Shoulders of Giants
15 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 5 years ago - ★★★★ - 14 ratingsAn amateur adventure into historical events and figures and what we can learn from them. Hosted by best friends Nick and Travis, we pick one historical subject each month and go off for at least an hour, probably more.
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Episodes
Yi Sun-Shin (Yi Sun-Sin)
April 03, 2019 04:00 - 58 minutes - 66.6 MBToday 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 abili...
Edward Jenner
March 07, 2019 05:00 - 50 minutes - 57.7 MBEdward 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.
Jim Henson
February 25, 2019 05:00 - 32 minutes - 37.3 MBFor 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 Hen...
Thurgood Marshall
January 30, 2019 05:00 - 31 minutes - 36.3 MBThurgood 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.
Francisco Pizarro
December 04, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 73.7 MBA 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 wa...
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce
November 02, 2018 03:00 - 1 hour - 91.4 MBTravis 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 vo...
Ed Gein
October 02, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 125 MBHappy 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 impr...
King Philip II of Macedon
September 12, 2018 02:07 - 2 hours - 178 MBSorry 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
Mansa Musa
August 02, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 109 MBEpisode 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 ...
Frances Perkins
July 02, 2018 04:00 - 2 hours - 168 MBThis 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.
Gavrilo Princip
June 05, 2018 04:00 - 2 hours - 143 MBWe 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 ...
Stephen Hawking
May 01, 2018 11:30 - 1 hour - 90.9 MBStephen 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...
Simon Bolivar
April 03, 2018 04:00 - 2 hours - 159 MBFor 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 politi...
Catherine the Great
March 09, 2018 05:00 - 2 hours - 155 MBHey 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 an...
Introduction
March 07, 2018 05:00 - 6 minutes - 7.18 MBWelcome 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.