Afleveringen

  • Was Ramune Invented in Scotland? (preview)

    Was Ramune Invented in Scotland? (preview)

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    Or was it invented in Paris to fight a rat infestation? Or was it accidentally made in India when they ran out of tonic to serve with gin?

    This month on the bonus episode of Seemingly Unrelated we are travelling all around the world to find out exactly who invented that sweet, bubbly, bev popular at all the Japanese vending machines but not with people who have arthritis.

    Joining this month is our resident beverage expert and owner of Walkie Talky Brewing it is Michael Johnstone and the co-host of the upcoming 3rd season of Seemingly Unrelated due to premiere June 23rd as well as a legendary puppeteer and overall good hang Alicia Britt.

    Bibliography:

    “Alexander Cameron Sim (1840-1900) - Find a Grave...” Accessed May 28, 2026. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24018772/alexander_cameron-sim.

    Ashcraft, Brian. “The History Of Ramune, Japan’s National Soda.” Japan. Kotaku, May 20, 2020. https://kotaku.com/the-history-of-ramune-japans-national-soda-1843559594.

    Auslin, Michael R. Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy. Harvard University Press, 2004. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv322v49n.

    Danovich, Tove. “How Lemonade Helped Paris Fend Off Plague And Other Surprising ‘Food Fights.’” Food History & Culture. NPR, March 12, 2017. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/03/12/519460915/how-lemonade-helped-paris-fend-off-plague-and-other-surprising-food-fights.

    Imperial War Museums. “Soft Drinks : Their Origins and History.” Accessed May 28, 2026. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1500049544.

    Mainichi Daily News. “Ramune: A Japanese Traditional Summer Soft Drink Is Making Waves Worldwide.” July 11, 2024. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240711/p2a/00m/0li/005000c.

    Small and Medium Enterprise Agency. “Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Business Enhancement Act.” Accessed May 28, 2026. https://www.chusho.meti.go.jp/sme_english/law/002.html.

    “Soft Drinks - Bottled by Design - Hull Museums Collections.” Accessed May 28, 2026. http://museumcollections.hullcc.gov.uk/collections/storydetail.php?irn=134&master=452.

    Spary, E. C. Eating the Enlightenment: Food and the Sciences in Paris, 1670-1760. University of Chicago Press, 2014. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/E/bo13412962.html.

    Watanabe, Hideo. Foreign Settlements and Modernization: The Cases of Yokohama and Kobe. 8, no. 4 (2018).

    Welford, Mark, and Brian Bossak. “Body Lice, Yersinia Pestis Orientalis, and Black Death.” Emerging Infectious Diseases 16, no. 10 (2010): 1649–51. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1610.100683.

    çŽ€äŒŠćœ‹ć±‹æ›žćș—ă‚Šă‚§ăƒ–ă‚čăƒˆă‚ąïœœă‚Șăƒłăƒ©ă‚€ăƒłæ›žćș—ïœœæœŹă€é›‘èȘŒăźé€šèČ©ă€é›»ć­æ›žç±ă‚čトケ. â€œăźă˜ăŽăæ–‡ćș« äœżćŸ’ăŸăĄă‚ˆçœ ă‚Œâ€•ç„žæˆžć€–ć›œäșșćą“ćœ°ç‰©èȘž.” Nojigiku Bunko: Sleep, O Apostles—The Story of the Kobe Foreigners’ Cemetery. Kinokuniya Bookstore Online, Magazine Subscriptions. Accessed May 28, 2026. https://www.kinokuniya.co.jp/f/dsg-01-9784875214472.

  • The Healing Power of Fake Creatures w/Phil W. Bayles (preview)

    The Healing Power of Fake Creatures w/Phil W. Bayles (preview)

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    What if Nessie helped discover the influenza virus? Or if Bigfoot was a willing test subject on the futile quest to cure the common cold? It's a shame that mythical creatures can't really help us cure diseases...or can they?

    On this month's bonus Seemingly Unrelated, guest presenter Phil W. Bayles will take us to the moon and back on the quest to find one cryptid that may have already saved your life...

    Bibliography:

    Branch, M.P. (2022). On the Trail of the Jackalope. Simon and Schuster.

    ‌Mythology.net. (2017). Jackalope - Description, History, Myths & Interpretations. [online] Available at: https://mythology.net/mythical-creatures/jackalope/.

    Native-languages.org. (2020). Native American Indian Rabbit Legends, Meaning and Symbolism from the Myths of Many Tribes. [online] Available at: https://www.native-languages.org/legends-rabbit.htm [Accessed 29 Apr. 2026].

    Shope, R.E. (1937). IMMUNIZATION OF RABBITS TO INFECTIOUS PAPILLOMATOSIS. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 65(2), pp.219–231. doi:https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.65.2.219.

    Simon, M. (2014). Fantastically Wrong: The Disturbing Reality That Spawned the Mythical Jackalope. [online] Wired. Available at: https://www.wired.com/2014/05/fantastically-wrong-jackalope/.

    World Health Organization (2024). Human papillomavirus and cancer. [online] World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/human-papilloma-virus-and-cancer.

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  • The Christmas Curse of Japan- Season 2 Finale! w/Alicia Britt

    The Christmas Curse of Japan- Season 2 Finale! w/Alicia Britt

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    Welcome to the season finale of Seemingly Unrelated! We've managed 46 episodes so far and we'll be returning in March with season 3 (bonus eps continually monthly patreon.com/seeminglyunrelated )

    To cap it off this festive season we'll be traveling to Japan where holidays like Christmas should seem to be unrelated already, but it gets even weirder. Why is there a Colonel Sanders dressed in a Santa Suit every December? What decidely un-Christian like business has its busiest day of the year on Dec 25th? More importantly: Who is Randy Bass and what has he got to do with buckets of Christmas Chicken?

    Joining us again is fan favorite co-host Alicia Britt to answer this secret blend of 11 secrets and spices and to tackle the most daunting mystery of them all: Is 7-11 actually from Asia?

    All this and more on the seasonally themed season finale of Seemingly Unrelated!

    Bibliography:

    ABC Premium News (Sydney, Australia). “Hanshin Tigers Lift Curse of the KFC Colonel Sanders with Nippon League Win: Sport Is Legendary for Its Curses — but Japanese Baseball Ended Its Most Famous One on Sunday When Hanshin Tigers Ended Its KFC Curse after 38 Years.” November 6, 2023. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2886356283/citation/9BAAA30148E74FE0PQ/1.

    “An Oklahoma Batter Makes Good - ProQuest.” Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.proquest.com/openview/6179071078ec9b3ff8e1e2e9a6ef5172/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1821452.

    Author, No. “KFC Cuts Queues to Keep Japan’s Fried Chicken Christmas Custom Alive.” The Japan Times, December 15, 2021. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/12/15/business/corporate-business/kfc-christmas-chicken-covid19/.

    Bryson, Megan. “Japan’s Laughing Buddha Hotei Is Merging into Santa Claus – Both Are Roly-Poly Sacred Figures with a Bag of Gifts.” The Conversation, December 12, 2022. https://doi.org/10.64628/AAI.53x7njr6k.

    Creighton, Millie R. “Maintaining Cultural Boundaries in Retailing: How Japanese Department Stores Domesticate ‘Things Foreign.’” Modern Asian Studies 25, no. 4 (1991): 675–709.

    Fater, Luke. “How a White Lie Gave Japan KFC for Christmas.” Atlas Obscura, 48:00 500. http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-is-japanese-kfc-christmas.

    “Hanshin Tigers History.” Accessed December 8, 2025. http://www2.gol.com/users/michaelo/History.html.

    Idell, Sacha. “Heisei: A History of Japan, 1989-2011.” New England Review (1990-) 39, no. 2 (2018): 148–59.

    “Japan: Ending the Curse of Colonel Sanders. - Document - Gale In Context: U.S. History.” Accessed December 8, 2025. https://go-gale-com.eznvcc.vccs.edu/ps/i.do?p=UHIC&u=viva2_nvcc&id=GALE%7CA197989795&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon&asid=506efe10.

    Japan Today. “Loy Weston Brings Kentucky Fried Chicken to 1970s Japan.” April 13, 2023. https://japantoday.com/category/features/when-they-opened-in-japan/loy-weston-brings-kentucky-fried-chicken-to-japan-in-1970.

    japansociology. “KFC and Christmas Cake – Christmas in Japan.” JAPANsociology, December 29, 2013. https://japansociology.com/2013/12/29/kfc-and-christmas-cake-christmas-in-japan/.

    Kawano, Kirsty. “The True Story of Why People in Japan Eat KFC at Christmas.” GaijinPot Blog, December 25, 2019. https://blog.gaijinpot.com/the-true-story-of-why-people-in-japan-eat-kfc-at-christmas/.

    Kimura, Junko, and Russell Belk. “Christmas in Japan: Globalization Versus Localization.” Consumption Markets & Culture 8, no. 3 (2005): 325–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253860500160361.

    pressmin, dir. Enterprise -- Colonel Comes to Japan (Kentucky Fried Chicken) -- 1981. 2016. 27:47. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwwmKcFVji8.

    “Proquest.Com/Docview/2886356283?accountid=12902&parentSessionId=u6SlSLvy6QM7STgI2J%2FqPF6QYqo%2FxuqatgX7wWJsI3c%3D.” Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2886356283?accountid=12902&parentSessionId=u6SlSLvy6QM7STgI2J%2FqPF6QYqo%2FxuqatgX7wWJsI3c%3D.

    ResearchGate. “Post-Bubble Japanese Department Stores: The Need to Search for New Paradigms.” Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334004922_Post-Bubble_Japanese_Department_Stores_The_Need_to_Search_for_New_Paradigms.

    Sok, Elizabeth. “Christmas Cakes in Japan: An Affectionate History.” Savvy Tokyo, December 21, 2022. https://savvytokyo.com/christmas-cakes-in-japan-an-affectionate-history/.

    Traphagan, John W., and L. Keith Brown. “Fast Food and Intergenerational Commensality in Japan: New Styles and Old Patterns.” Ethnology 41, no. 2 (2002): 119–34. https://doi.org/10.2307/4153002.

