The 1930s were marked by economic toil both abroad and in the United States, as the Great Depression took a toll on the world economy. To add insult to injury, an environmental calamity of both natural and man-made factors, rocked the American Heartland and had devastating effects that would take years to rectify. Tune in this week for a bleak, albeit ultimately uplifting, tale of one of the most harrowing events in American history: the Dust Bowl. --- Support this podcast:...

Religion is one of humanity's oldest practices and likely stems from our need to explain the natural phenomena that surrounds us as well as our place among it. But while the religions to which we now adhere are attested to via sacred texts penned by their earliest worshippers or else by their founders themselves, nothing survives of the earliest religious practices in human history. Join me for a look Göbekli Tepe, the formidable yet mysterious site in Southern Turkey, that's the oldest known...

"Pay your surgeon very well to break the spell of aging." So goes a lyric in the Red Hot Chili Peppers' hit song, "Californication." But what if you didn't have to go under the knife to get your youth back? Such has been the quest for many people throughout history, searching for a way to turn back the clock on the forward advancement of time. Does such a place exist? And if it does, why aren't we all flocking to it to regain our youth? Find out in this week's episode, all about the legendary...

If you've ever been down to Louisiana, chances are you've noticed a great many French place names. Indeed, for a time in the 17th and 18th Centuries, this part of America was under French jurisdiction. But the people of French ancestry there who call themselves Cajuns are a decidedly newer arrival, though their reasons for being there are marred by a history of trauma, violence and exile. Tune in to this week's sobering episode to find out how their ancestors faced expulsion, even genocide,...

Today, chocolate is beloved the world over as a delicious sweet treat that's best enjoyed at the end of a long and stressful day. But did you know that there was a time when it was made solely into a drink? Or that its origins can be traced back to Mesoamerica? Tune in to this week's "sweet" episode to learn all about this delectable delicacy! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historylovescompany/support

In the West, snakes have a reputation, thanks to the Bible, of mistrust and deception, as it was a serpent in the Garden of Eden that tempted Eve to taste the forbidden fruit, thus leading to the Fall of Man and her and Adam's banishment. It's because of this that, according to tradition, the man who would one day be known as Saint Patrick banished all snakes from Ireland. Or so they say. Tune in to find out the true reason why these slithery reptiles aren't found on the Emerald Isle. ---...

Today, Hollywood is deemed the entertainment capital of the world and is, without question, the most famous section of Los Angeles. But did you know that it didn't begin life with the intent of becoming associated with the movies? Tune in this week for a look into Hollywood's origins, which will surely surprise you. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historylovescompany/support

2024 is a leap year, and as this episode falls on the extra day in question, I thought it would be fun to examine the history of this most fascinating (and, at times, complicated) occasion. Celebrate February 29th with me by tuning in to this week's episode! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historylovescompany/support

When last we joined our (anti-)hero, Jean Laffite had been imprisoned for the crime of piracy. But even bars couldn't keep this legendary figure at bay (maritime pun once again intended here). Tune in this week for the second part, and exciting conclusion, on his incredible story--how he became entangled in a conflict, set up yet another smuggling racket, and ended up in a South American navy, this week on the 'History Loves Company' podcast! --- Support this podcast:...

Pirates have been romanticized in literature, film, and various forms of media since at least the 19th Century, but the truth is that the life or activities of a pirate were anything but romantic. Just ask Jean Laffite, the subject of this week's episode, whose smuggling operation on Louisiana's southeastern coast was interrupted time and again by war, politics, and the law. This isn't to necessarily in a good or positive light, though he was indeed regarded as a hero by the general public of...

Since at least the 12th Century, there has been a Swedish presence in Finland, so much so that they've since become known as a distinct ethno-linguistic group from the Finns. But this history has been far from easy and has, in fact, proven to be something of a bumpy road for them. Join me this week for a look at the resilient and tenacious Finland Swedes. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historylovescompany/support

Early Christians called him "the Scourge of God." Romans, the most powerful military force in the Ancient World, feared him. Every land from China to Italy experienced his wrath firsthand. He was Attila, leader of the Huns, and he's the subject of today's epic episode. Tune in to learn all about this fascinating character and if he really was as bloodthirsty as history remembers. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historylovescompany/support

There were several cradles of civilization throughout the world. The Nile in Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia, the Yellow River in China...the list goes on and on. But in Mesoamerica, one noteworthy cradle of civilization was born on what's now Mexico's Caribbean Coast and would go on to influence future civilizations throughout the region. These were the mighty Olmec and for 1200 years, they would reign supreme. Find out how in this week's episode! --- Support this podcast:...

