Shoulders Of Giants

Today we are discussing Admiral Yi of the Korean Choson(Joseon) dynasty. Despite his noble upbringing Yi decided to follow a career in the military instead of the more traditional pursuit of civil service for a person in his societal rank. Yi was hardworking, humble and incredibly moral during a period of Korean history fraught with corrupt officials in every level of society. His incorruptibility caused many to attack his honor and accomplishments and yet through countless setbacks his abilities as a leader and tactician lead him to command the Korean army during one of the most pivotal times in its history. Japan, recently unified under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, sought to invade China through the Korean Peninsula. It was under Admiral Yi's command that the invasion ultimately ended due to Hideyoshi's forces losing the ability to resupply their forces via the sea. Admiral Yi is still regarded as a great Korean Hero and inspired future naval commanders in battles that would further shape world events.

Edward Jenner is often known as the father of the immunology. As a scientist during the late 18th and early 19th century, he applied local folklore with scientific methodologies to champion the first vaccine. It was through his efforts that marked the beginning of a global eradication campaign to successfully eliminate smallpox from the natural environment.

For episode twelve, we are talking about Jim Henson. Best known as the creator of the Muppets and helped found Sesame Street with its wonderful characters, Jim Henson grew up in a quiet warm family in Mississippi and later Maryland. Influenced by his maternal grandmother, he cultivated a creative, crafty, artistic personality that led him into TV and ultimately bringing to life beloved characters like Kermit the Frog.   Source material from Jim Henson the Biography, by Brian Jones and the Henson Company website.

Thurgood Marshall was America's first African American to serve on the nation's highest court. He championed the rights of the individual and prior to his Supreme Court appointment, he successfully argued more cases to the court than anyone before him. It was through Thurgood Marshall's efforts and those of the NAACP that "separate but equal" was overturned, helping establish a legal foothold for the civil rights movement in the years ahead.

A Spanish Conquistador following in the footsteps of his cousin Cortez, Francisco Pizarro was an ambitious commoner under the Spanish Crown. Working his way into positions of power in the New World Pizarro, motivated by rumors of a wealthy civilization further south of Spanish controlled America, took advantage of a greatly weakened Incan Empire. The empire of the Andes had been devastated by European diseases, killing or impairing up to 90% of the populace, and had finished a bloody civil war literal days before Pizarro met with the Incan ruler, Atahuallpa. Pizarro took advantage of the situation and ransomed then sacked the wealth of the Incan people before laying claim to their empire. 

Travis here, and before we get started I wanted to say something brief upfront. November in the United States is usually focused on Thanksgiving and getting ready for Christmas, Hanukkah or any other winter festivities. However, there is one rather unsung day in November that we as Americans are hopefully growing more conscious of and involved with. This year it falls on the sixth, its Election Day. On this day we as Americans voice our right to decide our governmental representatives. Our vote may not always go to the winner but the important point is that every American should be free to cast their vote on who they want to govern us for the upcoming years. In practice, this is not the case. There are countless American's who have been denied a voice in choosing our government officials. I say all of this in the hopes that anyone reading who has not yet voted will be persuaded to do so but also because this very right that Americans have carries great significance in this month's subject. We are going to be

Happy October listeners! We decided to turn into the darker side of the season and talk about a historical figure that is known only for their grotesque behavior and inhumanity, Ed Gein.  In this episode, we talk about graphic imagery regarding the desecration of corpses so if that's something you don't want to listen to skip forward starting at 45minutes to about 1 hour 10 minutes. Or listen to an older episode for this month.  Part three topics include defining evil, tribalism, and the improper use of religion to abuse others. Thanks for listening and as always please rate us on Itunes or whatever app you use.

Sorry for the delay folks but we've got September's historical figure finally up. It's King Philip II of Macedon. He is most commonly known as the father of Alexander the Great but Philip's ascension of power should be rightfully acknowledged for its own importance in shaping European and Middle Eastern culture for the centuries following his rule. Also in the Nick mentions a book describing greek mercenaries around the time of Philip's rule. That book is the Anabasis