    äž€èˆŹç€Ÿć›Łæł•äșșæ—„æœŹé‡Žçƒæ©Ÿæ§‹. “ćčŽćșŠćˆ„成瞟 1985ćčŽ ă‚»ăƒłăƒˆăƒ©ăƒ«ăƒ»ăƒȘăƒŒă‚°.” Accessed December 8, 2025. http://npb.jp/bis/yearly/centralleague_1985.html.

  • Do Nutrition Labels Actually Tell Us Anything About Nutrition? w/Amy Weldon

    Do Nutrition Labels Actually Tell Us Anything About Nutrition? w/Amy Weldon

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    When you look at the back of the box of your favorite ready-to-eat meal, where does the list of macromolecules and daily requirements on the nutrition label come from? That's what we are going to find out this week on Seemingly Unrelated as we explore the unusually recent history of the nutrition label by asking: What did we do before we added these things in 1994? Why don't vitamins and minerals show up on every nutrition label? What role did World War II play in getting the governments of the world to take action on minimal nutrition? And why do the founders of vitamines [sic] Funk & McCollum sound like second rate musical writers?

    We're joined this week by the host of the Blue Collar White Coat podcast, she is a professional science communicator perfectly positioned to talk about the difficulties in translating hard science to public consumption it's Amy Weldon!

    Together we will find out the greatest mystery of all: Did a corpulant, Victorian undertaker trick us all into counting carbs from beyond the grave? Only here, on Seemingly Unrelated!

    Bibliography:

    Bibliography: “About William Banting, Author of Letter on Corpulence.” Accessed November 24, 2025. http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/banting.html.

    Atwater, W. O. Foods : Nutritive Value and Cost. With National Agricultural Library U. S. Department of Agriculture. Washington : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1894. http://archive.org/details/CAT87201446.

    “Elmer Verner McCollum — A Biographical Sketch (1879 — 1967).” The Journal of Nutrition 100, no. 1 (1970): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/100.1.1.

    “Funk, Casimir.” May 2, 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20060502084313/http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Biographies/MainBiographies/F/Funk/1.html.

    Gilman, Sander L. Diets and Dieting: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Routledge, 2008. Gujral, Unjali P., Mary Beth Weber, Lisa R. Staimez, and K. M. Venkat Narayan. “Diabetes Among Non-Overweight Individuals: An Emerging Public Health Challenge.” Current Diabetes Reports 18, no. 8 (2018): 60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-018-1017-1.

    Kellem, Betsy Golden. “The Portly Victorian Undertaker Who Launched the World’s First Low-Carb Craze.” Accessed November 24, 2025. https://www.narratively.com/p/the-portly-victorian-undertaker-who-launched-the-worlds-first-low-carb-craze.

    King, Paromita, Ian Peacock, and Richard Donnelly. “The UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS): Clinical and Therapeutic Implications for Type 2 Diabetes.” British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 48, no. 5 (1999): 643–48. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2125.1999.00092.x.

    LOWE, CHARLES U., DAVID BAIRD COURSIN, FELIX P. HEALD, et al. “COMMITTEE ON NUTRITION : PROPOSED CHANGES IN FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION REGULATIONS CONCERNING FORMULA PRODUCTS AND VITAMIN-MINERAL DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR INFANTS.” Pediatrics 40, no. 5 (1967): 916–22. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.40.5.916.

    Miller, Jaime. “‘Do You Bant?’ William Banting and Bantingism: A Cultural History of a Victorian Anti-Fat Aesthetic.” English Theses & Dissertations, ahead of print, July 1, 2014. https://doi.org/10.25777/xda4-7y41.

    Mozaffarian, Dariush, Irwin Rosenberg, and Ricardo Uauy. “History of Modern Nutrition Science—Implications for Current Research, Dietary Guidelines, and Food Policy.” Analysis. BMJ 361 (June 2018): k2392. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2392.

    “NATIONAL NUTRITION CONFERENCE FOR DEFENSE.” Journal of the American Medical Association 116, no. 23 (1941): 2598–99. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1941.02820230042013.

    Nhs.Uk. “Food Labels.” February 23, 2022. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-guidelines-and-food-labels/how-to-read-food-labels/.

    “Nutrition on the Home Front in World War II (U.S. National Park Service).” Accessed November 24, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/nutrition-on-the-home-front-in-world-war-ii.htm. Romm, Cari.

    “Vitamins Are a Waste of Money—And They’re Not Helping You, Anyway.” Health. The Atlantic, February 26, 2015. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/02/vitamin-bs/386126/.

    Simopoulos, Artemis P. “The Health Implications Of Overweight And Obesity.” Nutrition Reviews 43, no. 2 (1985): 33–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.1985.tb06850.x. SpringerLink.

    “Re-Appraising Claude Bernard’s Legacy.” Accessed November 24, 2025. https://link.springer.com/collections/aijdbaddaf.

    Taylor, Roy, and Rury R. Holman. “Normal Weight Individuals Who Develop Type 2 Diabetes: The Personal Fat Threshold.” Clinical Science (London, England: 1979) 128, no. 7 (2015): 405–10. https://doi.org/10.1042/CS20140553.

    Technical Guidance on Nutrition Labelling. n.d. Teicholz, Nina.

    “A Short History of Saturated Fat: The Making and Unmaking of a Scientific Consensus.” Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Obesity 30, no. 1 (2023): 65–71. https://doi.org/10.1097/MED.0000000000000791.

    “Wayback Machine.” December 30, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171230115051/

    https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/42215/5831_aib750b_1_.pdf.

  • Have Zoos Been Running the World for 4000 Years? w/Chris Mancini

    Have Zoos Been Running the World for 4000 Years? w/Chris Mancini

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    !!ALERT ALERT!! GO TO THE KICKSTARTER FOR WHITE CAT ENTERTAINMENT RIGHT NOW THE FUND ENDS FRI 14 NOV !!ALERT ALERT!!

    The gorilla enclosure seconds the motion to sanction the cave bats for their hoarding of fresh fruit resources. More like the Zoo-nited Nations amirite? I'll stop.

    On this episode we are diving into the other controversial history behind zoos as explore the ways in which zoos and zoo animals have been used in international diplomacy. Was the first ever zoo made up of trophies from conquest or a contemplative garden to debate the animalistic nature of man? Does the English heraldry actually feature three leopards instead of lions? How long is too long for a zoo to put animals in poorly maintained cages before someone intervenes? And of course, did a polar bear really go swimming in the Thames river every day?

    To help us answer these questions we must call upon podcasting veteran, director of the film Earbuds: The Podcasting Documentary and current media mogul at White Cat Entertainment it's Chris Mancini!

    He'll help us answer that most important question of all: What makes panda bears so damn popular and is it a secret conspiracy? All this and more will be answered this week on Seemingly Unrelated!

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Seemingly Unrelated is a podcast all about exploring how everyday things connect to major movements in history, politics and culture. Episodes drop every other week so subscribe to listen to more.

    Subscribe to the audio only version on: https://shows.acast.com/seemingly-unrelated

    Find the videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SeeminglyUnrelatedPod

    Want even more Seemingly Unrelated content? Get bonus episodes for as little as $2/month as well as the list of sources for this episode (free) on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SeeminglyUnrelated

    Follow us on the socials

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    Bibliography:

    “A Time For Loving: Part I - History Society & Culture.” October 17, 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20021017031111/http://www.femexplorers.com/article1027.html.

    “A Trip to Schönbrunn Zoo – Vienna Zoo.” Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.zoovienna.at/en/zoo-and-visitors/trip-schonbrunn-zoo/.

    Anderlini, Jamil. “Panda Politics: The Hard Truth about China’s Cuddliest Diplomat.” FT Magazine. Financial Times, November 2, 2017. https://www.ft.com/content/8a04a532-be92-11e7-9836-b25f8adaa111.

    BBC News. “China’s New Phase of Panda Diplomacy.” Science & Environment. September 24, 2013. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24161385.

    Bernstein, Thomas P. “Mao Zedong and the Famine of 1959–1960: A Study in Wilfulness.” The China Quarterly 186 (June 2006): 421–45. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741006000221.

    Brinkhof, Tim. “How ‘Kung Fu Panda’ Conquered China – And China Conquered Hollywood.” New Lines Magazine, March 20, 2024. https://newlinesmag.com/spotlight/how-kung-fu-panda-conquered-china-and-china-conquered-hollywood/.

    CBC. “Harper's China Visit Ends with Panda Pact.” CBC News, February 11, 2012. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/harper-s-china-visit-ends-with-panda-pact-1.1144815.

    Culture. “Who Was Hatshepsut?” November 8, 2025. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/hatshepsut.

    Docslib. “THE GARDEN of INTELLIGENCE Re; Forming the Denatured.” Accessed November 8, 2025. https://docslib.org/doc/2296835/the-garden-of-intelligence-re-forming-the-denatured.

    Grigson, Caroline, and Caroline Grigson. Menagerie: The History of Exotic Animals in England. Oxford University Press, 2018.

    GrrlScientist. “Pandanomics: What Is Giant Panda Conservation Worth? Billions Every Year.” Forbes. Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2018/06/29/pandanomics-what-is-giant-panda-conservation-worth-billions-every-year/.

    Heller, Chris. “How America Fell in Love With the Giant Panda.” Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-america-fell-love-giant-panda-180956692/.

    Historic Royal Palaces. “The Tower of London Menagerie.” Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-tower-of-london-menagerie/.

    “History of the Giant Panda.” Accessed November 8, 2025. https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?13588/History-of-the-Giant-Panda.

    Hoage, Robert J., and William A. Deiss. New Worlds, New Animals. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. https://doi.org/10.56021/9780801851100.

    Li, Xiaobing, and Xiansheng Tian. Evolution of Power: China’s Struggle, Survival, and Success. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2013.

    McShea, Bill. “Opinion | Five Myths about Pandas.” The Washington Post, August 28, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-pandas/2015/08/28/d4a96b1c-4bfe-11e5-bfb9-9736d04fc8e4_story.html.

    Patrick, Neil. “During the 18th Century, You Could Pay Your Admission to the Zoo in London by Bringing a Cat or a Dog to Feed the Lions. | The Vintage News.” Thevintagenews, September 3, 2016. https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/09/03/priority-18th-century-pay-admission-zoo-london-bringing-cat-dog-feed-lions/.

