Episodes
Monday Jun 15, 2020
The Forgotten Pandemic: The 1918 Global Influenza Outbreak
Monday Jun 15, 2020
Monday Jun 15, 2020
In 1918, Death wandered on his horse through the barren grounds of the frontline trenches. The war was nearly over, but the dead continued to rise in numbers. The horrors of this war were unseen up to this point in history; people lost their sons, fathers, mothers, their homes, their everything. What nobody knew is a new horror was lurking, ready to spring up with devastating effect. This came from an unseen enemy, one humanity has faced since the dawn of our existence. Reports of illness sprang up in Kansas, then quickly to the trenches. Spain, uninvolved in the war, began reporting on a strange new type of influenza afflicting the population. Soon, the world referred to this silent killer as the Spanish Flu.
As the war in the trenches continued, a new war ignited, one which infected 500 million people worldwide in 9 months, and kill between 17 million and 50 million. Hospitals became overrun with infected patients, entire Indigenous communities were wiped out, and the bodies of the dead became too much for morgues to handle. At first, governments in Europe and the US denied the severity or even the illness's existence, continuing to hold their patriotic parades and liberty drives, leading to more becoming ill rapidly. A new horseman now walked the Earth on a sickly steed, a horseman named Pestilence. Soon, the horrors of war were accompanied by the horrors of disease.
Music
The Dance Macabre, Camille Saint-Saëns
Tuesday Apr 14, 2020
1:23:45: The Chernobyl Disaster
Tuesday Apr 14, 2020
Tuesday Apr 14, 2020
Most of the city of Pripyat was fast asleep in the early morning of April 26, 1986. It was a relatively quiet night, save for the sounds from the nearby Chernobyl Power Station. All was calm until just before 1:30AM, when a small explosion echoed through the air, followed almost instantly by a second, larger fireball. Emergency operators received alarms of a fire at Chernobyl, believed to be a destroyed control system tank setting fire to the roof. Inside, workers frantically worked to ensure Unit 4s reactor continued to receive cooling water and prevent the fire from causing meltdown.
Firefighters rushed to the scene, most having just gotten out of bed, and wearing nothing but short sleeve shirts, some still in pyjamas. As they assembled their hose equipment, all they could think about was the taste of metal in their mouth. Little did they know, only meters away from them, was a hole where the reactor once lay. It was now nothing more than an inferno, burning as hot as the surface of the Sun, and spewing toxic radiation into the sky. A large plume of black smoke floated over the forest towards Pripyat. When it arrived, the city was darkened by the shadow of death.
Music:
Tower (Metro 2033 Soundtrack) – Alexey Omelchuk
Wednesday Apr 01, 2020
Podcasting in the Time of Covid (Other Nonsense)
Wednesday Apr 01, 2020
Wednesday Apr 01, 2020
It has been a while since Lyndsay and Jonah have been around. Due to the outbreak of Coronavirus shutting much of the world down, they decided to take a small break from teaching history and discuss their thoughts on the situation, as well as update you all as to what's happening with Pan Historia in the near future.
Stay safe!
Music:
Billy Joel – You Might Be Right
Elton John – I'm Still Standing
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Friday Jul 19, 2019
One Giant Leap: The Apollo 11 Mission
Friday Jul 19, 2019
Friday Jul 19, 2019
“Distance is but a relative expression, and must end by being reduced to zero.”
― Jules Verne, From the Earth to the Moon
Since the dawn of humanity, people have been interested in the cosmos. Of particular interest was Earth's closest wanderer: the Moon. Following the Second World War, the Americans and Soviets went head to head in a rivalry over ideology, power, influence, and technology. With the brilliant Sergei Koralev at the helm, the Soviets succeeded in launching the first human-made satellite, and even the first human into space. However, the Americans had their own genius named Wernher von Braun. With his expertise, the Americans were able to quickly catch up. Pretty soon, both superpowers eyed what was seen as the big prize. On July 16, 1969, three Americans launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and into the books of history.