Rob talks about all the little bits and pieces that we couldn't fit into the episodes, as well as some of our mistakes and some points of confusion (don't worry metric users, we got you next time)
Recommended Reading: Ancient Angkor - Michael Freeman, Claude Jacques ; The Indianized States of South-East Asia - George Coedès ; 2019-11-22 20:01:00 +0000 UTC
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(music video link)
2019-11-22 19:58:12 +0000 UTC
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Queen Nefertiti's husband Akhenaten was a bit of an unusual pharaoh. So unusual his successors tried (and almost successfully!) erased him from history. What exactly did Akhenaten do that warranted such an extreme response? He tried to unite the Upper and Lower Kingdoms of Egypt, commissioned radically different art, and... tried to forcibly convert all citizens to worshiping his one and only god, Aten. Not a great look for a ruler of a mostly polytheistic society. But hey, a sun disk with mu...
2019-11-15 18:31:00 +0000 UTC
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Early flight started as a utopian dream but quickly became the military's top priority: first as reconnaissance vehicles, and then as weapons in their own right. After WW1, the threat of German aircraft led to the Treaty of Versailles banning Germany from having an airforce at all. But the Germans also found a loophole: rockets didn't count as an airforce. Enter Wehrner Von Braun & the V-2 rockets.
2019-11-13 18:23:34 +0000 UTC
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Today is the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, so we've put together a special episode for you all examining what the Berlin Wall was, why it was put up, and how a clerical oversight and a street party brought it crumbling down. Enjoy!
2019-11-09 16:30:00 +0000 UTC
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After Angkor fell into decline it was "discovered" by European travelers who declared it a lost and ancient city (it was neither of those things) and came up with, shall we say, inventive explanations for who built the city. But even after the ravages of colonialism, Angkor still stands, a testament to the Khmer Empire and a symbol of Cambodian pride.
And because I can't resist grandpa memes
2019-11-07 18:30:00 +0000 UTC
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Like it says on the tin, this is the last week to order the Extra History Collectible Cards. After Wednesday, November 13 they will be gone faster than Robert Knight from Britain.
You can pick them up over at https://store.dftba.com/products/limited-edition-extra-history-collectible-card-set
A few of the folks in the series:...
2019-11-06 20:01:00 +0000 UTC
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To tell the tale of Space Travel, we have to launch ourselves through history and talk about two of the biggest revolutions to shake up the face of the Earth: The Scientific Revolution & The Industrial Revolution. Humanity was changing faster and faster than ever, and showed no signs of slowing!
2019-11-06 17:01:02 +0000 UTC
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How does a thriving metropolis become a ruin? We aren't exactly positive, but with the efforts of archaeologists and climatologists, we can take a few educated guesses. Shifting economics, raids from enemy kingdoms, and a tiny ice age may have been what led to the city's eventual decay.
2019-11-01 17:31:00 +0000 UTC
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T58FEHBJ56XQ for 15% off at https://store.dftba.com/collections/extracredits
2019-11-01 07:00:01 +0000 UTC
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We are doing our monthly Q&A video livestream with some of the Extra Credits crew (it's Matt, Rob & Joe on board!) on Sunday, October 27 starting at 5pm Pacific time (GMT - 7). It will be 1-2 hours long depending on how many questions we get (we always do our best to answer all of them!)
You can post questions at the link starting ...
2019-10-27 22:40:23 +0000 UTC
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What series would you like us to air on Extra History? Cast your vote(s) below and let us know!
Friendly reminder: You can vote for as many choices as you want! This style of voting helps us see what people are most interested in without having to make tough decisions between a couple of close favorites. The poll will end at 11:59 PM PT on Monday, October 28.
Current Schedule: Angkor --> Policing London --> The H...
2019-10-26 01:58:09 +0000 UTC
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Each one of these temples gets grander and more beautiful than the last! Today we're talking about Jayavarman VII the Great, and his project to transform Angkor into a more defensible city after it had been looted by the Champa. He'll turn it into Angkor Thom, and within, build the temple Bayon, a fusion of Buddhist and Hindu architecture which had never been seen before.
2019-10-25 17:30:59 +0000 UTC
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Let's take a little tour around Suryavarman II crowning achievement, the temple that took only 33 years to complete, while Europeans were taking centuries to build their cathedrals. With a two mile long wall, gates large enough to allow elephants to pass and steps so steep that the average person needed to climb them like a ladder, Angkor Wat's every feature was made to be impressive. But what lies at the heart might be surprising...