    Renner, Michael J. “Zoos and Aquariums Shift to a New Standard of ‘Animal Welfare’ That Depends on Deeper Understanding of Animals’ Lives.” The Conversation, January 4, 2022. https://doi.org/10.64628/AAI.jvu7d9f9u.

    ResearchGate. “Diplomats and Refugees: Panda Diplomacy, Soft ‘Cuddly’ Power, and the New Trajectory in Panda Conservation.” Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255981642_Diplomats_and_Refugees_Panda_Diplomacy_Soft_Cuddly_Power_and_the_New_Trajectory_in_Panda_Conservation.

    Reuters. “Explainer: What Is China’s Panda Diplomacy and How Does It Work?” China. June 18, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/what-is-chinas-panda-diplomacy-how-does-it-work-2024-06-18/.

    RSPCA. “Who We Are - RSPCA - Rspca.Org.Uk.” Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.rspca.org.uk/whatwedo/whoweare.

    Wang (SLN), Da Jun, Ronald Ray Swaisgood (Institute for Conservation Research San Diego Zoo Global), and Fuwen Wei. “IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Ailuropoda Melanoleuca.” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, April 11, 2016. https://www.iucnredlist.org/en.

    WWF-Australia. “What’s the Story behind the Panda Logo of WWF?” March 16, 2022. https://wwf-australia.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4512782833295-What-s-the-story-behind-the-panda-logo-of-WWF.

  • The True Terror Behind Witch Costumes

    The True Terror Behind Witch Costumes

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    It's the Seemingly Unrelated Spoooooktacular! We've got a terrifying and spinetingling episode for you this week as we look deep into the history of Witch iconography: the point hat, the broom, the black cat, not the nose though...the nose thing is just exactly what you think it is.

    Our guide through this spectre of deeply problematic horrors is in fact Michael Johnstone from Walkie Talky Brewing who has to take the reigns because of a Halloween curse placed on Andrew in 1987 that prevents him from leading on main feed spooky episodes.

    Michael is better placed for this one because we'll be tackling a popular internet question: Were witches actually just beer brewers who ran afoul of Christian anti-drinking sentiments?

    Find out as we repeat the same incantation as a woman around the cauldron did but get all the credit this Halloween on Seemingly Unrelated!

    Bibliography:

    BBC News. “The Vocabularist: What’s the Root of the Word Computer?” Magazine Monitor. February 2, 2016. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-35428300.

    Bennett, Judith M. Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women’s Work in a Changing World, 1300-1600. Oxford University Press, USA, 1996.

    Bhagat, Shaktibala Suraj Kr. Phyto-Filtration: A New Approach of Waste Water Treatment. 3, no. 2 (2013).

    braciatrix. “Nope, Medieval Alewives Aren’t The Archetype For The Modern Pop Culture Witch.” Braciatrix, October 27, 2017. https://braciatrix.com/2017/10/27/nope-medieval-alewives-arent-the-archetype-for-the-modern-pop-culture-witch/.

    Brooks, Laken. “Women Used to Dominate the Beer Industry – until the Witch Accusations Started Pouring In.” The Conversation, March 5, 2021. https://doi.org/10.64628/AAI.jre7vwvpy.

    DOL. “Most Common Occupations for Women in the Labor Force.” Accessed October 27, 2025. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/data/occupations/most-common-occupations-women-labor-force.

    Editor, Journal. “Where Are the Women? A Detailed History of Women in Computer Science and How It Impacts the Modern Day Industry.” Chicago-Kent | Journal of Intellectual Property, May 23, 2024. https://studentorgs.kentlaw.iit.edu/ckjip/where-are-the-women-a-detailed-history-of-women-in-computer-science-and-how-it-impacts-the-modern-day-industry/.

    Food & Wine. “Female Brewers Weren’t Accused of Witchcraft — but the Real Story Is Just as Infuriating.” Accessed October 27, 2025. https://www.foodandwine.com/women-brewers-witches-8736642.

    “How Women Brewsters Saved the World | Craft Beer & Brewing.” January 15, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20250115184101/https://beerandbrewing.com/how-women-brewsters-saved-the-world/.

    Levanon, Asaf, Paula England, and Paul Allison. “Occupational Feminization and Pay: Assessing Causal Dynamics Using 1950–2000 U.S. Census Data.” Social Forces 88, no. 2 (2009): 865–91. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0264.

    Miller, Claire Cain. “As Women Take Over a Male-Dominated Field, the Pay Drops.” The Upshot. The New York Times, March 18, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/upshot/as-women-take-over-a-male-dominated-field-the-pay-drops.html.

    “Most Influential Women Computer Scientists.” June 9, 2022. https://www.computerscience.org/resources/most-influential-women-computer-science/.

    Nikolajeva, Maria. “Devils, Demons, Familiars, Friends: Toward a Semiotics of Literary Cats.” Marvels & Tales 23, no. 2 (2009): 248–67.

    Nurin, Tara. “No, That Halloween Witch (Probably) Does Not Represent A Persecuted Beer Brewer.” Forbes. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/sites/taranurin/2021/10/30/no-that-halloween-witch-probably-does-not-represent-a-persecuted-beer-brewer/.

    Oldenziel, Ruth. “Making Technology Masculine: Men, Women, and Modern Machines in America, 1870-1945.” Bibliovault OAI Repository, the University of Chicago Press 106 (February 2001). https://doi.org/10.2307/2652289.

    PBS Eons, dir. What Was The First Beverage? 2024. 13:24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lusWU9zCRj0.

  • Was the 2008 Housing Collapse Predicted by Hollywood? w/Phil W. Bayles

    Was the 2008 Housing Collapse Predicted by Hollywood? w/Phil W. Bayles

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    We're talking about the very real and physical place that is Hollywood, CA on this episode of Seemingly Unrelated. Why are the hills around Los Angeles filled with the rich and famous while the valleys are home to much more socio-economic diversity? Did film studios set up shop in Hollywood because of the weather? Has the 9th circuit court of appeals been holding back patent law for 150 years? Were the seeds of the Great Recession sown in the Great Depression itself?

    We dig into these questions with our special guest co-host Phil W. Bayles!

    Plus, the most famous billboard in the world tricked us all into thinking it was a legitimate piece of history. All this week on a star studded episode of Seemingly Unrelated.

    Here are those wild 9th Circuit Cases I mentioned in the episode: Click Here or https://archive.org/details/gov.uscourts.f1.067/page/n611/mode/2up

    #Hollywood #RealEstateScam #Edendale #BoyleHeights #UniversalCity #ThomasEdison #Hollywoodhistory #historypodcast #podcast

    Bibliography

    Belderrain, De, and Francisca Lopez. “THE AWAKENING OF PAREDON BLANCO UNDER A CALIFORNIA SUN.” Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California 14, no. 1 (1928): 64–79. https://doi.org/10.2307/41168829.

    “Boyle Heights and Its ‘Pioneer Aristocrats’ – Boyle Heights Historical Society.” Accessed October 13, 2025. https://bhhsla.com/boyle-heights-and-its-pioneer-aristocrats/.

    “Boyle Hotel (Cummings Block).” LA Conservancy, n.d. Accessed October 13, 2025. https://www.laconservancy.org/learn/historic-places/boyle-hotel/.

    Chalmers Publishing Company. Moving Picture World (Jan-Jun 1910). With New York The Museum of Modern Art Library. New York, Chalmers Publishing Company, 1910. http://archive.org/details/movinwor06chal.

    Clinton, Craig. “Old Imprints- Southern California 1900-1935.” Old Imprints- Southern California 1900-1935, April 23, 2014. https://ilab.org/assets/catalogues/catalogs_files_1745_southerncaliforniarealestate_2014_04w.pdf.

    Edidin, Peter. “La-La Land: The Origins.” Week in Review. The New York Times, August 21, 2005. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/weekinreview/lala-land-the-origins.html.

    Electricity Magazine Corporation. Motography (Apr-Dec 1911). With MBRS Library of Congress. Electricity Magazine Corp., 1911. http://archive.org/details/motography56elec.

    “Federal Reporter (F1), Volume 067 : West Publishing : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive.” Accessed October 13, 2025. https://archive.org/details/gov.uscourts.f1.067/page/n611/mode/2up.

    Jewish Histories in Multiethnic Boyle Heights. “Jewish Histories in Multiethnic Boyle Heights: From Elite Suburb to Immigrant Enclave.” Accessed October 13, 2025. https://scalar.usc.edu/hc/jewish-histories-boyle-heights/from-elite-suburb-to-immigant-enclave.

    “Motion Picture Studios of California.” July 23, 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20060723010635/http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry/mpstud01.htm.

    Newspapers.Com. “Montpelier Morning Journal from Montpelier, Vermont.” February 3, 1913. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/404073993/.

    PBS SoCal. “This 1897 Film Was the First Movie Made in Los Angeles.” October 2, 2016. https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/this-1897-film-was-the-first-movie-made-in-los-angeles.

    “Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List.” Accessed October 13, 2025. https://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/B/BensKid1909.html.

    Swartz, Mark Evan. Oz before the Rainbow : L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” on Stage and Screen to 1939. With Internet Archive. Baltimore, Md. ; London : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. http://archive.org/details/ozbeforerainbowl0000swar.

    The Homestead Blog. “Boyle Heights at 150 Postview: ‘Bringing Boyle Heights to the Front as a Residence District,’ Los Angeles Herald, 3 June 1906, Part Three.” April 4, 2025. https://homesteadmuseum.blog/2025/04/03/boyle-heights-at-150-postview-bringing-boyle-heights-to-the-front-as-a-residence-district-los-angeles-herald-3-june-1906-part-three/.

    The New York Times. “TimesMachine: Saturday October 2, 1915 - NYTimes.Com.” n.d. Accessed October 13, 2025. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/10/02/issue.html.

  • "No amount of water can wash away genocide" w/ Ophira Gamliel

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    At the time of this episode's release we are in the middle of a 10 day period of reflection and piety for the Jewish people. The window between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is known as the 'High Holidays' to many. So, we at Seemingly Unrelated want to take this confluence of events where the High Holidays overlap with an extra 3rd episode of the show inside of a calendar month to put the spotlight on these holidays.

    What are the High Holidays about? Why are they celebrated so much in the home and not at the temple? How did the Jews of the Malabar coast in South India and the Egyptian god Anubis help shape the meaning of the word "atonement" during these Holidays? What does it mean to atone anyway and how does the shifting nature of that word reflect a flexible Jewish identity spread over thousands of years and bound to no single region of the world? These are the questions we set out to answer on this extra episode as well as to ask what atonement means for the High Holidays of 2025.

