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.
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
In any sport, there is always one debate that comes up. It comes up year after year, and it has been around for as long as sport has existed. The debate is about who is the greatest of all time, or in common parlance, who is the GOAT? Every sport has its own contenders for the GOAT. In some sports, the GOAT is pretty easy to identify. In others, it isn’t quite so clear. Learn more about who the GOATS are in many major sports on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Sign up for Bu...
During the Second World War, the United States embarked on one of the greatest science and engineering projects the world had ever seen. Over 100,000 people took part in the program, the vast majority of which had no clue what it was for, and the total cost of the program was in the billions of dollars, at a time when a billion dollars was a lot of money. The end result was the most devastating weapon ever created, and it fundamentally changed the world. Learn more about the Manhattan Project an...
After the end of the second world war, Berlin was a divided city controlled by the four major allied powers. Despite the different zones of control, people could move freely between them. However, on August 13, 1961, the East German government decided to end the free travel of Berliners by building a wall around West Berlin. For 28 years, the wall defined the city and served as a metaphor for the entire Cold War. Learn more about the Berlin Wall on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sp...
If you have used a computer, which I’m assuming is almost everyone listening to this, you have probably had to store your data somewhere. You might have used a USB drive, a hard drive, or if you are old enough, maybe even a floppy drive. These types of data storage are just the latest in a long line of methods to store information that goes back a surprising amount of time. Learn more about this history of data storage and how it goes back farther than you might realize on this episode of Everyt...
In 8 BC, the Roman senate passed a resolution renaming the month of Sextillis to August to honor the emperor Augustus. They chose Sextillis, which was the sixth month in the calendar because it was the month that he conquered Egypt. Fast forward several centuries and August had a permanent place on the calendar. With that, prepare yourself for the August installment of Questions and Answers on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Sign up for ButcherBox today by going to Butcherb...
In almost all sports, people will refer to what is known as having a home-field advantage. Home-field advantage is a simple concept. It implies that teams playing in their home stadium, arena, or field have a slight advantage over the visiting team. But is home-field advantage a real thing? And if it is, what are the reasons for it, and which teams and which leagues have the largest home-field advantages? Learn more about home-field advantage and if it is, in fact, a real thing on this episode o...
During the height of the Second World War, American shipping to Europe was constantly being attacked by German U-boats. In an attempt to completely bypass German subs, aviation pioneer Howard Hughes began construction on what would be the world’s largest aircraft. A plane that was so large it could carry 750 passengers or two full-sized tanks across the Atlantic. Sadly, it was hampered by wartime rationing of metals and only flew in one memorable test flight. Learn more about the Hughes H-4 Herc...
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest library in the world is the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The Library of Congress was originally intended to be the library of the United States Congress, but over two centuries since its founding, it has evolved to something much grander, covering almost every subject and language imaginable. Learn more about the Library of Congress, why it was established and how it works on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Spons...
On December 29, 1170, the Archbishop of Canterbury was brutally murdered on the floor of the Canterbury Cathedral by four armed knights while preparing for his evening prayers. The ramifications of that incident shook the country of England, its king, and the Catholic Church. Over 850 years later, it is still remembered and remains one of the most significant events in English history. Learn more about the murder of Thomas Becket and why and how it happened on this episode of Everything Everywhe...
Located in the state of Wyoming and a little bit of Montana and Idaho lies one of the world’s greatest national parks on Earth: Yellowstone. In the 19th century, Yellowstone was declared the first national park in the world. However, what makes Yellowstone special actually dates back millions of years. The geologic circumstances that led to the creation of Yellowstone today make it one of the most visited parks in the world. Learn more about Yellowstone, its history, and its possible future on t...
You have probably heard the expression, “The house always wins.” This is usually true….in fact, it's almost always true. If it weren’t true, then casinos wouldn’t exist. Every game in a casino is designed to give the house an edge so that in the long run, with enough players, they are mathematically guaranteed to win money. However, there have been a few occasions where people have figured out a way to use the rules in their favor to win big. Learn more about the gamblers who beat the house on t...
Este episodio explora las múltiples teorías sobre la caída del Imperio Romano de Occidente, desde el auge del cristianismo y la división del imperio hasta la inestabilidad política, las causas militares, los problemas económicos como la inflación y la esclavitud, el envenenamiento por plomo, los cambios climáticos y las plagas. Se destaca que no hay una sola respuesta, sino una combinación de factores que contribuyeron al declive del imperio.
On April 24, 1990, the Space Shuttle Discovery launched the Hubble Space Telescope into low Earth orbit. After some initial technical problems, it began providing images of our universe, the likes of which we’ve never seen before. Even though larger, better telescopes have been sent to space for over 30 years, the Hubble has remained one of the most important instruments available to astronomers. Learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope, why it was created and what it has accomplished on this...
Cleopatra VII Philopator was the last ruler of an independent Egypt and one of the most important women of the ancient world. In addition to being a brilliant and cunning ruler in her own right, she was also famously associated with two of the most powerful men in the late Roman Republic. Yet was her involvement with these men that ultimately led to the downfall of her and of Egypt. Learn more about the rise and fall of Queen Cleopatra on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Ava...
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...
