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In the last episode we explored how the ancients conceptualized time with the Sun and the Moon as well as how they were deified. In this episode, we explore the four most critical anchors to our year given to us by the interplay between the Sun and the Earth- the solstices and equinoxes. Despite the dizzying movement of celestial bodies through the sky four times a year humans could feel a semblance of order and balance to the Universe. We ritualized these four special days each year and held countless celebrations of them regardless of geography or culture - Midsummer, Saturnalia, Christmas, and even Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids were celebrated and built for these crucial days. Yet, despite our loyal worship and our best science we could not keep precise track of the year for millennia... until one man, virtually unknown to history, came and fixed it for us - Aloysius Lilius. (6/29)

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Today, most of us barely pay attention to how time is derived from space, and yet they are inextricably intertwined. Time - what it is, how to measure it, and how we relate to it - has perpetually baffled humanity as the ultimate puzzle. Even today we have difficulty understanding what time truly is. In this episode we explore how humans came to understand time using an ancient number system that has persisted through the rise and fall of countless civilizations, a familiar yet foreign relic of the Babylonians. But this number system, as well as all of our ideas on time, originated from those two brightest celestial objects in our sky - the Sun and the Moon. Our dependence on these foreign objects to bring order to our chaotic world is the cornerstone to civilization as we know it. We studied them intensely and came to know them intimately. We personified them, giving them our human qualities and characteristics, and we even went as far as to deify them the world over, becoming the original human gods. (5/29)

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In this episode we finish talking about the legend of Thales of Miletus and explore other ways that he may have possibly predicted the famous 585 BCE eclipse by focusing on the most commonly cited possibility - the Saros Cycle. The Saros Cycle is a predictable method in order to determine the next eclipse, but was it even possible for the ancient world to know about it? Edmund Halley thought so but one of the most renowned scientific historians of the 20th century firmly disagrees. One clue might be found in the ancient practice of Substitute Kings, where royalty attempted to thwart cosmic destiny. (4/29)

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In the last episode we learned about the historic Battle of the Eclipse, which is widely referenced as the earliest known event in history tied to a specific date. While neither the leaders of Lydia or Media knew what to make of the unusual eclipse that occurred over the final battle of the Lydo-Median War apparently one man had predicted the eclipse, centuries before the ability to predict eclipses was known. Dive in and learn about the OG sage of ancient Greece - Thales of Miletus - and whether he truly had the ability to predict eclipses or whether his prediction is an exaggeration of persona that was already larger than life. (3/29)

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In this episode we leave the Sahara and move north to Anatolia and learn about the ancient empires of Lydia and Media over 2,500 years ago. Lydia was a kingdom that was centuries old by the time the Medes overthrew the powerful empire of Assyria and took control for themselves. An established and wealthy kingdom faces off against an upstart that now controls the largest empire ever known to the ancient world. At the time the war began no one knew that it would end by nothing less than divine intervention... (2/29)

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This is the first episode of my book Ultima Thule: Unraveling the Unknown. Since the days of the ancient Greeks Ultima Thule has represented only one thing - the unknown. And while in those days the unknown lay in far-flung corners of the world the true unknown has always lay above our heads in the vast depths of the celestial ocean. What is outer space? In this 29 part series I explore a variety of ways in which our dance through the unknown has both impacted us and the planet and continues to draw us to it. In the first chapter we learn that the largest dry desert on the planet was once a wet and green landscape. Who lived in this region the size of the continental United States and what did they do when the Sahara began to change to desert? Could the Sahara's climate be the cause for the rise of civilization? Even more impactful was how the life that once thrived all over the Sahara turned to dust and now fertilizes the Amazon on the other side of the world, a perfect example of the globally interconnected nature of our planet. (1/29)

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I've gotten a lot of feedback and have had a few more thoughts since I finished releasing God in the Frontier and thought I would make a bonus episode to share! I discuss a variety of topics related to the 12 part God in the Frontier series and expand on them. In this episode learn about the Thomas Indian School, the Shakers, Benjamin Fish and his Fourier community, as well as a personal review of the podcast Ghost Church by Jamie Loftus, which happened to cover a lot of similar topics that I did in my chapter on Spiritualism. I also cover a bit more on the Chautauqua Institution, Benjamin Titus Roberts and the birth of Free Methodism, and explore the wider impact of Isaac and Amy Post, the elite Rochesterians who gave the Fox Sisters their start. This exploration brings me on a journey of how mid-19th century Upstate New York politics led the abolitionist and suffragist movements and steered the country to war largely at the hands of a land speculator Gerrit Smith and one of America's earliest media moguls Thurlow Weed, ultimately leading to the birth of the Republican Party. Finally, I give some reflection on Mormonism as it now becomes officially the wealthiest church in America.

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In this final episode of God in the Frontier we explore what role faith has in the future of humanity and civilization itself. How do we overcome the barrier of religious exceptionalism while still not let go of our ability to believe? Today, we know better, we know that every human we meet shared a deep ancestor with each other. What we now know to be true due to science is more beautiful than any human-created story. Ultimately, as it stands right now, the future of this Earth will be determined by people of faith as they vastly outnumber and hold far more power than the purely secular. What role will faith and inter-faith conflict play in shaping our world to come? (12/12)

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Why did new religions pop up so frequently in the Burned-Over District of New York during the 19th century? Did God decide it was special or was there something special about the area that made it prone to New Religious Movements. In this episode we describe some of the science behind New Religious Movements whether they're from the 19th century or today. We also explore in what ways faith provides advantages for individuals, particularly in the area of resiliency. Finally, we get deep inside the human brain to understand the psychology of faith. Pattern recognition and our hard-wired ability to search for meaning within those patterns has our brain pull some pretty amazing tricks on ourselves. (11/12)

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Is there a universal message between all religions? What exactly is an epiphany and why do so many religious movements seem to begin with one? Why do some religions flourish while others fail? Is God picking and choosing or is there something else going on here? Perhaps its worth exploring more deeply into the role of the brain and its evolution in all of this. Very well-known cognitive processes appear to play a role in religious development - but how much? Today we explore how epiphanies, projection, transference, Dunbar's number, and a good supernatural story help construct every single person's worldview, and therefore impact religious belief. (10/12)

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