History Repeating Itself

Series produced by Ben Orlando

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In this podcast, Ben Orlando and his co-host, Michelle James, explore and examine history to find parallels with current events. They use this information, along with knowledge from experts, to predict what will happen.

From examining the decline of gladiatorial combat and boxing, can we predict what will happen to football in America? From studying the rise and fall of footbinding, can we see what will happen with modern footwear? By looking at the origins of prisons, can we figure out in which direction crime and punishment will move in the United States? In this series, Ben Orlando and Michelle James will comb the past for clues about what is happening and what will happen in our modern world.


28 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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Learning to read and write rewired our brains in fascinating ways. But where and when did writing and language originate?

  • Added: Dec 02, 2015
  • Length: 18:38
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Airplanes in department stores? There was a time in U.S. History when people experienced this reality. But are we any closer today to realizing the...

  • Added: Nov 14, 2015
  • Length: 13:22
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In this episode we break down the factors that will influence the fate of football in the United States. Is football doomed or is it immune to the ...

  • Added: Nov 04, 2015
  • Length: 34:39
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Weddings today do not mean what they used to, and for this very reason, people do their best to resurrect that lost meaning. In this episode, we tr...

  • Added: Oct 03, 2015
  • Length: 17:27
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In this episode we discuss the benefits and consequences of relationships and sex with synthetic beings.

  • Added: Sep 25, 2015
  • Length: 17:47
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Steam-powered vibrators the size of kitchen tables, the importance of dildos in Ancient Greece, and the future of sex machines in the second instal...

  • Added: Jul 21, 2015
  • Length: 24:25
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In this episode, we talk with a man married to a doll, and we begin the debate over the issue of intimate relationships with synthetic beings.

  • Added: Apr 30, 2015
  • Length: 19:13
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Concepts like extreme choice and mobility are some of the modern realities leading us toward depression and suicide. In this episode, we look at fo...

  • Added: Mar 08, 2015
  • Length: 12:48
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We tend to view our hunter-gatherer ancestors with pity for their primitive ways. But what if they employ strategies for leading a depression-free ...

  • Added: Feb 28, 2015
  • Length: 13:13
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From bridges to guns to coal gas ovens, we explore the link between accessibility and suicide.

  • Added: Feb 21, 2015
  • Length: 14:45
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With a simple blood test, scientists can now determine our likelihood of suicidal behavior. But what are the implications of this discovery?

  • Added: Feb 18, 2015
  • Length: 11:14
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Will suicide be more or less acceptable in the future? We try to answer this question by speaking with expert thinkers about the logic or lack of l...

  • Added: Jan 07, 2015
  • Length: 13:59
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In this short taken from our longer episode, "Babies. Why?" we talk to Dr. Christopher Ryan about the actual origins of "Baby Fever."

  • Added: Oct 30, 2014
  • Length: 08:59
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A new study connects football in younger players to possible behavioral changes. And one high school cancels the rest of the football season becaus...

  • Added: Oct 28, 2014
  • Length: 10:03
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More little-known connections between gladiators and NFL players.

  • Added: Oct 10, 2014
  • Length: 10:37
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What most people see as a law of nature might actually be a sociological trend. In this show we speak with experts to get to the bottom of our true...

  • Added: Oct 10, 2014
  • Length: 50:55
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Solitary confinement used to be a good thing, and other revelations.

  • Added: Oct 09, 2014
  • Length: 11:31
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Americans spend so much on the criminal justice system in order to . . . make things worse. In this show we look at the problems and unconventional...

  • Added: Oct 09, 2014
  • Length: 49:58
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The U.S. is one of only 6 countries that embraces embalming. Why? And why do we spend thousands on funerals when we can achieve the same goals for ...

  • Added: Sep 09, 2014
  • Length: 36:10
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In this episode we explain the integral connection between pornography and the endurance of high heels in our society.

  • Added: Sep 09, 2014
  • Length: 16:14