Filibusters
In the United States Senate, there is a procedural rule which is very uncommon among legislative bodies. According to the Senate rules, senators may speak for as long as they wish on any subject unti...
1 Sep 202315min
Barcodes (Encore)
In 1949, a young inventor by the name of Norman Woodland was sitting on the beach in Florida. While drawing some lines in the sand, he had an idea that would revolutionize the world of retail and logi...
31 Aug 202312min
How Hawaii Became a State
The United States consists of 50 states, each of which is represented by a star on the American flag. Most of those states consist of some section of North America divided by lines on a map that sepa...
30 Aug 202314min
Multiple Births
There is an excellent chance that you know someone who has a twin sibling. In fact, there are some of you listening who have a twin brother or sister. Multiple births are something that isn’t common b...
29 Aug 202315min
A Brief History of Labor
Ever since humans came out of the African savannah, they have had to work to survive. But the nature of work has changed dramatically since we had to hunt wooly mammoths for food. We’ve gone from hun...
28 Aug 202314min
Bricks
There is a good chance that every day, you encounter bricks. You might drive on them, walk on them, and live inside them, and you’ve probably never even given them a second thought. However, bricks, ...
27 Aug 202313min
Yes, We Have No Bananas (Encore)
In the late 19th century, bananas, a fruit that had been popular for thousands of years, suddenly became a mass-market sensation. However, just a few decades after it was popularized, the industry had...
26 Aug 202313min
The Disappearance of Michael Rockefeller
In 1961, Michael Rockefeller, an heir to one of the greatest fortunes in the world, disappeared on an art-collecting trip off the coast of the island of New Guinea. For decades, the family simply ass...
25 Aug 202313min
