logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2021
18m 53s

Juggernaut: Indian Temple Or Unstoppable...

SCIENCE FRIDAY AND WNYC STUDIOS
About this episode

In 2014, a grad student in Kolkata named Ujaan Ghosh came across an old book by a Scottish missionary. And as Ghosh paged through the book, he noticed the missionary kept using a word over and over: Juggernaut. But the missionary wasn’t using it the way we do today—to mean an unstoppable, overwhelming force. He  was using it to talk about a place: a temple in Puri, India. So Ghosh dug further, and as he grasped the real story of where the English word, juggernaut, had come from, he realized there was just no way he could keep using it.

A transcript of this episode is being processed and will be available within a week.

Guests: 

Chris Egusa is an audio producer and 2020 KALW Audio Academy fellow.

Dylan Thuras is co-founder of Atlas Obscura, and host of the Atlas Obscura podcast.

Ujaan Ghosh is a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Footnotes & Further Reading: 

Read Ujaan Ghosh’s article on the origins of the word “juggernaut.” 

Learn more about Jagannath Temple in Atlas Obscura. 

Listen to more episodes of the Atlas Obscura podcast.

Credits: 

This episode was a collaboration between Science Diction and Atlas Obscura. It was produced by Johanna Mayer and Chris Egusa, and edited by Elah Feder and John DeLore. Daniel Peterschmidt is our composer, and Danya AbdelHameid fact checked the episode. It was mixed by Luz Fleming.

Up next
Apr 2022
Saying Goodbye To Science Diction
Dear Science Diction listeners, It is with sadness that we announce the finale of the Science Diction podcast. Starting with a simple newsletter and a passionate audience, the Science Diction podcast grew to serve up episodes on topics as varied as meme, ketchup, and juggernaut. ... Show More
3m 26s
Dec 2021
American Chestnut: Resurrecting A Forest Giant
We have a favor to ask! We want to know more about what you like, what you don’t, and who you are—it’ll help us make better episodes of Science Diction. Please, take our brief survey. Thank you! At the turn  of the 20th century, the American chestnut towered over other trees in E ... Show More
22m 1s
Dec 2021
Vocal Fry: Why I’m Not Getting A Voice Coach
For decades, vocal fry lived a relatively quiet existence. It was known to linguists, speech pathologists and voice coaches, but everyday people didn’t pay much attention to it. But then in 2011, people started noticing it everywhere. So what happened? What is vocal fry? Why does ... Show More
16m 16s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
Deyo, Le Flem, de Leon: 2024 The Year in Review
In this program, we look at the discoveries that made 2024 unique, Join us as we uncover, new temples, geoglyphs, the Yugas, a ancient Maya City, Cleopatra tomb and much more. Panelist include: Jenn Deyo has spent decades out in the field unearthing artifacts and researching anci ... Show More
2h 14m
Jun 2020
Brian Greene, "Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe" (Random House, 2020)
Brian Greene is a Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Columbia University in the City of New York, where he is the Director of the Institute for Strings, Cosmology, and Astroparticle Physics, and co-founder and chair of the World Science Festival. He is well known for his TV ... Show More
2 h
Jun 13
Double-Blasted
We first aired this episode in 2012, but at the show we’ve been thinking a lot about resilience and repair so we wanted to play it for you again today. It’s about a man who experienced maybe one of the most chilling traumas… twice. But then, it leads us to a story of generational ... Show More
20m 54s
Apr 2024
Nilesh Nilkanth Oak Returns: Realities Of Mahabharata, Ramayana & India's Lost History | TRS 404
Check out my Mind Performance app: Level SuperMind Android - https://install.lvl.fit/hskuyf75rsofx0ob9j514t iOS - https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1623828602?pt=124995957&ct=Ranveer27&mt=8 Join the Level Community Here: https://linktr.ee/levelsupermindcommunity Check out ... Show More
1h 43m
Dec 2024
Origins of the Wheel
It is one of the most pivotal inventions in human history - the wheel. New research suggests that the wheel was first created by prehistoric miners in the Carpathian Mountains to transport copper. Tristan Hughes speaks to the team behind this fascinating theory; archaeologist Dr ... Show More
52m 10s
Jun 12
The Kushan Empire
Embark on an epic journey with Tristan Hughes and acclaimed author William Dalrymple as they unravel the enigma of the Kushan Empire, the ancient superpower of Central Asia. Together they tell the riveting stories behind the Empire's rise in Bactria (modern-day Afghanistan), thei ... Show More
59m 20s
Jan 2025
Sargon of Akkad
Over 4,000 years ago, Sargon of Akkad carved his name into history by forging what many consider the world’s first empire. But who was this enigmatic warlord, and how did he transform from a man without a dynasty to the revered founder of the Akkadian Empire? In this episode of T ... Show More
43m 21s
Jan 2024
A Brief History of Bling
Travel through 50,000 years of human history following clues hidden inside beads made from ostrich eggshells. In this episode, researchers Jennifer Miller and Yiming Wang share how these tiny artifacts reveal a sweeping story of ancient social networks, cultural connections, and ... Show More
26m 38s
Feb 2025
Revenge of the Miasma
Today we uncover an invisible killer hidden, for over a hundred years, by reasonable disbelief. Science journalist extraordinaire Carl Zimmer tells us the story of a centuries-long battle of ideas that came to a head, with tragic consequences, in the very recent past. His latest ... Show More
35m 31s
Jul 2021
183. The Immortality Key; Psychedelics and the Ancient Age | Brian Muraresku & Prof. Carl Ruck
This podcast was recorded on May 14th, 2021. In today’s episode, Dr. Jordan Peterson is accompanied by author Brian Muraresku and Professor Carl Ruck to unravel the secrets of ancient Greek culture and religion. They embark upon the sinuous journey of discussing psychedelics in A ... Show More
2h 3m