Gary’s Q&A

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Katherine Friedman asks, “What are some of your favorite books?”

My favorite book series, by far, are the Dune books by Frank Herbert. There is a lot to the original Dune book that most people miss, and when you read the later books, you realize that the hero of the story is in fact, not the hero at all.

I’m a big fan of the Foundation books by Isaac Asimov.

Most of what I read is, not surprisingly, non-fiction. The list of great non-fiction books I’ve read is pretty long.

Two good ones I’ve read recently include 1491 by Charles Mann. This was the inspiration behind my episode on the Great Dying of the Americas. It tries to condense all the latest research on what exactly life was like in the Americas before Europeans arrived.

The other is The Second World Wars by Victor Davis Hanson, looks at the second world war in a larger framework looking at economic and industrial policies that all but guaranteed the outcome.

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Doug Lori McDonald asks, “Are there any show ideas that, while researching, unexpectedly took you down rabbit holes, leading to a multitude of new show ideas?”

Absolutely. It happens all the time. Take the subject of volcanoes. I initially did one on the Mount Tambora Eruption of 1815. That opened the door to Vesuvius and Paricutin, and a general episode about volcanoes. However, there are tons more volcano-related topics including big eruptions like Mount Saint Helens and Krakatoa, as well as culturally significant ones like Mount Fuji.

I’ve done or am in the middle of similar series on the planets, elements, rivers, and small countries.

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Graham McIntosh asks, “Have you ever been to Northumberland in Northern England? Many castles. Roman Wall and forts. Wonderful coast line.”

I have not. Unlike many countries, my exploration of England has mostly been piecemeal. I used to visit London every year for a conference, and I would then take a week afterward to explore a different part of the country. I have yet to get north of the Midlands.I’m aware that there is a lot of great stuff up there, but I just haven’t gotten there yet.

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

The last question comes from Benjamin Pister “Are there any topics you’ve decided to avoid because they would potentially be too controversial or political?”

I try to stay away from any and all current events. The reason for it is that there is a lot of content on the internet that deals with topics in the news. I’m not really sure there is anything I can contribute which isn’t already being done by other people.

It isn’t so much a matter of staying away from politics or controversy as it is just trying to find a niche that I think is underserved. I think that there is a huge need for general knowledge about the world. If people have a better understanding of the world, and its history, they can better understand and process the information they get from the news.