Podcast Transcript Alexander the Great was one of the most famous people from the ancient world. He defeated a vastly larger Persian Empire and conquered everything from Egypt to India. Yet, what Alexander achieved wouldn’t have been possible without his father. In fact, if Alexander hadn’t accomplished what he did, his father would probably be …
Podcast Transcript Located in Central and Eastern Europe is one of the continent’s longest and most important rivers: the Danube. For thousands of years, the Danube has been a vital river for commerce and agriculture, and it has served as a natural boundary for empires and kingdoms. Today, it is still vitally important to the …
Podcast Transcript It is one of the most important inventions in history. Almost everyone listening to this has one. You use one almost every day, and if we didn’t have them, the world would be a very different place. I am talking about toilets. It isn’t something we like to talk about in public, but …
Podcast Transcript The Philippines is one of the largest countries in the world. With a population of 115 million people, it is the 14th largest country on Earth in terms of population. However, for a period of 48 years, it was a colony of the United States. That half-century was one of the most important …
Podcast Transcript Books are one of the foundational tools of civilization. They allow us to pass knowledge and information between people who don’t know each other, and their compact form allows knowledge to be transported across vast distances. Their permanence allows information to be sent across time such that centuries might separate a writer from …
Podcast Transcript In the 19th century, several American universities began to compete with each other in several sporting events in friendly intercollegiate competitions. Fast forward over a hundred years, and college sports in the United States is a multibillion-dollar business. How did institutes of higher education become some of the biggest sports organizations in the …
Podcast Transcript Located between Mexico and Colombia, in a strategic area connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific, is the region we call Central America. The countries that make up Central America were mostly former Spanish colonies, but unlike other Spanish colonies to the north and south, Central America wound up as a series of small …
Podcast Transcript On June 6, 1944, the largest amphibious landing in world history took place on the shore of Normandy, France. The allied forces called it D-Day. The landing marked the commencement of Operation Overlord, a strategic move that heralded the long-awaited opening of the second front in the European war. D-Day was the start …
Podcast Transcript It is one of the longest and largest structures ever built. It was designed to defend one of the oldest and greatest civilizations on the planet. For centuries it did just that…..and for some centuries it didn’t do that at all. Some people have claimed that you could see it from space, and …