In today’s episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an “expert” on... snowflakes! Depending where on Earth you live, these tiny miracles fall around you by the millions. And boy do they fall! Sometimes from clouds over 2 miles in the sky! We were fascinated to learn exactly how these precious little treasures form up there. Although they’ve been landing on Earth for probably forever, it wasn’t until just over 100 years ago that their uniqueness was captured up close in photos thanks to a certain y...
Jan 18, 2021•34 min•Ep. 40
Happy New Year, again! In the first new episode of 2021, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Times Square! We watched the ball drop in Times Square this year, and even though it was weird without all the people, we were happy to see the tradition live on. But what's the deal with Times Square? Why is it called that? It's not a square, so truly a mystery. But a mystery we solved! From its humble beginnings as Longacre Square, to its seedy history in the 1980s, Times Square is a real ...
Jan 11, 2021•34 min•Ep. 39
Happy New Year!! Hope you all had lovely and relaxing holidays, and are ready to celebrate 2021 with what we think is our worst episode ever! This is the last of our unreleased group, so enjoy it! Hopefully next week you will be stunned by the incredible difference in our research and banter skills when we jump back into the present. In this week's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The Microwave! For some reason, a quote that is maybe from Albert Einstein features heavily ...
Jan 04, 2021•26 min•Ep. 38
It's week 2 of our throwback episodes! If you're still here, thank you! If not, we get it! Here's the next one of our unreleased backlog: In this week's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Vodka! Now this is a topic we can all get behind! Burping yeast! Watered-down Everclear! Vodka is a fun ride. If you've ever had it - which we know you have - why not learn what's in it? That's a pretty easy task, since it's only ethanol and water. Whoops I spoiled it. But still listen to ...
Dec 28, 2020•28 min•Ep. 37
Happy Holidays, experts! Hopefully you are all finding some kind of peace and comfort in this crazy time. We have both finished finals (hooray!!) and are taking a holiday break to catch up on sleep and celebrate. But we didn't want to leave you hanging, especially if you were looking forward to the soothing sounds of our voices to keep you company. So we decided to do something fun! We had a couple episodes backlogged from before we officially launched the podcast - test episodes, if you will, t...
Dec 21, 2020•32 min•Ep. 36
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Antarctica! And a little bit of the Arctic too! Mainly the differences between the two and why Antarctica is so dang cold. Because, dang! Is it cold down there! it's the only continent that humans have never lived on - except for now, when a thousand or so crazy scientists hunker down there year round to study all kinds of important stuff that makes the world go round. Antarctica may not be home to any indigenous people, but it...
Dec 14, 2020•39 min•Ep. 35
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Chess! If you've been watching The Queen's Gambit, this episode is for you. We haven't been watching (too busy studying for finals *eyeroll*), but we still thought that this would be a great topic. And it was! As with many things, chess has a long history that really jumps all over the world. The true origins of chess are in India around the 7th century, but the chess-as-we-know-it today comes from England, all the way fast-forw...
Dec 07, 2020•39 min•Ep. 34
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Yo-Yos! The world's second oldest toy. The long history of the yo-yo spans many centuries and several countries. If you've ever heard that yo-yos were initially used as weapons, we think you're wrong! But we also think we might know why you think that. Americans didn't get their hands on yo-yos in any real way until the 1920s, but then they got wayyyyy into it. Thank Pedro Flores, Donald F. Duncan, and 40 million kids who purch...
Nov 30, 2020•45 min•Ep. 33
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Chewing Gum! Uh huh, that's right, chewing gum. All these years you've been popping a little piece of who-knows-what in your mouth and chowing down for hours at a time, knowing little to nothing about what it is you're munching on. So we're gonna tell you! Although humans have a very long history of yanking bits off of trees and chewing them, the fairy tale that is modern chewing gum starts with a sticky substance called chicle...
Nov 23, 2020•43 min•Ep. 32
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Alpacas! Our cutest topic yet . (Sorry, Evel Knievel!) You might think of alpacas as llamas' adorable little cousins, but they are actually descended from another delightful furball - the vicuña! As cute as this episode got at times, it wasn't without its disgusting bits as well. Have you ever heard about how llamas spit? Well, alpacas do too, and Zack almost barfed over the specifics of it. We learn where alpacas are from, whet...
