Podcast Transcript High in the Andes Mountains of Peru lies one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites. It was built by a civilization without iron tools, wheeled transportation, or a conventional writing system, yet its builders created extraordinary stonework, terraces, fountains, and drainage systems on a steep mountain ridge. For centuries, it remained largely …
Podcast Transcript For most of human history, identifying the person responsible for a crime depended on witnesses, confessions, and later fingerprints. Then, in the late 20th century, scientists developed a technique to identify an individual from microscopic traces left at a crime scene. It has cleared innocent suspects, identified killers decades after their crimes, and …
Podcast Transcript Before radio, television, and the internet, Americans packed theaters to see comedians, singers, dancers, acrobats, magicians, animal acts, and just about anything else that could hold an audience’s attention. For decades, this fast-moving form of entertainment was one of the biggest businesses in the country. It created stars, shaped popular culture, and served …
Podcast Transcript For thousands of years, one country has stood at the crossroads of the Mediterranean and the Sahara. It has been ruled by Numidian kings, Romans, Arabs, Ottomans, and Europeans. Its modern independence came only after one of the most violent decolonization struggles in history. A conflict still shapes the country today. Learn more …
Podcast Transcript There is an element so reactive that it was one of the last to be isolated, and chemists were injured trying to obtain it. Yet once tamed, it became essential to everything from aluminium production and nuclear technology to medicine, batteries, and nonstick coatings. Its compounds have also been at the center of …
Podcast Transcript For centuries, the pope was one of Europe’s most powerful figures, ruling the Church from Rome and challenging kings and emperors alike. Then, in the early 14th century, a bitter struggle with the French monarchy changed everything. For nearly seventy years, the center of Western Christianity shifted away from Rome, creating a wealthy …
Podcast Transcript For centuries, one seemingly ordinary fish helped feed armies, sustain empires, launch fishing fleets across the Atlantic, and shape the economies of entire nations. It could be preserved for months, transported enormous distances, and traded almost like a form of currency. Its abundance helped drive exploration, while its collapse became one of the …
Podcast Transcript Buried deep beneath thousands of feet of granite in Colorado is one of the most famous military installations ever built. Designed during the Cold War to remain operational during a nuclear attack, it features massive blast doors, buildings mounted on giant springs, and systems built to withstand catastrophe. It has inspired movies, television …
Transcript In 1844, the Philological Society of London began investigating the creation of a new English dictionary. This initial foray would lead to a dictionary that would be unlike any other dictionary ever created. It would not just give the definition and spelling of a word, but a complete history of each word and where …