Episode Six! We finally got around to telling a story outside of European cultural roots, Mansa Musa. If you've heard his name it was probably because he is thought to have been the richest human being to have ever lived. The ruler of the Malian kingdom in Western Africa in the 14th century spent much of his reign building his empire into an economic and cultural epicenter rivaling many other countries of the time.  During a period in which European nations faced constant power struggles and had yet to leave fully leave the "Dark Ages", Mansa Musa's rule highlights many ways in which Muslim culture continued progress on philosophy, medicine, and historical recordings. Works Cited: Mansa Musa and the Empire of Mali by P. James Oliver o Mansa Musa: Leader of Mali by Lisa Zamosky o Wikipedia page: Musa I of Mali o Wikipedia page: Songhai Empire o https://www.history.com/news/who-was-the-richest-man-in-history-mansa-musa o https://www.mrdowling.com/609-mansamusa.html o o Timbuktu The Sahara's Fabled City of Gol

This is our Fourth of July episode! We decided to talk about a prominent but lesser known American figure.  Frances Perkins might best be known as the first female Secretary of Labor but her works reach so much beyond that title. Perkins led a life focused on improving the living conditions of the poorest of Americans and could be considered the architect of the New Deal. Her legacy is one of servitude and has many lessons we can apply to modern day.    

We decided to delve into a somewhat controversial character this week, Gavrilo Princip. Often people are painted into a stereotype based on their most noted actions and we tried to avoid that as best as possible on this episode. Gavrilo was a complex individual born into a world that was even more complicated.  In this episode, we set the stage of a pre World War One Europe. We briefly go over some history of the Balkan states, then transition to what major European powers and their citizens were dealing with at this moment in time. Then we talk about the young Slav whose early experiences of life helped lead him down a path that many argue to be the initiating act to World War One. We finish up trying to figure out for ourselves what we can learn from Gavrilo's story and how we see similar ones today. If you like the show, please leave a review on Itunes. If you REALLY like the show you can become a patreon Search "Shoulders of Giants" and we should pop up.

Stephen Hawking Show Notes  Born on 08 January 1942. 300 years after the death of Galileo  Discussed a lot of dense material at home Went to Oxford Pressured to go into medicine but had a compromise with his father to go into natural sciences 1000 hours of work so about an hour a day due to the culture at Oxford Started to get sick during final year at Oxford Fell down a full flight of stairs in his dorm and experienced some limited memory lost Graduated with honors Left Oxford for a Ph.D. a Cambridge at 20 Two competing theories constant or big bang theory Movements becoming erratic and kept a secret from the family Parents noticed over Christmas and he was later diagnosed with ALS Given three years to live and started listening to a lot of Wagner Met Jane Wilde Started working hard for the first time in his life Helped pull him out of his depression Worked on applying the concept of a singularity from a black hole to the whole universe Graduated a got a fellowship that allowed him to get married Marr

For this episode, we delve into the truly amazing life of Simon Bolivar. known throughout South America as the Liberator. He was essential and often the leader of the colonial revolutions against Spanish rule. We talk about his early childhood in Caracas and the difficulties he faced despite being born to a very prominent aristocratic family. Then, we jump over to Europe where he meets Spanish Nobility, French revolutionaries, and his wife. After that, we go into the early years of his political idealism and watch as his thoughts of rebellion grow into a full-on revolution. From there we talk about the bloody hardships of removing Spain from its American colonies and how the southern revolution varied from the one the United States had only a few decades earlier. Next, we discuss the founding of Bolivar's Grand Columbia, his dreams of a unified republic of South American colonies, the ultimate failure of this dream. Finally, we talk about his death and how Bolivar's name still can be heard in many South Ameri

Hey Folks, We are talking about Catherine the Great, also known as Catherine II, or even Princess Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst. Topics include Catherine's Early Life, her ascent to the throne, her "favorites", the Russo-Turkish Wars, the Pugachev Rebellion, The Nakaz, and entertaining stories along the way! Like us on Also we have a if you're interested.  Shownotes below: Born princess Sophia in spring of 1729 Mother Johanna of Holstein Ambitions and prone to wanton desire for courtly life and dissatisfied with her marriage Emotionally abused neglected her daughter Father Christian August one of several princes of Anhalt-Zerbst Had two younger brothers First was favorited until he died in 1742 His death opened up Johanna to the possibility of using Sophia to get into the Prussian court Second was 10yrs younger and considered insignificant Met future husband Peter Ulrich of Holstein who was her second cousin and then heir to Sweden   Summoned by Tsarina Elizabeth who had adopted her nephew Pe

Welcome to the Podcast! In our very first episode, we give a brief description of who we are and why we decided to start a podcast.  you can contact us at We hope you like it, and if you do please leave us a great review on Itunes.