Podcast Transcript During World War I, a Dutch dancer and courtesan was recruited by the French as a spy. However, not long after this, the French turned on her and accused her of being a double agent and spying for Germany. It was a case that rocked the allied powers and one which is still …
Podcast Transcript In the history of mathematics, there were several times when mathematicians encountered problems that they didn’t know what to make of. It wasn’t a case of a problem with a very difficult solution so much as it was a problem that didn’t seem to make any sense. In one such case, the resolution …
Podcast Transcript Depending on how you define it, there were somewhere between 70 to 100 Roman emperors between the ascension of Augustus to the fall of the western empire in 476. A period of about 500 years. Some of them managed to be just and competent rulers who ruled for extended periods of peace and …
Podcast transcript In the mid-19th century, the various games called football separated and evolved into their own sports. While association football and rugby became dominant on one side of the Atlantic, a totally different version of football evolved on the other side. That version of the game, over the course of 150 years, has grown …
Podcast Transcript In 1792, the people of France overthrew their monarchy and established the French Republic. The leaders of the French Revolution didn’t just want to change the French political system, they wanted to radically overhaul French culture and society as well. That extended all the way to the very calendar which was used to …
Podcast Transcript Sometime around 3,200 years ago, a new civilization became ascendent on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This group wasn’t like the Empires that surrounded them. They weren’t focused so much on land acquisition and conquest so much as they were focused on commerce and trade. For centuries they ruled over trade …
Podcast Transcript In the year 1511, King Henry VIII of England launched what was to be his flagship, The Mary Rose. For 33 years, the Mary Rose was the pride of the English fleet, serving in conflicts against the Scottish and the French. Then in 1545, for reasons still not understood, it sank. However, it …
Podcast Transcript Located in the heart of North America is one of the most important rivers. It isn’t the longest river in the world and it doesn’t carry the highest volume of water. However, its location makes it one of the most valuable rivers on Earth It has been the subject of songs, the location …
Podcast Transcript On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress of the 13 British colonies in North America issues a document addressing their grievances with the British Crown and stated to the world why they considered themselves to be a free and independent country. That document and its legacy have had a much bigger impact than …