Episode 82: Corporate Cheating - Boeing, VW and Wells Fargo
The Y in History
Boeing hid information regarding the MCAS software from its 737-Max flying manual to short circuit the certification. Boeing's cheating cost 346 lives across 2 plane crashes. Volkswagen had a cheat device software in its diesel cars to circumvent the NOX level requirememts in the US and the EU. Wells Fargo opened millions of bank accounts without customer consent. Is there a pattern across these three cheating scandals?
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Episode 81: Putin and Xi - the powerful Authoritarians
The Y in History
Putin was a working class outsider who rose through the ranks to the Country's top job. Once at the top, Putin consolidated his position by eiminating opposition and giving Russia a strategic economic advantage. Xi was a Princeling who ended up on the wrong side during Mao's time. But Xi believed in Mao and came back, aspiring to be Mao 2.0
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Episode 80: Cricket - 1950s through 1980s
The Y in History
The West Indies emerge as a force in Cricket as Frank Worrell leads the team to Australia in 1960. South Africa is banned from International Cricket in 1970 due to apartheid. Kerry Packer becomes a major disruptor in International Cricket as he signs up top players for World Series of Cricket.
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Episode 79: Cricket - early times to 1950s
The Y in History
Cricket was spread by England through its Colonies. But it needed stars like WG Grace to make it popular enough to become a spectator sport. The England-Australia rivalry led to the Ashes Trophy and containing Aussie star, Don Bradman, led to the infamous Bodyline series between the two sides.
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Episode 78: 20th Century Political Assassinations
The Y in History
JFK is assassinated as his convoy drives through Dallas, bringing the US and the rest of the world to a stunned standstill. Egypt's Anwar Sadat is assassinated while inspecting a parade. But Congo's Patrice Lumumba is made to disappear in the most barbaric manner.
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Episode 77: Silicon Valley
The Y in History
Railway tycoon Leland Stanford lived in Santa Clara Valley and founded Stanford University in 1891. Another prominent Stanford University figure, Frederick Terman. invested heavily in businesses that would base themselves in the area and employ talented young people. One such business was the original start-up, an electrical company started in a garage by Stanford alumni William Hewlett and David Packard, Hewlett-Packard. The beginning of Silicon Valley as an epicenter of innovation began in 1955 with the arrival of the Shockley Semiconductors Laboratory. Another revolutionary point was...
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Episode 76: Financial Coups - Haiti, FDR and Guatemala
The Y in History
In 1914, American Marines rob Haiti's National Bank of $500,000 in Gold Reserves at th ebehest of the National City Bank. Wall Street looks to topple FDR and replace him with a business friendly Dictator. United Fruit, now Chiquita engineers the ouster of the democratically elected Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala.
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Episode 75: Patterns in History
The Y in History
Strategic mistakes in the Russia-Ukraine relationship or a leadership vision that led to lasting impact. This episode evaluates patterns that emerge from the learnings we've had across the previous 74 episodes. Impact from the whims of a deranged leader or the ego trip of two super powers. Some interesting patterns emerge as we traverse history.
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Episode 74: 2016 - the Panama Papers
The Y in History
The Panama Papers refer to the 11.5 million leaked encrypted confidential documents that were the property of Panama-based law firm . The documents were released on April 3, 2016, by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), dubbing them the “.” The document exposed more than 140 politicians from more than 50 countries, connected to 214,000 offshore companies in 21 different tax havens. Among those named in the leak were a dozen current or former world leaders, 128 public officials, politicians, hundreds of celebrities, business people, and other wealthy...
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Episode 73: Artificial Intelligence - a history
The Y in History
The Turing Test in 1950 established the baseline for evaluating the real intelligence of a machine. To this day, no machine or software has been able to pass the Turing test. But do the next generation of ChatBots like ChatGPT have th epotential to pass the test?
info_outlineOn August 16, 1858, Britain sent the United States an inaugural message via a transatlantic telegraph cable. In it, Queen Victoria congratulated President James Buchanan on their countries’ mutual success at building the very cable she was using to talk to him.
The International Space Station is a truly global effort: nations ranging from America to Russia provided parts for and assembled the ISS. The assembly alone took more than 30 missions. Travelling at 17,500 mph and orbiting the earth every 90 minutes, the ISS is an engineering achievement that is truly out of this world.
The episode also covers the other engineering marvels, like the English Channel Tunnel and the Netherlands Delta Works system which keeps Netherlands' coastal areas safe from floods from the North Sea.