Podcast Transcript There have been many really bad years in world history. There have been World Wars, the Black Death, and horrific natural disasters, all of which have made for very bad years. However, many historians have come to the conclusion that the worst year in the history of humanity was a year that in …
Podcast Transcript In the early 1920s, what was considered to be the largest political scandal in American history became public. Despite the enormous amount of attention given to it in the press at the time, both the scandal and the president that was attached to it, have both been largely forgotten. Yet, the legacy of …
Podcast Transcript Located in the southern Pacific Ocean lies the small nation of Vanuatu. While it shares many features with other Pacific Island nations, there are things about Vanuatu which are unlike any other country in the world. Its language, religion, and history all have elements that are unlike any other country in the world …
Podcast Transcript Volcanoes are some of the most fearsome things in nature. They are responsible for the largest explosions ever known. They have created entire land masses. They have shaped the Earth’s climate and may have been responsible for mass extinction events during our planet’s history. Today, as you are listening to this, somewhere on …
Podcast Transcript Humans have probably had the desire to fly ever since they saw the first bird fly in the air. Flying, as it turned out, was a very challenging problem for creatures without wings. Throughout the 19th century, many people tackled the problem without success. It wasn’t until the first years of the 20th …
Podcast Transcript After the US Civil War, the French historian Edouard de Laboulaye floated the idea of creating a large monument to honor the success of the United States in creating and maintaining a democracy. Almost 20 years later, after significant time in fundraising, design, and construction, the new statue was unveiled to the public …
I’m tired. I am writing this in a hostel in London. My feet are sore, my back hurts and I still want to sleep after having slept for 10 hours. I’ve just finished the big World Travel Market show in London and I’m exhausted. I’ve been to 35 countries and territories this year already. That …
Podcast Transcript In 1781, after six years of fighting, the American Revolution came to a dramatic conclusion. One of the two major British armies in the conflict found themselves trapped on a peninsula near Yorktown, Virginia. A combination of American and French forces laid siege to the British at Yorktown in what turned out to …
Podcast Transcript There is nothing faster in the entire universe than the speed of light. Not only is light the fastest thing, but nothing can ever be faster than light. For the longest time, humans didn’t even know that light had a speed, and once they figured out that light wasn’t instantaneous, it took several …