2019-10-18 17:30:00 +0000 UTC
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We're laying the foundations for a city that was built to resemble the home of the gods, made use of hand-cut reservoirs that are still the largest in the world today, and occupying as much space as New York City: the city of Angkor
2019-10-11 17:30:59 +0000 UTC
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(Music video)
Recommended Reading
- The Incas: Inside an American Empire by Prof. Terence N. D'Altroy
- The Last Days of the Incas by Kim MacQuarrie
- The Conquistadores by Osprey Publishing
- Fortifications of the Incas by Osprey Publishing
General Time Marks
2019-10-04 14:30:01 +0000 UTC
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The Extra History Collectible Cards are available to order! You can purchase them over at https://store.dftba.com/products/limited-edition-extra-history-collectible-card-set until Wednesday, 13th of November after which they shall disappear back into the pages of history.
Look at some of these glorious cards!
2019-10-03 21:18:39 +0000 UTC
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P5HH8NRG7CSF for 15% off at https://store.dftba.com/collections/extracredits
For ease of convenience when referencing this post in the future, we have included the actual product page link here. Time travel is neat! https://store.dftba.com/products/limited-ed...
2019-10-01 07:00:01 +0000 UTC
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The 1830s were an exciting time for science. All throughout Europe, there was a great movement to explore, map, and classify the world. And it was this expanding world that young Charles Darwin graduated into… albeit with the wrong degree. Because although he would one day be known as “the Father of Modern Biology,” Darwin’s father was set on his son following in his footsteps—as a doctor.
2019-09-27 14:30:59 +0000 UTC
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We are doing our monthly Q&A video livestream with some of the Extra Credits crew (it's Matt and Rob on board!) on Sunday, September 29 starting at 5pm Pacific time (GMT - 7). It will be 1-2 hours long depending on how many questions we get (we always do our best to answer all of them!)
You can post questions at the link starting now
2019-09-25 19:35:58 +0000 UTC
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The invention of anesthesia changed dentistry forever, but the implementation was not painless (ironically). Between nitrous oxide, ether, and even cocaine, people tried a lot of different methods to try and make the dentist visit an easier option.
2019-09-25 14:31:00 +0000 UTC
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Atahualpa vs. Francisco Pizarro. The Incas had never seen horses before, and it wasn't long before the Spanish had captured Atahualpa as a hostage for gold and silver. But Atahualpa had a plan. He found a way to use this situation to his own political advantage--and Pizarro eventually destroyed himself through his greed and violent carelessness that appalled the Spanish government, eventually allowing the Incas to thrive again.
2019-09-20 03:59:30 +0000 UTC
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We know how much the community has been looking forward to a physical, hold-in-your-hands edition of the Extra History cards we've been producing since the start of 2018. Therefore, we are ecstatic to announce that:
- they are real
- we have held them ourselves with our own hands
- Extra History Collectible Cards are coming to our online merch store on Thursday, October 3, for a limited time!
2019-09-19 23:06:48 +0000 UTC
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The first of a two part series, we're drilling into the root of one of the oldest medical practices in the world: Dentistry! Hope you're ready to hear about tooth worms, demons, and magic.
2019-09-18 17:30:01 +0000 UTC
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Airing in February 2020 is the series...
The Haitian Revolution: Listen to the Voice of Liberty
They all attended a secret Vodou ceremony, conducted during a tropical storm. And when the enslaved people returned home, the rising began. Though free people of color were already pushing for greater rights, the dynamic...
2019-09-16 21:10:38 +0000 UTC
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What series would you like us to air on Extra History? Cast your vote(s) below and let us know!
Friendly reminder: You can vote for as many choices as you want! This style of voting helps us see what people are most interested in without having to make tough decisions between a couple of close favorites. The poll will end at 11:59 PM PT on Sunday, September 15.
Current Schedule: The Inca Empire --> Angkor --> Pol...
2019-09-13 12:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Disease--likely, smallpox or measles--had arrived in the Inca empire, and it was ruthless. Two of the (now dead) Emperor Huayna Capac's sons, Atahualpa and Huáscar, decided that a civil war over who should be Sapa Inca was perfect to do right now--nevermind the fact that Francisco Pizarro and his conquistadores had just showed up.
2019-09-12 15:00:03 +0000 UTC
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To understand daily life in the Inca Empire, we travel from Cusco to Quito (located in modern-day Ecuador), where Thupa Inca wanted to establish a second capital city. From efficiently designed work assignments, to elaborate death rituals, life was neatly organized, masking rising tensions.
2019-09-05 15:01:00 +0000 UTC
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BBJBJ1KM2QCH for 15% off at https://store.dftba.com/collections/extracredits
2019-09-01 07:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Pachacuti, the Earth-Shaker, was the ninth leader of the Inca and the one who took the ambitions of the city of Cusco into an all-out military campaign to expand the empire--alongside bribing and engineering and negotiating their way to expansion.
2019-08-29 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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