What do Protestant choirmasters, Renaissance pacifiers, mass retailers, and a 700 lb chocolate sculpture of Neil Armstrong have in common? They’re all connected to the history of our favorite Christmas […]
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What do Protestant choirmasters, Renaissance pacifiers, mass retailers, and a 700 lb chocolate sculpture of Neil Armstrong have in common? They’re all connected to the history of our favorite Christmas […]
Read moreMeet James Reavis, the greatest con man you’ve never heard of. Called the Baron of Arizona, Reavis defrauded thousands of people — scamming them out of more than $150 million in […]
Read moreEverything you know about Black Friday is wrong (except the mob-driven violence and greed. You’re definitely right about that). It has nothing to do with slave markets or retailers’ profits […]
Read moreShouldn’t you always strain your mash before distilling it? What is “on the grain” distilling? Meredith breaks down answers to listener questions in this quick minicast. Our last episode (Ep […]
Read moreForget everything you know about whiskey, Prohibition, and the modern liquor industry. The real story is wild ride full of little known tales, plot twists, and unexpected connections that shaped […]
Read moreFrank breaks down the history, controversies, and basics of the Gold Standard in just 7 minutes. Additional Links and Resources: Wikipedia is actually a great source to get the […]
Read moreWhat do large scale sea travel, the Hajj, Parson Weems’s biography of George Washington, and Welsh naming customs have to do with the richest man in history? EVERYTHING, folks! They […]
Read moreThis is the story of why tarring and feathering government employees is not a legitimate form of democratic expression. Also, booze. (Happy Tax Day! We’re getting this up one day […]
Read moreA few years ago, inspired by the films he watched during his naval training, Frank wrote this funny little blog post about Godzilla and leadership. Years later, it’s still our […]
Read moreGodzilla is – and always has been — more than a monster movie. April 27th will be the 60th anniversary of Godzilla’s release in the U.S. Join us as we […]
Read moreNana Asma’u is the smartest and most influential women you’ve probably never heard of. She was a teacher, princess, scholar, social reformer, teen mother — and the original glass ceiling […]
Read moreFrank explains the Crimean War in 7 minutes. This is a clip from when we recorded Episode 40 on Mary Seacole that we had to edit down for the episode […]
Read moreThere’s a reason Mary Seacole was voted the greatest black Briton in history. Long before Silicon Valley coined the term “social entrepreneurship,” she was using her business savvy to address […]
Read moreHappy St. Patty’s Day! What do St. Patrick and Irish beer have to do with the Wicked Witch of The West? EVERYTHING! And we really mean EVERYTHING! Learn how competition […]
Read moreMary Anning had the deck stacked against her from the beginning – not only was her family poor and part of a religious minority, she was a woman in Regency […]
Read moreEver heard people say that “women entered the workforce during World War II?” Meredith, Emily, & Frank address why that belief is incomplete and inaccurate — and how that myth […]
Read morePirate operettas, misogynistic courtship rituals of uncertain origin, and varying levels of government incompetence? It can only mean one things, folks: We’re talking about Leap Year! Join us as we […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, & Frank as they explore the real story of southern food. They discuss: how a recent episode of the PBS series Mercy Street both illuminated and perpetuated the […]
Read moreJoin Meredith and Emily as they explore the history of Nushu – a secret language used by Chinese women in Hunan province for centuries. They discuss how Nushu arose out […]
Read moreJoin Meredith and Frank as they discuss the darker side of business. They’ll explore what organized crime is (and isn’t!), the real meaning of “mafia,” and how both Al Capone […]
Read moreJoin Emily and Frank as they explore the link between honeymoons and mead, an alcoholic beverage made from – you guessed it – honey! Kidnapping, Valhalla, monastery profit margins, the […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Frank, and Meredith as they explore the sneaky secret Ben Franklin, the Oracle at Delphi, and Hollywood share: they all manipulated the public through corporate espionage, strategically leaked […]
Read moreJoin Meredith, Emily, and Frank as they explore the history of butter. Like beer, butter’s history tells the story of adaptation, survival, surplus, and innovation. Learn: Why the medieval rich ate […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Frank, and Meredith as they explore the hidden history of Spam — including how Japanese internment and martial law made Spam popular in Hawaii. They also discuss why Safeway […]
Read moreIn this minicast, Emily and Frank discuss the twisty connections between how wine and beer were shared between Ancient Egypt and Israel, why Prego sells so many different varieties, and […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, and Frank for this minicast as they discuss fermented beverages in the South Pacific and Pacific Islander cultures, and why Google isn’t a substitute for real research. […]
