Podcast Transcript Just south of the United States and north of Guatemala is Mexico, a fact which I’m sure all of you know. However, most people don’t know that much about Mexico. There are caricatures of Mexico, and many people are familiar with some of the tourist areas, but that’s about it. In reality, Mexico …
Podcast Transcript In October 1919, the champions of the National League, the Cincinnati Reds, faced the champions of the American League, the Chicago White Sox, in the World Series. While Cincinnati won the championship on the field five games to three, the series will be forever remembered because of the events surrounding it. Even a …
Podcast Transcript I would say that there is a very good chance that almost everyone listening to the sound of my voice right now is wearing something made of cloth. Cloth, textiles, and fabrics go back a very long way, but despite their ancient origins, not every culture had them. Yet, where they existed, they …
Podcast Transcript In the year 53 BC, Rome suffered one of the greatest military defeats in its history. A Roman army led by Marcus Lucinius Crassus was led into the desert in present-day Southern Turkey and was systematically destroyed by an army from the Parthian Empire. The defeat itself didn’t radically weaken Rome, but the …
Podcast Transcript Located between China and India, Pakistan, Buthan, and Nepal is the world’s highest chain of mountains, The Himalayas. The Himalayas aren’t just very tall, picturesque mountains that are the home of Mount Everest. They are perhaps the most important mountain range on Earth. The Himalayas serve as the source of several of the …
Podcast Transcript In the early 1960s, the United States was always a step behind the Soviet Union in the space race. By the mid-1960s, the Americans had caught up. They didn’t have many glamorous firsts, but they were doing increasingly difficult things in space. All of that came crashing to a halt on January 27, …
Podcast Transcript In the mid-18th century, excavations in the ancient town of Herculaneum, just outside the city of Pompeii and destroyed by the same volcano, discovered something….interesting. They found a villa that contained 1800 ancient scrolls. Unfortunately, the volcano’s heat carbonized them, making them illegible and incredibly fragile. Still, for over 250 years, scholars have …
Podcast Transcript Let me cut right to the chase. This episode is going to be a deep dive into the origin of some common idioms. I don’t want to dance around the subject or have to walk on eggshells, so I’m using this introduction to break the ice. Whether you’re feeling under the weather or …
Podcast Transcript One of the most famous lines in poetry comes from the poet Robert Burns, who spoke of ‘The best-laid schemes of mice and men.’ The line has been used in reference to the fact that no matter how good the plan or the intentions behind it, things will often not go according to …