    To help guide us on our journey is our special guest and the person who will be leading the discussion while Andrew learns some new things, Dr. Ophira Gamliel. Ophira is a senior lecturer in religious studies at the University of Glasgow and author of Judaism in South India 849-1489: Relocating Malabar Jewry.

    If you are listening to this before Oct 2, we also think you'll appreciate this screening of The Rose of Ioannina that is definitely worth checking out.

    Bibliography:

    “Eyal Weizman ← Forensic Architecture.” Accessed September 28, 2025. https://forensic-architecture.org/about/team/member/eyal-weizman.

    Gamliel, Ophira. “Land Fetishism and Genocidal Iconoclasm.” Palestine/Israel Review, The Pennsylvania State University Press, September 2, 2025. https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/366001/.

    Gamliel, Ophira. Matrilineal Jews or Slave Descendants? Halakhic Laws and Trade Alliances in Medieval Malabar. Edited by Mahmood Kooria. Amsterdam University Press, 2024. https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/287725/.

    Google Arts & Culture. “A 13th-Century Manuscript Depicts an Eastern Muslim Boat from Maqamat al-Hariri.” Accessed September 28, 2025. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/a-13th-century-manuscript-depicts-an-eastern-muslim-boat-from-maqamat-al-hariri/pwHrty-7mcYEsw.

    Lambourn, Elizabeth A. “‘Things for the Cabin’: Inhabiting the Ocean.” Chapter. In Abraham’s Luggage: A Social Life of Things in the Medieval Indian Ocean World, 189–218. Asian Connections. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.

  • The Fast Food Craze that Built Your City w/Kobi Omenaka

    The Fast Food Craze that Built Your City w/Kobi Omenaka

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    If it's 2 am in Denver Colorado and you've been out partying all night, where will you go to fill up on some fast food to tide you over? Well, if it's 1858 the answer is: oyster bars. This week on Seemingly Unrelated we are cracking open the shell that hides the secret history of the oyster asking big questions like: How dangerous were oyster beds to early European colonists? Why does anyone know about Altoona, PA? HOW much did the US government spend on the transcontinental railroad?! What putrid Youtube rabbit hole has our guest fallen down recently? And of course, do oysters really get people excited or is it just the beverages we tend to pair with them?

    Our guest this week is a marketing guru and podcast producer/host of The Wire Stripped as well as Flixwatcher (both featuring Andrew as a guest in multiple episodes) it's Kobi Omenaka!

    All this plus: How McDonald's rebuilt the 11th busiest airport in the world, on Seemingly Unrelated!

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Seemingly Unrelated is a podcast all about exploring how everyday things connect to major movements in history, politics and culture. Episodes drop every other week so subscribe to listen to more.

    Subscribe to the audio only version on: https://shows.acast.com/seemingly-unrelated

    Find the videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SeeminglyUnrelatedPod

    Want even more Seemingly Unrelated content? Get bonus episodes for as little as $2/month as well as the list of sources for this episode (free) on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SeeminglyUnrelated

    Follow us on the socials

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    Bibliography:

    Ali, Rafat. ‘The 23 Grandest Amtrak Train Stations in America’. Skift, 26 October 2013. https://skift.com/2013/10/26/the-22-grandest-amtrak-train-stations-in-america/.

    Bill of Rights Institute. ‘Westward Expansion Migration US’. Accessed 15 September 2025. https://live-bri-dos.pantheonsite.io/essays/migration-west/.

    Burrows, Michelle. Oyster Nutrition Facts. n.d.

    ‘Cannery’. The Baltimore Museum of Industry, n.d. Accessed 15 September 2025. https://www.thebmi.org/exhibits/cannery/.

    Jennifer Bohnhoff. ‘A Short Inquiry into Canning, Oysters, and Christmas’. Accessed 15 September 2025. http://jenniferbohnhoff.com/3/post/2018/12/a-short-inquiry-into-canning-oysters-and-christmas.html.

    ‘Kuwait International Airport’. Airport Technology, n.d. Accessed 15 September 2025. https://www.airport-technology.com/projects/kuwait-international/.

    Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. ‘Traveling on the Overland Trails, 1843-1860 | National Expansion and Reform, 1815 - 1880 | U.S. History Primary Source Timeline | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress’. Web page. Accessed 15 September 2025. https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/national-expansion-and-reform-1815-1880/traveling-on-the-overland-trails-1843-1860/.

    Maryland, Preservation. ‘This Day in History: Chartering of the B&O Railroad’. Preservation Maryland, 28 February 2022. https://preservationmaryland.org/this-day-in-history-chartering-of-the-bo-railroad/.

    ‘OYSTERS AND TYPHOID’. Journal of the American Medical Association 84, no. 4 (1925): 286–87. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1925.02660300044015.

    Program, Campus Archaeology. ‘The Great Oyster Craze: Why 19th Century Americans Loved Oysters’. MSU Campus Archaeology Program, 23 February 2017. https://campusarch.msu.edu/?p=4962.

    Stover, John F. History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Purdue University Press, 1987.

    University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. ‘History of Oysters’. 18 September 2017. https://www.umces.edu/oysters/history.

    Virginia Institute of Marine Science. ‘History of Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay’. Accessed 15 September 2025. https://www.vims.edu/research/units/labgroups/molluscan_ecology/archive/vorhf/introduction/.

  • Who Actually

    Who Actually "Discovered" America? Why Do We Care? w/Dan Walker Seemingly Unrelated S2E9

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    Up front this is just about which Europeans landed on the Americas first and set up shop. The actual answer beyond that is no one and there are many peoples and histories that populate both continents for millenia before any Europeans managed to cross the Atlantic (or vice-versa?).

    Either way, we are digging into the major competing narratives about which White guys traveled where to get at the heart of the question: Who cares? Along the way we'll talk about: Was the inventor of baking powder the most annoying person in Massachusetts? Should all Italian-American stereotypes really have a Louisiana accent instead of Long Island? Where the ancestors of the Pilgrims all Scandanavian? And why are researchers dedicated to making organ transplants more successful so obsessed with a guy on a raft sailing to Easter Island?

    Our guest co-host this week is a professional armorer and safety manager as well as a pretty radically nice guy, it is Dan Walker (no link because he does not exist online for you)

    All of this plus, why are people so obsessed with finding heroes in the history of European colonial expan...on right...no that one actually makes sense on the face of it...this week on Seemingly Unrelated!

    #Columbus #Vikings #ThorHeyerdahl #Yikes

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    Seemingly Unrelated is a podcast all about exploring how everyday things connect to major movements in history, politics and culture. Episodes drop every other week so subscribe to listen to more.

    Subscribe to the audio only version on: https://shows.acast.com/seemingly-unrelated

    Find the videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SeeminglyUnrelatedPod

    Want even more Seemingly Unrelated content? Get bonus episodes for as little as $2/month as well as the list of sources for this episode (free) on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SeeminglyUnrelated

    Follow us on the socials

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    Bibliography:

    Holton, Graham E. L. ‘Heyerdahl’s Kon Tiki Theory and the Denial of the Indigenous Past’. Anthropological Forum 14, no. 2 (2004): 163–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/0066467042000238976.

    ‘Horsford’s Vikings of New England, Pt. 2 | Beehive’. Accessed 1 September 2025. https://www.masshist.org/beehiveblog/2024/06/horsfords-vikings-of-new-england-pt-2/.

    Ingstad, Helge, and Anne Stine Ingstad. The Viking Discovery of America: The Excavation of a Norse Settlement in L’Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland. Breakwater Books, 2000.

    Ledger, Paul M., Linus Girdland-Flink, and VĂ©ronique Forbes. ‘New Horizons at L’Anse Aux Meadows’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 116, no. 31 (2019): 15341–43. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1907986116.

    Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. ‘Today in History - October 12’. Web page. Accessed 1 September 2025. https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/october-12/.

    Marinaro, Melissa E. ‘This Is the Real History of Columbus Day’. Teen Vogue, 14 October 2024. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/origin-of-columbus-day-america.

    Moreno-Mayar, J. Víctor, Simon Rasmussen, Andaine Seguin-Orlando, et al. ‘Genome-Wide Ancestry Patterns in Rapanui Suggest Pre-European Admixture with Native Americans’. Current Biology 24, no. 21 (2014): 2518–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.057.

    Reader, The MIT Press. ‘A Colorful History of Baking Powder (And Its Unlikely Inventor)’. The MIT Press Reader, 14 December 2022. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/colorful-history-of-baking-powder-and-its-unlikely-inventor/.

    Tyler-Smith, Chris. ‘Human Genetics: Pre-Columbian Pacific Contact’. Current Biology 24, no. 21 (2014): R1038–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.019.

  • How Fables Defeated the Roman Empire. Seemingly Unrelated S2E8 w/Alicia Britt

    How Fables Defeated the Roman Empire. Seemingly Unrelated S2E8 w/Alicia Britt

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    How could the Three Little Pigs have stopped the most powerful military of the 1st century BCE? That's what we set out to explore on this episode of Seemingly Unrelated where we dive into the history of steel making, story telling, and how they connect the Battle of Carrhae with learning to code in Python.

    Our guest co-host this week is puppeteer extoridanaire Alicia Britt!

    We'll be asking the big questions this week like: How do you court an armorer? What is so common about the 'Common Era?' Which real time strategy game unit works best against the Roman legions? As well as, could Rumpelstiltskin spin you a website made of gold?

    All these questions and the secret anti-capitalist lesson of the Three Little Pigs this week on Seemingly Unrelated.

    Visit codestorytelling.com for more about learning how to code through story telling

    #fables #history #historypodcast #steel #armor #Rome #Parthia #Aesop #fairytales

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    Seemingly Unrelated is a podcast all about exploring how everyday things connect to major movements in history, politics and culture. Episodes drop every other week so subscribe to listen to more.

