The Trail of Tears

The Trail of Tears

Podcast Transcript Between 1830 and 1850, the United States forcibly displaced 60,000 Native Americans living in the Southern United States under the ‘Indian Removal Act.’ While being moved, thousands would die due to starvation, disease, and exposure.  Its impact has led some scholars to classify the event as a genocide. Regardless of how it is …

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The Republic of Pirates

The Republic of Pirates

Podcast Transcript Between 1706 and 1718, a group of pirates established a haven in the Bahamas.  Using a system of rules that they developed themselves, the pirates created their own forms of self-governance to maintain order within a society that was otherwise lawless.  This grew into a community of thousands of pirates before the British …

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Collective Nouns for Animals

Collective Nouns for Animals

Podcast Transcript The English language is weird.  We have words that are spelled the same but sound different. We have words that are spelled differently but sound the same.  We have words that sound nothing like how they are spelled, and a host of exceptions that you just have to know and remember. …and then …

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The Ivory Coast/Côte d’Ivoire

The Ivory Coast/Côte d'Ivoire

Podcast Transcript The Ivory Coast, or as it is officially known, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, is a country located in West Africa. Geographically, it is a small nation known for its agricultural production.  Despite its small size, the Ivory Coast is one of the most populous countries in West Africa, with a population of …

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Sherman’s March to the Sea

Sherman's March to the Sea

Podcast Transcript Just one week after President Abraham Lincoln was re-elected in November 1864, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman set out to execute one of the most audacious plans of the US Civil War.  His plan involved violating several central tenants of warfare which had been established for thousands of years, yet in the process, …

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The Third Amendment

The Third Amendment

Podcast Transcript The Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution holds some of the most treasured rights held by Americans.  This includes the rights of free speech, religion, assembly, due process, and protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, and self incrimination.  However, there are other parts to the Bill of Rights that don’t get …

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Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Podcast Transcript Located on the Adriatic Sea in the southernmost part of Croatia is the city of Dubrovnik.  Founded in the 7th century, it rose in prominence and became one of the leading city-states in Europe.  It was a major competitor with Venice in the region and had complicated relations with both the Byzantine and …

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The 1883 Eruption of Krakatoa

The 1883 Eruption of Krakatoa

Podcast Transcript On the morning of August 27, 1883, one of the most destructive natural disasters of the 19th century occurred between the islands of Java and Sumatra, in what is today the nation of Indonesia.  After weeks of low-level rumblings, a volcanic eruption totally obliterated the mountain that it had formed.  The devastation wasn’t …

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All About Hair

All About Hair

Podcast Transcript If you are listening to me speak these words and can understand what I’m saying, then you are a human being. If you are a human being, you are also a mammal, and if you are a mammal, you have hair….or at least the biological capability to produce hair. But why exactly do …

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