Nov 16, 2020•32 min•Ep. 31
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Rainbows! Our election coverage has ended, as has the election itself, and we were ready for a nice, easy topic. However, we didn't necessarily get one! Katie thought rainbows would be simple, straightforward, and put a smile on all of our weary faces. But when one researches them properly (as Zack always does), there's a lot of scientific explanation that goes into understanding them. Get ready for: refraction, angles, referenc...
Nov 09, 2020•29 min•Ep. 30
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The Constitution of the United States of America! We've made it to the end of our election suite, for better or worse! And we figured we'd end where it all started for us Americans -- with the Constitution itself. People like to reference the Constitution a lot these days, so we figured we'd tell you what it actually says. Note: it's only 4 pages long, so if this episode sounds like a real slog to you, maybe go ahead and just r...
Nov 02, 2020•40 min•Ep. 29
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Democracy! Yup, good old democracy. We're continuing our run up to the election with the American/election/government theme and learning about our nation. So we're going back to the beginning! To Ancient Greece, where it all (probably?) started. What's the difference between our current representative democracy and the direct democracy those dudes enjoyed? You gotta listen to find out, but it may or may not include a giant hat. ...
Oct 26, 2020•30 min•Ep. 28
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The Electoral College! Yup that's right, I said Katie because this is another flip the script episode! If you hadn't noticed, we have a bit of an election/America/government theme going on here, and it is not an accident! We have a presidential election coming up here in the US, and that only happens once every four years, so it's something to be excited about. Considering Katie was a Political Science major in college (and Zac...
Oct 19, 2020•43 min•Ep. 27
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The Declaration of Independence! The upcoming election has got us feeling patriotic and we want to know more about the foundation of our nation. So Katie made Zack learn about it! Of course, we've all learned about the Declaration of Independence at various times in our life, but do we really remember the specifics? Of course not! This episode will be a great refresher. Also, lots and lots of Hamilton talk (too much?), so if you...
Oct 12, 2020•34 min•Ep. 26
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Gatorade! Yup, Gatorade. That colorful sports drink that's apparently been around since the mid-70s. This was a fun one for Zack, and hopefully will be fun for the rest of you too. Sometimes you need a light topic! And you know when's a time like that? NOW. However, Gatorade isn't "light" in the sense that it's low in calories - hate to break it to you, but there's a ton of sugar in there! We really dove into some of the health ...
Oct 05, 2020•36 min•Ep. 25
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The International Space Station! After a hard week of being in the hot seat, Katie threw out a personal topic selection and boy did it pay off. The ISS is fascinating! From its football field size to the fact that it runs on solar power, it was full of adorable surprises. One of the few places on Earth (not literally) where people from different nations come together in pursuit of science. Except Russia, of course, who has their...
Sep 28, 2020•47 min•Ep. 24
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Crayons! Wait a minute! Did we say Zack? Scratch that! Hold on to your hats, folks, because we pulled a big switch-up this week! Ahem, Katie (!) has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Crayons! Yup, crayons. Those colorful, waxy little guys you apparently encountered over 700 times before you were ten (you'll see what we mean). And if you happened to have eaten one, no worries. They planned for that. Crayons have their origin...
Sep 21, 2020•38 min•Ep. 23
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The California Gold Rush! In a real twist, Zack selected the topic this week (unbeknownst to him, apparently). But his passion for this very specific slice of time in California's history really came through. We have another fun origin story that Zack (nearly) got right in the intro before he studied. From spoons to hydraulic mining, we learned all about how gold is extracted from the earth, and how much all of the gold that's b...
Sep 14, 2020•40 min•Ep. 22
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Motorcycles! Full disclosure, it is Labor Day weekend, so we took the week off to enjoy a labor-free weekend for crying out loud! But we had the episode up in the old archives, waiting to be heard by the world. So we pulled it out, dusted it off, and it wasn't too bad! But you, the audience should really be the judge. Anyway, enough about all of that, how about motorcycles?!? This was a pretty wide topic to cover, so Zack tried ...
