Welcome to the first period class on the basics of Japanese history. I realized that a lot of people don't really know what I'm talking about sometimes. So here's a crash course in Japanese history. Heavy emphasis on the crash.

Let's talk trash! And Japanese supermarkets and single-use plastics.

I know I missed father's day. But I wanted to share about my daddy, Carl Isaacson. I miss you, daddy.

Japan is somewhat notorious for its expensive fruit. Why is it so expensive? And what does it have to do with food waste?

What makes Japanese convenience stores so great? Find out this, as well as a little history of Japanese convenience stores on this episode.

Japanese cars and driving. It ain't like driving in the US, that's for sure.

Not the podcast. Just a few thoughts on what's going on right now. White people - we need to listen.

How do you feel when you hear a wind chime? Your answer might very well depend on where you grew up. (A shorty, due to my work schedule.)

It's been a while. Japan's doing pretty well, in spite of fairly minimal measures taken. Also, why is that dumb junior high school English textbook sentence in the news? #Thisisapen.

Himiko is perhaps the first historical Japanese person whose name is recorded, thanks to the Chinese histories. Check out her story, as Jonathan is joined by Tracy Wiedman.Check out Chelsea Bernard's article over on Tofugu.