The Slow Invention of Spray Paint

Humans have been exchanging tokens of friendship since before recorded history. From calling cards to Valentines to Christmas cards, the modern greeting card industry evolved. Research: “America’s First Christmas Card.” Albany Institute of History and Art. https://www.albanyinsti ...  Show more

This 2019 episode covers the color blue, the most popular color in many parts of the world. But many ancient languages didn’t have a word for blue, and some languages still don’t.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

During a 17-year bombing campaign, an elusive terrorist known as the Unabomber killed three and injured 23 Americans.In 1995, he contacted The New York Times and The Washington Post promising to stop his terror attacks if they published his 35,000-word manifesto. The document exp ...  Show more

When Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium in 1898, the chemical element was quickly adopted by manufacturers for its luminescent properties that would go on to be used in, among other things, the painting of clock faces, watches, and instrument panels, allowing them to be ...

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.We hear about the era-defining book Subway Art and how Fight the Power became a protest anthem. Artist curator Marianne Vosloo explains how both street art and hip-hop are linked.Plus, two stories from Georg ...  Show more

In 1995, an obscure Japanese religion launched a chemical attack on the Tokyo metro. Members of the doomsday cult, which called itself Aum Shinrikyo, dropped plastic bags containing sarin liquid on the floors of five different trains and then pierced them. As the liquid evaporate ...  Show more