Sep 07, 2020•35 min•Ep. 21
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Mezcal! The legendary start to mezcal is absolutely tops. But we aren't going to tell you it here - you gotta listen! Mezcal is tequila's smoky brother, which is pretty intriguing on its own. But mezcal's backstory and the method by which it is made is absolutely fascinating. From donkey-pulled grinding wheels to worms in bottles, this episode has it all. Want to know how many states Mexico has? Gotta listen. Want to know what t...
Aug 31, 2020•33 min•Ep. 20
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The Georgia Guidestones! This topic came in as a suggestion, and neither Zack nor Katie knew what it/they were, which is just how we like it. Learning is the name of the game, after all! But what's the name of the group that paid for and erected the Georgia Guidestones? You heard it here first, folks, we cracked the case and it was......... Okay, well we didn't actually crack that case. But we did learn a whole lot about a fasci...
Aug 24, 2020•47 min•Ep. 19
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Harry Houdini! Or should we say.. Erik Weisz? Harry Houdini had all kinds of fun secrets up his sleeve, not the least of which was how he managed to break into that judge's safe! (Spoiler alert, it was open the whole time!) A classic tale of the American dream, Harry Houdini came from an immigrant family with practically nothing, and ended up with an internationally successful career. He loved to hang upside down, he loved to ex...
Aug 17, 2020•42 min•Ep. 18
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Machu Picchu! If you're missing travel like we are, tune in to virtually experience the splendor of what's not actually the Lost City of the Incas, but was probably a retreat for the wealthy. Ah, the wealthy, winning even back then! Although local Peruvians were likely aware of Machu Picchu's existence all along, the rest of us didn't get the memo until Hiram Bingham "discovered" it in 1911. Check out his Wikipedia pic if you wa...
Aug 10, 2020•48 min•Ep. 17
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Bonnie and Clyde! The darling pair of outlaws who will grab hold of your heartstrings and won't let go, right? Wrong! These two were bad, bad, bad to the bone. Katie and Zack expected a sympathetic tale that involved some stealing and running from cops. What they got was a long string of pretty ruthless murders and seemingly pointless robberies. What was up with Bonnie and Clyde? Early childhood trauma may be to blame, because n...
Aug 03, 2020•57 min•Ep. 16
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Tarot Cards! Oooh spooky, you say? Nonsense, we say! After a good 30 minute dive into their history and current use, Tarot Cards seem to be one of those things that are just misunderstood. If you (like a lot of people) think of them as a tool of the occult, prepare to be surprised. Also, prepare to learn the definition of “occult” and maybe be surprised by that too. We learned a bit about the history of playing cards themselves ...
Jul 27, 2020•44 min•Ep. 15
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The Haitian Revolution! Known as one of the only successful "Slave Rebellions," this story of how the enslaved people on the island of Saint Domingue fought for and achieved their freedom is one for the history books. Avid listeners of 30 Minute Expert will remember that we mentioned this epic tale in our episode on the Louisiana Purchase - we said we would cover it in a full episode, and here we are coming through for all of yo...
Jul 20, 2020•42 min•Ep. 14
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Banksy! Who is Banksy? Okay, we didn't actually figure out Banksy's true identity in this episode, but we did learn a whole lot about the anonymous street artist. In today's world, it's pretty rare to maintain true anonymity in spite of worldwide fame, but somehow Banksy has managed it. This is a really visual episode for obvious reasons, so definitely check out our instagram @30minuteexpertpodcast to see all of the cool works o...
Jul 13, 2020•42 min•Ep. 13
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Niccolo Machiavelli & Machiavellianism! That's a mouthful! And it was a big topic to conquer, but as always, Zack made it look easy. If you've ever heard the phrase, "the ends justify the means," then you have an intro to the glorious evil that is Niccolo Machiavelli. You have to have been a pretty rough dude to end up with a psychological disorder named after you - and this one's a doozy. Join us to learn what *not* to do w...
Jul 06, 2020•29 min•Ep. 12
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... the Louisiana Purchase! Apparently, in 1803, you could double the size of your country for the low low price of $15 million dollars! What do you do when you set out to buy one city and get offered half a country? You take it, of course! At least Thomas Jefferson did. This is a wild story. Players include Napoleon (think a 19th century George Costanza), Alexander Hamilton (he and Jefferson did NOT get along), and Toussaint L'Ouve...
Jun 29, 2020•26 min•Ep. 11
