Podcast Transcript In the very long history of China, it has had exactly one female ruler. She was a woman who managed, against all odds, to inch her way closer to power over a period of years until she reached a point where she could claim power for herself. By all accounts, she was beautiful, …
Podcast Transcript Every February, podcasters will come out of their hole in the ground. If they find listener questions, it means there will be six more weeks of winter. As I peeked my head out of the ground this month, I found a plethora of questions, which means that spring is right around the corner….if …
Podcast Transcript There have been many really bad years in world history. There have been World Wars, the Black Death, and horrific natural disasters, all of which have made for very bad years. However, many historians have come to the conclusion that the worst year in the history of humanity was a year that in …
Podcast Transcript In the early 1920s, what was considered to be the largest political scandal in American history became public. Despite the enormous amount of attention given to it in the press at the time, both the scandal and the president that was attached to it, have both been largely forgotten. Yet, the legacy of …
Podcast Transcript Located in the southern Pacific Ocean lies the small nation of Vanuatu. While it shares many features with other Pacific Island nations, there are things about Vanuatu which are unlike any other country in the world. Its language, religion, and history all have elements that are unlike any other country in the world …
Podcast Transcript Volcanoes are some of the most fearsome things in nature. They are responsible for the largest explosions ever known. They have created entire land masses. They have shaped the Earth’s climate and may have been responsible for mass extinction events during our planet’s history. Today, as you are listening to this, somewhere on …
Podcast Transcript Humans have probably had the desire to fly ever since they saw the first bird fly in the air. Flying, as it turned out, was a very challenging problem for creatures without wings. Throughout the 19th century, many people tackled the problem without success. It wasn’t until the first years of the 20th …
Podcast Transcript After the US Civil War, the French historian Edouard de Laboulaye floated the idea of creating a large monument to honor the success of the United States in creating and maintaining a democracy. Almost 20 years later, after significant time in fundraising, design, and construction, the new statue was unveiled to the public …
Podcast Transcript In 1781, after six years of fighting, the American Revolution came to a dramatic conclusion. One of the two major British armies in the conflict found themselves trapped on a peninsula near Yorktown, Virginia. A combination of American and French forces laid siege to the British at Yorktown in what turned out to …