The flu was over, at last. It caused so much devastation and destruction, and also inspired a lot of technological and scientific progress. If a new strain does arise, we are much more prepared than the doctors of 1918.
2018-08-10 17:31:00 +0000 UTC View Post
This is a global pandemic. The flu jumps ship, literally, onto the docks of American Samoa, of South Africa, of Alaska, of India. The 1918 flu infects every human continent.
(also pretty please patreon, work this time and post the embedded video correctly k thx)
2018-08-03 17:30:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Come join us at 5pm PT (4 hours from when this was posted) to talk about how being sick has historically plagued humanity, and other questions you might have about the show.
If you are seeing this post too late, that means it is now the video archive link! You can watch the Q&A and chat as it happened.
2018-07-29 20:00:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Philadelphia gets hit the hardest. New York fares somewhat better, but everyone is trying to keep hush-hush about a pandemic that still found its way into a children's rhyme: influenza.
2018-07-27 17:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Our next Q&A with the staff is coming up in a couple days! We can discuss Flu Pandemic, Pellagra, and maybe other medical questions you have (disclaimer: we are not a doctor).
Post your questions at the link above! If you can't make it, you can catch the archive video later. We'll see you soon!
2018-07-27 04:56:12 +0000 UTC View Post
Today's special edition of Extra History delves into another terror from the history of public health: a disease called Pellagra that killed up to 100,000 Americans in the early 20th century.
This extra-Extra History video comes thanks to the Child and Teen Checkups program of the Minnesota Department of Health. Children should receive a health checkup every year. If you live in Minnesota, learn more at 2018-07-26 17:30:00 +0000 UTC View Post
We're already approaching the video editing phase for the first episode of Majapahit, so if you want to update your pledge (whether increasing or reducing it), we recommend doing so by Monday (7/30) next week so that the credits list changes are reflected in a timely fashion! Thanks!
--Belinda
2018-07-25 02:35:45 +0000 UTC View Post
We will be doing a series on Dr. Sun Yat-sen: Rebel on the Run later in 2018!
1918 Flu Pandemic --> Majapahit: An Empire of Water --> Viking Expansion --> Dr. Sun Yat-sen
Gunshots echo through Hong Kong. An assassin flees across the rooftops. Behind him, the mastermind of the Guangzhou uprising lies dead. The murder leaves a 34-year-old doctor named Sun Yat-sen as the most prominent revolutionary in China. For a decade after, Dr. Sun will travel the world ...
2018-07-24 00:19:45 +0000 UTC View Post
In Philadelphia, the mayor and his health officials are telling the press that the outbreak is nearly over. They continue doing so, day after day, as the death toll mounts and hospital wards fill.
We would like to formally wish a happy farewell to some wonderful folks who have helped make Extra History awesome over the last few years: our musicians, Sean and Dean Kiner, and one of our artists, Lilienne Chan. (Don't worry, nobody has died!) They each independently wanted to pursue new projects and career opportunities, and we've been lucky and happy to work with them for as long as we have.
Thank you Kiner bros! Thank you Lil!
We wanted to delay formally announcing their depa...
2018-07-19 23:48:09 +0000 UTC View PostWhat series would you like us to air on Extra History? Cast your vote(s) below and let us know! This series will air later in 2018. As a further note, ALL of these topics were suggested by patrons, multiple times!
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 pick between multiple favorites.
The poll will end at 11:59 AM PT ...
2018-07-19 21:12:50 +0000 UTC View Post
The mild first wave was over, and the lethal second wave was about to begin. The virus that emerged from the war trenches was highly contagious and could kill within 24 hours of symptoms appearing.
2018-07-13 17:30:01 +0000 UTC View PostPlease suggest topics that you think fit the theme "Revolution." This suggestion comes from our writer Rob Rath, who defines revolution as broadly as possible--political, scientific, artistic, whatever you can think of!
Fill out this form to add in your suggestion! Some notes about your suggestions:
Check out and download the selection here: http://bit.ly/NonEuclideanCards
This series's cards were made by Nick DeWitt.
2018-07-07 23:50:54 +0000 UTC View Post
The flu was the first modern plague—turning our interconnected world against us by spreading through shipping lanes, rail lines and the arteries of industrialized war. Yet it was also the first pandemic of the scientific age, where doctors could to some extent understand what was happening and stand against the infection, though they lacked the tools to stop it.