Read moreJoin Meredith, Emily, and Frank as they discuss why Uber and Airbnb aren’t as revolutionary as they seem, the real history of the sharing economy, and what tech mags really […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, and Frank as they discuss whether companies like Warby Parker and Birchbox really qualify as disruptive innovators, the history of the catalog, how Sears Roebuck & Co […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, & Frank as they discuss disruptive technology – from germ theory to refrigeration, and clocks to computers. We’ll go beyond the buzzwords to explore what the modern tech industry […]
Read moreJoin Meredith as she interviews Dr. Michael Waldrop, Director of Percussion Studies at Eastern Washington University. They explore the history of cymbals and percussion from the late 1800s to the […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, & Frank as they explore how companies and industries adapt and pivot to survive changing times — including the bail industry and bounty hunters (and other disappearing […]
Read moreJoin Frank, Meredith, and Emily as they discuss what artists in the early 1900s thought 2000 would look like, why NASA engineers started hanging out in comic book stores, and […]
Read moreJoin Meredith as she interviews Seattle-based beer enthusiast, history geek, and homebrewing expert Marcus Gall. They explore how historical taxation created our modern beers, Prohibition’s effect on U.S. beer culture, […]
Read moreJoin Meredith, Emily, and Frank as they discuss corporate espionage in the 19th brewing, the glass drinkware revolution, how Guinness used a pickaxe to protect his beer empire, and some […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, and Frank as they discuss preservatives and Elizabethan beer regulations, including how beer helped build the Shakespeare family’s fortunes. Links and Additional Content: Why Shakespeare liked ale […]
Read moreJoin Meredith as she discusses how the potato has built and brought down economies – from the King of France using potato flowers to mitigate flatulence, to the Potato Famine, […]
Read moreJoin Meredith and Frank as they discuss the social and economic role of beer in ancient India. Links and Additional Content: Surabhanam – The oldest Indian beer via Beer in India […]
Read moreJoin Meredith as she discusses the twisted history of alcohol in Ancient China, from wild excess to strict prohibition. Links and Additional Content: World’s Earliest Tipple Discovered in China […]
Read moreJoin Meredith and Frank as they discuss how women in ancient Pompeii built their own business empires, despite cultural and legal biases against them. Links and Additional Content: Explore Pompeii […]
Read moreJoin Emily and Meredith as they discuss the business side of relics, religion, and religious tourism in Medieval Europe. Links and Additional Content: A Morbid Taste for Bones (Brother Cadfael […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, and Frank as they discuss how chicha and other fermented beverages evolved in the Americas. Links and Additional Content: How to Make Chicha via Draft Magazine Chicha […]
Read moreJoin Meredith as she discusses misperceptions about Viking society, their technology and cities, and how Viking merchants managed their international client bases. Links and Additional Content: Vikings were […]
Read moreJoin Meredith as she discusses water — including water restrictions in the California drought, the cost of desalination, and how Lima, Peru is combating its modern drought with ancient pre-Inca […]
Read moreJoin Emily and Frank as they discuss the basics of fermentation and the role it’s played — both historically, and in our kitchens today. Links and Additional Content: ‘Fermentation’ – […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, and Frank as they discuss the role of beer in ancient Mesopotamia, including its origins as a woman-dominated industry, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Code of […]
Read moreJoin Meredith, Emily, and Frank as they discuss why beer is the foundation of civilization, specialization, accounting, and business. Links and Additional Content:
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, and Frank as they continue discussing St. Peter’s Stiftskeller – the oldest restaurant in the world – and what has kept it open for more than 1,200 […]
Read moreJoin Meredith, Frank, and Emily and they discuss celebrity, longevity, and the history of the oldest inn in the world — Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan — which they began discussing in […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, and Frank as they discuss hospitality – one of the oldest industries in the world – and two of the oldest restaurants in the world: St Peter’s Stiftskeller […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, and Frank as they discuss why most lists of oldest companies in the world are incomplete and biased, Stella Artois, logos, Inca technology, and the salt trade […]
Read moreJoin Meredith and Emily as they discuss branding and exoticism in the food marketing — with topics ranging from Christopher Columbus to Hawaiian pizza, including the spice trade and the […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, and Frank as they discuss nixtamilization of corn, the Kentucky long rifle, the Inca Road system, the ancient North American city of Cahokia near modern St. Louis, […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, and Frank as they talk about spotting our own biases, the hidden history of women business owners, and more. Links and Additional Content: Biography of Laurel […]
Read moreJoin Emily, Meredith, and Frank as they discuss the USS Plunger submarine, the Venetian Arsenal, logos, sandal labels in Ancient Egypt, and why learning the hidden history of business […]
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