Enjoy our recent episodes at HbN Podcast.

 Dr. Robert Friedel of the University of Maryland rejects the generally accepted definition of "disruptive technologies" and explains how major innovations changed human history: from Gutenberg to Frankenstein to the Luddites to Edison to Ford and to Artificial Intelligence - this is our story of fearing human creations and is also our story of embracing the next and newest technology.   

Listen above. Read and watch the highlights here. 

 Dr. Julio Ponce of the University of Seville places Spain's polarized politics in the perspective of its near past history. In this episode, we uncover the history behind the following: 

•  Was Spain the world's first truly global empire? 
• How America's victory over Spain shocked the Spaniards. 
• How does the Spanish Empire's decline compare to the British Empire's? 
• "Spain is different. Come to Spain." 
• A kingdom without a king!
• Spain's modern golden age. 

Read more and watch videos here. 

 Our guest, Dr. Robert Fatton, laments the near-total collapse of society in his homeland. Haiti history in this episode:  

• Haiti's gangs & vigilante groups
• Abolishing Haiti's military & ineffective police force
• History of foreign intervention (e.g., Hillary & Bill Clinton)
• What happened to democracy in Haiti? 
• Is Haiti a "failed state"? 
• Haiti is a "zero-sum" society.  
• Comparing Haiti to African countries - predatory republics.   

Read more here. 

 Did you know, that Sweden has not been at war for 209 years? That's longer than any country I can think of. It's certainly longer than Switzerland's record of peace. The Swedish like to claim that their long record of peace is due to Sweden's kings and politicians choosing peace over war. But as my guest in this episode explains, this is not entirely true. The real reason has more to do with persistent diplomacy and just sheer good luck. 

Click here to read more about this episode and watch videos.  

 Sovereign debt history of empires, city-states, early republics & parliaments, and, then, democracies. Did you know, that the historical reason that debt markets developed in Europe and not Asia has to do with war? Simply speaking, Europeans fought more frequently, hence the need to borrow to finance these wars. 

Click here to read more about this episode and watch videos.  

Did you know that our perspective on body weight has flipped, entirely? You see, in human history, those who were fat were those who could afford to eat well. So weight was actually a sign of wealth and status. But later, starting in the 18th century, this perspective began to change. There are stories of fat people being gawked at. They were pointed at so that people could feel morally superior to them, for supposedly being weak and not being disciplined enough to eat less and eat right.

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 Did you know, that since the year 2000, Israel’s Knesset has made 60 amendments to Israel’s Basic Laws, which are Israel’s quasi-constitution? And these amendments are not just about small details. No! At times the whole system of Israel’s government was impacted by changes, changes that came swiftly, some after deliberations that lasted a mere week. 

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Did you know, that the three stooges, Larry, Curly, and Moe, with their physical and slapstick comedy that we all know, never got a dime for all their movies that we saw on our TVs? Why? Because those residual incomes were not in their contracts!

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