Moving Day in New York

Moving Day in New York

Transcript Since the year 1790, New York City has been the largest city in the United States.  Given the population density of the city, the vast majority of the people there rent apartments.  Now imagine if everyone in New York who switched apartments had to do so on the exact same day every year.  Well, …

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Surströmming: The World’s Smelliest Food

Surströmming: The World's Smelliest Food

Transcript There are many foods that are considered an acquired taste. Foods that might not be very palatable the first time you try it, or something that just doesn’t sit right with most people. It could be something as simple as blue cheese, or something like the Filipino delicacy, balut, which is a boiled, fertilized …

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The History of Presidential Debates

The History of Presidential Debates

Transcript Every four years, citizens of the United States sit down for one or more nights to watch something which is called the Presidential Debates.  The debates have become a centerpiece of US Presidential elections, but it wasn’t always that way.  Learn more about the history of presidential debates, or the lack thereof, on this …

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The Purchase of Alaska

The Purchase of Alaska

Transcript In 1867, United States Secretary of State William Seward signed a treaty with the Empire of Russia to purchase the territory of what would be called Alaska. The United States purchased it for 2 cents an acre.  At the time it was called one of the worst deals in American History. Today, it is …

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Operation Mincemeat

Operation Mincemeat

Transcript On April 30, 1943, a Spanish fisherman came across the floating body of Major William Martin of the Royal Marines. Handcuffed to the corpse was a satchel with top-secret plans for the Allied invasions of Greece and Sardinia.  With the information gathered from this intelligence, the Germans moved their troops into position to counter …

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All About Chess

All About Chess

Podcast Transcript It is arguably the world’s oldest game, yet it is one of the most popular cybersports.  It has been called the game of kings, and yet it can be mastered by children.  Its origins are truly global having passed through several of the world’s greatest civilizations, and it can and is played almost …

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Lyudmila Pavlichenko: The Deadliest Woman in World War II

Lyudmila Pavlichenko: The Deadliest Woman in World War II

Podcast Transcript In 1941, after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, a 24-year-old woman in Ukraine volunteered to join the Red Army.  She was initially pressured to become a nurse like most women who volunteered, however, that wasn’t what she wanted to do. She wanted to be on the front lines. Within a year, …

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The Louvre: The World’s Greatest Museum

The Louvre: The World's Greatest Museum

Podcast Transcript Located in the heart of Paris, along the banks of the River Seine, lies the Louvre.  It has over 750,000 square feet of gallery space, over 615,000 items in its collection, and in a non-pandemic year, gets over 10 million annual visitors.  Yet, it wasn’t always a museum, and the way it acquired …

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The Navajo Code Talkers

The Navajo Code Talkers

Podcast Transcript Secrecy is a huge part of military success. You want to be able to communicate with your own forces without the enemy finding out what your plans are.  As America entered World War II, they were in need of a method of communication that couldn’t be cracked by Germany or Japan. They found …

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