The BrainFood Show

If you were to travel down the Rio Magdalena just north of the Columbian capital of Bogotá, you might just come across some rather out-of-place wildlife: a herd of African Hippopotamuses. The herd, which now numbers nearly 100, is descended from four individuals imported in the 1980s by notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, and kept in a private zoo on his estate in Puerto Triunfo. When Escobar was k...

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” So wrote Samuel Johnson, the famed 18th Century polymath and founder of the modern English dictionary. And indeed, London offers many delights for the discerning traveller, from the iconic Houses of Parliament and St. Paul’s Cathedral to the theatres of the West End, the fashionable shops of Soho, and the countless world-class museums covering...

People being unhappy with their job is not a rare occurrence. It is almost a given that, assuming you don’t work for me, there are many people in your office who want an exit as soon as possible, maybe even you. At some point, maybe you’ve even snapped and rebelled against your company overlords in some fashion. But as cool as you might have felt passive aggressively sending that urgent email thre...

Ah, the ice lair! From Superman’s Fortress of Solitude to Ozymandias’s Antarctic headquarters in Watchmen to the Rebel Alliance’s Echo Base on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, nothing quite exudes sophistication, rugged determination, or - pun intended - sheer cool than a hideout carved out of cold, hard snow and ice. But while certainly stylish and awesome, such sub-zero digs are surely the exclu...

The Cold War, lasting from the end of the Second World War in 1945 to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, was one of the most dangerous periods in human history. For nearly five decades, the communist East and capitalist West eyed each other suspiciously across the Iron Curtain, precariously balanced on the brink of nuclear Armageddon. Numerous intercontinental ballistic missiles sat ready i...

In today's episode, Gilles Messier and Daven Hiskey do a deep dive into Nikola Tesla's childhood and many of his rather peculiar oddities. In the mid-19th century, the Austrian Empire, which stretched for over a thousand miles (1600 km) from Italy to Ukraine, was a place of contradictions. The ruling patriarch, Minister of the Interior Baron Alexander von Bach, was on the one hand something of a d...

With their endless aisles, their bountiful racks chock full of discounted merchandise, Walmart stores have firmly wedged themselves into the hearts and minds of most Americans, especially within those neural circuits in charge of household budgeting. At this point, Walmart may as well be considered one of the great, all-American institutions, an essential fiber within the fabric of Star-Spangled c...

Discover the complex relationship between Nazi Germany and Japan during World War II. Learn about the Tripartite Pact, their conflicting ideologies, and the consequences of their loose alliance. Author: Daven Hiskey Host: Simon Whistler Sponsor note:  Give online therapy a try at ⁠betterhelp.com/BrainFoodShow⁠ and get on your way to being your best and happier self. Learn more about your ad choice...

Discover the untold story of Italian war crimes during WWII and why there was never an "Italian Nuremberg" to hold fascist officials accountable for their brutal actions. Author: Arnaldo Teodorani Host: Simon Whistler Editor: Daven Hiskey Sponsor note:  Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BrainFoodShow and get on your way to being your best and happier self. Learn more about your ad choice...

Explore the legendary Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the world's fastest military aircraft. Discover its groundbreaking design, thrilling history, and the incredible feats that made it an aviation icon. Author: Gilles Messier Host: Simon Whistler Editor: Daven Hiskey Sponsor note:  Give online therapy a try at ⁠betterhelp.com/BrainFoodShow⁠ and get on your way to being your best and happier self. Learn...

In the shadow of Moscow’s Kremlin Walls stands one of the most famous structures in all of Russia: a squat, austere-looking stepped pyramid, built of polished red porphyry. For decades, the balcony or tribune on the pyramid’s roof served as a stage of honour for Soviet and later Russian leaders to observe military parades on Red Square below. But what makes this imposing structure truly special is...

In today's episode of The BrainFood Show, Daven Hiskey dives into the surprisingly cool Presidential Library system, how it came to be and what they are actually for. This episode is brought to you in part by the City of Quincy. To discover more about Quincy, check out the link - https://discoverquincy.com Occasionally accused of being “Modern day Pyramids” or “Monuments to someone’s ego”, preside...

