The Paraguayan War (Encore)
In the 1860s, one of the bloodiest wars in the Western Hemisphere took place….and it wasn’t the US Civil War. It was a war between Paraguay and an alliance of Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil, and it ...
24 Nov 202515min
The Ottoman Empire
One of the most important empires in history was the Ottoman Empire. It wasn’t the biggest empire, but it had an outsized impact on the world due to its strategic location and its moment in history....
23 Nov 202516min
The Kokoda Track
In July 1942, Japanese forces landed on the north shore of the island of New Guinea Their goal was to cross the island by land and take the strategic city of Port Moresby. If they had been success...
22 Nov 202514min
The Phoebus Cartel
Companies that sell products to the public have to follow a fine line. On the one hand, they need to sell stuff to make money, and the way they do that is by making a good product. However, if the...
21 Nov 202515min
The Marshall Plan (Encore)
At the end of the Second World War, Europe was a mess. The economies of most countries were in shambles and the threat of communism loomed over the continent. In a speech at Harvard University on Ju...
20 Nov 202515min
Swiss Neutrality
There are several rules that should be followed when going to war: Germany should never fight wars against the entire world Don’t invade Russia in the Winter. Never fight a land war in Asia...
19 Nov 202515min
Hollow Nickel Case
In 1953, a newspaper delivery boy in Brooklyn, New York, made an odd discovery. One of his customers gave him a nickel that seemed lighter than the others. When he dropped it, it popped open, exposi...
18 Nov 202514min
The V2 Rocket
The Second World War saw the development of many new weapons. Perhaps none was more terrifying than the development of long-range strategic rockets. Rockets had been used in combat for centuries, da...
17 Nov 202514min
