make this right. He gives a sickly smile, which Obama ignores. Now, my team has been assessing the economic fallout. We've drafted a plan of what it will take from BP, to compensate the victims.

An aide hands out glossy printouts, and the BP team flicked through the papers anxiously. Hayward looks up from the report. And how much are we talking here? To ensure all the victims are fairly compensated? $20 billion. The BP executives look at each other in shock. This sum is far higher than they expected.

Hayward gives an awkward grin. Well, that is certainly a very big number. And this is a very big spill, Mr. Hayward, the biggest in U.S. history, in fact. I'm aware of that, though I do believe. leave your own law caps our liability at $75 million. And I'm sure I don't have to remind you that criminal charges are still on the table. The government and the American people will look on BP far more favorably if you choose to cooperate now. And there's a simple way to pay for it.

Suspend your shareholder dividends for the rest of the year and use that cash to pay the victims. Well, Mr. President, we are perfectly willing to cooperate. But this is a lot to ask of our investors. Perhaps it is. But how do you think it will look if BP rewards its shareholders while families in the Gulf go hungry. Didn't you say you wanted to make this right? President Obama knows it will take many more hours of discussion to finalize the deal, but he can already tell they'll agree to it. BP doesn't have much choice.

The threat of criminal prosecution hangs in the air, and along with it, the risk of BP losing its license to operate in the United States. So while $20 billion is a big number, shortly after this meeting at the White House, President Barack Obama announces that BP has agreed to set aside the large sum for claims from locals impacted by the spill. The fund will be held in an escrow account administered by an independent third party without interference by BP or the federal government. But Washington is not done with BP just yet. The company's CEO, Tony Hayward, is called to testify before a House committee investigating the Deepwater Horizon spill.

On the morning of his appearance, the press gallery is packed and the last reporter to arrive struck to find a spot. She's just sitting down when the room falls silent and Hayward enters. He takes a seat at the witness table, looking pale and drawn. As he begins his opening remarks, he stares forward intently, his hands held together stiffly in front of him. He says that no one yet knows for certain what happened on the Deepwater Horizon, but whatever caused the explosion, BP will do what it can to make certain an incident like this never happens again. The reporter shifts in her seat. She's been following BP for years. years and has heard this kind of thing before. It's what the company seems to say after every

major incident, from the oil spill at Prudo Bay in Alaska to the explosion at the refinery in Texas and now Deepwater Horizon. But the reporter continues to listen, even if the rest of Hayward's appearance is equally unenlightening. Members of Congress ask him about the design of the Macondo well, the blowout preventer, the negative pressure test, and the decision to seal the well. To every question Hayward gives the same answers, he says, I can't recall, or I wasn't involved in that decision. An exasperated congresswoman then presses Hayward on whether it's his job as CEO to know what his company is doing. But Hayward sidesteps that question too, offering a rehearsed line about how distraught he is. It's clear to the reporter that BP's legal team has

coached Hayward carefully, and he seems to be sticking to the script. By the end of the testimony, the committee members are visibly frustrated. The hearing has provided few new answers and no satisfying sense of closure. So as Hayward makes a quick exit, the reporter glances at her colleagues in the press gallery. There doesn't seem to be much of a story here, but it's not long before Hayward makes the headlines once again. A month after his appearance in Washington, Hayward is abruptly replaced as BP's CEO and sent to work in Siberia for the company's Russian venture. This move is widely seen as an attempt to deflect American anger at BP, but the reporter knows that as long as oil keeps flowing beneath the Gulf of Mexico, the wounds caused by the deep water

horizon disaster will never heal. How hard is it to kill a planet? Maybe all it takes is a little drilling, some mining, and a whole lot of carbon pumped into the atmosphere. When you see what's left, it starts to look like a crime scene. Are we really safe? Is our water safe? You destroyed our time.

And crimes like that, they don't just happen. Call things accidents, there is no accident. This was 100% preventable. They're the result of choices by people, ruthless oil tycoons, corrupt politicians, even organized crime. These are the stories we need to be telling about our changing planet. Stories of scams, murders, and cover-ups that are about us. And the things we're doing to either protect the Earth or destroy it. Follow Lawless Planet on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen to new episodes of Lawless Planet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondry Plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Okay, Carrie, you ready? Quick, quick, quick. List three gifts you'd never give a cowboy. Lacey Bobby Sox. A diamond bracelet. A gift certificate to Sephora.

Oh, my God, that's outrageous, Carrie. Oh, wait, we're recording a commercial right now. We've got to tell them why we're doing this. Oh, yeah, sorry, pod listeners. Okay, so we're five besties who've been friends for five million years, and we love games, so of course we made our own. It's called Quick, Quick, Quick. You just pick a card and have your partner give three answers to an outrageous question. It's fast, fun, fantastic, and a bunch of other funny adjectives.

