The NRA is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington. They have over five million members and they are rabid. They don’t throw nearly as much money around as the Chamber of Commerce or something, but what they do have is something more valuable — influence. The NRA is well-organized, bipartisan and make […]
My social media feed went bonkers in the wake of the recent terror attacks around the world. There were the usual wackos talking about conspiracy theories, which are so easily dismissible that they hardly warrant discussion. Beyond the nonsense however, I found there was a common misunderstanding of what Islam is — who started it […]
Many of us devote hours of our lives to the gym, performing the most awkward things, often painfully, in these hell holes. We pump out these ridiculous exercises, panting wildly in close proximity to strangers. All grunting and flailing about in the hall of mirrors. How did it ever come to this? We treat it […]
When Minnesota dentist, Walter Palmer illegally poached a protected lion in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park in July 2015, it quickly caused a firestorm of outrage on social media as well as the media at large. Never before had the world seen such a reaction to a poaching incident. The public’s fervor seemed unstoppable. I watched […]
There is a long, brutal history behind the circus. One look at the hideous, powdery artificial visage of a circus clown and you know that deep down in your nightmare heart. The classic circus that we know today has its roots in English horse riding exhibitions – people doing fancy tricks on horses. It could be […]
The story of LA as a major world city really starts in ernest with the arrival of the aqueduct. How the city acquired the water and what happened afterward is the stuff of legend. The story has been dramatized and mythologized through the years. A lot of information has been mixed up or made up. […]
The things we do during the holidays are completely absurd. In this video, I explain why we have such strange Christmas customs and how it got to be the corporate monster it is today.
Now that the Ebola videos are all wrapped up, I thought I’d compile them all here in one easy post. In this first video, I talk about how the disease is transmitted. Next, I talk about what the disease does to the body. And finally, I talk about the reasons for the current outbreak. I […]
Here is my most recent history video on plague. This time it’s about the Black Death, the plague that we all know and love. This is a very important event that helped to shape Europe and the rest of the world. I talk about the impact of plague on society here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjUqrnjRLRo
The sixth century was a time of extreme crisis and extraordinary survival for the Eastern Roman Empire. Justinian I’s reign is the height of this empire. This is his story.
Terrifying World 