Ep. 04- The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
- Alex Weston
- Nov 15
- 2 min read
"The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy..."
-Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Fifty years ago this week, the iron ore freighter S.S, Edmund Fitzgerald sank beneath the icy waters of Lake Superior, claiming the lives of 29 sailors.
In this episode, we recount her harrowing final voyage, and examine why, out of the hundreds of shipwrecks that have occurred Lake Superior, the Edmund Fitzgerald maintains such an enduring hold on popular memory and imagination.
A little tip—if you are somehow not already familiar with Gordon Lightfoot's iconic 1976 ballad, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, go and give the song a listen before starting this episode, as we reference the song gratuitously.
[Content warning: tragic death, drowning]
Sources and More Resources:
Videos:
Full Documentary: The Edmund Fitzgerald (Click On Detroit - Local 4 - WDIV)
Gales of November: Diving the Edmund Fitzgerald (Fox 9 - Minneapolis / St. Paul)
Why Did She Split in Half? (Casual Navigation)
Through the Eyes of Capt. Cooper: The Night the Edmund Fitzgerald Went Down (Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society)
Websites and Online Articles:
Remembering the Men Lost in the Edmund Fitzgerald (Fox 11 News, 11/9/ 2025)
Photos from Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck dives over the years (Detroit Free Press, 11/2/2025)
Why can't people dive to see the Edmund Fitzgerald? A preservation expert explains (Tina Sawyer, WCMU, 11/5/2025)
Books:
Bacon, John U. The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald. (New York: Liveright Publishing, 2025)
Podcast Credits
Minnesota Unknown is produced, hosted, written, and researched by Alex Weston, Hannah Norton, and Josie Bergmann. This episode was edited by Alex Weston. Our theme song is by Union Shakedown. This episode is copyright 2025 by Minnesota Unknown, LLC. All rights reserved.
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