Transcript On May 7th, 1824, in Vienna, Austria, the musical world changed forever. The assembled crowd in the Kärntnertor Theater heard one of the most groundbreaking and revolutionary musical performances in history. However, there was one person in attendance who didn’t hear the performance. The composer, Ludwig van Beethoven. Learn more about Beethoven’s 9th Symphony …
Podcast Transcript In the 19th century, the first real American sport took off in popularity: baseball. It went from being a children’s game to one of the most popular and lucrative professional sports in the world. Yes, its origins have been shrouded in mystery, in no small part because of all the legends and myths …
Podcast Transcript On March 27th, 1964, the second-greatest earthquake in recorded history struck the state of Alaska. It was an absolute monster of an earthquake, completely devastating communities, including Alaska’s capital, Anchorage. The quake was so great that people could feel it 1,200 miles away in Seattle. Despite its power, the secondary effects of the …
Podcast Transcript For over two thousand years, China lived under imperial rule. A series of dynasties and emperors were the defining feature of Chinese governance. However, in the early 20th century, China threw off its imperial rulers and became, for the first time in its history, a republic. Much of the reason why China became …
Podcast Transcript Located in the heart of South America is the Amazon, the world’s largest river. It isn’t just big, it is by almost any measure you can think of the world’s largest river, and it is so by a wide margin. In addition to the river itself, the Amazon basin is the location of …
Podcast Transcript Located at the northernmost end of the Adriatic Sea lies the city of Venice. Venice is truly unlike any other city in the world. It is a collection of 118 small islands connected by bridges and ferries. Its unique geography allowed Venice to become one of the most powerful cities in the world, …
Podcast Transcript In October 1962, a U-2 spy plane discovered Soviet nuclear missile sites in Cuba. The subsequent 13 days were some of the tensest in human history. The United States and the Soviet Union came closer to nuclear war than at any point in the cold war. It was only a last-minute cooling of …
Podcast Transcript In 1887, the German physicist Heinrich Hertz discovered radio waves. While the first practical use of this discovery was communication, there were also some who realized that radio waves could serve another purpose. It was possible to use these radio waves to detect objects at a distance. It was something that revolutionized warfare …
Podcast Transcript In the early 1950s, a new type of music burst forth, which had its roots in blues, gospel, country, and swing. This new music took the world by storm and was as controversial as it was successful. This music has spawned countless variations, some of which are so different that it is hard …