091 - The Great Mosque of Djenné and the Songhai Empire
Release Date: 01/20/2022
Come See Me at Intelligent Speech Online!
Wonders of the World
February 8th! Got to for tickets! And use the promo code WONDERS to get 10% off! It'll be great!
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106 - The Valley of the Middle Rhine and the 30 Years War
Wonders of the World
The Rhine River flows through the heartland of western Germany, through a gorge passing an average of one castle per mile. Reisling vineyards, charming villages, and castle after castle after castle surround you as you drift along the river. But almost 400 years ago, this idyllic valley was caught up in the most devestating war in pre-20th century European history. In this episode, we'll cover the first two stages of the Thirty Years War, focusing not on the battles, but on the people who made the decisions that caused this calamity to unfold. In particular, we'll focus on...
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105 - Český Krumlov and the Defenestration of Prague
Wonders of the World
Nestled on a bend of the Vltava River, the beautiful town of Český Krumlov is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe. It's also the site of a horrific true crime! (Oo, let's get those true crime junkies in on this!) Rudolf II had troubles, and the mental illness of his son Julius only adds to the load. But the decline and fall of Rudolf II and the murder of Markéta Pichlerová is only part of the story. We're also going to talk about the Defenestration of Prague, one of the defining moments in European history and the event that kicked off the first Great War of the early...
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104 - The Old New Synagogue of Prague and the Golem
Wonders of the World
They say a giant man of clay sits in the attic, waiting for centuries for his instructions. The story of the Golem in Prague is one of the classics of western storytelling, yet did you know that the temple where the Golem is rumored to be is a real place? The Old New Synagogue, one of the oldest active synagogues in the world, sits in the heart of Josefov, Prague's Jewish district. In this episode, we'll talk about Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, who ruled from Prague, and his fascination with astronomy, alchemy, and mystiticism. We'll discuss the fascinating people he surrounded himself...
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103 - The Leaning Tower of Pisa and Galileo Galilei
Wonders of the World
You've seen it on a million pizza boxes, in a thousand Italian restaurants, and in photos of your Dad pretending to hold it up. It's the Leaning Tower! Why does it lean? And why is it so gracefully elegant in its leaning? Most of this episode, however, is about the most famous person to be associated with the tower: the astronomer Galileo. Did he really drop weights from the tower? Probably not. But he did change our entire perception of the universe, and his story involves an astronomical arms race. And of course the Inquisition. You never expect the Inquisition......
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102 - The Harmandir Sahib of Amritsar and the Beginning of Sikhism
Wonders of the World
The youngest of the world's seven largest religions is Sikhism, founded in Punjab in the 16th century. Nanak, a guru, or teacher, from outside Lahore, spent three days lost along a river and returned with an undestanding of one God: the Ultimate Reality. Nanak created a religion founded on equality, service, and openness, yet his successors would soon find themselves under attack from vested interests, particularly the Mughal Empire. In this episide, we visit the Golden Temple, or Harmandir Sahib, their holiest shrine. It is a brilliantly gorgeous golden temple surrounded by a tranquil pool,...
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101 - The Uffizi Gallery of Florence and Cosimo I de' Medici
Wonders of the World
One of the world's great museums of Renaissance art: the Uffizi. Meaning "the offices," the Uffizi were quite literally built as an office buidling for the growing administration of Cosimo I de' Medici, the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, the leader who brought authoritarian rule, if also stablity, to Florence. Bry Rayburn from the Pontifacts podcast, joins me once again to talk about Cosimo, her historic bae, the great museum, and the rest of his legacy. We also talk about our old friend Giorgio Vasari, author, artist and architect, a true Renaissance man. And of course, ribollita, that...
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Bonus - The Total Solar Eclipse of 2024
Wonders of the World
A quick bonus episode about how eclipses connect with human history
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099 - The Meenakshi Amman Temple of Madurai and the Fall of Vijayanagar
Wonders of the World
Towering above the city of Madurai, the gopurams or gateways of the Meenakshi Amman Temple are medieval skyscrapers, awash in color, writhing in movement, beautiful and otherworldly at the same time. In this episode we'll discuss the rise of the Mughal Empire, the fall of Vijayanagara, and of course, masala dosa, that most incredible of South Indian streetfoods.
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100 - The Wieliczka Salt Mine and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Wonders of the World
In the late 1500s Poland and Lithuania joined to create the Commonwealth, a remarkable, if flawed, experiment in constitutional monarchy that would last more than 200 years. Its legacy of religious tolerance and representative republicanism is strangely overlooked in American history books - and I would guess in other histories as well. One of the chief economic engines of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was the Wielizcka Salt Mine, an amazing wonder delved over 700 years. To visit Wieliczka is to be amazed at the artistry of salt sculptures and impressed by the sheer cheesiness of all the...
info_outlineThe best example of Sahelian mud-brick architecture, the great mosque seems like a sandcastle rising from the Niger Inland Delta in Mali.
Originally built in the early days of the Mali Empire, the mosque also connects with the Songhai, Africa's largest and strongest empire, whose collapse came at key moment in world history.
We'll follow the fates of two great kings and see how choices made in the early 1500s echo today. And we'll eat tiguedegana, a peanut tomato stew that is just so freaking delicious.
Sources:
Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sa’di. Tarikh al-sudan
Davidson, Basil, et al. A History of West Africa to the Nineteenth Century
Dorsey, James Michael. “Mud and infidels: Djenné, Mali” in the San Diego Reader
Dubois, Félix. Notre beau Niger…
French, Howard W. Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War.
Ibn Mukhtar. Tarikh al-fattash
Lonely Planet West Africa
Meredith, Martin. The Fortunes of Africa: A 5000-year History of Wealth, Greed, and Endeavour
Reader, John. Africa: A Biography of the Continent
Wilson, Joe. “In search of Askia Mohammed: The epic of Askia Mohammed as cultural history and Songhay foundational myth”
Photograph by Francesco Bandarin CC 3.0