Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchAncient Greek History in Painted Clay
Episode 5389
If every digital record and paper book from our civilization were destroyed, future archaeologists would face the same challenge that confronts schol…
3 weeks, 3 days ago
From Magical Levers to Invisible Gods
Episode 5391
Every civilization develops stories to explain the forces that shape human existence, and one of the most revealing patterns in ancient mythology is …
3 weeks, 3 days ago
The Successful Failure of the Federalist Papers
Episode 5432
The Federalist Papers are revered as one of the foundational documents of American democracy, a brilliant series of eighty-five essays arguing for ra…
3 weeks, 3 days ago
Sacagawea and York Saved the Expedition
Episode 5415
The Lewis and Clark Expedition is one of the foundational stories of American westward expansion, but the standard telling consistently underestimate…
3 weeks, 3 days ago
The Hidden Conservative Origins of the ACA
Episode 5425
The Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, is typically understood as a product of progressive Democratic politics. But the legislation's …
3 weeks, 3 days ago
How the 1899 Open Door Policy Backfired
Episode 5402
In 1899, Secretary of State John Hay sent a series of diplomatic notes to the major imperial powers proposing what became known as the Open Door Poli…
3 weeks, 3 days ago
Why ancient Egyptians did everything backwards
Episode 5439
Ancient Egyptian civilization developed customs, orientations, and practices that struck Greek and Roman visitors as completely backwards, and the Eg…
3 weeks, 3 days ago
How the Cotton Gin Dismantled Ancient Mississippi
Episode 5403
The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 is typically presented as a straightforward story of technological progress, but in the Mississippi Delta, th…
3 weeks, 3 days ago
The Rise and Fall of the ICC
Episode 5429
The Interstate Commerce Commission, established in 1887 as the first federal regulatory agency in American history, was created to tame the railroad …
3 weeks, 3 days ago
America's 160 Million Acre Homestead Giveaway
Episode 5387
In 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed into law one of the most ambitious experiments in American democracy ever attempted: the Homestead Act. The promise w…
3 weeks, 3 days ago