You've heard of bitcoin before. It's the entirely digital, decentralized currency that supporters tout as the next step in financial evolution -- and critics call a massive scam. But what exactly are cryptocurrencies? How do they work, and why do some people believe they're as much a tool for conspiracy and crime as a tool for trade? In part 1 of this series, the gang invites returning guest Jonathan Strickland to explain the nuts and bolts of bitcoin, along with the advantages and flaws of the system.
In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.
In Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (Vintage, 2018) author and New Yorker staff writer David Grann (The Lost City of Z) narrates why and how, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. One of her relatives was shot. Another was poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more Osage were dying under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered.
As the death toll rose, the newly created FBI took up the case, and the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including a Native American agent who infiltrated the region, and together with the Osage began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.
Ryan Tripp is teaches history at several community colleges, universities, and online extensions. In 2014, he graduated from the University of California, Davis, with a Ph.D. in History. His Ph.D. double minor included World History and Native American Studies, with an emphasis in Linguistic Anthropology and Indigenous Archeology.
Trump becomes even more unhinged, and makes warmonger John Bolton his national security advisor. Then Jon, Jon and Tommy attend the March for Our Lives in D.C. and meet students, teachers, and families from around the country who want to stop gun violence.
Sue Black spends much of her time with dead bodies. As one of the world's leading forensic anthropologists she has encountered death in many forms, leading British expeditions to Kosovo and to Thailand following the Boxing Day Tsunami. She tells Andrew Marr what ancient cadavers and recent corpses can teach us about mortality.
Medieval depictions of death and injury don't shy away from the grotesque, says art historian Jack Hartnell. The mutilated bodies of saints and martyrs were often on display in medieval buildings, but these blood-spattered images were meant to inspire hope and faith.
A devastating loss divides a couple in award-winning novelist Kit de Waal's new book, The Trick to Time. As an expert in fostering and adoption, she has also helped both adults and children cope with the lifelong impact of tragedy.
A courageous child sits at the heart of composer Mark-Anthony Turnage's latest opera, Coraline, a dark fantasy based on Neil Gaiman's tale. The heroic Coraline finds a magical world in her attic and steps inside. But this world's Other Mother is not to be trusted and Coraline must fight to restore her real family.
Are you for or against lampposts? The author and design historian Dr Eleanor Herring looks at the controversial history of the lamppost, and those that have railed against them.
Presenter: James Ward
Contributor: Eleanor Herring
Producer: Luke Doran
Editor: Moy McGowan
Peter Coffin has a popular YouTube channel where he makes Very Important Documentaries(tm) that are both entertaining and thought provoking. He was last on to discuss the Marketplace of Ideas as a flawed model. We touch on that briefly and then move on to discuss the American political landscape, focussing on the conundrum of Centrism in the age of Trump. Check out Peter's book! Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.comDirect Download
Robert K. Elder would love to decorate the walls in his living room with original paintings from the Art Institute of Chicago. So he was floored when a friend told him that her mom rented two pieces of artwork back in the day. This was hard for Robert to imagine. Like, what would that even look like? Someone strolling onto Michigan Avenue with a rented Monet stuck in his or her backpack? Curious City looked into whether this story has any truth to it.
Robert K. Elder would love to decorate the walls in his living room with original paintings from the Art Institute of Chicago. So he was floored when a friend told him that her mom rented two pieces of artwork back in the day. This was hard for Robert to imagine. Like, what would that even look like? Someone strolling onto Michigan Avenue with a rented Monet stuck in his or her backpack? Curious City looked into whether this story has any truth to it.
