Prohibition

Prohibition

Podcast Transcript On January 16, 1919, the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution was passed. It banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol.  The path to the 18th Amendment was something that was almost a century in the making, and once it was passed, it was widely ignored both illegally and through numerous legal …

Read more

The Legend of Babe Ruth

The Legend of Babe Ruth

Podcast Transcript In 1941, a minor league baseball team in Baltimore, Maryland, signed a young player from the St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys—a school for delinquent boys and orphans.  Unbeknownst to them, the wayward boy would go on to completely transform the game of baseball and become one of the most famous people in …

Read more

The Two-Hour Marathon

The Two-Hour Marathon

Transcript Eliud Kipchoge is unquestionably the greatest marathon runner in history. He’s won an Olympic Gold Medal, holds the world’s record, and has won 12 of the 13 marathons he has ever entered. However, there was one accomplishment that had been out of reach for Kipchoge and every other marathoner: The 2-hour marathon. On October …

Read more

This History of Lead

This History of Lead

Podcast Transcript Sometime around eight to nine thousand years ago, ancient people in Asia Minor found a very dull grey metal that turned out to be easy to manipulate when it was heated.  For thousands of years, it was used for a variety of purposes, including as a food additive.  With the advent of the …

Read more

Cahokia: The Largest Indigenous Settlement in North America

Cahokia: The Largest Settlement in North America

Podcast Transcript You are probably familiar with, or have at least heard of, several of the great pre-Columbian cities in the Americas. Places like Tikal, Guatemala, Copan, Honduras, and Tenochtitlan, Mexico are some of the great legacies of the civilizations that came before.  However, all of these population centers were located Mesoamerica. Most of the …

Read more

The London Underground

The London Underground

Podcast Transcript The 19th century saw an explosion in population in London. The city grew severalfold and became the largest city in the world.  With so many people and the city growing so rapidly, transportation became a huge problem.  One solution was to provide the new technology known as locomotives in the city. However, building …

Read more

Alternative Forms of Space Flight

Alternative Forms of Space Flight

Podcast Transcript Every single rocket that has ever been launched into space has been a rocket that burned some sort of fuel.  These chemical fuel rockets have worked well for making the short trip to orbit. Beyond that point, however, they are not necessarily the best option for space travel.  There are a host of …

Read more

Human Life Expectancy

Human Life Expectancy

Podcast Transcript Everyone, I have some good news and some bad news.  The bad news is that you, me, and everyone else listening to my voice right now are mortal.  As of the recording of this episode, time is undefeated.  The good news is that there has never been a better time to be alive …

Read more

The Maginot Line

The Maginot Line

Podcast Transcript After the First World War in France, many generals thought that the end of the war was really just a pause before another war began. They wanted to make sure that the next time war broke out with Germany, they were ready and could never be invaded again.  To that end, they created …

Read more