BrainStuff Classics: Why Did London Once...

In the 1970s, Jerry Lawson was instrumental in creating the first cartridge-based video game console and the first digital joystick -- and he did it as one of the only Black engineers in Silicon Valley at that time. Learn about Lawson and the Fairchild Channel F in this episode o ... Show More

Glass windows are as solid as the materials that surround them, yet they let light through. Learn the physics of why glass can be so transparent -- and why it took humans thousands of years to create totally clear glass -- in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: htt ... Show More

Although some driving skills can deteriorate with age, experienced drivers tend to be the safest drivers. To an extent. Learn when and how experts think drivers should be retested in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-dri ... Show More

In the mid-19th century, London was literally filling with corpses. When the city was in the grips of a cholera epidemic, the already-overfilled cemetaries couldn't handle the extra bodies. So when there's literally no room in the soil for another dead body, what's a city to do? ... Show More

In 1952 London was gripped by a acrid smog that settled throughout the city so thickly residents couldn’t see their own feet on the sidewalk. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Between 1854 and 1929, 250,000 orphans - at peril in the dangerous, overcrowded streets of New York - were placed on trains and sent west to live with new families. A desperate solution to a desperate problem, some of the stories turned out well and some far from well. The bond b ... Show More

This 2014 episode covers why when the Great London Smog descended in December of 1952, nobody initially realized anything unusual was going on. At its largest, it extended 30 kilometers around London, and it killed thousands of people. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info ... Show More

For at least 200 years, part of London’s criminal underground was ruled by a gang of brilliant, all-female jewel thieves. Join the guys as they explore the rise and fall of the notorious Forty Elephants. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee ... Show More

This 2016 episode covers a skeleton found in a tree near Birmingham, England in 1943. More than 70 years later, it's still unknown who the deceased was and how the body ended up in an elm tree.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

From ghost town to ceremonial, ecclesiastical and economic hub - how did London develop in the Saxon era, and how is that crucial to what London has become?  Dr. Rory Naismith is the author of Citadel of the Saxons: The Rise of Early London and a lecturer at Corpus Christi Colleg ... Show More

For the west coast tour, Holly and Tracy talked about the fear of being buried, which reached a fever pitch in Europe and the U.S. from the 18th to the early 20th century. That fear led to some very interesting inventions as humans tried to ensure they wouldn't end up interred be ... Show More

  It is one of London's most famous tourist attractions, and it has an amazing history that not all tourists are aware of.In this episode, we'll explore the bloody but fascinating history of London's oldest standing building. The arrival of William The Conqueror in 1066How The To ... Show More

For centuries people from all walks of life sought to eliminate friends, strangers and enemies using the devious, subtle poison known as arsenic. Arsenic poisoning became such a well-known method of murder that people in Britain began calling it ''inheritance powder''. But what m ... Show More