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...
Jul 15, 2024•17 min•Ep 1470•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jul 14, 2024•15 min•Ep 1469•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jul 13, 2024•15 min•Ep 1468•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jul 12, 2024•15 min•Ep 1467•Transcript available on Metacast Depending on how you define it, there were somewhere between 70 to 100 Roman emperors between the ascension of Augustus to the fall of the western empire in 476. A period of about 500 years. Some of them managed to be just and competent rulers who ruled for extended periods of peace and prosperity. Others….were not. Learn more about the worst Roman emperors who ran the gamut from insane to incompetent on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Available nationally, look for a bottl...
Jul 11, 2024•14 min•Ep 1466•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jul 10, 2024•15 min•Ep 1465•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jul 09, 2024•17 min•Ep 1464•Transcript available on Metacast The most popular sports league in the world in terms of the number of people who follow and watch is the English Premier League. Unlike other sports leagues, the English Premier League is relatively new. It was only created in the early 90s in response to the poor condition of top-division football at the time. Since then, it has brought in billions in revenue for the clubs that have played in the league, as well as some of the world’s highest salaries for its players. Learn more about the Engli...
Jul 08, 2024•15 min•Ep 1463•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jul 07, 2024•12 min•Ep 1462•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jul 06, 2024•14 min•Ep 1461•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jul 05, 2024•17 min•Ep 1460•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Jul 04, 2024•14 min•Ep 1459•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jul 03, 2024•15 min•Ep 1458•Transcript available on Metacast 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-...
Jul 02, 2024•15 min•Ep 1457•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jul 01, 2024•14 min•Ep 1456•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jun 30, 2024•11 min•Ep 1455•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jun 29, 2024•14 min•Ep 1454•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jun 28, 2024•15 min•Ep 1453•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jun 27, 2024•16 min•Ep 1452•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jun 26, 2024•13 min•Ep 1451•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jun 25, 2024•14 min•Ep 1450•Transcript available on Metacast In the midst of the Second World War, the Allied powers began planning ahead for what the post-war world was going to look like. The Legion of Nations had failed to prevent World War II. If they were to prevent another major war from breaking out in the 20th century, they needed something else. Learning from the lessons from the past, they created a new organization that would ultimately be run by the winners of the war. Learn more about how and why the United Nations was formed on this episode ...
Jun 24, 2024•15 min•Ep 1449•Transcript available on Metacast In most academic disciplines, there is often a single idea or discovery which makes everything fall into place. All of the things which didn’t make sense before suddenly do when looked through this new lens. These eye-opening discoveries usually occur in the hard sciences, but one such advancement also took place in the field of economics. Learn more about the Marginal Revolution and how it changed economic through on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Available nationally, lo...
Jun 23, 2024•13 min•Ep 1448•Transcript available on Metacast A popular topic of films has been the French Foreign Legion. The French Foreign Legion was supposed to be an organization where someone could get a new identity and a new start on life, even if they were criminals. They were often stationed in hot, desolate places, where they served out their tour of duty before starting a new life. But how much of the legend surrounding the French Foreign Legion story is really true?? Learn more about the French Foreign Legion, how it was formed and how it work...
Jun 22, 2024•14 min•Ep 1447•Transcript available on Metacast Dogs and cats are both domesticated, four-legged, fur-bearing mammals. Beyond that, they really don’t have much in common. One of the things that they don’t have in common is how they wound up in the lives of humans. Cats established their relationship with humans at a totally different point in history and for a totally different reason. Learn more about the domestication of cats and how these wild animals wound up as pets on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Available natio...
Jun 21, 2024•13 min•Ep 1449•Transcript available on Metacast If you were to pick a single visible icon to represent the 20th century, it would probably be the skyscraper. Skyscrapers didn’t really even exist before the 20th century, but by the end of the century, they became ubiquitous in major cities around the world. The skyscraper didn’t just appear out of nowhere. They wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for multiple technical innovations. Continued innovations have allowed skyscrapers to get taller and taller. Learn more about skyscrapers, how t...
Jun 20, 2024•15 min•Ep 1447•Transcript available on Metacast About 384,400 km or 238,900 miles above the surface of the Earth is our planet's only natural satellite, The Moon. Every culture and civilization on the planet has had the moon play a role in its legends, and they have also used the moon to keep track of time, plant, and harvest. Scientists have wondered where the moon came from and how it was formed, and with data gathered over the last several decades, we now have a better understanding of its origin. Learn more about the Moon, its origin, com...
Jun 19, 2024•14 min•Ep 1444•Transcript available on Metacast Alexander the Great was one of the most famous people from the ancient world. He defeated a vastly larger Persian Empire and conquered everything from Egypt to India. Yet, what Alexander achieved wouldn’t have been possible without his father. In fact, if Alexander hadn’t accomplished what he did, his father would probably be the one given the title “great.” Learn more about Philip II of Macedon and how he changed the world of Ancient Greece and laid the foundations for his son on this episode o...
Jun 18, 2024•14 min•Ep 1443•Transcript available on Metacast In January 1920, an Italian American businessman in Boston started a new company. In order to raise money, he took $100 investments from 18 people and offered them a fabulous return on their money in only 45 days, and he delivered on his promise. Soon people were lining up to give him their money and everything worked great…. …until it didn’t. Learn more about Charles Ponzi, the man whose name is synonymous with fraud, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Available nationally...
Jun 17, 2024•14 min•Ep 1442•Transcript available on Metacast Located in Central and Eastern Europe is one of the continent's longest and most rivers: the Danube. For thousands of years, the Danube has been a vital river for commerce and agriculture, and it has served as a natural boundary for empires and kingdoms. Today, it is still vitally important to ten countries and has become one of the top tourist attractions in Europe. Learn more about the Danube River and the important role it has played in history on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. ...
Jun 16, 2024•14 min•Ep 1441•Transcript available on Metacast 
