The Abdication of Edward VIII
In December 1936, the United Kingdom underwent its greatest constitutional crisis of the 20th century. The king, Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to marry an American divorcee. This might not seem l...
1 Jul 202413min
The Drake Equation (Encore)
In 1961, at the Green Bank observatory in West Virginia, a small conference was held for astrophysicists. The meeting was organized by Cornell University professor and astronomer Frank Drake. The subj...
30 Jun 202410min
The North Africa Campaign
Before the Allied invasions of Normandy or Sicily in World War II, the ground war against Germany and Italy was first fought in North Africa. The reason why there was even a conflict in Africa was a c...
29 Jun 202413min
Corn aka Maize
The biggest agricultural crop in the world today, by total weight, is corn. Also known as maize, corn is a crop of the New World. The ancients in China, India, Mesopotamia, and Rome never knew about ...
28 Jun 202414min
Gregor MacGregor and the Biggest Scam in History
One of the most audacious scams in history took place in the early 19th century in Britain. A man sold thousands of people a dream of land in the New World. His claims attracted large investments, en...
27 Jun 202416min
The Discovery and Burial of the Remains of Richard III (Encore)
The death of a British monarch is a very big event. Thousands of people may take part in the funeral and procession, with millions more lining up to pay their respects and billions more watching on te...
26 Jun 202412min
Air Conditioning
One of the biggest problems that humanity has faced for thousands of years is heat. Excessive heat made it difficult to work in the middle of the day. Heat was especially problematic in the tropics, ...
25 Jun 202414min
The Formation of the United Nations
In the midst of the Second World War, the Allied powers began planning ahead for what the post-war world was going to look like. The Legion of Nations had failed to prevent World War II. If they were...
24 Jun 202415min
