History Loves Company

It's generally accepted among Canadians that the 16th Century French explorer, Jacques Cartier, was the first European to set foot on Canadian soil. However, nearly five hundred years before, another European, the Viking explorer, Leif Erikson, had, in fact, arrived first and even set up a community on the northernmost tip of what's now the island of Newfoundland. But was Erikson's discovery an accident? Find out in today's all-new episode!

It's long been believed that Japan is a racially homogenous country. However, what if I told you that it's home to an indigenous population that predates the arrival of the Japanese people? Since the last Ice Age, the Ainu people have called the East Asian archipelago home, only to be displaced when the ancestors of the modern Japanese came. The greatest mystery surrounding the Ainu, however, are their origins. Physically distinguishable from the Japanese and other East Asian populations, it begs the question: Where did they come from? Find out in today's all-new episode.

Since at least the 19th Century, pirates have been both romanticized and immortalized in various forms of entertainment. However, the real, larger-than-life figures from the so-named Golden Age of Piracy were decidedly more frightening and vicious than popular culture leads on. The most fearsome of these was Edward Teach, better known by his given name, Blackbeard, who became the scourge of both the Caribbean and colonial America in the early 18th Century. Who was this man? Where did he come from? And how did he ascend to the ranks of being one of the most notorious figures in history? Tune in to today's exciting episode to find out!

Dodge City has garnered the reputation of being the most violent and vicious town in the Wild West. From its humble beginnings as just another stop along the Santa Fe Trail, it quickly rose to prominence based on trade, an industry in buffalo pelts and notoriety. But was its penchant for violence even true or based on gross exaggeration? Find out in today's all-new episode!

The Mongol Empire holds the title of the largest contiguous land empire in history. At its height, it stretched from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Carpathian Mountains in the west, as far north as the Russian steppes and as far south as the arid plains of India. Perhaps most amazing, however, is that it conquered so much land in less than a hundred years. Then, within 150 years of its foundation, it was all gone. What factors led to the rise and exponential growth of the Mongol Empire and what led to its quick demise? Tune in to this all-new episode to find out!

With anywhere between seven and eight million visitors annually, the Taj Mahal is one of the most recognizable and beloved landmarks the world over. Perhaps it's the gorgeous architecture that draws people to its gates or maybe it's the love story behind its inspiration and construction that continues to captivate and win the hearts of all who visit it. Join me as we take a look at the man and woman behind the most iconic structure in India!

Timbuktu has entered the English language as a synonym for a place as mysterious as it is remote. Located within the interior of Africa, it has garnered the reputation of being a distant backwater south of the Sahara Desert. However, at its height, it was the undisputed center of trade and knowledge in the Islamic World, thanks in great part to the university that was founded there. But when and why was the university founded and how did it, in turn, help develop and shape the city surrounding it? Tune in to today's episode to discover more!

Few civilizations in the ancient world were as impressive as Rome. Beginning as a republic in 510 BC, it later became a vast empire (one of the largest in history), ruled by a great many emperors, from the beloved to the most hated. Of all the hated rulers, however, perhaps none was as loathsome as Heliogabalus...or at least, that's how history wants us to remember him. But was he really as bad as all that? What exactly did he do to warrant such hatred throughout the ages? Find out in today's episode!

In 1925, renowned explorer and adventurer Percy Fawcett embarked on a journey into the Amazon rainforest...never to be seen again. What he was searching for, a lost city he called Z, people had long believed to be a myth, but was he right? Has his lost city been found at last? Find out in today's episode!

"Lizzie Borden took an axe..." So begins a disturbing nursery rhyme that has immortalized the crimes of the titular subject who, to this day, continues to intrigue and fascinate, but the question remains: What exactly happened on that hot August morning in 1892? Tune in to find out!