The 1919 Chicago Black Sox Scandal
In October 1919, the champions of the National League, the Cincinnati Reds, faced the champions of the American League, the Chicago White Sox in the World Series. While Cincinnati won the championsh...
5 Touko 202212min
A Star is Born
It is estimated that within the observable universe there might be as many as septillion stars. While each of them is far larger than the Earth, they all differ in terms of age, size, color, and compo...
4 Touko 202214min
A History of the End of the World
Over the centuries, there has been a host of self-proclaimed prophets, astrologers, scientists, and cranks who have predicted the end of the world. Some of them have been extremely precise in when t...
3 Touko 202213min
Charles Ponzi and His Scheme
In January 1920, an Italian American businessman in Boston started a new enterprise. In order to raise money, he took $100 investments from 18 people and offered them a fabulous return on their money ...
2 Touko 202214min
Samoa: The Cradle of Polynesia
Located approximately 1500 kilometers or 950 miles south of the equator and split by the International Date Line, is a small chain of islands which was was believed to be the birthplace of Polynesian ...
1 Touko 202213min
Stanislav Petrov: The Man Who Saved the World (Encore)
I’ve done episodes before about people who have saved a large number of human lives. Mostly, these people have done so through inventions or innovations in fields like agriculture or medicine. What a...
30 Huhti 20229min
The 1812 Overture
In 1880, the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was commissioned to compose a work in honor of the completion of a new cathedral. What he wrote became one of the best known, over the top, and...
29 Huhti 202214min
The History of BBQ
Many of the foods that people associate with America didn’t actually originate in the United States. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza are all things that were popularized in the US but didn’t originate...
28 Huhti 202212min