In this episode of The BrainFood Show, Simon Whistler dives into the surprising origins of the microwave oven, from Maxwell's electromagnetic waves to WWII radar tech. Dive into the science and history behind this kitchen staple’s unlikely invention! Author: Gilles Messier Host: Simon Whistler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode of The BrainFood Show, Daven Hiskey dives into how the pyramids were actually built. A quick tour on popular online video sharing platforms may convince you that ancient Egyptian builders were either Completely useless, and had to rely on Alien help, or They were incredibly advanced, and used power tools and lasers. Because … Atlantis, Tom Cruise, and Ice Road Truckers… These th...

In this episode of The BrainFood Show, Simon Whistler dives into the fascinating journey of the Wright Brothers, from failed flight attempts to their groundbreaking success in 1903, reshaping aviation history with persistence, innovation, and a methodical approach. Author: Gilles Messier Host: Simon Whistler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode of The BrainFood Show, Daven Hiskey dives into the incredible rise and fall of Howard Johnson's. This episode is brought to you by the City of Quincy. To discover more about Quincy, check out the link - https://discoverquincy.com In the modern world, if you step out your door and travel to neighboring cities or even countries, you’ll generally be greeted by a slew of familiar fo...

In this episode of The BrainFood Show, Simon Whistler dives into the fascinating reasons Christianity was able to so rapidly go from a tiny Jewish Cult to rule the Western World despite a whole lot of persecution in the interim of that insanely fast rise. Various religions have been popping up randomly seemingly as long as humans have been humaning- interestingly, not just with humans but our Nean...

In today's episode of The BrainFood Show, Daven Hiskey dives into the bizarre tradition of pickling and displaying communists. In the shadow of Moscow’s Kremlin Walls stands one of the most famous structures in all of Russia: a squat, austere-looking stepped pyramid, built of polished red porphyry. For decades, the balcony or tribune on the pyramid’s roof served as a stage of honour for Soviet and...

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, Simon Whistler and Daven Hiskey are looking at the difference between a number of things, kicking it off with the difference between hardwood and softwood.... which you'd think you already know, but we're guessing for most, you don't actually know the difference. :-) Up next we dive into a bunch of "difference betweens" such as the difference between fruits...

In this episode of The BrainFood Show, Simon Whistler dives into what the Aussie staple of Vegemite actually is, and how it came to be, and become a national treasure in the nation. Author: Gilles Messier Editor: Daven Hiskey Host: Simon Whistler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode of the BrainFood Show, Daven Hiskey does a deep dive into the oft' forgotten founding father, without whom there may have been no revolution and whose life was who Paul Revere was trying to save on his famous ride. “The troops of George the third have crossed the Atlantic, not to engage an enemy, but to assist a band of traitors in trampling on the rights and liberties of his mo...

On July 20, 1969, the world looked on in awe as 39-year-old astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped off a ladder of the Lunar Module Eagle and onto the surface of the moon, becoming the first human to set foot on a natural celestial object. This moment, watched on television by over 650 million people worldwide, has gone down in history as one of mankind’s greatest triumphs, redefining what humanity is c...

In today's BrainFood Show episode, we are discussing three rather inspirational business tails, starting with the extremely humble origins of the now many billion dollar behemoth in Heinz, then on to Karl's favorite all time script in the story of soft soap and the brilliant business man that gave it to us, and finally how an 8th grade dropout created one of the tastiest empires on Earth. Hosts: K...

On June 28, 1839, a ship departed Havana, Cuba en route to Puerto Principe. Along with a crew of 7, including two slaves serving as a cabin boy and ship’s cook, the vessel was also packed with cargo worth approximately $60,000, or about $1.7 million today. This included items ranging from wine, saddles, iron castings, mill rollers, fabrics, soap, leather goods, over 600 pounds of rice and many oth...

When Boris Yeltsin resigned as president of the Russian Federation, it was expected, but sudden. He resigned so his Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin could become president on January 1, 2000 – the start of the new millennium. Since then, Putin has been the most powerful man in Russia and one of the most powerful men in the world. Today that power has been felt worldwide as the war in the Ukraine rag...