A History of the End of the World
Over the centuries, there has been a host of self-proclaimed prophets, astrologers, scientists, and cranks who have predicted the end of the world. Some of them have been extremely precise in when t...
3 Maj 202213min
Charles Ponzi and His Scheme
In January 1920, an Italian American businessman in Boston started a new enterprise. In order to raise money, he took $100 investments from 18 people and offered them a fabulous return on their money ...
2 Maj 202214min
Samoa: The Cradle of Polynesia
Located approximately 1500 kilometers or 950 miles south of the equator and split by the International Date Line, is a small chain of islands which was was believed to be the birthplace of Polynesian ...
1 Maj 202213min
Stanislav Petrov: The Man Who Saved the World (Encore)
I’ve done episodes before about people who have saved a large number of human lives. Mostly, these people have done so through inventions or innovations in fields like agriculture or medicine. What a...
30 Apr 20229min
The 1812 Overture
In 1880, the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was commissioned to compose a work in honor of the completion of a new cathedral. What he wrote became one of the best known, over the top, and...
29 Apr 202214min
The History of BBQ
Many of the foods that people associate with America didn’t actually originate in the United States. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza are all things that were popularized in the US but didn’t originate...
28 Apr 202212min
All About Algorithms
Whether or not you know it, you use them every day. You were actually trained to use them as a child. Much of the world we live in today is directly or indirectly a result of their use. While they a...
27 Apr 202212min
Elizabeth Báthory: Aristocratic Serial Killer
The Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed was a Hungarian noblewoman in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. She was highly educated, spoke at least four languages, had eight children, and lived in...
26 Apr 202210min
