Lights Out Library: Sleep Documentaries

Tonight's episode takes us on a historical tour of salt. How much is there on Earth? Why did it start to be an important commodity for humans in the Neolithic? How was it extracted and transported in ancient times? We will explore all this, and more: how the taxation of salt helped early states to function, how salt was extracted and transported in medieval times, the history of various food prese...

Tonight, we revisit three "Ancient History" episodes from Lights Out Library, compiled into a single episode to lull you to sleep for longer: History of the Silk Road - History of Carthage and the Phoenicians - History of the Vikings. Please enjoy this extended ancient history bedtime story, and sleep well. Welcome to Lights Out Library Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and...

In this sleepy bedtime story, we explore the history of textiles and fabrics. We will see where fibers come from and how they were adopted by mankind, with special sections about the history of cotton, silk and wool. We will also delve into the world of fabrics, their manufacturing and trade, how they influenced international relations and contributed to economic history. Welcome to Lights Out Lib...

In this soft spoken sleepy bedtime story, I invite you around a campfire in the Black Forest and tell you the story of the Ring of the Nibelung. We will follow a cycle of 4 operas by Richard Wagner (the Rhinegold, the Valkyrie, Siegfried and Twilight of the Gods) as a starting point to explore Germanic and Norse mythology, the origins and importance of Germanic Peoples, the creation of national na...

In this bedtime story, I tell you about four different sets of objects that come with their own historical mysteries:• The Roman Dodecahedrons, which are bronze objects from the late Roman Empire that do not seem to have any identifiable use.• The Neolithic and Bronze Age Carved Stone Balls from Scotland.• The Stone Spheres of Costa Rica.• The Lewis Chessmen, a set of chess pieces found on the Isl...

This episode explores theories in Physical Cosmology and how Humankind has represented the universe since before the emergence of modern science, as well as alternative theories that were later abandoned: ·       The Ancient Greek and Medieval Theory of Spheres. ·       Heliocentric models of the 16th and 17th centuries, such as the one proposed by Copernicus. ·       The Steady-State Universe The...

Hatshepsut is one of the most famous pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, and not only because she was a woman. Her reign of more than twenty years was prosperous and saw an intense building activity that can still be admired, especially in Thebes (present-day Luxor). In tonight's story, I tell you about the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt and the Eighteenth Dynasty. We will see how a princess and regent like...

This bedtime story is for lovers of history and gothic atmosphere. In tonight’s talk, we explore the origins and multiple faces of two myths: Werewolves and Dragons. From Ancient Greece to China, Scandinavia to Egypt, we travel the world to discover the roots of their modern, fantasy, and fiction iterations. Welcome to Lights Out Library Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and...

We are returning to Ancient Egypt tonight, with an episode filled with mysteries. The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, by the archaeologist Howard Carter, captivated audiences around the world and represented a major find for egyptology. I will tell you about the tomb and some of the many artifacts discovered still intact when the chamber was opened in 1923, and also discuss the rumor...

In this new episode, I invite you to a journey from Earth to the Andromeda Galaxy; we will also explore Alpha Centauri, the Milky Way, the Canis Major Galaxy, and the intergalactic void. Along the way, I will tell you about gravitation, faster-than-light travel, wormholes, dark matter, the possibility of life in other parts of the universe and the Fermi Paradox. Venture through space as you drift...

The age of Atlantic ocean liners is mostly over, and these giants of the seas have evolved into cruise ships. In this ASMR bedtime story, I invite you to relive the epic of transatlantic passenger lines in the 19th and 20th centuries. I tell you the stories of famous liners: the RMS Titanic and her sister ships Olympic and Britannic, the RMS Lusitania and Mauretania, the SS Savannah, the SS Great...

Our sleepy episode tonight contains stories from Celtic Mythology, taken from the rich body of Irish myths. I tell you about the expansion, decline, and revival of ancient Celtic culture, which left its most important marks in the Northwest of Europe, especially in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany. We will relive colorful stories from the Ulster Cycle: Deirdre and...

In this episode, I explore with you the mysteries of various "out-of-place artifacts," which is to say, (allegedly) old objects that would challenge conventional chronology and/or the mainstream view of the technical advancement of ancient cultures. Forgeries, hoaxes, and pranks abound. I tell you about some of them like the Michigan Relics or the Crystal Skulls; they were fake but still are good...

