The KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments through microschooling. Powered by Prenda, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle curiosity, motivation, and well-being in young learners. Do you have a question, topic, or story you'd like to share with us? Get in touch at [email protected].
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Kindling Project Podcasts
We know that women have untapped potential – and it's time to put some kindling on it. Too often, we dim our light for the sake of others. But it's never too late to ignite the fire within. Unlock your potential and embark on a journey of empowerment with The Kindling Project. Join our host Melissa Halpin, artist and CEO of Memora, an experience design agency, and founder of The Kindling Project, a media platform for women as she interviews women at varying stages of their Kindling Projects. ...
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The John Batchelor Show is a hard news-analysis radio program on current events, world history, global politics and natural sciences. Based in New York City for two decades, the show has travelled widely to report, from the Middle East to the South Caucasus to the Arabian Peninsula and East Asia.
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S8 Ep261: PREVIEW DION'S RETURN AND DESCENT INTO TYRANNY Colleague Professor James Romm. Professor Romm discusses Dion, a returning exile who liberated Syracuse but eventually adopted dictatorial tactics ...
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PREVIEW DION'S RETURN AND DESCENT INTO TYRANNY Colleague Professor James Romm. Professor Romm discusses Dion, a returning exile who liberated Syracuse but eventually adopted dictatorial tactics and authorized political assassinations. Although Dion attempted to establish a pluralistic government, he struggled against "white hot" revolutionary passi…
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S8 Ep261: PREVIEW PLATO'S FIRST VISIT AND POLITICAL EXPERIMENTS Colleague Professor James Romm. This segment examines Plato's invitation to Syracuse by Dion, who sought an intellectual ally against the ...
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PREVIEW PLATO'S FIRST VISIT AND POLITICAL EXPERIMENTS Colleague Professor James Romm. This segment examines Plato's invitation to Syracuse by Dion, who sought an intellectual ally against the court's riotous lifestyle. Viewing the city as a "laboratory for political innovation," Plato investigated the autocratic experiments of Dionysius the Elder, …
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S8 Ep261: PREVIEW THE STRATEGIC FORTRESS OF SYRACUSE Colleague Professor James Romm. Romm details the military might of Syracuse under the Dionysius dynasty, specifically describing "the island," a peninsula ...
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PREVIEW THE STRATEGIC FORTRESS OF SYRACUSE Colleague Professor James Romm. Romm details the military might of Syracuse under the Dionysius dynasty, specifically describing "the island," a peninsula connected to the mainland by a causeway. Protected by walls and a natural fresh water spring, this zone became an unassailable fortress that allowed the…
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S8 Ep260: FERGUSON'S ANALYSIS, THE EMPEROR SYSTEM, AND AUGUSTAN AUTHORITY Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 91 AD. The speakers critique historian Niall Ferguson ...
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FERGUSON'S ANALYSIS, THE EMPEROR SYSTEM, AND AUGUSTAN AUTHORITY Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 91 AD. The speakers critique historian Niall Ferguson's recent characterization of Donald Trump as a composite of Andrew Jackson, William McKinley, P.T. Barnum, and Richard Nixon. Germanicus dismisses Ferg…
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S8 Ep260: THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, OPEN BORDERS, AND ELITE DETACHMENT Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 91 AD. The discussion turns to domestic turmoil, using ...
15:52
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THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, OPEN BORDERS, AND ELITE DETACHMENT Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 91 AD. The discussion turns to domestic turmoil, using H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds as a metaphor for the modern refugee crisis and the rejection of border enforcement by Western elites. Gaius argues that t…
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S8 Ep259: THEATER, BATTLESHIPS, AND THE ILLUSION OF AMERICAN POWER Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 91 AD. Gaius and Germanicus discuss the theatrical nature ...
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THEATER, BATTLESHIPS, AND THE ILLUSION OF AMERICAN POWER Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 91 AD. Gaius and Germanicus discuss the theatrical nature of American imperial power under Donald Trump, positing that the administration utilizes military displays—such as missile strikes on empty targets in Nig…
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S8 Ep258: NOBEL SNUBS AND LATER CONTROVERSIES Colleague Professor Paul Halpern. In the aftermath of the Big Bang's confirmation, Gamow fought for recognition of his prior theoretical contributions before ...
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NOBEL SNUBS AND LATER CONTROVERSIES Colleague Professor Paul Halpern. In the aftermath of the Big Bang's confirmation, Gamow fought for recognition of his prior theoretical contributions before his death in 1968. Halpern discusses the controversy surrounding the Nobel Prize for nucleosynthesis, which was awarded to William Fowler but excluded Hoyle…
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S8 Ep258: THE ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY OF THE BIG BANG Colleague Professor Paul Halpern. Halpern explains how a horror movie inspired the Steady State theory, which posits that new matter is continuously created ...
