The Traitorous Eight and The Birth of Silicon Valley
In 1957, eight young engineers walked away from one of the most important laboratories in America and, in doing so, helped create the modern technology industry. Their break with a Nobel Prize-winni...
11 Maj 14min
Rainbows And How They Work
Few things in nature are as instantly recognizable as a rainbow. For thousands of years, rainbows have inspired myths, religion, art, and science. Yet behind those bands of color is an extraordina...
10 Maj 14min
Project Mercury: America's First Steps Into Space
In the late 1950s, the United States found itself trailing in the Space Race as the Soviet Union achieved one milestone after another. In response, NASA launched Project Mercury, an ambitious effort...
9 Maj 15min
The Indian Ocean Trade
For thousands of years, before Europeans crossed the Atlantic or steamships crossed the seas, the Indian Ocean connected the known world. Merchants riding the monsoon winds carried spices, silk, gold...
8 Maj 14min
Calendar Reform (Encore)
Our calendar and system of keeping time are rather unique. It isn’t nice and tidy like the metric system. It is a collection of odd time units, leap years, and rotating calendars. As such, many pe...
7 Maj 15min
Laos: The Forgotten Nation of Southeast Asia
Landlocked and often overlooked, Laos sits at the crossroads of Southeast Asia, shaped by empires, rivers, and war. From the rise of the Lan Xang kingdom to centuries of domination by neighboring po...
6 Maj 15min
The Rise and Fall of OPEC
In 1960, a handful of oil-producing nations made a decision that would reshape the global economy. They formed a cartel to control the world’s most vital resource, challenging powerful corporations ...
5 Maj 15min
The Trial of Galileo Galilei
In 1633, one of the greatest minds in Europe stood before a tribunal, not for a crime of violence or treason, but for an idea. Galileo Galilei had looked to the heavens and reached a conclusion that...
4 Maj 15min