    Subscribe to the audio only version on: https://shows.acast.com/seemingly-unrelated

    Find the videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SeeminglyUnrelatedPod

    Want even more Seemingly Unrelated content? Get bonus episodes for as little as $2/month as well as the list of sources for this episode (free) on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SeeminglyUnrelated

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    Bibliography:
    Albritton, Andrew, and James Philpot. ‘Aesop’s Fables as a Financial Planning Communication Tool’. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, SAGE Publications Inc, 20 November 2024, 23294906241299102. https://doi.org/10.1177/23294906241299102.

    Alex, Beatrice, Clare Llewellyn, Pawel Orzechowski, and Maria Boutchkova. ‘The Online Pivot: Lessons Learned from Teaching a Text and Data Mining Course in Lockdown, Enhancing Online Teaching with Pair Programming and Digital Badges’. Proceedings of the Fifth Workshop on Teaching NLP, Association for Computational Linguistics, 26 May 2021, 138–48. https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/the-online-pivot-lessons-learned-from-teaching-a-text-and-data-mi.

    Code Storytelling: Learn Programming as a Storytelling Exercise. ‘Code Storytelling - Learn Programming as a Storytelling Exercise’. Accessed 18 August 2025. http://www.codestorytelling.com/.

    Elia, Antonella, and Antonella Elia. ‘Fables and ICT: Intercultural Communication and E-Language Teaching.’ Journal of Intercultural Communication 7, no. 2 (2007): 1012. https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v7i2.436.

    Fowlkes-Childs, Blair, and Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. ‘The Parthian Empire (247 B.C.–224 A.D.) - The Metropolitan Museum of Art’. 1 October 2000. https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/the-parthian-empire-247-b-c-224-a-d.

    Humpherys, Sean L., and Jeffry Babb. ‘Using Folklore, Fables, and Storytelling as a Pedagogical Tool in Assessment Exams’. Information Systems Education Journal 18, no. 5 (2020): 34–53.

    Manning. Ancient And Mediaeval India Vol. 2. 1869. http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.38309.

    Mishra, Ravi K. ‘The “Silk Road”: Historical Perspectives and Modern Constructions’. Indian Historical Review 47, no. 1 (2020): 21–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/0376983620922431.

    Park, J.-S., K. Rajan, and R. Ramesh. ‘High-Carbon Steel and Ancient Sword-Making as Observed in a Double-Edged Sword from an Iron Age Megalithic Burial in Tamil Nadu, India’. Archaeometry 62, no. 1 (2020): 68–80. https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12503.

    ‘Parthia - Livius’. Accessed 18 August 2025. https://www.livius.org/articles/place/parthia/.

    Popular Mechanics. ‘The Entire History of Steel’. 9 July 2018. https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a20722505/history-of-steel/.

    Setiawan, Rahmat, Ferra Dian Andanty, Titah Kinasih, Meytha Dwi Kurnia, and Dolmat Doyat. ‘Revolution in Fable Universe: Introducing Technology in Children’s Literature’. EBONY: Journal of English Language Teaching, Linguistics, and Literature 5, no. 2 (2025): 150–67. https://doi.org/10.37304/ebony.v5i2.20217.

    Sevillano-LĂłpez, David. Mining and Minerals Trade on the Silk Road to the Ancient Literary Sources: 2 BC to 10 AD Centuries. 17 February 2013. https://www.academia.edu/2591044/Mining_and_minerals_trade_on_the_Silk_Road_to_the_ancient_literary_sources_2_BC_to_10_AD_Centuries.

    ‘The History of the Parthians’. Digital Maps of the Ancient World, 4 June 2024. https://digitalmapsoftheancientworld.com/ancient-history/the-history-of-the-parthians/.

    Valente, Andrea, and Emanuela Marchetti. ‘Fables for Teachers and Pupils’. In Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Designing Learning Experiences, edited by Panayiotis Zaphiris and Andri Ioannou. Springer International Publishing, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21814-0_16.

    Whitfield, Susan. Silk, Slaves, and Stupas: Material Culture of the Silk Road. Univ of California Press, 2018.

    WoĆșniak, Marek. ‘INDIAN STEEL A FORGOTTEN COMMODITY OF THE GREAT TRADE ROUTES’. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 1, no. XXIV (2015): 709–26.

    Image Source: https://sogdians.si.edu/orlat-plaque/

  • In Defense of Twinkies- Seemingly Unrelated S2E7- w/Michael Johnstone

    In Defense of Twinkies- Seemingly Unrelated S2E7- w/Michael Johnstone

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    This week on Seemingly Unrelated pod we are getting into the villain's origin story behind the most USA of all snack cakes: Twinkies. Love them, or fear them, the twinkie looms large in the US imagination and in the vision of the US from around the world. It represents all things the USA loves: soft golden hydrogenated fats and corn syrup that is pure and white at its core.

    We're joined this week to help explore the depths of snack cake depravity by the owner of Walkie Talky Brewing in Leith, Scotland and long time food industry expert Michael Johnstone!

    But how did the twinkie rise above the competition to become so famous/infamous? We'll find out on this episode and answer some seemingly unrelated questions along the way like: Why is the Twinkie called a Twinkie and does that have anything to do with the LGBT+ community? What flavour is a Twinkie meant to be anyway? Can eating too many Twinkies drive you to the edge of sanity? Is the Twinkie healthier than unprocessed roadkill?

    All these questions plus the life and times of Harvey Milk on this king sized snack of an episode of Seemingly Unrelated!

    #Twinkie #HarveyMilk #Twinkiedefense @hostess_snacks

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Seemingly Unrelated is a podcast all about exploring how everyday things connect to major movements in history, politics and culture. Episodes drop every other week so subscribe to listen to more.


    Subscribe to the audio only version on: https://shows.acast.com/seemingly-unrelated

    Find the videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SeeminglyUnrelatedPod

    Want even more Seemingly Unrelated content? Get bonus episodes for as little as $2/month as well as the list of sources for this episode (free) on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SeeminglyUnrelated

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    Bibliography:
    ‘Banana Twinkies: Made With Real Bananas -- In the 1930s - CBS News’. 25 March 2011. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-44042780/banana-twinkies-made-with-real-bananas----in-the-1930s/.

    Cargile, Clint. ‘This Week In Illinois History: Birth Of The Twinkie (April 6, 1930)’. Northern Public Radio: WNIJ and WNIU, 5 April 2021. https://www.northernpublicradio.org/education/2021-04-05/this-week-in-illinois-history-birth-of-the-twinkie-april-6-1930.

    Ettlinger, Steve. Twinkie, Deconstructed : My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated into What America Eats. With Internet Archive. New York, NY : Plume, 2008. http://archive.org/details/twinkiedeconstru00stev.

    Godoy, Maria. ‘The Science Of Twinkies: How Do They Last So Darned Long?’ Producers. NPR, 10 July 2013. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/07/09/200465360/the-science-of-twinkies-how-do-they-last-so-long.

    Gordon, Rachel. ‘“It Was a Day of Infamy”: Dianne Feinstein Recounts Harvey Milk, George Moscone Killings’. SFGATE, 26 November 2008. https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/feinstein-recalls-s-f-s-day-of-infamy-3260395.php.

    ‘Gun Control, Assault Weapons Ban a Major Part of Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Legacy - CBS San Francisco’. 29 September 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/sen-dianne-feinstein-gun-control-assault-weapons-ban-legacy/.

    History, Sunnyside. ‘George R Reilly and the First LGBTQ Legal Victory in US History’. Sunnyside History Project, 19 October 2018. https://sunnysidehistory.org/2018/10/18/george-r-reilly-and-first-lgbt-legal-victory/.

    ‘Hostess Closing Bakery That Created the Twinkie: Associated Press Business News - MSN Money’. 23 August 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140823164810/http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20140821&id=17875582.

    John D’Emilio. Making Trouble. With Internet Archive. Routledge, 1992. http://archive.org/details/makingtroubleess00demi.

    Logan, Alan C., Christopher R. D’Adamo, Joseph E. Pizzorno, and Susan L. Prescott. ‘“Food Faddists and Pseudoscientists!”: Reflections on the History of Resistance to Ultra-Processed Foods’. EXPLORE 20, no. 4 (2024): 470–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2023.12.014.

    Los Angeles Times. ‘Man Who Concocted the Twinkie Dies : James A. Dewar’s Treat Is Part of America’s Diet and Folklore’. 3 July 1985. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-03-me-10272-story.html.

    Pogash, Carol. ‘Myth of the “Twinkie Defense” / The Verdict in the Dan White Case Wasn’t Based on His Ingestion of Junk Food’. SFGATE, 23 November 2003. https://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Myth-of-the-Twinkie-defense-The-verdict-in-2511152.php.

    Reuter, Donald F. Gay-2-Zee: A Dictionary of Sex, Subtext, and the Sublime. St. Martin’s Press, 2006.

    Stryker, Susan, and Jim Van Buskirk. Gay by the Bay: A History of Queer Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area. Chronicle Books, 1996.

    Talbot, David. Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror and Deliverance in the City of Love. Simon and Schuster, 2012.

    ‘Twinkies, 75 Years And Counting (Washingtonpost.Com)’. Accessed 2 August 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46062-2005Apr12.html.

    White Night Riot. 1979. 44". http://archive.org/details/ssfWhitent1.

  • Did Hamsters Win World War II? w/ Dr. Rianna Walcott

    Did Hamsters Win World War II? w/ Dr. Rianna Walcott

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    Protect yourself from invasion get a breeding pair of hamsters, today! This week on Seemingly Unrelated we are deep diving into the history of the cutest widdle guys you have witnessed do unspeakable acts for unknown reasons to find out why exactly did we start keeping these rodents as pets?

    Our special guest this episode is Dr. Rianna Walcott Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Maryland, and Associate Director of the Black Communication and Technology (BCaT) Lab.

    To get to the origin of the pet hamster we have to answer some questions that really do seem completely unrelated like: Why are hamsters always running around at 2am? Is the arabic name for hamsters a major influence on the Dune novels? Are all pet hamsters actually siblings? and were hamsters the secret weapon in the allied invasion of Italy?

    All these questions will be folded up into a tiny burrito and stuffed into your cheeks plus the haunting issue of how many hamsters can one man fit into a lab coat before they all escape? This week on an endless exercise wheel of futility called Seemingly Unrelated.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Seemingly Unrelated is a podcast all about exploring how everyday things connect to major movements in history, politics and culture. Episodes drop every other week so subscribe to listen to more.

