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Very Special Episodes: How to Make the Olympics (Without Supernatural Athletic Ability)
Season 1 Episode 65
Elizabeth Swaney fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming an Olympian, defying all odds. But it wasn’t supernatural athletic ability that got her th…
1 month, 4 weeks ago
A Philosopher's Death
Episode 271
Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola was a brilliant and precocious philosopher, who caused a stir in Italy with his writings before he was even 25. But Pic…
2 months ago
Maria Theresa's Medical Legacy (with Matt Kaplan)
Episode 270
Dana is joined by the science writer for The Economist, Matt Kaplan, to discuss 18th century medical progress, the legacy of Maria Theresa, and the t…
2 months, 1 week ago
The Real Cyrano
Episode 269
Cyrano de Bergerac is a larger-than-life figure in pop culture, whose story has been adapted countless times. But it turns out, Cyrano was a real man…
2 months, 2 weeks ago
The Disastrous Arctic Balloon Mission of 1897
In 1897, a Swedish engineer set out to reach the North Pole ... by balloon. With two companions, a crate of champagne, and the faith of a nation, he …
2 months, 2 weeks ago
The Missing Diamond in Case XIII
Episode 268
The Florentine Diamond was one of the crown jewels (sorry) of the Habsburgs—a 137-carat diamond that had come from the court of the Duke of Tuscany. …
2 months, 3 weeks ago
Antoine Lavoisier's Head
Episode 267
Antoine Lavoisier was a French chemist, who gave us the name for oxygen and other terminology that we still use today. But he was also a wealthy man …
2 months, 4 weeks ago
Cruelty and Murder, War and Peace
Episode 266
Natasia Minkin was the mistress of one of the cruelest men in tsarist Russia. She apparently tried to give him a run for his money.
Support Noble Blo…
3 months ago
The Affair of the Poisons
Episode 265
In the 17th century, aristocratic France was set on high alert—women were procuring poisons and using it for nefarious, murderous means. It was a sca…
3 months, 1 week ago
Very Special Episodes: The Cabbage Patch Crisis
In 1983, a cherubic, homely doll triggered something close to national hysteria. Parents fought in store aisles. Shelves were stripped bare. Even the…
3 months, 2 weeks ago