After the death of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, the infamous Josef Stalin came to powerful Premier of the Soviet Union. In the late 1930s, Stalin began a ruthless campaign known as The Great Purge, referred to by the people of Russia as The Great Terror. Any person or group perceived in Stalin’s twisted mind as a threat to his power was arrested, given a sham trial, and either executed on the spot, or sent to the notorious Siberian Gulags.
Category Archives: Podcasts
Podcast: The Black Hole of Calcutta Night of Horror
In 18th century India, the power of the Mughal Empire lay in the despotic hands of the Nawabs, or provincial princes. At the same time, the British and French East India Companies had built competing commercial empires on the lucrative sub-continent. The British had established a port and trading hub at Kolkata (Calcutta) and builtContinue reading “Podcast: The Black Hole of Calcutta Night of Horror”
Podcast: The Forgotten Great Chinese Famine of 1959
From 1959 to 1961, the Chinese people were decimated, not by a virus, but by a devastating famine. The death toll, concealed by the Communist government at the time, is still a matter of debate. The consensus however is that at least 30 million people died, though some take it as high as 50 MILLION.Continue reading “Podcast: The Forgotten Great Chinese Famine of 1959”
Podcast: The 10 Most Successful Vaccines in History
We used to take vaccines for granted. After all, they’ve been around for decades. Some, like small pox and polio, were given to our grandparents and even great-grandparents. We all received our last round of childhood shots as kids. So much so, we were shocked by a modern pandemic in 2020. This was due inContinue reading “Podcast: The 10 Most Successful Vaccines in History”
Podcast: Who Burned the Great Library of Alexandria?
Egypt’s Great Library of Alexandria was once the largest of the ancient world, containing the works of Homer, Plato, Euclid, Socrates, Aristotle and hundreds more. Close to one million books and scrolls from across Greece, Assyria, Egypt, Persia and India filled its vast shelves. It’s believed to have been completely destroyed in a devastating fireContinue reading “Podcast: Who Burned the Great Library of Alexandria?”
Podcast: White Friday 1916 – History’s Deadliest Avalanche occurred during WWI
The deadliest avalanche in history occurred at the worst possible time in the worst possible place. A powerful avalanche killed hundreds of Austrian and Italian soldiers near Italy’s Mount Marmolada on 13 December 1916 in the middle of World War I. Over the next several weeks, more avalanches in the Alps killed an estimated 10,000Continue reading “Podcast: White Friday 1916 – History’s Deadliest Avalanche occurred during WWI”
Podcast: Australia began as a Penal Colony 230 Years Ago
It is no longer a well-hidden fact, nor even a national embarrassment, that Australia was originally founded as the Botany Bay Penal Colony in the late 18th century. Botany Bay is an inlet on the eastern coast of Australia, just south of Sydney. But how exactly did an entire continent come to be settled byContinue reading “Podcast: Australia began as a Penal Colony 230 Years Ago”
Podcast: 10 Examples of Being on the Wrong Side of History
Here are 10 cases of ideas or theories that were once widely believed, but most definitely are on the Wrong Side of History – some are moral, some technological, and some philosophical. Through today’s lens, some of these will appear ridiculous … or even repugnant. Yet at the time, in their day, they were deemed Fact andContinue reading “Podcast: 10 Examples of Being on the Wrong Side of History”
Podcast: Japan’s Minamata Disease was a Man-made Tragedy
Minamata Disease is a sobering reminder of the dangers of unregulated industries in modern times, a purely human-created disease. It was first seen in 1956 in the children living in Minamata City on the coast of Japan’s southern island of Kyūshū. Medically, it’s a severe neurological syndrome with symptoms including loss of muscle control, lossContinue reading “Podcast: Japan’s Minamata Disease was a Man-made Tragedy”
Podcast: A Diver’s Defection, Summer Love and the Montreal Olympics
In July of 1976 at the Montreal Olympic Games, 17 year old Russian diver Sergei Nemtsanov finished 9th in the Men’s 10 meter Platform diving competition. As punishment for not earning a medal, his Soviet coaches told him he’d be banned from further international Olympics. His Soviet coaches, wary of defectors among their athletes withContinue reading “Podcast: A Diver’s Defection, Summer Love and the Montreal Olympics”