All About Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

All About Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Podcast Transcript Located in the South Pacific Ocean is one of the most isolated islands in the world. It is over a thousand miles from the nearest human settlement. Here a civilization unlike any other in the world arose and ultimately fell. While the story of the island didn’t end with the fall of that …

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Life on Easter Island: The Most Isolated Human Settlement on Earth

Early inhabitants living on Easter Island left behind clues.

A Chilean territory with volcanoes, subtropical vegetation, and a surprising history, Easter Island is a fascinating place to explore. Tourism is the island’s largest source of income, and it largely sustains the livelihoods of those people living on Easter Island permanently—indigenous locals are called Rapa Nui.  Where is Easter Island located?  Latitude: S 27.14295Longitude: W …

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High Fructose Corn Syrup

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Podcast Transcript In 1957, two chemists at the Clinton Corn Processing Company of Clinton, Iowa, developed a system for converting the glucose found in corn starch into fructose.  Over 60 years later, the product they created can be found in a dizzying array of food products worldwide. Learn more about High Fructose Corn Syrup, how …

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The Terrible, Horrible Voyage of the Russian Imperial Baltic Fleet

The Terrible, Horrible Voyage of the Russian Imperial Baltic Fleet

Podcast Transcript In February 1904, the Russian Empire found itself at war with the Empire of Japan over what was territory in the current nation of China.  The problem for Russia was that a big chunk of its navy was located in the Baltic Sea, and the war was in Asia.  The Baltic fleet was …

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The Electromagnetic Spectrum

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Podcast Transcript All around you, right this second, you are surrounded by electromagnetic radiation.  You might better know this by names such as light, radio waves, microwaves, x-rays, or ultraviolet rays.  Fundamentally, they are all variations of the same phenomenon and are all part of the electromagnetic spectrum.  Learn more about the electromagnetic spectrum and …

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The League of Nations

The League of Nations

Podcast Transcript The first world war was the most horrific war the world had ever seen at that time. When the conflict ended, there was an effort to make sure that such a thing never happened again.  To that end, a deliberative body was created where nations could come together to debate and discuss matters …

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The Kidnapping of Charley Ross

The Kidnapping of Charley Ross

Podcast Transcript Most children growing up are admonished not to take candy from strangers.  It is good advice, but it isn’t advice that comes from nowhere. It comes from a particular incident 150 years ago that shocked the world and changed how we view children’s safety. It was an event, the echos of which can …

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Trial By Combat

Trial By Combat

Podcast Transcript In the TV series Game of Thrones, there were four different seasons where disputes were determined with trial by combat.  As fictional as the Game of Thrones universe is, the idea of resolving legal disputes by fighting, sometimes to the death, was historically accurate.  For centuries, trial by combat was a legitimate option …

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The Rise and Fall of Department Stores

The Rise and Fall of Department Stores

Podcast Transcript For most of human history, if you wanted something, you had to make it yourself or know the person who made it.  Eventually, merchants began to sell goods in a single store to make it convenient for consumers.  These stores reached their zenith with enormous structures which sold almost everything. They were not …

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