Oxford University is considered one of the most prestigious institutions for higher learning in the world, but did you know that it was also the first university in England? Founded, in some form or other, in 1096, just thirty years after the famed Battle of Hastings, it has since blossomed into a world-class university with a rocky, tumultuous history. Tune in this week to find out all about it! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historylovescompany/support

The 19th Century was a tremendously exciting time for Japan. By then, the island country had been isolated from the rest of the world for some three centuries. But now, having been forced to open its doors by the Americans, Japan was exposed to both the wider world as a whole as well as Western ideals. But not everyone welcomed such changes. One who was perhaps the most resistant to such changes was Saigo Takamori, better known to history as Saigo-san, and he'd ultimately lead a rebellion...

Wreaths, gift-giving, elaborate feasting...these are just some of the traditional practices associated with Christmas. But it might surprise you to learn that the Christian holiday was by no means the first to incorporate such practices. That's because they were borrowed from an earlier, pagan holiday celebrated each year by the Romans: Saturnalia. How exactly did this ancient holiday come about? What were some of its traditions and characteristics? And how did it ultimately disappear? Find...

For the better part of a millennium, the city of Paris was more or less the same. A crowded, Medieval city of narrow, twisting streets and people living virtually on top of one another, it was, by the 19th Century, mired in rampant crime and disease and was in desperate need of an overhaul. But who would rise up to accept such a monumental task? Find out in this week's episode! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historylovescompany/support

Today, the 18th Amendment, better known to history as Prohibition, is seen as one of greatest (to say nothing of disastrous) social experiments in American history. In that volatile thirteen-year period, the production and sale of alcohol was banned, at least on paper, in the United States. Initially, crime syndicates, especially the mob, turned to Canada and Mexico for help, smuggling whiskey, beer, and other potent potables into the country. But what happened when the Canadians and Mexicans...

For centuries, Africa was known to Europeans as "the Dark Continent," not so much for the complexion of many of its native inhabitants inasmuch as for the fact that its interior remained largely unexplored. With the Age of Exploration came the full exploration of the interior of Africa, though little, if any, of the Europeans who mapped it likely knew that they weren't the first outsiders to do so. Long before such European countries were even concepts, a group of hearty and intrepid...

In the autumn of 1620, a rickety old ship made landfall just off the coast of what's now Massachusetts. Having been blown way off course on the journey over and as well as losing nearly half its crew on the voyage, the survivors now found themselves far removed from civilization and deeply afraid of the uncertain fate that awaited them. Half the survivors were talking of venturing out on their own, which would prove disastrous as the crew simply needed to stick together if they were going to...

Strategically located in the northwest and northeast corners of Italian Peninsula respectively, Genoa (or Genova) and Venice were, historically, two independent republics who grew rich through maritime trade. But as their wealth and power continued to grow, they soon each other as a threat to their dominance, which quickly escalated into war. But unlike other conflicts, this series of skirmishes would stretch well over a century. Find out how exactly they came about, and how they ultimately...

What do 17th Century England, the Devil, aliens and unusual weather patterns all have in common? They're linked to the mysterious and unusual phenomenon we now know as crop circles. What are some of the events from history regarding these most curious and, oftentimes, unsettling monumental creations? What causes them? And of these causes, are any of them definitive? You'll have to listen to find out in this, the final installment on our month-long series on the spooky and mysterious, this...

Few monumental sculptures throughout the world have captured humanity's collective imagination quite like the Sphinx. Now part of a vast archaeological complex at Giza in Egypt, it's served as a curiosity to several generations of visitors and even thinkers and statesmen. But what is it about this mysterious sculpture that enthralls us? How and why was it made? And, most importantly, how did it lose its nose? Find out the answers to these, and other, questions, this week in part three of our...

These days, people dance 'til they drop for fun, often at competitions for prize money or other rewards. But in early 16th Century Strasbourg, a town now situated along the French-German border, dancing 'til one dropped took on an entirely new meaning when a so-called dance outbreak swept through the city and its environs, affecting hundreds of people and even claiming the lives of several victims. What caused this mysterious outbreak? Was it, as they thought at the time, the work of the...