All About The Vice President of the United States

All About The Vice President of the United States

Podcast Transcript At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, the delegates worked hard to create a document that would govern their new country.  At the end of the convention, they had a session titled “Leftover Business.”  It was here in the “leftover business” section of the constitutional convention where the Vice Presidency was born.  Some say it …

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The Irish Potato Famine

The Irish Potato Famine

Podcast Transcript In 1845, farmers around Europe suffered from a blight that devastated the potato crop.  This lasted for several years, but nowhere was it more pronounced than it was on the island of Ireland, where it resulted in death and mass migration. The effects of this potato blight can still be witnessed in the …

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When Nine Kings Were All In One Room

When Nine Kings Were All In One Room

Podcast Transcript On May 20, 1910, an event occurred that had never occurred before or since.  Gathered for the funeral of the British King Edward VII, nine different European monarchs assembled inside Windsor Castle for a photo. In the immediate years after this image was taken, life would change dramatically for most of the monarchs.  …

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The Bretton Woods System

The Bretton Woods System

Podcast Transcript Barely a month after the Normandy Landing in 1944, the allied powers were already thinking of what the post-war world would look like. One of the big issue was the creation of a monetary system which could replace the then abandoned gold standard.  So, in at a resort in New Hampshire, representatives from …

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All About Solar Power

All About Solar Power

Podcast Transcript In 1839, a French scientist by the name of Edmond Becquerel was experimenting with an electrochemical cell when he discovered something interesting.  When it was exposed to light, it produced an electrical current.  For over a hundred years this was mostly a scientific curiosity. However, with the advent of the space age, this …

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A Star is Born: How Stars are Created and How They Work

A Star is Born: How Stars are Created and How They Work

Podcast Transcript It is estimated that within the observable universe there might be as many as a septillion stars. While each of them is far larger than the Earth, they all differ in terms of age, size, color, and composition.  Despite being very far away, we know a surprisingly large amount about them through observation …

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A History of the End of the World

A History of the End of the World

Podcast Transcript Over the centuries, there has been a host of self-proclaimed prophets, astrologers, scientists, and cranks who have predicted the end of the world.  Some of them have been extremely precise in when they predicted when the world will end.  Spoiler: to date, none of the end of the world predictions have come true. …

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Charles Ponzi and His Scheme

Charles Ponzi and His Scheme

Podcast Transcript In January 1920, an Italian American businessman in Boston started a new company. In order to raise money, he took $100 investments from 18 people and offered them a fabulous return on their money in only 45 days, and he delivered on his promise.  Soon people were lining up to give him their …

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Samoa: The Cradle of Polynesia

Samoa: The Cradle of Polynesia

Podcast Transcript Located approximately 1500 kilometers or 950 miles south of the equator and split by the International Date Line, is a small chain of islands which was was believed to be the birthplace of Polynesian civilization. Today these islands are divided between two different countries. Despite a common culture and language, the differences between …

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