    đŸŽ” Subscribe to the audio only version on: https://shows.acast.com/seemingly-unrelated

    đŸ“œïž Find the videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SeeminglyUnrelatedPod

    🎰 Want even more Seemingly Unrelated content? Get bonus episodes for as little as $2/month as well as the list of sources for this episode (free) on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SeeminglyUnrelated

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    Bibliography:

    Barrie, Anmarie. Hamsters: As a New Pet. T.F.H. Publications, 1990.

    Bartlett, Patricia Pope. The Hamster Handbook. Barron’s, 2003.

    CDC. ‘About Leishmaniasis’. Leishmaniasis, 11 March 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/leishmaniasis/about/index.html.

    ‘Dashing Hamsters: History of Hamsters’. Dashing Hamsters, n.d. Accessed 21 July 2025. https://dashinghamsters.blogspot.com/p/history-of-hamster.html.

    Goodwin, Leonard, and Gordon Wolstenholme. Dr Leonard Goodwin CMG FRS in Interview with Sir Gordon Wolstenholme: Interview 2. 2017. https://doi.org/10.24384/000457.

    ‘Hamster, n. Meanings, Etymology and More | Oxford English Dictionary’. Accessed 21 July 2025. https://www.oed.com/dictionary/hamster_n.

    ‘History’. Accessed 21 July 2025. https://achh.army.mil/history/book-wwii-internalmedicinevoliii-chapter1.

    ‘National Hamster Council’. Accessed 21 July 2025. https://hamsters-uk.org/.

    Orndorff, George R., Michalle Maroli, Barbara Cooper, and Steven E. Rankin. ‘Leishmaniasis in Sicily (Italy): An Investigation of the Distribution and Prevalence of Phlebotomine Sandflies in Catania Province’. Military Medicine 167, no. 9 (2002): 715–18. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/167.9.715.

    Pages, F., M. Faulde, E. Orlandi-Pradines, and P. Parola. ‘The Past and Present Threat of Vector-Borne Diseases in Deployed Troops’. Clinical Microbiology and Infection 16, no. 3 (2010): 209–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-0691.2009.03132.x.

    Peaker, Malcolm, and Dame Bridget M. Ogilvie. ‘Leonard George Goodwin. 11 July 1915—25 November 2008’. Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 71 (April 2021): 213–27. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2020.0050.

    Siegel, Harold I., ed. The Hamster. Springer US, 1985. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0815-8.

    Smithsonian Magazine. ‘The Untold Story of the Hamster, a.k.a Mr. Saddlebags’. Accessed 21 July 2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-untold-story-of-the-hamster-aka-mr-saddlebags-1223774/.

    The Telegraph. ‘Leonard Goodwin’. 14 January 2009. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/4241645/Leonard-Goodwin.html.

  • Panic! At the AI Apoc@lyp$e... Seemingly Unrelated S2E6 w/Franklin Johnstone Didymus

    Panic! At the AI Apoc@lyp$e... Seemingly Unrelated S2E6 w/Franklin Johnstone Didymus

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    There are so many chicken little's these days decrying the downfall of man at the hands of Large Language Models. There are also, a lot of grifters taking advantage of that panic to line their wallets or just feel alive if only for a moment. Which is why we are here to fight that misinformation and identify the Seemingly Unrelated truths behind the myths and fears around artificial intelligence.

    Joining us this week is a guest host for the first time. They are a researcher into health's role in homelessness prevention as well as a veteran front line mental health nurse from the Covid-19 pandemic it is Franklin Johnstone Didymus!

    Alongside Frank, we will tackle the big questions like: Is the uncanny valley real, or just ableist nonsense? Was General Ned Ludd the figment of the polices' imagination? Is the Terminator less scary than the second coming of Christ? And of course...do people stop fearing AI the minute they realize they want to have sex with it?

    These questions and the unusual feelings everyone has for Spirit the horse this week on Seemingly Unrelated!

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Seemingly Unrelated is a podcast all about exploring how everyday things connect to major movements in history, politics and culture. Episodes drop every other week so subscribe to listen to more.


    đŸŽ” Subscribe to the audio only version on: https://shows.acast.com/seemingly-unrelated

    đŸ“œïž Find the videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SeeminglyUnrelatedPod

    🎰 Want even more Seemingly Unrelated content? Get bonus episodes for as little as $2/month as well as the list of sources for this episode (free) on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SeeminglyUnrelated

    Follow us on the socials

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    Bibliography (so you know we did the research):

    The National Archives, “The National Archives - Homepage,” text, The National Archives (blog) (The National Archives), accessed July 7, 2025, https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/why-did-the-luddites-protest/;

    Tyler J. Burleigh and Jordan R. Schoenherr, “A Reappraisal of the Uncanny Valley: Categorical Perception or Frequency-Based Sensitization?,” Frontiers in Psychology 5 (January 21, 2015), https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01488;

    Richard Conniff, “What the Luddites Really Fought Against,” Smithsonian Magazine, accessed July 7, 2025, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-really-fought-against-264412/;

    Clarke Garrett, Introduction: Historians and the Millennium (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019), https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/oa_monograph/chapter/2391138;

    Boyoung Kim, Ewart de Visser, and Elizabeth Phillips, “Two Uncanny Valleys: Re-Evaluating the Uncanny Valley across the Full Spectrum of Real-World Human-like Robots,” Computers in Human Behavior 135 (October 1, 2022): 107340, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107340;

    Masahiro Mori, “Does a Robot Have Buddhanature?,” Tricycle: The Buddhist Review (blog), March 21, 2023, https://tricycle.org/article/robot-buddhanature/;

    Annalee Newitz, “Is the ‘Uncanny Valley’ a Myth?,” Gizmodo (blog), September 3, 2013, https://gizmodo.com/is-the-uncanny-valley-a-myth-1239355550;

    Judith Wolfe and Judith Wolfe, Heidegger’s Eschatology: Theological Horizons in Martin Heidegger’s Early Work, Oxford Theology and Religion Monographs (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2015);

    “A Brief History of AI: How We Got Here and Where We Are Going | University of Portsmouth,” accessed July 7, 2025, https://www.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs/blogs/developing-enhanced-technologies/a-brief-history-of-ai-how-we-got-here-and-where-we-are-going;

    “Alan Turing’s Forgotten Ideas in Computer Science on JSTOR,” accessed July 7, 2025, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26058180;

    “Artificial Intelligence (AI) Coined at Dartmouth | Dartmouth,” accessed July 7, 2025, https://home.dartmouth.edu/about/artificial-intelligence-ai-coined-dartmouth;

    “III. Realism, the Uncanny Valley and Stylistic Solutions · Designing Embodied Conversational Interface Agents,” accessed July 7, 2025, https://kathrynisabelle.com/;

    “Millenarianism,” CDAMM, accessed July 7, 2025, https://www.cdamm.org/articles/millenarianism;

    “‘Millennial Hopes and Fears: Great Britain, 1780-1960’ by Hugh Dunton,” accessed July 7, 2025, https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/auss/vol37/iss2/46/;

    “The History of AI - Everything You Need to Know,” Scottish AI Alliance, accessed July 7, 2025, https://www.scottishai.com/news/the-history-of-ai;

    “The History of the Uncanny Valley? — Crooked Timber,” accessed July 7, 2025, https://crookedtimber.org/2018/04/09/the-history-of-the-uncanny-valley/;

    “‘Writings of the Luddites’ by Kevin Binfield,” accessed July 7, 2025, https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/faculty/284/.

  • Could Mickey Make Insulin Cheaper?

    Could Mickey Make Insulin Cheaper?

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    The 'House of Mouse' is a very litigious one which is why we are super wary about this week's episode of Seemingly Unrelated. We're taking a look at the very origins of both Disney the company and intellectual property rights on a journey to find out if Mickey himself might have had an impact on the cost of some prescription drugs. Along the way we'll take a journey by sea to solve the mystery of calculating longitude, laugh and cry alongside the tragically short life of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and ask the question: what does Sonny Bono have to do with any of this?

    All this and a lesson in how clocks work on what is quite possibly the most seemingly unrelated topic of any episode of Seemingly Unrelated the podcast!

    All these questions and more will be explored, at least until the South Korean government shuts this podcast down, on Seemingly Unrelated!

    Subscribe to the audio only version on: https://shows.acast.com/seemingly-unrelated

    Find the videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SeeminglyUnrelatedPod

    Want even more Seemingly Unrelated content? Get bonus episodes for as little as $2/month as well as the list of sources for this episode (free) on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SeeminglyUnrelated

    Bibliography:

    Bracha, Oren. Owning Ideas: The Intellectual Origins of American Intellectual Property, 1790–1909. Cambridge Historical Studies in American Law and Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511843235.

    Burton, M. Diane, and Tom Nicholas. ‘Prizes, Patents and the Search for Longitude’. Explorations in Economic History 64 (1 April 2017): 21–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2016.09.001.

    Chartrand, Sabra. ‘Patents; Congress Has Extended Its Protection for Goofy, Gershwin and Some Moguls of the Internet.’ The New York Times, 19 October 1998, sec. Business. https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/19/business/patents-congress-has-extended-its-protection-for-goofy-gershwin-some-moguls.html.

    European Commission - European Commission. ‘Null’. Text. Accessed 23 June 2025. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/pres_11_303.

    ‘Longitude Found - the Story of Harrison’s Clocks | Royal Museums Greenwich’. Accessed 23 June 2025. https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/time/harrisons-clocks-longitude-problem.

    ‘Mickey, Disney, and the Public Domain: A 95-Year Love Triangle | Duke University School of Law’. Accessed 23 June 2025. https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/mickey/.

    Pallant, Chris. Demystifying Disney: A History of Disney Feature Animation. New York, UNITED STATES: Bloomsbury Academic & Professional, 2013. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kcl/detail.action?docID=793280.

    Proskauer. ‘$264 Million Settlement in EpiPen Price Gouging Litigation - Insights - Proskauer Rose LLP’. Accessed 23 June 2025. https://www.proskauer.com/blog/264-million-settlement-in-epipen-price-gouging-litigation.

    Racker, Mini. ‘A Political History of Disney 
 and Its Donations’. National Journal Daily A.M., 6 May 2022. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2660086184/abstract/9125FB301BC4463FPQ/1.

