Tamerlane and the Battle of Ankara
Timur the Lame (that's Tamerlane to the Westerners) conquered areas from Persia to Russia throughout the late 1300s. His last great battle was in Ankara against Sultan Bayezid I. But how exactly did h...
29 Aug 201122min
A Sampling of Historic Spirits, Part 1
Ancient alcohol can tell us a lot about a society. In this episode, Sarah and Deblina cover millennia-old residues left behind in Chinese pottery, Egyptian jars and more. They also explore the science...
24 Aug 201121min
The White Ship and Empress Matilda
In 1120, the heir to the throne, three of the king's other children, and many of the kingdom's youths drowned at sea. This left a woman named Matilda as heir. Yet her cousin Stephen seized the prize, ...
22 Aug 201123min
5 Historical Hoaxes
Historical hoaxes are surprisingly common. For example, a N.Y. cigar maker once commissioned a gypsum skeleton to pass off as a 10-foot-tall petrified man called the Cardiff Giant. Join Deblina and Sa...
17 Aug 201132min
Orson Welles and the War of the Worlds
In 1938, Orson Welles produced a series of radio dramas, including one based on "War of the Worlds." The broadcast aired the night before Halloween and purportedly caused a mass panic. But why did lis...
15 Aug 201129min
Nikolai Vavilov: Who was the Indiana Jones of Botany?
Nikolai Vavilov traveled to 64 countries gathering seeds and plants and established the first seed bank. Stalin had the botanist sentenced to death, but his seed bank endured: Other scientists guarded...
10 Aug 201121min
More with David McCullough
In the second portion of their interview with author David McCullough, Sarah and Deblina, focus specifically on their favorite parts of his new book "The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris." Tune in ...
8 Aug 201125min
The Trial of Leo Frank
In 1913, 13-year-old Atlanta factory worker Mary Phagan stopped in for her pay -- and was never seen alive again. Authorities charged Jewish superintendent Leo M. Frank with murder. But did Frank kill...
3 Aug 201122min
