Tanner Talks About Stuff that Happened

In October of 1984, a news segment aired on BBC that galvanized the Western World in a fight against hunger in Ethiopia, leading to the single largest live music broadcast in history. How did it happen, and what was it like? I'll tell you. It was awesome.

It's one of the most beloved electronic companies in the world, but it's a bit older than you might think. Even... a century older.

In one of the most famous acts of protest in American history, a bunch of guys dressed up like Native Americans boarded a ship in the middle of the night and turned the Boston Harbor into a giant cup of tea. Why was this act of protest so pivotal? Let's examine.

In 1945, World War II came to an end, and the allies were victorious; but being allies didn't necessarily mean they were friends. Splitting the city of Berlin up between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies, the Soviet Union decided that they didn't like how the West was running things, so they established a monument that would forever be remembered as a symbol of division between the East and...

On December 17th, 2010, one man made a decision that would send shockwaves throughout the Arab World, creating a domino effect that would lead to the overthrows of several governments in North Africa and the Middle East. In this episode, we examine the causes and effects of the Arab Spring, the first historical event I've covered on this podcast that I remember living through.

In 1796, in his farewell address to the nation, George Washington expressly warned against the creation of political parties and factions in the United States. His warnings went unheeded, and today, two powerful political parties dominate the American political landscape. How did we get here?

In 1905, Tsar Nicholas II ordered Imperial Troops to stop a group of protestors from reaching his Winter Palace at any cost, in an event that would come to be known as "Bloody Sunday," which would set off a chain of events that would lead to the toppling of the Tsarist Monarchy, one of the bloodiest civil wars in history, and the creation of a nation that would eventually strike fear into the hear...

It's the most famous book in global history. Here are some things you might not know.

Phillip II didn't like Elizabeth I, so he decided to send the largest fleet ever assembled up to that point to invade England and topple her reign. It was a train wreck. How did it happen?

In April of 1961, a large group of Cuban defectors landed on the beaches of an area of Cuba known as the Bay of Pigs with the intention of challenging the regime of Fidel Castro, the new communist leader of the country. It went horribly wrong. How? I'll tell you.

Hitler declared that Nazi Germany was the "Third Reich," but what were the first two Reichs? What are their significance in the creation of German Nationalism? Why was Hitler able to create such a powerful empire in such a short time, and then have it dissolved as quickly as it rose? This is episode six in the Quarantine Chapters, and we're talking about Nazi Germany. Let's go.

On Christmas Day, 1776, with the fate of the United States of America hanging in the balance, George Washington ordered his band of ragtag soldiers across the freezing waters of the Delaware River, en route to the town of Trenton, leading to an event that would alter the historic timeline forever. In the fifth episode of the Quarantine Chapters, we examine the heroic Battle of Trenton, and the aft...

Beneath the fertile plains of Pakistan lies a mysterious city discovered in the 1920s that rewrote much of what we thought we knew about humanity's history. Who were they? Why were they there? Why did they leave? We may never know. In the fourth chapter of the Quarantine Chapters, we investigate one of the most mysterious settlements ever discovered: Mohenjo-Daro.

In the third episode of the Quarantine Files, we're exploring the Bubonic Plague, and the cause of it: Yersinia Pestis. In the years between 1347 and 1351, nearly 30% of the world population was killed by a microscopic bacteria that spread through much of the planet, but how long has that bacteria been around? 

On an early morning in April of 1906 in the Bay Area of California, a 7.9 earthquake rattled the city of San Francisco. Residents were shaken, but it was nothing they couldn't handle. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of their problems. What happened in the biggest catastrophe in San Francisco history? Let's find out, in the second episode of the Quarantine Chapters.

The first episode of the Quarantine Chapters, we take a swim in the Mediterranean and examine the events that transpired causing the accidental Spanish discovery of the American continents. How does the Byzantine Empire, once the Eastern Roman Empire, fit into all that? Well, it plays a bigger part than you might think by way of the Butterfly Effect.

Starting after World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union went bonkers with firing rockets into space. What happened? Let's figure it out.

We're going to travel to China in 1989, where a democratic movement ended in a brutal crackdown, followed by one of the most successful government cover-ups in recent history. What happened? Let's dive in.

Why did the British colonize Australia? When did it happen? And why did they send convicts? A brief crash-course on the events that led to the European colonization of what we now know as Australia, then called New South Wales.

Did the actions of one 19-year-old Serbian Nationalist lead to the deaths of more than 16 million people? How did it happen? WHY did it happen? Today we take a quick crash course on one of the most pivotal events of the 20th century -- the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo.

What happened during the Stock Market Crash of 1929? How does the Stock Market work? How did one day set off a chain of events leading to the Great Depression? I'm gonna give you the down low. Let's ride.

A quick run-down of what went down at Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York at the tail end of the Summer of Love.