Podcast Transcript In December 1936, the United Kingdom underwent its greatest constitutional crisis of the 20th century. The king, Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to marry an American divorcee. This might not seem like a scandal today, but at the time, it threatened to collapse the entire British government when Europe was on the brink …
Podcast Transcript Before the Allied invasions of Europe in World War II, the ground war against Germany and Italy was first fought in North Africa. Although it doesn’t receive the attention as other parts of the Second World War get, the war in North Africa was pivotal to the ultimate resolution of the war in …
Podcast Transcript The biggest agricultural crop in the world today, by total weight, is corn. Also known as maize, corn is a crop of the New World. The ancients in China, India, Mesopotamia, and Rome never knew about corn. Yet, since the Columbian Exchange, it has become one of the world’s most important commodities as …
Podcast Transcript One of the most audacious scams in history took place in the early 19th century in Britain. A man sold thousands of people a dream of land in the New World. His claims attracted large investments, encouraged hundreds of people to sail across the ocean, and even suckered the ki. However, his promises …
Podcast Transcript The death of a British monarch is a very big event. Thousands of people may take part in the funeral and procession, with millions more lining up to pay their respects and billions more watching on television. This didn’t always use to be the case, however. In particular, there was one English King …
Podcast Transcript In the midst of the second world war, the allied powers began planning ahead for what the post-war world was going to look like. The Legion of Nations had failed to prevent World War II. If they were to prevent another major war from breaking out in the 20th century, they needed something …
Podcast Transcript A popular topic of films has been the French Foreign Legion. The French Foreign Legion was supposed to be an organization where someone could get a new identity and a new start on life, even if they were criminals. They were often stationed in hot, desolate places, where they served out their tour …
Podcast Transcript If you were to pick a single visible icon to represent the 20th century, it would probably be the skyscraper. Skyscrapers didn’t really even exist before the 20th century, but by the end of the century, they became ubiquitous in major cities around the world. The skyscraper didn’t just appear out of nowhere. …
Podcast Transcript About 384,000 km or 239,000 miles above the surface of the Earth is our planet’s only natural satellite, The Moon. Every culture and civilization on the planet has had the moon play a role in its legends, and they have also used the moon to keep track of time, plant, and harvest. Scientists …