Learn something new every day!
Everything Everywhere Daily is a daily podcast for Intellectually Curious People. Host Gary Arndt tells the stories of interesting people, places, and things from around the world and throughout history. Gary is an accomplished world traveler, travel photographer, and polymath.
Topics covered include history, science, mathematics, anthropology, archeology, geography, and culture.
Past history episodes have dealt with ancient Rome, Phoenicia, Persia, Greece, China, Egypt, and India. as well as historical leaders such as Julius Caesar, Emperor Augustus, Sparticus, and the Carthaginian general Hannibal.
Geography episodes have covered Malta, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Monaco, Luxembourg, Vatican City, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, the Isle of Man, san marino, Namibia, the Golden Gate Bridge, Montenegro, and Greenland.
Technology episodes have covered nanotechnology, aluminum, fingerprints, longitude, qwerty keyboards, morse code, the telegraph, radio, television, computer gaming,
Episodes explaining the origin of holidays include Memorial Day, April Fool’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, May Day, Christmas, Ramadan, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Canada Day, the Fourth of July,
Famous people in history covered in the podcast include Salvador Dali, Jim Thorpe, Ada Lovelace, Jessie Owens, Robert Oppenheimer, Picasso, Isaac Newton, Attila the Hun, Lady Jane Grey, Cleopatra, Sun Yat Sen, Houdini, Tokyo Rose, William Shakespeare, Queen Boudica, Empress Livia, Marie Antoinette, the Queen of Sheba, Ramanujan, and Zheng He.
Perhaps the greatest advancement in the arts in the 20th century was the creation of motion pictures. Motions Pictures was a brand-new art form. While initially it was just recorded stage presentations, it eventually evolved into something much more. Today, it is a multi-billion-dollar industry, which is all due to countless technical advancements that have occurred over the decades. Learn more about the history of motion pictures, how they were created and how they evolved on this episode of Ev...
Located in the South Atlantic Ocean, situated between South America and Africa, lies the most remote human settlement on Earth. There, a community of a little over 250 people eke out a living over 1,500 miles from the next closest humans. Getting there is difficult, and living there is probably even harder. Learn more about Tristian da Cuhna and how such an isolated community manages to survive on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Available nationally, look for a bottle of He...
One of the most difficult concepts for early thinkers to get their heads around was the idea of nothing. Everywhere we go, all our lives, there is something. There is air and matter that surrounds us everywhere because if there weren’t, we wouldn’t be here. Eventually, scientists and philosophers became comfortable with the idea of nothing and were able to study it. What they found was that nothing was actually something. Learn more about vacuums and how the concept of it was accepted and then e...
Just south of the United States and north of Guatemala is Mexico, a fact which I’m sure all of you know. However, most people don’t know that much about Mexico. There are caricatures of Mexico, and many people are familiar with some of the tourist areas, but that’s about it. In reality, Mexico is one of the world’s largest countries, and its unique geography has influenced its history and economy. Learn more about Mexico's physical, cultural, and economic geography on this episode of Everything ...
For thousands of years, many theories have been put forward as to the cause of communicable diseases. These theories ranged from the religious to the magical and sometimes quasiscientific, but what they all had in common was that there was no proof for anything. Over the centuries these theories became dogma and often prevented a better understanding of diseases. It wasn’t until the 19th century that we got a clear picture of what the cause actually was. Learn more about the germ theory of disea...
In October 1919, the champions of the National League, the Cincinnati Reds, faced the champions of the American League, the Chicago White Sox, in the World Series. While Cincinnati won the championship on the field five games to three, the series will be forever remembered because of the events surrounding it. Even a hundred years later, it remains one of the most significant events in American professional sports. Learn more about the 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal, and how it almost destroyed ...
I would say that there is a very good chance that almost everyone listening to the sound of my voice right now is wearing something made of cloth. Cloth, textiles, and fabrics go back a very long way, but despite their ancient origins, not every culture had them. Yet, where they existed, they were often some of the most valuable commodities, and they were, in some fashion, used by everyone from rich to poor. Learn more about cloth, textiles, and fabrics, their origin, and how they’ve changed thr...
