Episode – 0681 : The Petrodollar Podcast Transcript On August 15, 1971, US President Richard Nixon ended the gold convertibility of the US Dollar and simultaneously ended the Bretton Woods […]
Episode – 0673 : The Irish Potato Famine
Episode – 0673 : The Irish Potato Famine Podcast Transcript In 1845, farmers around Europe suffered from a blight that devastated the potato crop. This lasted for several years, but […]
Episode – 0670 : Bretton Woods
Episode – 0670 : Bretton Woods Podcast Transcript Barely a month after the Normandy Landing in 1944, the allied powers were already thinking of what the post-war world would look […]
Episode – 0665 : Charles Ponzi and His Scheme
Episode – 0665 : Charles Ponzi and His Scheme Podcast Transcript In January 1920, an Italian American businessman in Boston started a new company. In order to raise money, he […]
Episode – 0658 : The Gold Standard
Episode – 0658 : The Gold Standard Podcast Transcript For a period of about 200 years, and really intensely for less than 50 years, the world’s monetary system functioned on […]
Episode – 0651 : Chickens
Episode – 0651 : Chickens Podcast Transcript Around 10,000 years ago, someone in Southeast Asia captured a bird that lived on the floor of the jungle. Today, billions of descendants […]
Episode – 0649 : The History of Money
Episode – 0649 : The History of Money Podcast Transcript Money is a very strange thing. All of us use it. We spend it, earn it, and save it. We […]
Episode – 0648 : The Hanseatic League
Episode – 0648 : The Hanseatic League Podcast Transcript One of the most successful enterprises of the Middle Ages was a collection of free cities located in Northern Germany and […]
Episode – 0637 : Pedestrianism
Episode – 0637 : Pedestrianism Podcast Transcript In the United States and Britain in the 19th century, there was a competitive activity that at one time might have been the […]
Episode – 0611 : Everything You Need to Know About Petroleum
Episode – 0611 : Everything You Need to Know About Petroleum Podcast Transcript Thousands of years ago, humans discovered a black-yellowish liquid that come out from the ground and could […]
Episode – 0610 : The Great Nottingham Cheese Riot of 1766
Episode – 0610 : The Great Nottingham Cheese Riot of 1766 Podcast Transcript Throughout history, there have been riots over many different things. Sports teams winning, sports teams losing, high […]
Episode – 0593 : Great Zimbabwe
Episode – 0593 : Great Zimbabwe Podcast Transcript Located near the city of Masvingo in Central Zimbabwe are the ruins of one of the greatest civilizations of the Middle Ages. […]
Episode – 0575 : The Spice Trade
Episode – 0575 : The Spice Trade Podcast Transcript When you think of international trade and globalization, you probably think it is a relatively modern phenomenon. However, the roots of […]
Episode – 0556 : Rare Earth Elements
Episode – 0556 : Rare Earth Elements Podcast Transcript Modern society is completely dependent on a set of technologies that include computer chips, fiber optic cables, lasers, video screens, electric […]
Episode – 0529 : The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Episode – 0529 : The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Podcast Transcript On March 25, 1911, one of the deadliest industrial disasters in American history took place. In the middle of […]
Episode – 0523 : A Human History of Ice
Episode – 0523 : A Human History of Ice Podcast Transcript Humans have been aware of ice for as long as there have been humans and ice. However, using ice […]
Episode – 0521 : How Accounting Changed The World
Episode – 0521 : How Accounting Changed The World Podcast Transcript There are some subjects that are perceived to be mind-numbingly dull and boring. One such subject is accounting. Yet, […]
Episode – 0515 : Olympic Boondoggles
Episode – 0515 : Olympic Boondoggles Podcast Transcript Hosting the Olympics can be a huge honor for the city that lands the event. Cities from around the world have competed […]
Episode – 0514 : Banana Republics
Episode – 0514 : Banana Republics Podcast Transcript The term “banana republic” is often used pejoratively to describe small, poor, unstable developing countries. Being called a banana republic is never […]
Episode – 0508 : Black Friday
Episode – 0508 : Black Friday Podcast Transcript The United States has created many cultural institutions which have spread around the world. People all over the Earth have enjoyed and […]