The Atlantropa Project, Part One: Saving Europe via Supercontinent
Like everyone in post-World War I Europe, Herman Sörgel was horrified by the devastation of a continent-wide conflict. He saw raging poverty, crippling unemployment, overpopulation and burgeoning geop...
14 Dec 202129min
People Used Bed Bugs as Medicine for Thousands of Years
When you think of bed bugs, you probably think of dirty mattresses, irritating rashes and bites, and the dubious joy of calling an exterminator. However, in millennia past, people were convinced bed b...
10 Dec 202134min
The US Literally Threw Pianos From Planes During World War II
As musical instruments go, pianos are pretty amazing -- they're also not particularly easy to move. Clunkiness aside, pianos provide endless hours of entertainment, lightening the mood in even the dar...
7 Dec 202129min
The Sinister Side of Little Orphan Annie, Part Two: Drink Your Ovaltine
Once the Little Orphan Annie comic strip was adapted to a radio program, it wasn't just a hit show -- it was a marketing coup for the good folks at Ovaltine. The company underwrote the program, riddle...
2 Dec 202136min
The Sinister Side of Little Orphan Annie, Part One: Parents Were Terrified
These days, most folks think of Little Orphan Annie as a folksy, wholesome slice of nostalgia -- but during its heyday as a radio program, parents across the US became increasingly concerned. The show...
1 Dec 202141min
CLASSIC: How White America Tried To Destroy Chinese Restaurants
Today Chinese restaurants serve some of the most popular cuisine in the United States, with more than 41,000 restaurants scattered around the country. Yet in the 1900s these restaurants were so contro...
25 Nov 202136min
Russia’s Real-life Ice Queen, Part 2: Weird, Brutal Flexes
As rulers go, Anna of Russia was considered pretty bad news. In the second part of this two-part series, the guys explore how Anna (aka Anna the Terrible)'s traumatic life experience may have contribu...
24 Nov 202132min
Russia’s Real-life Ice Queen, Part 1: The Tsar is a Jerk
“Despite being born into royalty, Anna Ioannovna didn’t have the easiest life. Her uncle publicly ridiculed her marriage, and the cruelty she experienced growing up may have had lasting emotional dama...
18 Nov 202125min
