Podcast Transcript The month of July is named after Julius Caesar. In 44 BC, after his assassination, the Roman Senate renamed the month of Quintilis after him in honor of the month he was born. The fact that he was appointed dictator for life probably had something to do with it. All the emperors that …
Podcast Transcript One of the leading destinations for live stage performances is Broadway. The term Broadway is not just a name that refers to theater in New York City. It also describes a theatrical performance style that has become synonymous with it. But why did theater develop on that particular street in that particular city, …
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 …
Transcript In 1961, at the Green Bank observatory in West Virginia, a small conference was held for astrophysicists. The meeting was organized by Cornell University professor and astronomer Frank Drake. The subject of the conference was the search for extraterrestrial life. In preparation for the conference, he jotted down his thoughts in the form of …
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 …