History Loves Company

Ask any child and they'll likely tell you that schooling's both a bore and a chore. Based on the subject of today's episode, it's a sentiment that hasn't changed all that much. Join me as we take a look at a child's homework from 13th Century Russia and see how he coped with the "boredom" of learning, today on the 'History Loves Company' podcast!

Paleontology was still a new science in the early 19th Century. The largely male-dominated field yielded some truly fantastic studies, but of these, none were as spectacular as those made by a woman from Southern England. Tune in this week to find out all about the wondrous life and discoveries of Mary Anning!

The holiday known as Cinco de Mayo (Fifth of May) is often misconstrued as being the holiday in which Mexicans celebrate their country's independence from Spain. That day doesn't fall until September 16th, the anniversary of the day when, in 1821, the country officially declared itself independent from Spain. So what, then, does Cinco de Mayo commemorate? Tune in to this brief episode to find out!

It was the greatest "return to the homeland" venture since the return of the Hebrews to the Promised Land in the Book of Exodus. The only difference is, in this scenario, the people had help from the government they were leaving. As tensions between North and South mounted in America in the decades leading up to the Civil War, the question of what to do with the country's freed and free-born Black population became the subject of much debate by those on both sides of the political spectrum. One of the solutions was quite surprising indeed, as you'll see in this week's fascinating episode!

Greece and China were two of the ancient world's great powers, but never interacted with one another due to the vast distance that separated them...right? They indeed had knowledge of one another, but what if I told you that they actually met under the most peculiar of circumstances? Find out how in this week's bizarre episode!

In contemporary times, it's difficult to imagine crop shortages (at least in so-called developed countries). But not all that long ago, just such an incident occurred in a country then ruled by one of the foremost powers in the entire world. I'm speaking, of course, about the Potato Famine that ravaged Ireland in the mid-19th Century. How did it happen? How were its consequences ultimately felt throughout the world? And how did it change the nation forever? Join me in this sobering episode to find out.

The Near and Middle East saw a great many empires throughout Antiquity, but perhaps one of the greatest was that of Assyria. At its height, it stretched from Egypt in the West to Persia in the East and was ruled by a man who's since come to be known as its greatest king. Ashurbanipal was one of many in a long line of Assyrian royalty, but what made him stand out? Find out in this new episode!

Between Greece and Turkey, in the Aegean Sea, lies a chain of islands known as the Cyclades. It's here, long before Indo-Europeans arrived in the area, that a distinct culture emerged, one that's left tantalizing clues into their society in the form of obsidian tools, bronze "calendars" and, most famous of all, marble figurines. What did these latter objects represent? What were they used for? And what ultimately became of Cycladic Culture in general? Find out in this week's episode.

In the dry, arid steppe between the Volga River and the Caspian Sea in Southern Russia live a people who feel and certainly look different from those who surround them. Known as the Kalmyks, their origins come from a place that's decidedly far from their current homeland. How did they get to this part of Europe? Where did they come from originally? And what historic events befell them throughout their long and proud history? Find out in this all new episode!

Spain is a country that has been ruled by several disparate peoples and rulers. Moors and Arabs, Germanics and Celts, even Romans and Greeks. But before any of these powers laid claim to Spanish sovereignty, a society emerged in Antiquity that didn't subjugate the peoples of Ancient Spain inasmuch as they blended their indigenous culture with that of the foreign power who came to rule over to them. Join me as we explore this forgotten civilization together, this week on the 'History Loves Company' podcast!