In 1903, a Frenchman and an American granted the United States ninety nine years of control over the Isthmus of Panama. No Panamanians signed that treaty. This week, Professor Kaysha Corinealdi and Jonathan explore the political history and legacy of what came next: the Panama Canal.
Kaysha Corinealdi is an interdisciplinary historian of modern empires, mig ... Show More
Jul 27
Excellence v. Perfection, GLP-1 Spelling Bee, JVN’s Memory Hack — ICYMI
This week: we’re talking about CATS: The Jellicle Ball, weddings, maiden name lore, striving for excellence (not perfection), GLP-1 Spelling Bee, Alexia Moore’s arrest, sleep for memory, the North Atlantic current, and Broadway bootlegs. Get tix to the Hot & Healed Comedy Tour h ... Show More
29m 25s
Jul 2021
The Panama Canal: The real story behind the engineering triumph
Completed in 1914, the Panama Canal has long been regarded as a triumph of American ingenuity, a conquest over nature that helped secure the United States’ position as a world power. Taking ten years to build, it opened up new trading routes between East and West by providing a v ... Show More
39m 18s
Dec 2024
The handover of the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a short cut between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean and plays a huge role in global shipping.The United States had rights to the land surrounding it, known as the canal zone, and also controlled the waterway itself.In 1977, responding to years of Panamanian pro ... Show More
9m 11s
Jul 2009
Malaria and the Panama Canal
<p>The idea for the Panama Canal goes back to 1534, when the Spanish surveyed the area. However, the canal wasn't built for centuries, and it was an arduous task. Learn more about the malaria plaguing canal builders in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.</p><p> </p> Learn more a ... Show More
13m 35s
May 2025
The Great Frenchman's Folly (Panama Disaster 1)
Ferdinand De Lesseps, "the Great Frenchman", is convinced that he is the man to build the Panama Canal. No, he isn't an engineer and, no, he's never actually been to Panama before. But he managed to dig the Suez Canal, and everyone said that would be impossible too. How hard can ... Show More
39m 8s
May 2025
Roosevelt and the Renegade (Panama Disaster 2)
Sixteen years have passed since Ferdinand De Lesseps' catastrophic failure in Panama and the dramatic collapse of the French Panama Canal company. Now, President Theodore Roosevelt has picked up the task. “No single great material work,” Roosevelt tells Congress, “is of such cons ... Show More
40m 33s