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This Week in The World

History EN ↓ 33 episodes

From Myanmar to COVID and beyond!

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Episodes

The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower Twice 21.09.2026 13:50

In 1925, a smooth-talking Czech con artist read that the Eiffel Tower was in disrepair and saw an opportunity. Victor Lustig posed as a government official, invited six scrap metal dealers to a secret meeting, and successfully sold France's most iconic monument—not once, but twice. This is the story of the most brazen con in Parisian history.

The Lighthouse Wars: France vs. England's Battle to Build the Tallest Beam 06.09.2026 13:35

For decades, France and England turned lighthouse construction into a full-blown arms race of luminosity. From the cliffs of Brittany to the rocks of Cornwall, rival engineers invented revolutionary lens systems and built impossible towers, each trying to out-shine the other—literally—while saving thousands of sailors in the process.

Seven Islands That Switched Countries Without Anyone Moving 22.08.2026 15:06

Imagine going to sleep French and waking up American, or being Danish one day and Swedish the next—all without leaving your home. We're counting down seven remarkable islands whose residents became citizens of entirely different countries due to treaties, sales, and diplomatic deals, often discovering their new nationality by accident.

The Maharaja's Secret: How Bhupinder Singh Owned 365 Cars Before Anyone Else 06.08.2026 12:51

Long before Dubai's extravagance or Jay Leno's garage, an Indian prince owned a different car for every day of the year—including custom Rolls-Royces and a fleet that employed 300 people just to maintain it. This is the story of how Maharaja Bhupinder Singh became the world's most obsessive car collector in an era when most people had never even seen an automobile, and what happened to his legenda...

The Great Salt Rivalry: How the Himalayas and the Dead Sea Became Pink 17.07.2026 15:08

Both claim therapeutic powers, both shimmer in unexpected shades of pink, and both have been mined since ancient empires rose and fell. But the Himalayan salt phenomenon and the Dead Sea's mineral extraction industry took wildly different paths to global fame. We're diving into the surprising parallels between these two salty extremes on opposite sides of Asia.

Five Border Towns Where Two Countries Meet in Bizarre Ways 09.06.2026 15:16

From libraries where you check out books in one country and return them in another, to restaurants where your appetizer is served in a different nation than your dessert—these border towns redefine what it means to be international. We're counting down five places where geopolitical quirks create the most fascinating lived experiences.

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone's Unexpected Wolf Renaissance 25.05.2026 11:06

Thirty-seven years after the world's worst nuclear disaster, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has become an unexpected conservation success story. We explore how radiation, human absence, and resilient wolf packs have transformed this toxic wasteland into a thriving ecosystem that challenges everything we thought we knew about nature's ability to reclaim devastated landscapes.

History Around the World week Jan 7 07.01.2026 10:23

This Week in the World through time!

History Around the World 24.12.2025 11:13

This Week in the World through time!

Best of pt2 26.11.2025 10:28

This Week in the World best of episode!

Best of 11.11.2025 10:29

This Week in the World best of episode!

Science, Culture, and War - Wk 24 28.10.2025 10:22

Learn from history or repeat it

Science, Culture, and War - Wk 23 15.10.2025 10:21

Learn from history or repeat it