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High Tales of History

High Tales of History
High Tales of History
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  • High Tales of History

    124. Extinct! When the Earth Ended (Twice)

    12/09/2026 | 1h 28 mins.
    Mass extinction events! There have been five in the history of Earth. They all completely suck but some were worse than others. In this episode, KT takes us on a trip hundreds of millions of years into the past to learn about the K-T Extinction Event (yeah, we know. That's an unfortunate coincidence) when a massive asteroid killed the dinosaurs. She also covers the WORST mass extinction event that few people know about: The Permian-Triassic Extinction also known as The Great Dying (I'm sorry but WTF?!)
    Join us where the only land was the supercontinent of Pangea, dinosaurs ruled the Earth, and all the bad, awful stuff gets measured in gigatons and Empire State Buildings.
    ~~~~~*
    The Socials and Patreon!
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    Facebook⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠High Tales of History or ⁠⁠@HighTalesofHistory ⁠
    Email—hightailingthroughhistory@gmail.com⁠ 
    ~~~~~~*
    Timestamps:
    00:00 Introduction to Earth's Catastrophic Extinctions
    10:02 The Mesozoic Era and Dinosaur Dominance
    19:57 The KT Extinction: Impact and Aftermath
    29:56 The Permian Extinction: The Worst Mass Extinction
    40:01 Global Effects of the Impact: Firestorms, Tsunamis, and Climate Change
    49:54 Lessons from Earth's Past Disasters
    47:46 The Impact of Water Displacement and Marine Fossils
    49:19 Earthquake, Tsunamis, and Volcanic Eruptions
    50:35 The Aftermath: Winter, Darkness, and Starvation
    51:33 How Bad Was the Asteroid Impact?
    52:43 Volcanic Activity and Long-Term Cooling
    55:58 The Permian Extinction and Siberian Traps
    01:00:00 Earth's Hot Past and Continents
    01:04:39 The Great Dying: Causes and Consequences
    01:09:40 The Permian Extinction's Global Impact
    01:19:50 Marine Extinction and Ocean Changes
    01:20:57 The Hypothetical Hypercane Storms
    01:23:25 The Sixth Mass Extinction and Human Impact
    01:29:59 What We Can Do to Prevent Further Extinction
    01:34:25 The Resilience of Life and Earth's Future
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~*
    Source Material and References:
    https://youtu.be/rFlEe0qflGs?si=gkI7AAbxscfuJTtt 
    https://youtu.be/It8orOogiPI?si=yRwdD_2UagMnbQlp 
    https://share.google/hyAV0tY5YDY8e8IzE 
    https://share.google/zypoYeeeZYbk3Yfwd 
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_event 
    https://share.google/eA48R22GhJ7KAaTgd 
    https://share.google/QeOmRue2vDK7na4O8 
    https://share.google/WDuyjb5ENg4fIDL69 
    https://share.google/XqLRclRn6v4odCHb6 
    https://share.google/Q8GTyDoZ3Db5zhX7I 
    https://share.google/l3jpRVjNA6Qqt5dLT 
    https://share.google/utrKHzSDmqcubj3yZ 
    https://share.google/lvZixDR3HOnucmNuy 
    https://share.google/ZafjvDcuDrTzxOeqI 
    https://share.google/RCTGGIMXe8OOMmtre 
    https://share.google/SMP2adjjxP8b6oUnW 
    https://share.google/SD7OgqcDFnjCPY0PX 
    https://share.google/mDKp1kRQHu97QbSg1 ⁠
    ~~~~~~~*
    Intro/outro and Transition Music created all from: "Hit the Streets" Music licensed through Soundstripe on Riverside.fm
    Code: 5SFLA6TCMVWJERUU, EMPRILZIRAMJL8ZR
  • High Tales of History