Anyone can play. Your mom, your dad, your kitten, your kids, your anti-Edna, and even your butcher. And you know what's incredible, there are no wrong answers. Just open your brain and say what's in it, just quickly. And you're not going to believe this. Well, you might once you start playing. it's as much fun to watch as it is to play, seriously. So get up and go grab your copy now at Target and Amazon.

Quick, quick, quick. It's the fastest way to have fun. While elected officials hold BP's feet to the fire in Congress, far away in the Gulf of Mexico, thousands of barrels of oil continued to go. rush into the ocean every day. And in public, BP has always expressed confidence that it will be able to stem the flow. But the Macondo well is almost a mile underwater.

No one has ever had to seal a leak like this at such a depth before, and behind the scenes, BP can't seem to work out how to do it. The company's first attempt was a 40-foot-high containment dome. The plan was simple. Lower the dome over the well to capture the escaping oil and gas, and then funnel it through a pipe to a ship on the surface. But as the BP team moved the dome into position, it quickly filled with gas and became buoyant. The 98-ton dome then began rocketing back toward the surface.

As ships scrambled to take evasive action, engineers just managed to regain control of the device and avert disaster. The containment dome plan was then promptly abandoned. Next, BP tried a top kill. This involved dumping 50,000 barrels of heavy drilling mud and cement over the well. The idea was to use the weight of this material to counterbalance the pressure of the oil gushing out. But the flow was so powerful that it blasted the mud and cement right back out of the well. After three days of trying, BP engineers once again conceded defeat. Their next idea was what they called a top hat.

It was similar to the original containment dome in some respects, but far smaller. BP hoped this design would reduce the risk of it being pushed up to the surface, and on May 29, 2010, the top hat was lowered to the seafloor and successfully installed on the leaking well using remotely operated vehicles. BP then quickly declared that the top hat was capturing the vast majority of the oil escaping for the Macondo well. But in the week since then, it's become clear that the company was being optimistic. Large amounts of oil are still leaking into the ocean,

proving that the top hat hasn't worked. So after BP's disappointing attempts, the White House decides to appoint a panel of top scientists from government and academia to independently assess BP's data and advise on whether the company's plans are viable. With their help, BP comes up with a new strategy it believes will finally work, a capping stack. Unlike previous containment efforts, this device will use a custom-built stack of valves and rams to seal off the well completely. The White House's man on the ground in the Gulf is Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen.

As National Incident Commander, he's in charge of the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and on July 9, 2010, he approves the installation of the capping stack. The following day, it's moved into position above the well, but not everyone thinks it's a good idea to switch it on. When industry consultants from other oil companies hear about this new strategy, they are vehemently opposed. So just hours before the capping stack is due to go into operation, Admiral Allen meets with the plan's detractors.

to hear their concerns. The oil executives and engineers take their seats around a conference table. Admiral Allen removes his glasses and looks around at them gravely. Well, first off, thank you all for coming here. I know this is a difficult situation, and we're fighting what I call an insidious war.

We've tried a lot of things and been defeated by the number of variables, but there's one thing I do know. Whatever agency we work for, whatever company we work for, we are all on the same side. Admiral Allen throws a pointed look across the table. And I know you've all read the briefing papers on this stacking cap plan.

I understand you have some thoughts on it. A man leans forward. Admiral, if I may? Admiral Allen recognizes him as a consultant from Exxon, one of BP's biggest rival. All right, yes, go ahead. The man holds up a piece of paper. Well, I have here a list of questions and concerns for my team, but our primary worry, though, is a risk of liquefaction.

And what is that? Did BP not ever discuss this possibility with you? No, not that I'm aware of. Alan looks behind him to one of his advisors who shakes his head, so the Exxon engineer goes on. Well, if you close the capping stack and it works, that's going to cut the flow of oil out into the ocean, which is great, but it will raise the pressure in the well.

And one thing we know about Macondo is that it's unstable. There's a chance the sand formation around it could liquefy and collapse under the stress. And if that happens, there will be nothing left to seal. it will be an unstoppable blowout. And how much oil are you saying would leak out? Well, there's up to a hundred million barrels of oil in that reservoir. Admiral Allen goes pale.

A hundred million barrels. What do you think the chances are of this liquefaction happening? Well, it's hard to put a precise number on it, and BP hasn't exactly been forthcoming with data. But if I were looking at the odds, I wouldn't like to bet against it. Admiral Allen nods grimly. All right? Well, then neither would I.

The engineer gives Alan. a wry smile. Yeah, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes today. Well, someone has to make the decision. Alan looks around the room and then turns back to the engineer. All right, well, that's liquefaction. We'll come back to that. But what's next on your list of potential catastrophes?