    Rozek, Richard P., and Ruth Berkowitz. ‘The Effects of Patent Protection on the Prices of Pharmaceutical Products’. The Journal of World Intellectual Property 1, no. 2 (1998): 179–243. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-1796.1998.tb00010.x.

    ‘The Statute of Anne: The First Copyright Statute : History of Information’. Accessed 23 June 2025. https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?entryid=3389.

    ‘Walt Before Mickey | Kanopy’. Accessed 6 February 2025. https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/12287972?vp=kcl.

  • Is K-Pop a PSY-Op? Seemingly Unrelated S2E3

    Is K-Pop a PSY-Op? Seemingly Unrelated S2E3

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    Must...resist...urge...to do hyper specific...group...choreography...!!

    On today's episode of Seemingly Unrelated we are the biaswreckers here to say you're not delulu, K-pop is having an all time comeback around the world. But are the Big 3 just the visual for a deeper and more sinister subunit bent on world domination? To find out we're going to have to take a tour back to the first K-pop idols from the 1960s and ask: What style of music is K-pop anyway? Did Tony Blair inspire the K-wave? Is PSY mocking, or celebrating the Gangnam neighborhood? And most importantly, if Blackpink told you to betray your government, would you do it?

    All these questions and more will be explored, at least until the South Korean government shuts this podcast down, on Seemingly Unrelated!

    Subscribe to the audio only version on: https://shows.acast.com/seemingly-unrelated

    Find the videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SeeminglyUnrelatedPod

    Want even more Seemingly Unrelated content? Get bonus episodes for as little as $2/month as well as the list of sources for this episode (free) on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SeeminglyUnrelated

    Bibliography:

    ‘A Brief History of K-Pop – The Los Angeles Film School’, 6 April 2021. https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/a-brief-history-of-kpop/.

    A history of K-pop music - The Post. ‘A History of K-Pop Music’. Accessed 9 June 2025. https://www.thepostathens.com/article/2023/09/a-history-of-k-pop-music.

    Benjamin, Jeff. ‘The 2024 Billboard K-Pop Artist 100’. Billboard (blog), 28 February 2024. https://www.billboard.com/lists/k-pop-artist-100-list-2024-ranked/.

    Brookings. ‘Will South Korean Democracy Pass Its next Test?’ Accessed 9 June 2025. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/will-south-korean-democracy-pass-its-next-test/.

    Chung, Jong-Eun. ‘The Neo-Developmental Cultural Industries Policy of Korea: Rationales and Implications of an Eclectic Policy’. International Journal of Cultural Policy 25 (2 January 2019): 63–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2018.1557646.

    Clark, Michael Carson and John. ‘Asian Financial Crisis’. Accessed 9 June 2025. https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/asian-financial-crisis.

    Elfving-Hwang, Joanna. ‘South Korean Cultural Diplomacy and Brokering “K-Culture” Outside Asia’. Korean Histories 4 (1 January 2013): 14–24.

    GOV.UK. ‘Spring Statement 2025 (HTML)’. Accessed 9 June 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-statement-2025-document/spring-statement-2025-html.

    LISS DTP. ‘Identity, Politics, and Influence in Online K-Pop Communities’. Accessed 9 June 2025. https://liss-dtp.ac.uk/project/identity-politics-and-influence-in-online-k-pop-communities/.

    NBC News. ‘Over 60% of Netflix Users Have Watched a Korean Title on the Streaming Service, CEO Says’, 26 June 2023. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/60-netflix-users-watched-korean-title-streaming-service-ceo-says-rcna91180.

    Routledge & CRC Press. ‘South Korean Popular Culture in the Global Context: Beyond the Fandom’. Accessed 9 June 2025. https://www.routledge.com/South-Korean-Popular-Culture-in-the-Global-Context-Beyond-the-Fandom/Lim/p/book/9781032233727.

    Shin, Hyunjoon, and Seung-Ah Lee. Made in Korea: Studies in Popular Music. Taylor & Francis, 2016.

    Son, Sarah A. ‘Glastonbury’s First K-Pop Group Is a Reflection of Years of Korean Government Strategy’. The Conversation, 18 March 2024. http://theconversation.com/glastonburys-first-k-pop-group-is-a-reflection-of-years-of-korean-government-strategy-225930.

    ‘The Birth of the Creative Industries Revisited | Department of Culture, Media & Creative Industries | King’s College London’. Accessed 9 June 2025. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/cmci/research-expertise/the-birth-of-the-creative-industries-revisited.

    ‘The Rise of K-Pop, and What It Reveals about Society and Culture | Yale News’, 21 August 2023. https://news.yale.edu/2023/08/21/rise-k-pop-and-what-it-reveals-about-society-and-culture.

    Wills, Matthew. ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, It’s The Kim Sisters’. JSTOR Daily (blog), 20 August 2023. https://daily.jstor.org/ladies-and-gentlemen-its-the-kim-sisters/.

  • Who is the 'Donut King' and how did he save 30,000 refugees?

    Who is the 'Donut King' and how did he save 30,000 refugees?

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    Given its association with Homer Simpson, the donut (or doughnut?or do-nut?) is perhaps one of the great icons of American culture filling our minds with corner shops and diners serving piping hot black coffee and delicious fried circles of sweet dough.

    The donut however, is not just a calorie dense delivery service that keeps you functional on the go, it is also a hero...

    On today's episode of Seemingly Unrelated we unpack an iconic pink box of goodness by exploring the impact the humble donut has had on the United States and beyond. Why are they called "donuts" if there are not usually nuts involved? How did the First World War decorate the donut with its first heroic medal? Who is the 'Donut King' and what nefarious dictator did his reign challenge?

    The answers to these questions will do more than just fill the hole at the center of your donut, they will fill your mind with the Seemingly Unrelated heroism of the donut.

    Subscribe to the audio only version on: https://shows.acast.com/seemingly-unrelated

    Find the videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SeeminglyUnrelatedPod

    Want even more Seemingly Unrelated content? Get bonus episodes for as little as $2/month as well as the list of sources for this episode (free) on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SeeminglyUnrelated

    Bibliography:

    Batalova, Jeanne Batalova Mary Hanna and Jeanne. ‘Immigrants from Asia in the United States’. migrationpolicy.org, 9 March 2021. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigrants-asia-united-states-2020.

    BBC News. ‘The Donut King Who Went Full Circle - from Rags to Riches, Twice’. 28 November 2020, sec. Stories. https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-54546427.

    ‘Bringing Home to the Front Lines: The History of National Donut Day - Silicon Valley’. Accessed 26 May 2025. https://siliconvalley.salvationarmy.org/silicon_valley/news/bringing-home-to-the-front-lines-the-history-of-donut-day/.

    Budiman, Ziyao Tian, Carolyne Im, Sahana Mukherjee and Abby. ‘Why Asian Immigrants Come to the U.S. and How They View Life Here’. Pew Research Center (blog), 9 October 2024. https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2024/10/09/why-asian-immigrants-come-to-the-u-s-and-how-they-view-life-here/.

    College of Liberal Arts. ‘Cambodia’. Accessed 26 May 2025. https://cla.umn.edu/chgs/holocaust-genocide-education/resource-guides/cambodia.

    Haldane, David. ‘A TASTE OF CAMBODIA : A Real Horatio Alger Story: Refugee Built Empire on Doughnuts’. Los Angeles Times, 19 December 1988. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-19-fi-434-story.html.

    ———. ‘VOICES FROM THE FIRST GENERATION : The Ngoy Family’. Los Angeles Times, 5 November 1989. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-11-05-tm-1171-story.html.

    ‘Historic 1800s Oly Koek Recipe | The Legend of Sleepy Hollow | InLiterature’. Accessed 26 May 2025. https://www.inliterature.net/by-book/sleepy-hollow/2018/10/sleepy-hollow-doughty-dough-nuts-olykoeks.html.

    Los Angeles Times. ‘Asians Looking to Broaden Horizons : Immigrants Prosper but Hope to Venture Outside the “Business Ghetto”’, 2 February 1987. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-02-02-fi-44-story.html.

    michaell. ‘Lao Refugee Becomes Engaged Community Leader in Minneapolis’. New American Economy, 28 February 2022. https://www.newamericaneconomy.org/feature/lao-refugee-becomes-engaged-community-leader-in-minneapolis/.

    ‘Protecting the Investigator in Traumatic Research Areas | UK-Ireland Digital Humanities Association’. Accessed 26 May 2025. https://digitalhumanities-uk-ie.org/community-interest-groups/protecting-the-investigator-in-traumatic-research-areas/.

    Quinones, Sam. ‘From Sweet Success to Bitter Tears’. Los Angeles Times, 19 January 2005. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jan-19-me-donutking19-story.html.

    Red, -Vignesh Ramachandran Vignesh Ramachandran Vignesh Ramachandran is a digital news editor for the PBS NewsHour Ramachandran is also co-founder of, White, Brown Media, Focused on Building Media Representation, sharing South Asian American stories Previously, he was at ProPublica, and the Stanford Computational Journalism Lab. ‘Asian Americans Are the Fastest Growing Group in the U.S., Report Finds’. PBS News, 13 April 2021. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/asian-americans-are-the-fastest-growing-group-in-the-u-s-report-finds.

    South China Morning Post. ‘From Rags to Riches to Ruin, California’s Cambodian “Donut King”’, 5 April 2020. https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3078243/rise-and-fall-cambodian-refugee-donut-king-charted-award.

    Taylor, David A. ‘The History of the Doughnut’. Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed 26 May 2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-history-of-the-doughnut-150405177/.

    The British Medical Association is the trade union and professional body for doctors in the UK. ‘Vicarious Trauma: Signs and Strategies for Coping’. Accessed 26 May 2025. https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/your-wellbeing/vicarious-trauma/vicarious-trauma-signs-and-strategies-for-coping.

    ‘​The Story of the Man They Called the Doughnut King​’. Accessed 26 May 2025. https://www.phnompenhpost.com/7days/story-man-they-called-doughnut-king.

    USC Shoah Foundation. ‘Cambodian Genocide’. Accessed 26 May 2025. https://sfi.usc.edu/collections/cambodian-genocide.

    ‘What It’s like in America’s “Doughnut Capital”’. Accessed 26 May 2025. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/06/us/doughnuts-cnnphotos/index.html.

  • There is nothing special about Italians and making food. Seemingly Unrelated season 2 premier!

