Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchGraceland: Elvis Presley's Memphis Refuge, Jungle Room, and a Forged Loan
Episode 12201
By 1957 fans had made Elvis Presley's house on Audubon Drive in Memphis unlivable, so he sent his parents, Vernon and Gladys, to find a farmhouse wit…
6 days, 3 hours ago
The Parthenon: Athens' Gold Reserve, a Wrong Name, and the 1687 Blast
Episode 12200
The older Parthenon was still under scaffolding when the Persians sacked Athens in 480 BC, and the Athenians left its blackened ruins on the Acropoli…
6 days, 3 hours ago
Naypyidaw: Myanmar's Empty Capital of 20-Lane Roads, Bunkers, and Penguins
Episode 12199
Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar, covers more than 7,000 square kilometers, roughly four times the size of London, yet its 20 lane boulevards are ne…
6 days, 3 hours ago
Palm Jumeirah: Dubai's Sand Island, Sinking Claims, and Fugitive Residents
Episode 12198
With only about 72 kilometers of natural coastline, Dubai decided to manufacture more. Construction on the Palm Jumeirah began in June 2001 with the …
6 days, 3 hours ago
Versailles: Louis XIV's Palace Built as a Trap for the French Nobility
Episode 12197
Versailles began as a small brick hunting lodge in a swampy forest, built in 1623 by Louis XIII and mocked by nobles as a puny house of cards. The tu…
6 days, 3 hours ago
Ponte Vecchio: Florence's Last Bridge, Medici Gold, and Evicted Butchers
Episode 12196
In August 1944 the retreating German army blew up every bridge across the Arno in Florence except one, the Ponte Vecchio. The crossing sits at the ri…
6 days, 3 hours ago
Mies van der Rohe: A Stonemason's Son, a Made-Up Name, and Glass Towers
Episode 12195
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies, the son of a stone carver in Aachen, Germany. In Berlin he reinvented himself, adding hi…
6 days, 3 hours ago
Centre Pompidou: Paris's Inside-Out Museum and Its 262 Million Euro Rescue
Episode 12194
In 1969 President Georges Pompidou chose the empty Beaubourg site in Paris's 4th arrondissement, left behind when the historic Les Halles market pavi…
6 days, 3 hours ago
Sigiriya: King Kashyapa's Lion Rock Fortress, Frescoes, and Fatal Elephant
Episode 12193
In 477 CE Kashyapa, son of King Dhatusena of Sri Lanka by a non-royal consort, seized the throne from the rightful heir, his half-brother Moggallana.…
6 days, 3 hours ago
Sainte-Chapelle: Louis IX's Crown of Thorns and the Glass Box Built for It
Episode 12192
In 1239 King Louis IX of France bought the reputed Crown of Thorns from Baldwin II, the cash-strapped Latin emperor at Constantinople, who had pawned…
6 days, 3 hours ago