The Destruction and Rediscovery of Pompeii
In the year 79, Mount Vesuvius, a volcano located east of the modern-day city of Naples, erupted. Vesuvius had erupted before, but this eruption was different. It ejected an enormous amount of ash wh...
11 Jan 202314min
Limnic Eruptions: The Rarest Natural Disaster
Early in the morning of August 21, 1986, in a valley near Lake Nyos, Cameroon, something horrible happened. 1,746 people were killed, as were over 3,500 cattle and almost every other animal that brea...
10 Jan 202313min
The Morgenthau Plan
In September 1944, despite over half a year remaining in World War II, the Allies began preparing for an eventual post-war world. One of the biggest questions being discussed was what to do with Germa...
9 Jan 202315min
The Antikythera Mechanism (Encore)
In the year 1900, a crew of sponge divers was looking for sponges off the coast of the Greek island Antikythera. While they were searching, they found the remains of an ancient shipwreck. The wreck co...
8 Jan 202311min
Carbon: Can't Live Without It
Every form of life which has ever been discovered, regardless of its size or how it metabolizes energy, has one thing in common. They are based on the element carbon. Carbon is the most important bu...
7 Jan 202313min
Questions and Answers: Volume 3
Ladies and Gentlemen of the podcast audience, I would like you to consider Chewbacca. Chewbacca is an 8-foot-tall Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk. But Chewbacca lives on the moon of Endor. Why would...
6 Jan 202313min
The Speaker of the House of Representatives
The United States Congres is divided into two houses. The larger of the two houses, the House of Representatives, is led by a single representative known as the Speaker of the House. The duties and po...
5 Jan 202311min
The City of Troy and the Trojan War
Sometime about 3,200 years ago, one of the most famous wars in ancient history took place. Maybe. It has been the subject of some of the greatest works of western literature, and it has given us some...
4 Jan 202312min
