Category: DailyShorts

In 1939, the last naturally occurring element on Earth, francium, was discovered. However, the periodic table of elements still wasn’t full. The next year, a non-natural element was discovered: Plutonium. This new unnatural element had fascinating properties which made it incredibly useful and incredibly dangerous. Learn more about plutonium, how it is made, and what it can do, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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There are some subjects that are perceived to be mind-numbingly dull and boring. One such subject is accounting. Yet, believe it or not, accounting and bookkeeping have not only have been around since the dawn of human civilization, but they also had a hand in shaping it. Without it, the world would be a very different place today. Learn more about accounting and bookkeeping, and how they really aren’t as boring as they seem, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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From creating vertical gardens to breeding pigeons, the people living in the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan manage to "carve out a life worth living." Artist and architectural historian Azra Aksamija co-edited a book that looks at the ingenuity found within that camp called, Design To Live: Everyday Inventions From A Refugee Camp. Aksamija told NPR's Scott Simon that even though camps are supposed to be a temporary solution, lots of families end up staying for years at a time, so they find ways to make themselves at home in a place that's not meant to be hospitable.

Most people are probably aware of the events which took place on December 7, 1941. As Franklin Roosevelt said, “it was a day that would live in infamy.” However, the events of December 7 weren’t limited to Hawaii, and they weren’t even limited to December 7. It was part of a much larger operation, the other elements of which are often overlooked today. Learn more about the events of December 8, 1941, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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Author Darcie Little Badger has her protagonists, Nina and a cottonmouth snake named Oli, tackle big, real world problems in her new Young Adult novel, A Snake Falls To Earth. She told NPR's Leila Fadel that young people are feeling climate anxiety acutely, so it was important to her to make it a part of this story, even though it takes place in a fantastical world. She does have a PhD in oceanography and a bachelors in geo-science, so understands the stakes really well. But, she doesn't want her readers to walk away feeling hopeless.

Not all history is learned - or taught - in school. In today's first interview, Robert Jones Jr. tells NPR's Scott Simon that he wanted to be 'a witness to [those] testimonies that have not made it into the official record.' His novel, The Prophets, is about enslaved Black queer people in America. The second interview is about the seemingly mundane day-to-day that makes up a person's history in Zorrie. Author Laird Hunt told NPR's Scott Simon that just because someone's story seems unremarkable doesn't mean it isn't rich.

The second Roman emperor was Tiberius. His right-hand man was the leader of his Praetorian Guard, Lucius Aelius Seianus, known to us as Sejanus. Over the years, Sejanus slowly gained power and influence as well as a host of enemies throughout Rome. Eventually, however, all of his social-climbing and power acquisition eventually came to an end in one spectacular and disastrous day. Learn more about Sejanus and his spectacular downfall, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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Author Huda Fahmy brings us a fictionalized look back on her teenage years in her new graphic novel. The cleverly titled Huda F Are You? is about a girl growing up in Dearborn, Michigan trying to figure out, well, who she really is. Fahmy told NPR's Scott Simon that her own journey of self discovery often left her feeling like a fraud

On December 6 every year, countries all across Europe celebrate Saint Nicholas Day. The way they celebrate can vary dramatically from place to place, but what they all have in common is honoring a man with a long white beard who gives presents to children. If all that sounds familiar, it should. Learn more about St. Nicholas, St. Nicholas day, and how it is celebrated around the world, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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