Paxton's Crystal Palace
Sir Joseph Paxton was a 19th-century botanist who became instantly famous for the hall he designed for the Great Expo of 1851. After the expo, the Crystal Palace moved to a new location and became the...
21 Aug 201333min
Chesapeake Bay Oyster Wars
In the years after the Industrial Revolution and the Civil War, the oyster supply became so scarce that people turned to oyster piracy. The bloodshed peaked in the late 1800s, but the strife went on f...
19 Aug 201326min
The Mysterious Hope Diamond, Pt. 2
The Hope Diamond is well traveled, but is it cursed? Does it have mystical powers? Why does it glow red after exposure to UV light? Analysis of the curse stories and chemical composition of the gem yi...
14 Aug 201322min
The Mysterious Hope Diamond, Pt. 1
The Hope Diamond has traveled across continents, been stolen in revolutions, and was even the signature accessory of a wealthy heiress for nearly four decades. The first part of the discussion covers ...
12 Aug 201322min
The Flannan Isles Disappearance
The Flannan Islands have been rumored for centuries to be haunted or have some supernatural darkness. In 1900, three men vanished from the lighthouse on Eilean Mor, leaving behind an unfinished meal a...
7 Aug 201325min
Hypatia of Alexandria
Hypatia was one of the earliest female mathematicians and astronomers -- though she wasn't the very first, she was among the greatest. At the time of her murder, she was the foremost mathematician and...
5 Aug 201328min
Charley Parkhurst, One-eyed Whip
Charley Parkhurst was a stagecoach whip who spent almost 20 years handling teams of horses over treacherous terrain at high speeds. After his death in 1879, his friends who came to lay out his body di...
31 Jul 201321min
The Antikythera Mechanism
In 1900, a shipwreck was discovered near the island of Antikythera, including an assortment of luxury goods: statues, silver coins, vases ... and what turned out to be an amazing 2,000-year-old mechan...
29 Jul 201325min