In the year 53 BC, Rome suffered one of the greatest military defeats in its history. A Roman army led by Marcus Lucinisu Crassus was led into the desert in present-day Southern Turkey and was systematically destroy by an army from the Kingdom of Parthia. The defeat itself didn’t radically weaken Rome, but the death of Crassus led to a chain of events that would result in the end of the Roman Republic. It was also the opening salvo in a centuries-long rivalry between Rome and Parthia that would ...
Located between China and India, Pakistan, Buthan, and Nepal is the world’s highest chain of mountains, The Himalayas. The Himalayas aren’t just very tall, picturesque mountains that are the home of Mount Everest. They are perhaps the most important mountain range on Earth. The Himalayas serve as the source of several of the world’s most important rivers. It is responsible for weather patterns throughout much of Asia, and it has served an important role throughout history in trade, religion, and...
In September 1944, despite over half a year still remaining in World War II, the Allies began preparing for an eventual post-war world. One of the biggest questions being discussed was what to do with Germany. After two world wars with Germany in just a quarter century, no one wanted a third. One American official developed a plan that would basically destroy Germany as a modern country to prevent them from ever making war again. Learn more about the Morgenthau Plan and the attempt to destroy Ge...
In the early 1960s, the United States was always a step behind the Soviet Union in the space race. By the mid-1960s, the Americans had caught up. They didn’t have many glamorous firsts, but they were doing increasingly difficult things in space. All of that came crashing to a halt on January 27, 1967, when three astronauts died in what was a seemingly routine training exercise. Learn more about the Apollo 1 Disaster, how it happened, and how it influenced the future of the Apollo program on this...
In the mid-18th century, excavations in the ancient town of Herculaneum, just outside the city of Pompeii and destroyed by the same volcano, discovered something….interesting. They found a villa that contained 1800 ancient scrolls. Unfortunately, the volcano's heat carbonized them, making them illegible and incredibly fragile. Still, for over 250 years, scholars have hoped that techniques would eventually be developed to allow these scrolls to be read. That day may have finally arrived. Learn mo...
In the early 19th century, the most abundant bird in North America, and perhaps the entire world, was the passenger pigeon. An estimated three billion of them would fly in flocks so large that they could blot out the sun. However, within a century, the entire species had gone extinct. It was one of the fastest and most disastrous turnarounds for any species in recorded history. Learn more about the passenger pigeon and how they went extinct on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsor...
This episode explores the reigns of some of the most infamous and terrible Roman emperors, from Tiberius's debauchery to Caligula's insanity and Nero's tyranny. It details their abuses of power, eccentric behaviors, and the chaos they brought to the Roman Empire, highlighting how absolute power can corrupt and the dangers of entrusting such power to the unfit.
Let me cut right to the chase. This episode is going to be a deep dive into the origin of some common idioms. I don’t want to dance around the subject or have to walk on eggshells, so I’m using this introduction to break the ice. Whether you’re feeling under the weather or ready to burn the midnight oil with us, you’re in for a treat. I will spill the beans on their meanings and origins and explain how to use them, even if you only do so once in a blue moon. Learn more about the origins and mean...
One of the most famous lines in poetry comes from the poet Robert Burns, who spoke of ‘The best-laid schemes of mice and men.’ The line has been used in reference to the fact that no matter how good the plan or the intentions behind it, things will often not go according to plan. Indeed, there have been times in history when plans have made things far worse than the problem they were trying to solve. But there have also been times when things have turned out better than hoped for reasons not und...
This episode explores the English Premier League (EPL), its relatively recent formation in the early 1990s, and its rise to become the world's most popular sports league. The episode details the history of English club football, the impact of hooliganism, and the formation of the Premier League due to financial incentives and the desire for greater revenue sharing among top clubs. It also discusses the failed European Super League and potential future changes to the EPL.
In February 1904, the Russian Empire found itself at war with the Empire of Japan over what was territory in the current nation of China. The problem for Russia was that a big chunk of its navy was located in the Baltic Sea, and the war was in Asia. The Baltic fleet was sent on an incredibly long and interesting voyage to get the ships into battle. Learn more about the disastrous voyage of the Imperial Russian Baltic Fleet and how it helped change the course of Russian history on this episode of...
