Planes, trains, and automobiles...people will tell you they're faster, more efficient, and save travel time, but what if you'd like to experience the freedom (to say nothing of grandeur) of the open sea? For eons, boats and ships have allowed us to do just that, while also providing practical uses in the form of trade, exploration, even war. Set sail with me this week as we embark on an epic journey that will take us from the so-called "Caveman Days" through now, all about the oldest form of man-made transportation!

There's arguably not a more romantic mode of transportation than the train. Since their inception in the early 19th Century, various writers, singers, and artists have depicted and idealized this most unique and exciting form of transit. But it was born of a very practical, even ancient, practice: to simply move things from point A to point B in a timely and easy manner. Present your tickets to the conductor because we're about to go on a sentimental journey, all about the train!

It marked a turning point World War Two. Had history played out differently, the outcome may very well have been different. Tens of thousands died and those who survived pushed on until all of Europe was wrenched from Nazi control. Tune in for this special short segment to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Tom Cruise in the classic film 'Top Gun' may have had "the need for speed," but so have generations of motorists, particularly the ones known as bikers. Indeed, the motorcycle has evolved into the vicious, powerful, and awesome two-wheeled vehicle we all know and love today, but where exactly did it originate? What fuel sources did it rely upon prior to gasoline? And what exactly defines a motorbike? Find out in this week's truly sick episode!

The James Bond film series has inspired several knockoffs and parodies since its inception in 1962, but prior to that, the suave Agent 007 began life on the page in a series of novels by British writer, Ian Fleming. But did you know that this seemingly ordinary man drew upon his own experiences for Bond's action-packed exploits? Find out in this week's episode how Fleming's work during World War Two led him to become the man behind Bond.

Vietnam is a country with a rich (albeit complicated) history. Before communism, it was torn apart by civil strife, pegging northern forces against southern. Prior to that, it was under the colonial yoke, when France claimed it as part of its overseas empire. But before all this, a power known as the Champa Kingdom ruled over the country's southern half, leaving behind the hallmarks of its civilization in the form of temple complexes and palaces. Join me this week for an extensive look at this oft-overlooked Southeast Asian power!

If you've ever seen the Disney film 'Encanto,' then you're familiar with the backstory as to how the Madrigal family came to be at their magical mountain refuge. It involves a conflict, a very real conflict, in fact, that shook the country of Colombia to its core in the final year of the 19th and the first years of the 20th Centuries respectively. Be sure to catch this week's episode all about the conflict known as the Thousand Days' War.

When it comes to Africa's vast history, people tend to focus on Egypt, the Kerma and Kush kingdoms of Sudan, or else the Mali Empire of Mansa Musa. But what of Sub-Saharan Africa? Surely, there must have been great cities and civilizations there too, right? Well, I'm happy to say that there were, perhaps none more impressive than that now known as Great Zimbabwe. Tune in this week to learn all about it!

The 1930s were marked by economic toil both abroad and in the United States, as the Great Depression took a toll on the world economy. To add insult to injury, an environmental calamity of both natural and man-made factors, rocked the American Heartland and had devastating effects that would take years to rectify. Tune in this week for a bleak, albeit ultimately uplifting, tale of one of the most harrowing events in American history: the Dust Bowl.

Religion is one of humanity's oldest practices and likely stems from our need to explain the natural phenomena that surrounds us as well as our place among it. But while the religions to which we now adhere are attested to via sacred texts penned by their earliest worshippers or else by their founders themselves, nothing survives of the earliest religious practices in human history. Join me for a look Göbekli Tepe, the formidable yet mysterious site in Southern Turkey, that's the oldest known spiritual center in the world, this week on the 'History Loves Company' podcast!