For most of Homo sapiens' time out of Africa, we lived in a world defined by ice. But by around 20,000 years ago, the ice had begun to melt, the glaciers retreating back toward the poles and mountain ranges. This left behind a new world, a whole different series of environments, opportunities, and perils for the people who had made it through the Ice Age.
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Yesterday
Recent Discoveries in the Ancient Americas: Professor Shane Miller Returns
Every year, new archaeological discoveries claim to rewrite what we think we knew about the ancient Americas, but how much can we trust the initial reports we see? Professor Shane Miller, now of the University of Alabama, joins me again to place the White Sands footprints and oth ... Show More
52m 41s
Jan 1
Interview with Professor Tom Birkett on "Runes: A Concise History"
Runic writing carries connotations of magic and fantasy, but it was a widespread, useful, and long-lasting system of writing. Professor Tom Birkett has written a fantastic overview of runic writing that returns it to the real time and place in which it existed - Runes: A Concise ... Show More
42m 48s
Jan 2024
CLASSIC: Ancient Civilizations in Antarctica?
Among all the continents of Earth, Antarctica remains both the most inhospitable and the most mysterious. Today the only humans on the landmass are researchers and their support staff, charged with studying climate change, the local ecosystem and the unique creatures that call th ... Show More
1h 10m
Oct 2018
Ancient Civilizations in Antarctica?
<p>Among all the continents of Earth, Antarctica remains both the most inhospitable and the most mysterious. Today the only humans on the landmass are researchers and their support staff, charged with studying climate change, the local ecosystem and the unique creatures that call ... Show More
1h 9m
Dec 2021
The Lil Ice Age Was Way Less Cute Than It Sounds
<p>You've probably heard of the Ice Ages -- long periods of reduction in Earth's temperature, triggering massive expansion of glaciers and so on -- but you may not have heard of the "Little Ice Age," a time of regional cooling that, from the 14th to the 19th centuries, dramatical ... Show More
36m 39s
Jun 2024
Voyage to the North Pole | Crushed | 3
<p>Trapped in polar pack ice, the crew of USS Jeannette settle in for a long, dark winter. As the temperature drops and the ice floes press against her sides, the ship risks suffering grave damage. Morale drops, as the sailors begin to wonder if they’ll ever return safely from th ... Show More
44m 29s
Sep 2021
Jemma Wadham, "Ice Rivers: A Story of Glaciers, Wilderness, and Humanity" (Princeton UP, 2021)
The ice sheets and glaciers that cover one-tenth of Earth’s land surface are in grave peril. High in the Alps, Andes, and Himalaya, once-indomitable glaciers are retreating, even dying. Meanwhile, in Antarctica, thinning glaciers may be unlocking vast quantities of methane stored ... Show More
35m 23s
Mar 2024
L'Europe a-t-elle connu un âge glaciaire durant l'Époque moderne ?
<p>Mes chers camarades, bien le bonjour !</p><p>Du 16e au 19e siècle, l’Europe a eu un sacré coup de froid. Comme les chercheurs du 20e siècle aimaient bien s’amuser, ils l’ont surnommé : “le Petit Âge Glaciaire”. Ça fait genre les mammouths, les rhinocéros laineux, les hommes de ... Show More
13m 54s
Sep 2021
Endurance: Surviving Antarctica | Hope | 5
<p>In a final attempt to get his men home, Ernest Shackleton and his crew have to get through the Drake Passage, the most dangerous stretch of ocean in the world. And that’s just the beginning. When they reach their goal of South Georgia island, they realize the only wa ... Show More
46m 23s