    There is nothing special about Italians and making food. Seemingly Unrelated season 2 premier!

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    We're back from hiatus and for season 2 we are starting things off with our first ever theme month! This month, every episode is about that most basic of needs and builder of cultures: food.

    To get things started we have to ask a basic question: What is authentic parmesan cheese? The answer to that question is going to surprise you but it's only the beginning as we chart the unexpected waters of European national food history from disappointment of the continental breakfast to the bloody defense of Budapest against the Ottomans we are back in top form.

    If this is your first time hearing of the show, welcome and make sure to hit that subscribe button because we do exactly this, all the time.

    Subscribe to the audio only version on: https://shows.acast.com/seemingly-unrelated

    Find the videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SeeminglyUnrelatedPod

    Want even more Seemingly Unrelated content? Get bonus episodes for as little as $2/month as well as the list of sources for this episode (free) on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SeeminglyUnrelated

    Bibliography:

    Bartoletto, Silvana, and M.d.Mar Rubio. ‘Energy Transition and CO₂ Emissions in Southern Europe: Italy and Spain (1861-2000)’. Global Environment 1, no. 2 (2008): 46–81.

    ‘Belle Époque, n. & Adj. Meanings, Etymology and More | Oxford English Dictionary’. Accessed 12 May 2025. https://www.oed.com/dictionary/belle-epoque_n.

    Chevallier, Jim. August Zang and the French Croissant: How Viennoiserie Came to France. Chez Jim, 2009.

    Guy, Kolleen M. ‘“Oiling the Wheels of Social Life”: Myths and Marketing in Champagne during the Belle Epoque’. French Historical Studies 22, no. 2 (1999): 211–39. https://doi.org/10.2307/286747.

    Gvion, Liora, and Naomi Trostler. ‘From Spaghetti and Meatballs through Hawaiian Pizza to Sushi: The Changing Nature of Ethnicity in American Restaurants’. The Journal of Popular Culture 41, no. 6 (2008): 950–74. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2008.00559.x.

    Halliday, David. The Bloody History of the Croissant. Arcadia, 2010.

    Hopkin, Rachel. ‘The Way of the Croissant: Traditional Perspectives On A Traditional Pastry’. Digest: A Journal of Foodways and Culture 5, no. 2 (1 November 2016). https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/digest/article/view/27808.

    Humanities Cookbook. ‘Danish Pastry (Weinerbrod) Story’. Accessed 12 May 2025. https://humcookbook.byu.edu/danish-pastry-weinerbrod-story.

    O’Connor, Kaori. ‘Cuisine, Nationality and the Making of a National Meal: The English Breakfast’. In Nations and Their Histories: Constructions and Representations, edited by Susana Carvalho and François Gemenne, 157–71. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230245273_10.

    Olsen, Jan M. ‘Danish Pastry: A Mistake That Conquered the World : Food: The Treat Originated 350 Years Ago When a French Baker Forgot the Butter, Folding It in Later to Try to Cover up His Mistake. He Ended up with a Light Dough That Traveled the Globe.’ Los Angeles Times, 19 September 1993. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-19-mn-36976-story.html.

    Profile Books. ‘A Brief History of Pasta’. Accessed 12 May 2025. https://profilebooks.com/work/a-brief-history-of-pasta/.

    The United States of Pizza, Mapsplained, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbhy8CLgfOE.

  • Hitler at the Movies! Season 1 Finale of Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    Hitler at the Movies! Season 1 Finale of Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    Did you know that Hitler has an IMDB page? It's true and also really weird! Join us this week as we explore the long tail of Hitler's impact on the silver screen. What was Hitler's favorite movie? How did his interest in one actress help create the first Schindler type who saved dozens of Jews from execution? How distant is Hitler really from those of us watching everyday blockbuster movies now?

    This is our season 1 finale y'all! Thanks so much for listening to the first season of this experiment and we look forward to bringing more unusual connections through history, culture, and apparently cinema in season 2 coming soon!

    Subscribe to the audio only version on: https://shows.acast.com/seemingly-unrelated

    Find the videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SeeminglyUnrelatedPod

    Want even more Seemingly Unrelated content? Get bonus episodes for as little as $2/month as well as the list of sources for this episode (free) on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SeeminglyUnrelated

    Bibliography:

    ‘Adolf Hitler, Film Fanatic | History Today’. Accessed 14 April 2025. https://www.historytoday.com/miscellanies/adolf-hitler-film-fanatic.

    ‘Billy Wilder, The Art of Screenwriting No. 1’. 1996. https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1432/the-art-of-screenwriting-no-1-billy-wilder.

    ‘Cinema: The Star of Davidtz | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET’. Accessed 14 April 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20081229235334/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19980726/ai_n14163482.

    Dodds, Peter Sheridan, Roby Muhamad, and Duncan J. Watts. ‘An Experimental Study of Search in Global Social Networks’. Science 301, no. 5634 (8 August 2003): 827–29. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1081058.

    EW.com. ‘From the EW Archives: How Steven Spielberg Brought “Schindler’s List” to Life’. Accessed 14 April 2025. https://ew.com/article/1994/01/21/spielberg-and-schindlers-list-how-it-came-together/.

    Hamilton, Marybeth. ‘Radical Object: The Blue Angel (1930)’. History Workshop, 9 May 2022. https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/anti-fascism/radical-object-the-blue-angel-1930/.

    IMDb. ‘Adolf Hitler | Self’. Accessed 14 April 2025. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0386944/.

    ‘Kurt Gerron’. Accessed 14 April 2025. https://holocaustmusic.ort.org/places/camps/western-europe/westerbork/gerronkurt/.

    Mohamed, Suraya. ‘How Ella Fitzgerald Turned Forgotten Lyrics Into One Of Her Best Performances Ever’. NPR, 6 September 2019. https://www.npr.org/2019/09/04/757560624/how-ella-fitzgerald-turned-forgotten-lyrics-into-one-of-her-best-performances-ev.

    National Women’s History Museum. ‘Biography: Marie Dietrich’. Accessed 14 April 2025. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/marlene-dietrich.

    Smith, David, and technology correspondent. ‘Proof! Just Six Degrees of Separation between Us’. The Observer, 2 August 2008, sec. Technology. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/aug/03/internet.email.

    ‘The Oracle of Bacon’. Accessed 14 April 2025. https://oracleofbacon.org/.

    ‘Theresienstadt: A Documentary Film, 1944’. Accessed 14 April 2025. https://perspectives.ushmm.org/item/theresienstadt-a-documentary-film-1944.

    ‘Understanding the Birthday Paradox – BetterExplained’. Accessed 14 April 2025. https://betterexplained.com/articles/understanding-the-birthday-paradox/.

    unwrittenrecord. ‘The Production File Tells the Story: How “Death Mills” Came to U.S. Audiences’. The Unwritten Record (blog), 23 January 2024. https://unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov/2024/01/23/the-production-file-tells-the-story-how-death-mills-came-to-u-s-audiences/.

  • The Secret History of the Internet: Al Gore, Anime, and the French- Seemingly Unrelated Ep 14

    The Secret History of the Internet: Al Gore, Anime, and the French- Seemingly Unrelated Ep 14

    · Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

    On this very special seasonal episode we are digging into the unrelated tales that make up the internet as we know it. We'll be answering questions no one has ever asked while sober such as:

    What is the internet anyway? How does it work? Does it have to work this way or are there alternatives? What is, and always has been, the most popular thing on all the different forms of the internet regardless of time, place, language, or really any factors?

    That's right we'll be globetrotting all episode long to hunt out the secret, alternative, histories of inter-network connectivity on this extra special episode of Seemingly Unrelated.

    Subscribe to the audio only version on: https://shows.acast.com/seemingly-unrelated

    Bibliography:

    Alt, Matt. ‘Anime’s Woodstock’. Accessed 31 March 2025. https://blog.pureinventionbook.com/p/animes-woodstock.

    ‘Hardcore Gaming 101: Japanese Computers’. Accessed 31 March 2025. http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/JPNcomputers/Japanesecomputers2-old.htm.

    ‘JPNIC Newsletter Back Issues Introduction to the Internet - JPNIC’. Accessed 31 March 2025. https://www.nic.ad.jp/ja/newsletter/prologue.html.

    nippon.com. ‘The Birth and Evolution of the Internet in Japan’, 9 October 2015. https://www.nippon.com/en/features/c01905/the-birth-and-evolution-of-the-internet-in-japan.html.

    ‘PC-9801-Computer Museum’. Accessed 31 March 2025. https://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/personal/0011.html.

    ‘The Internet Tax Freedom Act and Federal Preemption’. Legislation. Accessed 31 March 2025. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF11947.

    A Timeline of the Internet. AFP International Text Wire in English. Washington: Agence France-Presse, 2019.

    J, Andrew, et. al. "This is the April Fools episode." The Very Podcast You are Enjoying Right Now. Life's Little Murder Boards Production, 2025.

    Mailland, Julien. “Minitel.” In Paid. The MIT Press, 2017.

    Johnson, Peter. “Pornography Drives Technology: Why Not to Censor the Internet.” Federal communications law journal 49, no. 1 (1996): 217-.

    Coopersmith, J. Pornography, Videotape and the Internet. IEEE Technology & Society Magazine. Vol. 19. New York: IEEE, 2000.

    By E.S. Browning. “French See Red Over the Blue Chatter On ‘Pink’ Dial-a-Porn Phone Services.” The Wall Street Journal. Eastern Edition. New York, N.Y: Dow Jones & Company Inc, 1988, Eastern edition edition.

    Park, J.I, A Blomkvist, and M.K Mahmut. “The Differentiation between Consumers of Hentai Pornography and Human Pornography.” Sexologies : European journal of sexology 31, no. 3 (2022): 226–239.

    ‘The Strange World of Japan’s PC-98 Computer - Strange Comforts’, 25 November 2021. https://strangecomforts.com/the-strange-world-of-japans-pc-98-computer/.

    Takai, Ayako, and Yoshinori Konno. “Competition in the Early Japanese PC Market: From the Birth to the Fall of the ‘NEC PC-98 Empire’: Part 2.” Akamon Management Review 22, no. 4 (2023): 113–166.

    Smith, Justin E. H. The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning. 1st ed. United States: Princeton University Press, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691229683.

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