Wonders Of The World

We go to Luxor Egypt, ancient capital of the New Kingdom, to visit the great temples of Karnak and Luxor. We discuss Hatshepsut: a fascinating woman who became king. We also talk temple-side fries! Special thanks to Dominic Perry and Lantern Jack.

We go to Southwest England to see Stonehenge. We talk about the Neolithic revolution, Wales, Arthur and the Holy Grail, Bath, the Cotswolds, and clotted cream and scones. It's a lot! Thanks to Alexa Echlov and Rooksie Noorai for their help.

Bonus episode - An audio transcript of an interview of Ian, friend of the show and resident of the Northern Territory, in which he describes the heat, the snakes, the beer, and life in the far reaches of Australia's north.  Read by Drew.

We go to the Northern Territory of Australia to see Uluru, aka Ayers Rock, the world's largest monolith.  We'll talk about Aboriginal Australians, snack on bush tucker, and somehow do an entire episode without mentioning AC/DC.

We're off to Tanzania, to see Earth's largest unfilled caldera: Ngorongoro Crater. We'll also discuss nearby Oldupai Gorge and the evolution of man. Special guest Michelle Jones talks about her trip to Tanzania. We eat ugali and mchicha.

This episode, we visit Alexandria, Egypt, at its peak, as we check out the Lighthouse (or Pharos) and the Great Library. We'll enjoy some ful medames, and talk Ptolemy.  Plus science!

It's big! It's bronze! This week, we'll head to the Greek island of Rhodes, and hear them undergo two separate sieges, one of which led to the mighty and short-lived Colossus. We'll also sample some classic Rhodian food with all the garlic that implies.

Bonus Episode!  Turns out there were two Artemisias.  In this bonus episode, we take a look at Artemisia the First of Halicarnassus, who was a naval commander in the Persian War at the Battle of Salamis.  I'll let our old pal Herodotus explain more.

This episode, we're heading down the Turkish Coast to Bodrum, formerly called Halicarnassus and home of the long-lost Mausoleum, symbol of should-have-been-forbidden love.  We'll also check out the thermal springs at Pamukkale and eat swordfish kebabs!

This week, we sail to Turkey to visit the great temple of Artemis in Ephesus, which at its peak was one of the world's largest and richest cities.  Since the temple is gone, we'll tour the ruined city and eat a seafood feast.  

This week, it's off to Greece's Peloponnese peninsula, to visit Olympia, home of the Statue of Zeus and the original Olympic Games. We'll also take a side trip to Sparta and seek out that most Greek of healthy fats: olive oil.

We travel to Babylon in Iraq, to search for the elusive remains of Nebuchadnezzar's Hanging Gardens, which might have not have been his at all.  We'll also try masguf and tepsi, Iraqi specialties which have been enjoyed for centuries.

We start our trip around the world in Giza, Egypt, to see the Great Pyramid.  We'll talk about how pyramids came to be and how a prince used the Sphinx to build legitimacy, and we'll eat koshari, the veg-friendly national dish.