When the meeting ends, Admiral Allen sits alone at the table, staring down at his notes. He and the president's scientific council were convinced that the capping stack would work, but now he's not so sure. Every day, thousands of barrels of oil leak into the Gulf of Mexico, and something has to be done. But if they turn the capping stack on and make things worse, Admiral Allen knows he could go down in history as a man who poisoned an entire ocean. So the conversations over the capping stack continue long into the night. But by the following morning, Admiral Allen feels that he has the reassurance he needs to move forward with the capping stack. And on July 15, 2010, Alan and his team watched from a surface control system,

center as BP engineers slowly close the capping stack's valves one by one. Now all they can do is wait. The pressure in the capping stack is the crucial test. Too low and it will indicate that oil is still leaking out somewhere, too high, and there's a risk that Macondo may rupture once again. So BP engineers and government scientists pour over the data as it comes in. Cautiously, they extend the test hour by hour. But by July 17th, it's clear that the pressure is holding, and the capping stack has worked. After almost three months, the Macondo well has finally stopped leaking. A few days later, BP raises the possibility of completing a static kill,

pumping, drilling mud into the well to push the oil back into the reservoir. And despite continued industry reservations, Admiral Allen gives his approval. On August 3, 2010, BP engineers successfully complete the operation, forcing the oil out of the well and back into the reservoir below. But Macondo still is not safe. BP next completes a relief well that engineers use to drain off oil and decrease the pressure in the original well.

Then they reach the last stage in the process, the bottom kiln. BP pumps cement through the relief well to seal off the reservoir for good. And it's after this is completed that Admiral Allen finally declares on September 19, 2010, that Macondo is dead. It's taken 152 days to seal the well, and in that time, an estimated

4.9 million barrels of oil have been discharged into the Gulf of Mexico. This is coated in an area of water larger than the state of Florida. Millions of marine animals have died, and thousands of people have lost their livelihoods, costing the U.S. economy billions of dollars. But now, at least, the residents of the Gulf can begin to rebuild, and a few weeks later, the fisherman Rob Campo heads out on his boat again. It's just before dawn, his favorite time of day. Sunlight glints off the surface of the water, which Campo notices still has an iridescent shimmer.

With the oil in the water, he knows it might be years before his oyster beds are safe to harvest. Still, the government has authorized a season of red snapper fishing, and he's hoping to haul his first catch today. He doesn't know what to expect, but as his boat gets out into the deeper waters of the Gulf, he's shocked at what he finds. The snappers are some of the biggest he's seen, and he and his crew pull in fish as big as house cats. Campo guesses that the closure of the fisheries has allowed them to breed undisturbed by fishermen and for a moment he wonders what's worse, fishermen or the oil. But he doesn't think about it too long. The sun is out, there's a breeze on his face, and the boat is full again.

He feels better than he has in months. As long as there are fish in the sea, he's going to be all right. Months later, in January 2011, the National Commission on the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill releases its final report. It concludes the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico was entirely preventable. The blowout itself was triggered by a combination of factors, including faulty cement, a misinterpreted pressure test, and a blowout preventer that malfunctioned at a critical moment. But behind these individual errors and technical failures lay a corporate culture of risk-taking and cost-cutting at BP and a regulatory system in government that was incapable of policing the company.

In November 2012, BP agreed to plead guilty to 14 criminal charges relating to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The company received the biggest criminal fine in U.S. history, but no individuals were held responsible. Manslaughter charges against two BP managers on the rig were dropped, and no executive from the company was ever charged with a crime. Meanwhile, many of the workers employed by BP to clean up its mess, developed cancer, or died from illnesses they believed were caused. by the oil or the toxic chemicals used to disperse it. And today, despite the horrible costs of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, there remain fears that it could happen again. The laws governing oil exploration have been tightened since 2010,

but drilling at sea is never simple. And as fossil fuel companies go farther and deeper in their search for oil, the risks only grow. There are still hundreds of minor spills and accidents every year, but the next catastrophe could be only one mistake away. From Wondering, this is episode four of Deepwater Horizon from American Scandal. In our next episode, I speak with journalist Zach Olbbaum, host of the new podcast, Lawless Planet. We discuss how environmental disasters are often treated like accidents rather than crimes

and what he would take to actually hold corporations like BP accountable. If you're enjoying American scandal, you can unlock exclusive seasons on Wondry Plus. Binge new seasons first and listen completely ad-free when you join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a survey at Wondry.com slash survey.

If you'd like to learn more about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, we recommend the books Run to Failure by Abram Lusgarth, A Sea and Flames by Carl Safina, and Fire on the Horizon by Tom Schroeder and John Conrad. This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details, and while in most cases we can't know exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are based on historical research. American Scandal is hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham for Airship, audio editing by Mohamed Shazzy, sound designed by Gabriel Gould, music by Thrum. This episode is written and research by Lauren Sudworth, fact-checking by Alyssa Jung Perry, managing producer Emily Burke, development by Stephanie Jens, senior producer Andy Beckerman, Executive producers are William Simpson for airship, and Jenny Lauer Beckman, Marshal Louis, and Aaron O'Flaherty for Wondering.