Mark Twain once said, 'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.' The reason why he placed statistics into its own category is because it is possible to use numbers to misrepresent the truth, distort reality, or outright lie. However, if you know what to look for, you can catch misuses of statistics, and if really pay attention, you can find these misuses almost everywhere. Learn more about how you can lie with statistics on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sp...
The month of July is named after Julius Caesar. In 44 BC, after his assassination, the Roman Senate renamed the month of Quintilis after him in honor of the month he was born. The fact that he was appointed dictator for life probably had something to do with it. All the emperors that came later never changed it, so instead of Quintilis, we have July. So stay tuned for the Quintilis episode of questions and answers on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Available nationally, loo...
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress of the 13 British colonies in North America issued a document addressing their grievances with the British Crown and stated to the world why they considered themselves to be a free and independent country. That document and its legacy have had a much bigger impact than its signatories could have ever imagined almost 250 years ago. Learn more about the Declaration of Independence, how it came about, and its legacy on this episode of Everything Everywhere ...
One of the leading destinations for live stage performances is Broadway. The term Broadway, derived from the street in New York City, is not just a name. It's a rich history of notable theaters and a style of performance that has become synonymous with it. But why did theater develop on that particular street in that particular city, what divides Broadway from off-Broaday, and how exactly does Broadway work as a business? Learn more about Broadway, its history, and how it functions as a business...
Located in the 90th place on the periodic table is the element Thorium. Thorium, as with every element, has unique properties, making it useful in certain applications. However, Thorium’s best days might still be ahead of it and might move it to the front of the list of the world’s most important elements. Learn more about Thorium, how it was discovered, and its potential uses on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Available nationally, look for a bottle of Heaven Hill Bottled-...
In December 1936, the United Kingdom underwent its greatest constitutional crisis of the 20th century. The king, Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to marry an American divorcee. This might not seem like a scandal today, but at the time, it threatened to collapse the entire British government when Europe was on the brink of war. The aftermath of the abdication crisis saw the rise of a new king and the birth of an entirely new royal line, a legacy that endures to this day. Learn more about the abd...
In 1961, at the Green Bank observatory in West Virginia, a small conference was held for astrophysicists. The meeting was organized by Cornell University professor and astronomer Frank Drake. The subject of the conference was the search for extraterrestrial life. In preparation for the conference, he jotted down his thoughts in the form of an equation. An equation that has changed how we think about life on other worlds. Learn more about the Drake Equation and the variables that make it up on th...
Before the Allied invasions of Normandy or Sicily in World War II, the ground war against Germany and Italy was first fought in North Africa. The reason why there was even a conflict in Africa was a combination of geography and history. Even though it doesn’t get the attention the war in Asia or Europe receives, the war in North Africa was pivotal to the ultimate resolution of the war in Europe. Had things gone differently, the entire course of the war would have changed. Learn more about the No...
The biggest agricultural crop in the world today, by total weight, is corn. Also known as maize, corn is a crop of the New World. The ancients in China, India, Mesopotamia, and Rome never knew about corn. Yet, since the Columbian Exchange, it has become one of the world’s most important commodities as a source of food, animal feed, and the basis of many manufactured food products. Learn more about corn, aka maize, where it came from, and how it revolutionized the world of agriculture on this epi...
One of the most audacious scams in history took place in the early 19th century in Britain. A man sold thousands of people a dream of land in the New World. His claims attracted large investments, encouraged hundreds of people to move around the world, and even suckered in members of the royal family. However, his promises were empty, and in the end, shiploads of people were stranded in the middle of nowhere, and many people lost their life savings. Learn more about Gregor MacGregor and one of t...
The death of a British monarch is a very big event. Thousands of people may take part in the funeral and procession, with millions more lining up to pay their respects and billions more watching on television. This didn’t always use to be the case, however. In particular, there was one English King who not only didn’t get an elaborate funeral, no one knew exactly where his body was for over 500 years. Learn more about the body of King Richard III and how it was lost and then discovered on this e...
One of the biggest problems that humanity has faced for thousands of years is heat. Excessive heat made it difficult to work in the middle of the day. Heat was especially problematic in the tropics, where a shockingly large percentage of humanity lived. As cities became more developed, excess heat, all year round, became a limiting factor in how tall buildings could get. All of this was solved with one invention. Learn more about air conditioning and how it helped usher in the modern world on th...