Also, say hello to the voice of "professor" Matt!
2018-07-06 17:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Listen to "Postulate 5," the theme song of our series on the history of Non-Euclidean Geometry! Music by Sean and Dean Kiner: http://bit.ly/23isQfx
2018-06-29 17:31:00 +0000 UTC View Post
You asked for so long, and here it is! SUGGESTED READING for this Extra History series:
--Euclid's The Elements
--Newton's Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica
--Lobachevsky's Geometrical Investigations on the Theory of Parallel Lines
Happy reading!
2018-06-29 17:31:00 +0000 UTC View PostJoin the Extra History Q&A and hang out with Rob Rath and Matt Krol today at 5pm PT. You can post questions beforehand, and view the recording of the Q&A afterwards, at https://www.crowdcast.io/e/b7gfvelo
2018-06-25 20:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Up until the 20th century, people assumed light behaved like a wave, passing through the "aether wind"--a fluid with incomprehensible properties. When the Michelson-Morley experiment disproved the aether's existence, Einstein put out the theory of relativity--that space and time were part of the same package.
2018-06-22 17:31:00 +0000 UTC View Post
For this month's video Q&A we have confirmed RSVPs from Rob Rath, who will be answering any of your "Lies"-type questions about the Thermopylae episodes we just did (since we normally don't do Lies for sponsored series unfortunately), as well as from Matt Krol who will be narrating Extra History very soon! He's been learning and improving on his "show voice" since day 1.
Post your questions at the link above! We'll see you soon!
Please suggest topics that you think fit the theme "Revolution." This suggestion comes from our writer Rob Rath, who defines revolution as broadly as possible--political, scientific, artistic, whatever you can think of!
Fill out this form to add in your suggestion!
Some notes about ...
2018-06-19 19:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Featuring Rob Rath (who is in the United States visiting right now!) and his enigmatic scrawled notes regarding future Extra History videos...
Some of you may be aware that a few days ago, our former Twitch channel manager Will Overgard posted on Twitter details regarding his termination. For this particular situation, we decided to issue a public clarification of the details regarding his employment and termination, which you can read here.
I wanted to add a personal statement by me, the community manager:
James posted an update regarding the statement we made last week, on his Twitter. We still stand by our initial statement and intentions of respecting everyone's privacy, but this is some additional context on what the HR agency recommended us to do and what we want to do moving forward. https://twitter.com/JamesPortnow/status/1008055798537129984?s=19
2018-06-16 20:45:54 +0000 UTC View Post
What if the Fifth Postulate can't be proven at all? Bolyai and Lobachevsky introduced the case where our “parallels” could curve away from each other. And with that one small change, they unleashed a torrent of madness.
2018-06-15 17:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Why does everyone know the Greek defeat at Thermopylae, but victories like Salamis and Plataea remain obscure? Because it helped define Greek, and thus “western” culture. And that’s thanks to one man: Herodotus.
Brought to you by Total War: Arena! Use the code HOPLITE for extra goodies:
https://redir.wargaming.net/wbm6j5va/?pub_id=video2
2018-06-14 17:31:00 +0000 UTC View PostPlease read the statement here.
On a related note, you are free to discuss this in the comments but I (Belinda) will not be interacting with any comments or messages about this.
EDIT: Clarifying note: there were no claims made regarding sexual harassment.
2018-06-10 02:13:32 +0000 UTC View Post
Euclidean geometry eventually found its way back into Europe, inspiring René Descartes to create the Cartesian coordinate system for maps, and Isaac Newton to invent calculus. Both these tools helped humanity understand the world better.
2018-06-08 17:30:02 +0000 UTC View Post
BONUS: Here's a behind-the-scenes thread on Rob Rath's Twitter about a story we had to cut from this episode! https://twitter.com/RobWritesPulp/status/1004817048747139073
A small handful of Grecian city-states have come together to stand off against the invading Persians at Thermopylae. At this fateful mountain pass, Greece will discover its identity as a nation.
Brought to you by Total W...
2018-06-07 17:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Launching June 4, Extra Politics is an 8-episode mini-series (weekly on Mondays) exploring the United States political system from a game design perspective.
In this series, we skip past policy and get to the core rules that govern the US political system, everything from running for office to moving legislation forward. By putting these rules under the microscope, we hope to better understand t...
2018-06-03 18:52:40 +0000 UTC View Post