Podcast Transcript Almost everyone has a black sheep in their family. Someone who maybe gets in trouble with the law and doesn’t follow rules. But what if you had the misfortune to be related to someone truly horrific? What if you had a relative who was in the upper echelon of the Third Reich? For …
Podcast Transcript If I say the Kingdom of the Netherlands, you are probably thinking of the country in Europe that is really flat, where they ride bikes, have windmills, and grow tulips. Well, that is only partially correct. Well, technically 98% correct. There are other parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and they are …
Transcript Have you ever been really full after a meal? Like really really full? Could you imagine eating and never feeling full? Like going to an all you can eat fish restaurant and then getting kicked out for eating too much and going fishing so you can eat more fish? Well, there was one Frenchman …
Transcript Far above the Arctic Circle on the Norwegian island of Svalbard, built into the side of a mountain which is permanently frozen, is humanity’s greatest insurance policy. There lie genetic backup copies for much of the world’s agricultural crops. These seeds are stored for a day which hopefully will never come. Learn more about …
Transcript Airplanes were not the first type of aircraft. Lighter-than-air airships were flying decades before the Wright Brothers flew their first airplane. Of all the airships, there was one company that became so successful in airship development and construction that their name became synonymous with the rigid airship. Learn more about zeppelins on this episode …
Podcast Transcript One of the most transformative events of the 20th century was the Russian Revolution. The Revolution was responsible for the downfall of the Russian monarchy and the rise of the Soviet Union, the world’s first communist country. However, its impact wasn’t limited to Russia. It had reverberations that were felt all over the …
Podcast Transcript Seventy percent of the Earth’s surface is covered with water… and the vast majority of it is useless for consumption or agriculture. This problem has been known for thousands of years, and for thousands of years, humans have recognized that it is possible to turn seawater into drinking water; it was just difficult …
Podcast Transcript During World War II, the US Army assigned statistician Abraham Wald the task of statistically figuring out where extra armor should be added to American bombers. After analyzing the evidence and sharing it with the Army, he recommended the exact opposite of what the Army assumed. The reason was that the Army had …
Podcast Transcript Modern society is completely dependent on a set of technologies that include computer chips, fiber optic cables, lasers, video screens, electric motors, and batteries. All of those things are dependent on a small category of chemicals called rare earth elements. Their importance in technology has made them a focal point of international trade …