In January 897, something unprecedented took place in Rome.  Pope Formosa, the leader of the Catholic Church, was put on trial.  What made this unprecedented wasn’t that the pope was on trial, although it was unprecedented.  The remarkable thing was that Pope Formosa had died seven months earlier, and it was his exhumed corpse that was in the courtroom. Learn more about the Cadaver Synod, perhaps the oddest trial in history, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp...

There was no product more important to the economy of the ancient world than silk.  Silk was transported thousands of miles to be purchased by people so far away from its source that they had no clue where it came from.  The source of silk, however, was China, and for centuries, they had a monopoly, which brought them tremendous wealth.  That was until they didn’t.  Learn more about how the secret to silk was smuggled out of China, and the silk monopoly was broken on this episode of...

International borders can be very strange things.  Sometimes they measured down to the millimeter and a heavily marked and fortified.  Other times they run through desolate areas where hardly anyone pays attention to the actual location.  The latter was the case with much of the US/Mexican border in the early 20th century, and it caused a great deal of confusion.  Learn more about Rio Rico, the American town that everyone thought was a Mexican town, and then it actually was, on this episode...

In June of every year, the sun has its solstice. In the north, the days are long; in the south, the days are short, and we can plan our calendars around this event.  Just as certain as the sun follows its path in the sky, so too do the listeners of this podcast have questions.  Just as certain as there are questions, so too do I have answers.  Stay tuned for volume seven of questions and answers on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp is an online platform that...

There is a giant rift in East Africa today. It is a rift that literally tearing countries apart.  This rift isn’t cultural, political, or economic, it is geologic. Africa is quite literally being torn apart.  In several million years, Africa will be split into two continents, and while the process will take a long time, you see ample evidence for it right now. Learn more about the East Africa Rift and how it has shaped the modern continent of Africa on this episode of Everything Everywhere...

In a previous episode, I spoke about the Drake equation and the odds of there being intelligent extraterrestrial life. Many people have used the Drake equation to argue that it is almost impossible for there not to be intelligent life in our galaxy.  However, in the summer of 1950, physicist Enrico Fermi pushed back against this by asking a very simple question: if there are so many intelligent civilizations, where are they? Learn more about the Fermi Paradox and some possible answers to the...

If you are listening to me speak these words, regardless of where in the world you live, you are part of a global network we call human civilization. You share in the ideas, technology, and goods created worldwide and by people in your community. Most people on the planet are a part of this system. But not everyone. Some people have remained separated from this system and still live in their traditional ways today. Learn more about uncontacted people, who they are, and where they live on this...

Insurance seems like a pretty modern concept. There are insurance commercials on television, and insurance companies sponsor major sports teams.  Most of us have to buy insurance, or we are at least under someone else’s insurance policy. However, insurance is far from a modern concept. It is actually one of the oldest financial arrangements in human history. Learn more about insurance, how it was created, and how it works on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp is...

In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh established an English colony on an island in what is today the state of North Carolina. After a slow start, over 100 people moved to the island to start a new life and establish this English outpost at the edge of the new world.  When a ship returned to the colony in 1590, what they found shocked them and began a mystery that remains unsolved to this day. Learn more about the Lost Colony of Roanoke and the puzzle that still challenges historians on this episode of...

Children are highly inquisitive and are always asking questions. One of the most common questions that children have is, “why is the sky blue?”  It is a simple and reasonable question, yet the answer is rather complicated, and most adults really aren’t sure why the sky is blue. Learn why the sky is blue and how to answer a child’s most common question on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp is an online platform that provides therapy and counseling services to...

During the 5th century, one name struck fear into the hearts of almost every European: Attila, leader of the Huns.  For a period of almost 20 years, Attila ravaged Europe, conquering various tribes and causing one of the largest migrations ever seen on the continent. Then, quite suddenly and unexpectedly, the conquests of Attila stopped, and the Huns were no longer a major power. Learn more about Attila the Hun and how he changed the course of European history on this episode of Everything...

There were millions of stories that came out of the second world war.  However, there were none like that of Tsutomu Yamaguchi. On August 6, 1945, he survived an event that no one in world history had encountered before.  Just three days later, he had the misfortune of having to go through it again.  Learn more about Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the man who survived not one but two atomic bombs, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp is an online platform that provides...

