According to most history books, the United States Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
This is a truth, but it really isn’t the truth. At best it could be described as the beginning of the end of the Civil War.
Learn more about when the US Civil War really ended on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Australia is what I would call a sporting country. Cricket, rugby, and Australian Football are all incredibly popular sports.
Australia has also really punched above its weight in the Summer Olympics, earning an oversized number of medals given its population.
Their performance at the Winter Olympics, however, has not been so great.
Learn more about the extremely unlikely way that Australia won its first Winter Olympics Gold Medal on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
In 1988, a high school football team in Odessa, Texas, was so good that it became the inspiration for a book, movie and, eventually, the television series “Friday Night Lights.” And in the decades since, as West Texas has weathered the unsettling undulations of the oil industry, football has remained steady.
So after the pandemic hit, the town did what it could to make sure the season wasn’t disrupted. And at Odessa High School, where the football team struggles to compete against local rivals, the members of their award winning marching band were relieved they could keep playing.
In Part 2 of Odessa, we follow what happened when the season opened — and how the school weighed the decision to start against the possible risks to students’ physical and mental health.
The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
A note on notes: We’d much rather you just went into each episode of The Memory Palace cold. And just let the story take you where it well. So, we don’t suggest looking into the show notes first.
Music
The Last Days of Summer by Maria Avnos.
Broad Channel (Solo Piano) by Bing & Ruth
Homesickness (v. 1) by the phenomenal Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou
The country of San Marino is one of the smallest countries in the world. It is completely surrounded by Italy, is about 24 square miles in area, and has a population of about 33,000 people.
The most interesting thing about San Marino is the fact that it exists.
Why didn’t San Marino get sucked into Italy like every other city-state on the peninsula?
Learn more about tiny San Marino and why it still exists in the 21st century on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
This week on the Curious City podcast we revisit a live show reporter Monica Eng hosted in early 2020 with Do312Chicago and singer-songwriter Andrew Bird. The violin playing, whistling musician asked us to tell him more about the history of some Chicago venues where he’s performed. We learn a fraternal lodge used to make their home in the Metro building in Wrigleyville. The Lyric Opera House historian ruins some of Monica’s favorite architectural gossip while busting some of the building’s famous myths. Plus, we hear about the gangster and working class roots of the 150 year old Hideout in Lincoln Park.
Right now vaccinations are all over the news. There are many companies that have developed vaccines for COVID-19 and there is a good chance that most people in the world will wind up getting a vaccine in the next year or two.
Many of you may never have given much thought to what is a vaccine? How do they work, and how were they developed?
Well, there are answers to those questions.
Learn more about the history of vaccines and how they work on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Rob explores country icon Shania Twain’s crossover hit “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” by discussing her pioneering within and outside of Nashville as well as her professional and personal relationship with producer Mutt Lange.
This episode was originally produced as a Music and Talk show available exclusively on Spotify. Find the full song on Spotify or wherever you get your music.
With flood risk increasing and flood insurance rates likely following suit, it seems like there's got to be a better way to tackle the challenge.
For example: could we make our homes float when the water comes?
This week we talk to an architect who has devoted her professional life to that question, and we visit a Louisiana community where some people have decided that it makes more sense to temporarily float a house than to elevate it on stilts.
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