15-Minute History

Eugene Wesley Roddenberry was a legend of Hollywood in his day. He grew up reading science fiction serials and adventure novels like C.S. Forester’s “Horatio Hornblower,” and they inspired him to become a writer. After a career in the US Army Air Force, as a commercial pilot, and as a Los Angeles police officer, he started writing television scripts and shopping them around Hollywood. His antics in the office and in his personal life earned him respect and disdain in equal measure, and his stories reflected both the events of his life and the beliefs he held. The tales he told showed audiences a vision of humanity that was beyond greed, beyond war, beyond poverty, and largely beyond our reach even today.

Join us as we teach you about Gene Roddenberry, his life, his influence on science fiction and pop culture, and his vision for humanity. 

Join us as we discuss Adam Smith and three of his ideas: Self-Interest, Division of Labor, and the “The Invisible Hand".

This season we have been covering individuals who have had a direct effect on history, in a positive or negative way. Adam Smith is one of those. He is called the “father of modern economics” and “the creator of capitalism”. Rather than walk you through a summary of his life, we will attempt to summarize the possible influences that formed three major concepts which exist in his later and final work, the Wealth of Nations, namely the appropriation of Self-Interest, Division of Labor, and the “The Invisible Hand”, thereby showing the linear deduction of each, and how that logic reflects in Adam Smith’s moral philosophy.

With the presentation of these three ideas, it's our hope that you will make your own deductions regarding what kind of man he was and whether his effect on history was a positive one.

Join us as we look at the war in Ukraine through a historical lens, attempt to answer questions on possible outcomes, and gauge the long-term effects on the world now and in the future. 

Join us as we discuss Samuel Colt, Richard Gatling, and John Browning. We talk about their work, their impact on history, and how their names are culturally relevant - beyond the brand - in our world today.

Samuel Colt’s name is forever linked to the company he founded and the revolver he called the “Peacemaker.” Born in Connecticut in 1814, he was steeped in America’s gun culture from an early age. His grandfather had served in George Washington’s army, and Samuel inherited an old flintlock pistol from the family hero when he was only six. At the age of fifteen, while working in his father’s textile plant, he built a galvanic cell (basically an early battery) and used it to set off explosives beneath the surface of a nearby pond during the Fourth of July. He continued to experiment with chemicals and combustion—as many young men do—and became fascinated by inventors’ work to create a firearm that could shoot more than bullets before needing to reload.

Join us as we teach you about Samuel Colt, Richard Gatling, and John Browning. In this episode you'll learn about their work, their impact on history, and how their names are culturally relevant - beyond the brand - in our world today. 

Join us as we discuss Che Guevara, his life, beliefs, and impact on our world today. 

Join us as we teach you about Che Guevara, his influence, actions, and the effects of his Marxist beliefs. 

Join us in this special episode as we discuss six famous generals, their lives, their methods, and what we can learn from them.