Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchRobert Peary and the North Pole: Ambition, Exploitation and Doubt
Episode 13180
Robert Peary, a civil engineer from Pennsylvania, resolved in the jungles of Nicaragua to be the first man to reach the North Pole. This episode expl…
5 days, 2 hours ago
Robert Koch: Germ Theory Genius, Tuberculin Scandal and Legacy
Episode 13179
Robert Koch rose from a rural German district physician working with a microscope his wife gave him for his birthday to a founding father of microbio…
5 days, 2 hours ago
Frederick the Great: Philosopher King, Warlord and Potato Pioneer
Episode 13178
Visitors leave potatoes on Frederick the Great's grave at Sanssouci. This deep dive explores how a flute-playing, poetry-writing prince survived a br…
5 days, 2 hours ago
Prince Rogers Nelson: Independence, Reinvention and Contradiction
Episode 13177
Prince fought a record label by becoming a symbol, built a career on provocation, and later knocked on doors to share his faith. This deep dive explo…
5 days, 2 hours ago
Juan Ponce de León: The Real Story Behind the Fountain of Youth Myth
Episode 13176
The man most famous for searching for the Fountain of Youth never actually looked for it. This deep dive uses contracts, royal decrees and historical…
5 days, 2 hours ago
Pierre Curie: Piezoelectricity, Magnetism and the Discovery of Radium
Episode 13175
Pierre Curie's papers are still so radioactive they are kept in lead-lined boxes. This deep dive explores the homeschooled Parisian physicist who, wi…
5 days, 2 hours ago
Peter the Great: Ruthless Modernization and the Human Cost of Reform
Episode 13174
In 1697, a six-foot-eight ship's carpenter in a European shipyard was secretly the Tsar of Russia. This deep dive traces Peter the Great from witness…
5 days, 2 hours ago
Pericles of Athens: Democracy, Empire and the Plague That Ended Him
Episode 13173
Pericles was mocked as a sea onion head, yet he came to define the golden age of Athens. This deep dive explores how a shy student of the philosopher…
5 days, 2 hours ago
Pelé Biography: From Grapefruit Football to the Beautiful Game's King
Episode 13172
Legend says warring factions in Nigeria paused for 48 hours just to watch him play. This deep dive explores Pelé, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, f…
5 days, 2 hours ago
Paul Revere Beyond the Midnight Ride: Spy, Dentist and Industrialist
Episode 13171
Paul Revere is remembered for one ride, but his real life was far richer. This deep dive follows a working-class silversmith from Boston's North End …
5 days, 2 hours ago