How the Kowloon Walled City Worked
From the 1970s to the early 1990s a patch of land in Hong Kong the size of just a few football fields was the most densely-populated area in the world...
Short Stuff: In-Flight Entertainment
Movies on planes have changed a lot in the last couple of decades. Today, we'll go over how this stuff works. See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...
The Fyre Festival Fiasco
What happens when a career grifter tries to throw a "luxury" music festival in only six months? Not much it turns out.This was the Fyre Festival. See...
Selects: How Spiritualism Works
Something spooky was born on the American frontier in the mid-19th century: the idea that people’s personalities survive death and that some gifted in...
Let's All Go to the World's Fair
Before the internet could show you anything in the universe - including stuff it made up - people had few opportunities to have their minds blown. But...
Short Stuff: Johnny Ringo
You might be familiar with the outlaw Johnny Ringo from the movie Tombstone. He was indeed a real-life black hat gunslinger, and a tragic figure at th...
The Gold Standard: When Money Meant Something
There was a time less than 100 years ago when you could exchange your paper currency at the bank for actual gold. Gave folks a sense of stability, it ...
Selects: How Dopamine Works
Dopamine is perhaps the most talked-about, most misunderstood biochemical in our bodies. It’s linked to not only addiction and depravity, but also foc...
The Battle of the Sexes
Back in 1973 a male chauvinist played tennis against champion Billie Jean King. This is that story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...
Short Stuff: MacGuffins
What’s a MacGuffin? We don’t know. No one knows. But it has to do with movies and that’s fun to talk about. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...