ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day

Podcast Transcript Every year on April 25, Australia and New Zealand celebrate a holiday that is unique to those two countries.  It is one of the most important days on the calendar, and it was created to celebrate an event that took place over 100 years ago.  Today the holiday has taken on a broader …

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All About the Planet Venus

All About the Planet Venus

Podcast Transcript As long as humans have looked up in the sky, they noticed something. There was an unusually bright star that would show up in the early morning or early evening.  This star was one of the few points of light in the sky that moved. They were dubbed planets, and the one that …

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Origin of Words and Phrases: Volume 1

Origin of Words and Phrases: Volume 1

Podcast Transcript The English language is full of very quirky idioms and phrases. Every language has them, and these are just some of the things which make each language unique.  Most native speakers of English may use these idioms and phrases all the time, even though they have no idea where they came from. For …

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The History of Coffee

The History of Coffee

Podcast Transcript Sometime in the 15th century, a drink became popularized in the Arabian peninsula. It was dark, bitter, and people couldn’t get enough of it.  From its simple origins, over the centuries, it has spread around the world to become one of the most popular beverages in history. Today you can find it being …

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The Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall

Podcast Transcript After the end of the second world war, Berlin was a divided city controlled by the four major allied powers. Despite the different zones of control, people could move freely between them. However, on August 13, 1961, the East German government decided to end the free travel of Berliners by building a wall …

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The Rise of Agriculture

The Rise of Agriculture

Podcast Transcript For hundreds of thousands of years, humans lived a nomadic life, hunting for game and foraging for food.  Then, several thousand years ago, they stopped. They began domesticating animals, started growing crops, and lived a sedentary lifestyle.  The question anthropologists have asked is, why?  Learn more about the rise of agriculture, aka the …

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A Brief History of Liberia

A Brief History of Liberia

Podcast Transcript Every country in Africa is unique and has its own history. However, many African countries share a similar story over the last 150 years, having gone through European colonization and decolonization.  The nation of Liberia, however, has a history, unlike any other country in the world. From its founding to its modern-day governance, …

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Typhoid Mary

Typhoid Mary

Podcast Transcript In 1906, George Soper, a freelance sanitary engineer, was hired to investigate several outbreaks of typhoid fever in wealthy New York households.  The reason why these outbreaks were mysterious is that typhoid fever usually only occurred in places with unsanitary conditions. What Soper discovered radically changed our knowledge of infectious diseases and how …

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Songkran: The Thai New Year’s Festival

Songkran: The Thai New Year's Festival

Podcast Transcript Songkran is a traditional festival celebrated in Thailand that marks the start of the Thai New Year. It is also known as the Water Festival, as it involves splashing water on one another as a symbolic gesture of cleansing and washing away the sins and bad luck of the previous year. However, it …

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