Travel back to the brutal world of the Mongol steppe and uncover the true story of Genghis Khan — from his childhood as Temüjin to his rise as the leader of the largest contiguous land empire in history.

This episode explores the real history behind the Mongol Empire, including tribal warfare, betrayal, survival, psychological warfare, and the terrifying military strategies that made the Mongols one of the most feared forces the world had ever seen.

Discover how a starving boy abandoned on the Mongolian steppe became the conqueror who destroyed empires, united the Mongols, and changed world history forever.

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of war, violence, murder, sexual violence, human suffering, and historical accounts of mass death connected to the Mongol conquests. Some descriptions may be disturbing to listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

Sources:

• Genghis Khan: The Secret History of the Mongols Docuseries from National Geographic
• Book: The Mongols by Timothy May
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971221000205
• https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-18/genghis-khan-dies
• https://historynet.com/genghis-khans-secrets-success/

This episode explores China’s One-Child Policy, one of the most controversial population control policies in modern history. We examine how it was enforced, the methods used by authorities, and the profound human cost experienced by families across the country.

Content Warning: This episode discusses the enforcement of China’s One-Child Policy, including forced abortions, sterilization, and the death of infants. Listener discretion is advised.

Sources

One Child: The Story of China's Most Radical Experiment by Mei Fong

Documentary: One Child Nation

Websites:

• https://www.britannica.com/topic/one-child-policy/Consequences-of-Chinas-one-child-policy
• https://www.npr.org/2021/06/21/1008656293/the-legacy-of-the-lasting-effects-of-chinas-1-child-policy#:~:text=%22The%20doctors%20would%20inject%20poison,remembers%20Lu%20Bilun%2C%20a%20resident.

• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-17181951

• https://chrissmith.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2012-07-09_continued_human_rights_attacks_on_families_in_china.pdf

• Chang, Gordon G.“SHRINKING CHINA: A Demographic Crisis.” World Affairs 178, no. 1, (2015): 35–41. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4355528
• Feng, Wang, BaochangGu, and Yong Cai. “The End of China’s One-Child Policy.” Studies in Family Planning 47, no. 1 (2016): 83–86. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24720399

• Hsia,Tao-Tai, Author, Constance A Johnson, and Issuing Body Library Of Congress. FarEastern Law Division. Populationcontrol in the People's Republic of China. [Washington, D.C.: Far Eastern Law Division, Law Library,Library of Congress, 1985] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019668313/

• Wang,Zhihe, Ming Yang, Jiaming Zhang, and Jiang Chang. “Ending an Era of Population Control in China: Was the One-Child Policy Ever Needed?” The American Journal of Economics and Sociology 75, no. 4 (2016): 929–79. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45129326
• Yuesheng, Sun, and Zhangling, Wei. “TheOne-Child Policy in China Today.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 18, no. 2 (1987):309–25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41601462

In January 1925, the remote town of Nome, Alaska faced a deadly outbreak of diphtheria—threatening to wipe out an entire community cut off by winter. With no way in or out, a desperate plan was launched: a 674-mile relay across frozen wilderness to deliver life-saving serum.

This is the true story of the 1925 Serum Run to Nome—a race against time through brutal blizzards, subzero temperatures, and near-impossible conditions. Led by legendary sled dogs like Balto and Togo, and the mushers who risked everything, this mission became one of the greatest rescue efforts in history.

But the story you think you know isn’t the whole truth.

Who really saved Nome? Why did one dog become a global hero while another was nearly forgotten? And what happened on the most dangerous stretch of the journey across the ice?

If you’re interested in history, survival stories, Arctic exploration, or untold true events, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

Content Warning: This episode contains descriptions of death from diphtheria, as well as accounts of humans and animals enduring extreme and life-threatening conditions.

Sources:

Book The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic by Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisbury

Websites

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diphtheria

https://www.alaskamushingschool.com/learn/1925-serum-run-to-nome/