On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman climbed the iconic Main Building tower on the University of Texas at Austin campus with a small arsenal of weapons and opened fire.

Simone de Beauvoir's seminal work, The Second Sex, is a dense two volume work that can be intimidating at first glance, combining philosophy and psychology, and her own observations.

Guest Ahmad al-Jallad shares his research that’s shedding new light on the writings of a complex civilization that lived in the Arabian peninsula for centuries before Islam arose.

Guest Ashley Dean just completed her doctorate in history at Emory University examining the impacts of this pre-modern trans-Pacific linkage whose far-reaching impact touched nearly every part of the globe.

Guest Ben Weiss discusses the earliest encounters between indigenous Africans and European medical practitioners.

Guest Kristin Wintersteen has worked on the history of industry subject to the temperaments of on-again off-again current cycles in the Pacific, and how the boom and bust of one of the first superfoods has led to new discussions about global nutrition.

Guest R. Joseph Parrott takes a look at the indecisive position the United States took on decolonization after helping liberate Europe from the threat of enslavement to fascism.

This episode takes a new look at how the Paris Commune's radical government managed to find support from rich and poor, conservative and liberal, to try to regain dignity in the face of France’s brutal defeat.

Guest Kristie Flannery found Diego's story in the Spanish colonial archives, and narrates his tale in the broader context of the powerful political and economic forces at work in Spain's global empire.

Guest Christopher Rose has been following the headlines and puts the discovery of the Birmingham Qur'ān within the larger field of Islamic and Qur'ānic Studies, and explains how the text might raise as many questions as it answers.