    123. The Munchies That Made Us: The Holy Trinity (Pizza, Tacos and Ramen)

    28/08/2026 | 1h 17 mins.
    Welcome into the Smoke Circle for the start of season 8!
    The sisters have cooked up another episode of food history with part two of The Munchies That Made Us! In part one, we discussed four food staples that grew civilizations and created the classic munchies we know and love.
    Part two traces the origins of "The Holy Trinity" of savory stoner foods: pizza, tacos, and instant ramen. This episode shows how global trade, migration, war, and convenience shaped what we eat when the munchies hit. Along the way, we debate who has the best pizza, get delightfully sidetracked by tomato lore (did you know the tomato isn't native to Italy?!), the mystery of the taco, and what a hostage crisis did for instant ramen sales.
    ~~~~~~*
    Timestamps
    01:05 - Part two preview: pizza, tacos, and instant ramen
    06:31 - Recap of part one and the role of staple crops
    07:30 - Why pizza belongs on every munchies list
    09:58 - Focaccia, flatbreads, and the missing tomato
    12:39 - Tomatoes begin in Mesoamerica, not Italy
    15:03 - Columbus, Cortés, and the Columbian Exchange
    19:26 - Europe mistrusts tomatoes as “wolf peaches”
    27:28 - Naples, volcanic soil, and the first tomato sauce pizza
    30:07 - The Margherita pizza legend and royal branding
    32:24 - Pizza spreads through Italy and into the United States
    38:35 - What counts as a taco and why chalupas are real
    40:05 - Corn tortillas in Mesoamerica and the roots of taco culture
    42:40 - One theory for the word taco from silver mines
    46:37 - The “chili queens” and tacos entering American food culture
    49:52 - Glenn Bell, Taco Bell, and the commercialization of tacos
    54:10 - Instant ramen as one of the world’s most consumed foods
    56:10 - Japan closes its doors, then reopens under the Meiji Restoration
    58:00 - Chinese noodle soup becomes ramen in Yokohama
    59:48 - World War II destruction and the food crisis in Japan
    64:28 - Momofuku Ando spots the long ramen line that sparks an idea
    66:26 - The invention of shelf-stable instant noodles and the launch of Chicken Ramen
    70:31 - Cup noodles and the push into the American market
    73:52 - The hostage crisis accidentally becomes a massive ramen commercial
    78:40 - The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum and ramen culture today
    81:12 - Why convenience foods matter and what they trade off
    ~~~~~*
    Mentioned in the Episode:
    Episode 90: The Werewolf Trials of Europe
    Half Baked (1998) Munchies List
    ~~~~~*
    The Socials and Patreon!
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    ~~~~~~*
    Source Material and References:
    Sources:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN00PtRWjlU
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_pizza
    https://www.history.com/articles/a-slice-of-history-pizza-through-the-ages
    https://www.twistedtaco.com/the-history-of-the-taco
    https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/where-did-the-taco-come-from-81228162/
    https://www.google.com/search?q=firebombing+of+japan+vs+atomic+bombs
    https://ramenmuseum.nyc/history-of-ramen/
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nov7lFsvBIo
    ~~~~~~~*
    Intro/outro and Transition Music created all from: "Hit the Streets" Music licensed through Soundstripe on Riverside.fm
    Code: 5SFLA6TCMVWJERUU, EMPRILZIRAMJL8ZR
  • High Tales of History

    122. The Munchies That Made Us, Part One

    10/07/2026 | 1h 45 mins.
    It's the season finale! Your favorite Midwestern history sisters get baked and tuck into the deliciously weird history of the foods that shaped human civilization. From the birth of bread in the Fertile Crescent to the global spread of rice. From the mythology and tooth-breaking beginnings of corn to the weird history of their personal favorite--potatoes--this episode serves up the surprising story of how everyday staples changed peopledom...and Stonerdom.

    Along the way, they trade laughs and their personal favorite munchies while unpacking the history and global impact behind each food. It’s part history lesson, part comedy smoke sesh, and all about the munchies that made us!

