Why The Black Plague is Partially (But Not Completely) Responsible For the Renaissance?
The death of thirty percent of Europe's population in the fourteenth century permanently altered the medieval social order, and many scholars credit the Black Plague with ushering in the Renaissance. ...
24 Jan 20188min
Did Mussollini Really Make the Trains Run on Time?
Fascism is loved by few, but many at least credit Mussolini's heavy-handed rule for making Italy's notoriously disastrous train system operate effectively. Was this actually true or more of Il Duce's ...
23 Jan 20186min
How Teddy Roosevelt Became The Man He Was in the Badlands—William Hazelgrove of “Forging a President”
Teddy Roosevelt wasn’t born as the rough riding, big-game-hunting, Amazon-exploring legend that America has come to love. So how did he become the larger-than- life character portrayed in history book...
22 Jan 201842min
The Origin of the High Five
The origins of some cultural practices are lost to the mists of time. Not so the high five. We can trace it back to a specific day at a specific baseball game. From then on the world was never the sam...
18 Jan 20185min
Nobody in the Middle Ages Thought the Earth Was Flat
One of the most widespread and pernicious bits of common knowledge about the Middle Ages that is incorrect is the idea that everyone believed the world to be flat. This is ridiculous. Nobody thought t...
17 Jan 20186min
Which Leader Had the Best Shot at World Domination?
Which world leader or dictator had the best chance at world domination? (i.e. Hitler, Napoleon, Alexander the Great). In this episode I discuss whether such a goal is even possible, and if so, under w...
16 Jan 201814min
Pinetti, the 18th-Century Illusionist and Forerunner of Chris Angel and David Copperfield—Brian Earl from the Illusion Podcast
Giussepe Pinetti: You might not know the name, but he's considered the guy who made magic into a respected theatrical art form. Before him, it was practiced mostly by buskers on street corners, or at ...
15 Jan 201856min
The Origin of the Military Salute
The simple military salute is a symbol whose meaning goes back centuries earlier than most any soldier would suspect.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12 Jan 20186min
