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Unsafe By Design

Unsafe By Design

Written by: M.R. Kennedy
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Unsafe by Design is a documentary-style podcast examining the real-world consequences of technology failures that harmed or killed people — not because systems broke, but because they worked exactly as designed.

Each episode investigates a major technological disaster, from medical devices and aviation software to AI-driven decision systems, focusing on the engineering choices, organizational pressures, and human assumptions that turned innovation into catastrophe. We break down complex technical failures in clear, accessible language while centering the human cost behind every incident.

From the Therac-25 radiation overdoses to the Boeing 737 MAX MCAS failures, Unsafe by Design asks the uncomfortable questions:

Who is responsible when code kills?

Where does accountability end — and where should it begin?

This podcast is for engineers, technologists, policymakers, and anyone who trusts the systems that increasingly shape — and sometimes end — human lives.

Campbell & Associates LLC 2026
Episodes
  • The Hidden Flaw of Therac-25

    The Hidden Flaw of Therac-25
    Feb 1 2026

    The Fatal Flaw of Therac-25

    In the early 1980s, a state-of-the-art radiation therapy machine began injuring and killing cancer patients — without alarms, without mechanical safeguards, and without anyone believing the machine could be wrong.

    In this pilot episode of Unsafe by Design, we examine the Therac-25 radiation overdoses, one of the most important and chilling case studies in the history of software safety. What was marketed as a technological leap forward quietly removed critical hardware interlocks and replaced them with software — software that contained hidden race conditions, inadequate error handling, and assumptions that proved fatal.

    Through expert analysis and historical investigation, this episode explores how design decisions, reused code, and organizational denial combined to create a system that worked exactly as intended — while causing catastrophic harm.

    Therac-25 didn’t malfunction.

    It did what it was designed to do.

    This episode lays the foundation for Unsafe by Design: a series about technology failures rooted not in accidents, but in choices — and the human cost of trusting complex systems without adequate safeguards.
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    12 mins
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