Podcast Transcript The summer of 1858 in Illinois was one of the hottest on record. Yet, the weather paled in comparison to the rising political temperatures in the state. What should have been a routine U.S. Senate campaign turned into a profound turning point in American history. Abraham Lincoln, a former four-term state assemblyman, mounted …
Podcast Transcript The coconut is one of the most useful plants on Planet Earth. It can provide food, drink, oil, fiber, fuel, building materials, and even income for millions of people across the tropics. It can float across oceans, take root on distant shores, and become the foundation of entire island economies and cultures. From …
Podcast Transcript A doctor’s white coat is supposed to symbolize the healing, trust, and compassion of a medical professional. During the Holocaust, however, it became something very different in the hands of one of history’s most infamous criminals. His crimes were so heinous that they still shape modern medical ethics, human experimentation rules, and the …
Podcast Transcript Rome did not simply vanish when its empire fell. Its roads, laws, languages, calendars, architecture, engineering, and political ideas survived and became part of the foundation of the modern world. From the courtroom to the Capitol building, from the alphabet you read to the cities you live in, Rome is still with us …
Podcast Transcript For thousands of years, Yemen has been one of the most important crossroads in the world. It was home to ancient kingdoms, the legendary land of Sheba, the port that gave mocha coffee its name, and a strategic gateway between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Its mountains, tribes, empires, and divisions …
From the World Heritage inscription for the Historic Center of Siena: Siena is the embodiment of a medieval city. Its inhabitants pursued their rivalry with Florence right into the area of urban planning. Throughout the centuries, they preserved their city’s Gothic appearance, acquired between the 12th and 15th centuries. During this period the work of …
I’m in Vienna today for Easter Sunday. In 2009 I spent Holy Week in Jerusalem. Witnessing Easter, Passover, Palm Sunday and Good Friday in Holy Land was an experience I’ll never forget. Here are some of the image I took during that week. The Good Friday procession down the Via Dolorosa follow the ancient route …
My featured travel this week is Sherry Ott who is an accomplished travel photographer and blogs at Ottsworld.com. Sherry has been travel about as long as I have and I have met her on two continents, most recently in Valencia, Spain. Sherry Ott just completed driving from London to Mongolia in the Mongol Rally. A …
Podcast Transcript Leave a message for the 6th anniversary show! June is upon us. It is the month of your solstice of choice, depending on your hemisphere. The month of June comes from the Roman goddess Juno, who was the protector of the Roman state. She was also the queen of the gods, being both …