Podcast Transcript The year 1850 was the mid-point of the 19th century, one of the most transformative centuries in human history. The first half of the 19th century saw wars, revolutions, and rapid technical and social changes. In fact, there was arguably more technical and social change in the world during those fifty years than …
Podcast Transcript Like many ancient civilizations, the Romans had a vast pantheon of gods. Unlike other civilizations, the Romans were very flexible in where their gods came from. In particular, they adopted many of their gods from the Greek pantheon. It wasn’t just a matter of copying them. They would often rename the gods and …
Podcast Transcript On March 13, 1964, at 2:30 am, a woman named Kitty Genovese was returning home from work. As she arrived outside her apartment, a man approached her with a knife. She was stabbed, raped, and killed. The murder itself is not what made this event noteworthy. It is known for the number of …
Podcast Transcript In 1946, a former Soviet tank mechanic who had no formal training in engineering or manufacturing submitted a design for a new gun in a competition. His design was selected, and it became the new rifle for the Soviet military. However, it didn’t just become a weapon for the Soviet Union; the design …
Podcast Transcript On February 1, 1908, the political fortunes of Portugal changed forever. The royal family was returning to Lisbon, traveling in an open horse-drawn carriage. While they were traveling, in broad daylight, and in front of dozens of witnesses, two radicals gunned down both the king and the heir apparent, throwing the Portuguese monarchy …
Podcast Transcript Some of the most venerated objects in many different religions are holy relics. Relics offer a tangible connection to significant figures in various religious traditions, and they are often highly prized and sought after. In the Middle Ages, relics became a significant business, and possessing the right relics could substantially boost a local …
Podcast Transcript On May 19, 1884, a small yacht containing four men set sail from England to Australia. On July 5th, the ship was hit by a massive wave and capsized. The crew escaped the shipwreck on a lifeboat, but was left in a horrible situation. They were hundreds of miles from land, with no …
Podcast Transcript During and before the Second World War, Nazi Germany had a string of successes both militarily and diplomatically. A large reason for this success was its intelligence network. What most people don’t know is that the Nazi head of military intelligence was actively working against Adolf Hitler. Through a series of active and …
Podcast Transcript Everything in the universe, from galaxies to the atoms in your body, is driven by just a few fundamental forces. It took centuries for physicists to identify these forces, but once identified, they believed that some of these forces were merely different manifestations of the same underlying phenomenon. Once they realized this, some …