There are many factors that go into the outcome of a battle. The number of soldiers, training, supplies, the weather, and the terrain the battle is fought on all play a part in determining the outcome. However, the biggest factor is the one that no one can control: luck.  There has never been a battle where luck played a greater role than one that took place over 2,000 years ago. Learn more about the astronomical event that determined the outcome of a battle on this episode of Everything...

Imagine you want to start a brand new country. Only, you don’t want to go through the messy process of starting a revolution or a civil war in a currently existing country.  You want to find an empty piece of land for yourself that no one has claimed.  Is such a thing possible? Learn more about the doctrine of Terra Nullius and where it could still theoretically be exercised in the world today, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp is an online platform that...

Lying northeast of Australia and almost east of Papua New Guinea lies one of the world’s lesser-known and seldom visited countries: The Solomon Islands. The country has few resources, is located on no major shipping routes, and is seldom mentioned in any news stories whatsoever. Yet it played a major role in the Second World War and is one of the most linguistically diverse places on the planet.  Learn more about the Solomon Islands, it’s past and present, on this episode of Everything...

There is a particular type of number that is so common we have keys on calculators to handle them.  However, thousands of years ago, their discovery was so upsetting to one group that it may have led to the destruction of their religion and possibly the murder of the man who made the discovery.  Today, they are commonplace enough to be taught in grade schools. Learn more about irrational numbers and their place in the world of mathematics on this episode of Everything Everywhere...

The English language is a very odd thing.  We use many phrases and idioms every day that make no sense if you don’t understand the cultural references behind them. In particular, we have a large number of idioms that come from the world of sports. Idioms which are often used by people who know nothing about the sport being referenced.  Learn more about idioms and phrases in the English language that have their origin in sports on this episode of Everything Everywhere...

If you were to ask most people what the very first invention that humans came up with is, many of them might say the wheel.  It isn’t a bad guess, but believe it not, the wheel was nowhere close to being the first invention.  In fact, as far as we know, there were a whole bunch of things that were invented before the wheel, and in fact, probably had to have been invented before the wheel. Learn more about why the wheel wasn’t invented sooner on this episode of Everything Everywhere...

On May 18, 1980, one of the most violent and cataclysmic natural disasters of the modern era took place.  Mount St. Helens, a stratovolcano located approximately 100 miles or 160 kilometers south of Seattle, exploded.  The effects of the explosion could be noticed over 1,000 miles away, and it forever changed the landscape of southern Washington State. Learn more about Mount Saint Helens, the explosion, and its future, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp is an...

The Mona Lisa is unquestionably the most famous painting in the world. Heck, it is probably the most famous work of art in the world.  Yet the reason why it is so famous is due to an event which happened on the 21st of August 1911. It was wasn’t for the events of that day, the Mona Lisa would probably just be another painting hanging on the walls of the Louver.  Find out what happened to make the Mona Lisa so famous in this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp is an...

There are a great many chemicals that are dangerous to work with. Things that you wouldn’t want to get on your skin or somehow ingest.  However, there is a category beyond that of substances that are so dangerous that many chemists wouldn’t want to work with them under any circumstances.  Things are so dangerous that even the smallest error could result in a disaster in the laboratory. Learn more about the most dangerous substances in the world on this episode of Everything Everywhere...

Ever since organized sports began, people have been collecting statistics.  These statistics were originally collected to let people know what happened during a game they might have missed.  However, over time, these statistics became more and more sophisticated, and they eventually began dictating how the games themselves were to be played by uncovering truths that were overlooked. Learn more about Moneyball and the rise of statistics in sports on this episode of Everything Everywhere...

Located in Southwest Africa is the nation of Namibia.  Namibia doesn’t make the news very often, which is a good thing. It is one of the most stable countries in Africa and one of the safest.  It also has some of the most spectacular geography on the planet, wildlife that can be found nowhere else, and a history, unlike any other country in Africa. Learn more about Namibia, its ancient past, and its modern history on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp is an...

Every year, on the second Sunday in May, 96 countries around the world celebrate Mother’s Day. Dozens of other countries celebrate the same thing on different days throughout the year.  Mother’s Day wasn’t always a thing, however. Its creation was due to a small number of very determined people…and, of course, greeting card companies.  Learn more about Mother’s Day and how it became a holiday on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp is an online platform that...