Tonight we explore nuclear fusion as a reaction (the fusion of atom nuclei) and as a possible source of power. I tell you about the differences with fission, the fundamental forces that hold atoms together, why fusion of light nuclei liberates energy, what plasma is, how man-made fusion devices like tokamaks work, and many other things. I hope you enjoy this sleepy science story and fall into a pe...

In this sleepy bedtime history episode, I tell you about the History of the Great Wall, the "Ten-Thousand Mile Wall" (万里长城). Through it, we will explore the history of Ancient China from the birth of civilization around the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, to the Ming Dynasty, the last one to maintain and expand the Wall. Welcome to Lights Out Library Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight....

In this new episode for bedtime, I tell you two great myths from Ancient Greece: • The Story of Orpheus, the legendary poet and musician, and how he tried to rescue his wife Eurydice from the realm of Hades and Persephone. • The Story of Jason and the Argonauts, who embarked on the Argo on an epic quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece. In these stories we will meet numerous gods and other beings, li...

In this episode, I tell you about the history of the Phoenicians and their cities (Byblos, Tyre, Sidon...), including the most famous of all: Carthage. I discuss various topics, like the Late Bronze Age Collapse, Phoenician culture, religion, and society, what Canaan and the Levant are, how ancient maritime trade worked, the rise of Carthage and how the confrontation with Rome in the Punic Wars tu...

The Ninth Legion (Legio IX Hispana, also sometimes called the "Lost Legion") had a long history. It served under the command of Julius Caesar during the First Century BC, on the side of Octavian in the civil war against Mark Antony and Cleopatra, and was sent to Spain, Germania, Pannonia, and Britain. In Roman Britain, it fought against rebellions, including the rebellion of Queen Boudica in which...

This soft-spoken bedtime story is a journey to the discovery of exoplanets. We will visit some of them, like Proxima Centauri B, OTS 44 and Kepler 438b. I will also tell you about the different types of planets and stars, including stars that no longer shine like old white dwarfs or neutron stars; methods to discover planets that are invisible from Earth, like Transit Photometry or Doppler Spectro...

In these bedtime stories, I tell you three different myths from Ancient Greece: The story of Perseus, how he was conceived by Zeus and Danaë, went on an adventure to cut off the head of Medusa the Gorgon, and rescued Andromeda. The myth of the Labyrinth, built in Crete by Daedalus for King Minos to contain the Minotaur, and how Theseus slew it with the help of Ariadne. The myth of Prometheus, who...

In this soft-spoken sleepy bedtime story, I tell you about the History of Astrology: how it appeared as a discipline that was not formally separated from Astronomy across different cultures (Babylon, China, India, Egypt, Greece, the Islamic World, the Maya...), and how it evolved. Western Astrology, with its zodiac signs, birth charts, horoscopes, and individualized predictions, is a tradition tha...

This bedtime story takes us on a journey through time and space. We explore the appearance and evolution of life in Earth's oceans, from the first microorganisms and the diversification of life forms that happened during the Cambrian and Ordovician explosions, to our time.   Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to Prehistoric Oceans 05:05 How Oceans and Life Appeared on Earth 19:59 Cambrian Explosion 31:...

For tonight's talk, I invite you to explore the history of wine from the very beginning, including the history of famous wine regions like Bordeaux and Champagne. I explain the most important elements that distinguish the styles of wines, the varieties of grapes, and the terroirs, as well as a few tips about tasting, storage, and how to make the best of it!   Timestamps: 00:00 All About Wine 04:11...

For tonight, I tell you the stories of different "lost treasures" and other legends attached to: 1- The Knights Templar, a religious military order that emerged during the Crusades but became so wealthy and influential that it made powerful enemies; 2- The Cathars, a Christian sect from the 12th to 14th Centuries in Southern France and Northern Italy, which was persecuted until it disappeared; 3-...

Tonight, I tell you about several creation myths from the Apache and Navajo traditions, including the Kiowa Apache myth of Kuterastan and the Navajo Diné Bahaneʼ ("Story of the People"), in our usual relaxing and ASMR-ish style. We also discuss the historical roots of these peoples in the American Southwest and the north of Mexico, how they used to live, their linguistic connections across North A...