    The next season starts August 28th, 2026! Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss the first episode back and we'll see you in the Smoke Circle then!
    ~~~~~~~*
    Mentioned In the Stories:
    Our History of Cheese Episode
    Episode 48: How Indigenous Women Inspired the Women's Rights Movement⁠
    ~~~~~*
    The Socials and Patreon!
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    Email—hightailingthroughhistory@gmail.com⁠ 
    ~~~~~~*
    Source Material and References:
    Sources:
    https://foodmuseum.org.uk/the-history-of-bread-making-a-universal-lens/
    OTR History of Bread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=892yaBEwtbM
    OTR History of Rice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ivJsV1A5oU
    https://www.fieldmuseum.org/blog/amazing-journey-maize
    https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/ancient-dna-continues-rewrite-corns-9000-year-society-shaping-history
    https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2282/sioux-story-of-the-gift-of-corn/
    https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-potato-changed-the-world-108470605/
    OTR History of the Potato: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjVJqw1AUag
    ~~~~~~~*
    Intro/outro music: "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (⁠incompetech.com⁠) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
  • High Tales of History

    121. The 1916 Jersey Shark Attacks

    30/06/2026 | 1h 16 mins.
    What if the original Jaws story was real? In 1916, shark attacks along the New Jersey coast turned a summer beach season into a nationwide panic.
    In our penultimate episode for the season, Laurel and KT *dive* (ha!) into the terrifying true story of the 1916 Jersey Shore shark attacks — a twelve day reign of terror that shocked the public, inspired Jaws, and forever changed the way people think about sharks. From beach panic to scientific debate, this episode explores the real history behind one of America’s most infamous summer horror stories.
    ~~~~~~~*
    Mentioned In the Stories:
    Map of the Jersey Shore Attacks
    Ocean Ramsey Redirecting a Great White Shark
    ~~~~~*
    The Socials and Patreon!
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    Email—hightailingthroughhistory@gmail.com⁠ 
    ~~~~~~*
    Source Material and References:
    Sources:
    Capuzzo, Michael, and Taylor Mali. Close to shore: the terrifying shark attacks of 1916. Ashland: AudioBookShelf, 2011.
    https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/150702-shark-attack-jersey-shore-1916-great-white⁠
    ~~~~~~~*
    Intro/outro music: "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (⁠incompetech.com⁠) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
  • High Tales of History

    120. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident

    05/06/2026 | 51 mins.
    It's 1937 in China. Japan has invaded China some years prior and the Chinese people are under a ruthless Japaneses occupation. This story is about when people get fed the fuck up and rise against their oppressors.
    While most historians agree that WWII started with the invasion of Poland, some historians will say this is an even earlier catalyst for the war--and it all took place at the Lugou Bridge, most commonly known as the Marco Polo Bridge (although that guy had nothing to do with the bridge besides being awestruck and writing about it in his journal...) This must be some bridge and some "incident," right?!
    For episode 120, KT is taking us to China in 1937 with the event that started the Second Sino-Japanese War.
    ~~~~~*
    Episode 4: Hatori Honzo
    Episode 93: Yi Sun-Sin, the Korean admiral
    GEICO Marco Polo ad
    ⁠~~~~~*
    The Socials and Patreon!
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    Email—hightailingthroughhistory@gmail.com⁠ 
    ~~~~~~*
    Source Material and References:
    Sources:
    https://www.pacificatrocities.org/blog/the-marco-polo-bridge-incident-a-catalyst-for-the-second-sino-japanese-war 

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo_Bridge_incident 

    https://www.britannica.com/event/Marco-Polo-Bridge-Incident 

    https://origins.osu.edu/read/marco-polo-bridge-incident-1937 
    ~~~~~~~*
    Intro/outro music: "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (⁠incompetech.com⁠) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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About High Tales of History
Two sisters get stoned and surprise each other with a story from history's vault of the weird and the wonderful! Covering topics all around the world and all through time that you won't find in your history books!
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