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THE ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY OF THE BIG BANG Colleague Professor Paul Halpern. Halpern explains how a horror movie inspired the Steady State theory, which posits that new matter is continuously created to maintain cosmic density. Ironically, Hoyle coined the term "Big Bang" as a derisive label during a radio broadcast, preferring his continuous creatio…
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S8 Ep258: STELLAR ORIGINS AND COMPETING COSMOLOGIES Colleague Professor Paul Halpern. The focus shifts to Fred Hoyle, whose musical mother taught him to read via silent film subtitles. Halpern details ...
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STELLAR ORIGINS AND COMPETING COSMOLOGIES Colleague Professor Paul Halpern. The focus shifts to Fred Hoyle, whose musical mother taught him to read via silent film subtitles. Halpern details Hoyle's journey to Cambridge, where his ambition to work in nuclear physics was interrupted by WWII radar research. Hoyle became fascinated by astronomy, event…
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S8 Ep258: FROM REVOLUTION TO QUANTUM TUNNELING Colleague Professor Paul Halpern. This segment introduces the parallel early lives of physicists George Gamow and Fred Hoyle. Halpern describes Gamow's youth ...
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11:44
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FROM REVOLUTION TO QUANTUM TUNNELING Colleague Professor Paul Halpern. This segment introduces the parallel early lives of physicists George Gamow and Fred Hoyle. Halpern describes Gamow's youth in revolutionary Russia, noting the irony that his father once taught Leon Trotsky. Gamow studied under Alexander Friedmann, who applied general relativity…
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S8 Ep257: IMPORTING THE MAFIA STATE: THE 2014 MOSCOW DINNER AND THE ROOTS OF TRUMP'S RUSSIAN ENTANGLEMENTS Colleague Craig Unger. Investigative journalist Craig Unger analyzes a pivotal February 2014 dinner ...
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IMPORTING THE MAFIA STATE: THE 2014 MOSCOW DINNER AND THE ROOTS OF TRUMP'S RUSSIAN ENTANGLEMENTS Colleague Craig Unger. Investigative journalist Craig Unger analyzes a pivotal February 2014 dinner in Moscow attended by Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and prominent Russian oligarchs like Roman Abramovich and Viktor Vekselberg. Occurring just weeks befo…
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S8 Ep256: STARSHIP: THE FULLY REUSABLE ARCHITECTURE FOR MARS Colleague Eric Berger. At Boca Chica, Texas, SpaceX transformed a swamp into "Starbase," a modern rocket factory for the Starship and Super ...
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STARSHIP: THE FULLY REUSABLE ARCHITECTURE FOR MARS Colleague Eric Berger. At Boca Chica, Texas, SpaceX transformed a swamp into "Starbase," a modern rocket factory for the Starship and Super Heavy launch system. Starship represents the endgame of Musk's vision: a fully reusable rocket larger than the Saturn V, designed to be caught by "chopstick" a…
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S8 Ep256: THE CHUTE SHOW AND THE RACE FOR COMMERCIAL CREW Colleague Eric Berger. SpaceX competed with Boeing to restore NASA's ability to launch astronauts, a program politically legitimized by Boeing ...
11:14
11:14
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THE CHUTE SHOW AND THE RACE FOR COMMERCIAL CREW Colleague Eric Berger. SpaceX competed with Boeing to restore NASA's ability to launch astronauts, a program politically legitimized by Boeing's participation. Developing the Crew Dragon required rigorous testing, particularly by a team nicknamed the "Chute Show" who tested parachutes in the desert. W…
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S8 Ep256: STARLINK: THE ECONOMIC ENGINE FOR MARS Colleague Eric Berger. To finance the massive costs of the Mars program, SpaceX developed Starlink, a constellation of thousands of low Earth orbit (LEO ...
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STARLINK: THE ECONOMIC ENGINE FOR MARS Colleague Eric Berger. To finance the massive costs of the Mars program, SpaceX developed Starlink, a constellation of thousands of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites designed to provide global internet. While previous attempts at LEO constellations were deemed impractical due to manufacturing challenges, SpaceX…
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S8 Ep256: THE TRIUMPH OF LANDING AND THE MYSTERY OF AMOS-6 Colleague Eric Berger. In December 2015, SpaceX achieved a historic milestone by landing a Falcon 9 booster at Cape Canaveral, a feat made possible ...
11:19
11:19
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THE TRIUMPH OF LANDING AND THE MYSTERY OF AMOS-6 Colleague Eric Berger. In December 2015, SpaceX achieved a historic milestone by landing a Falcon 9 booster at Cape Canaveral, a feat made possible by Air Force support despite fears that the sonic booms might damage nearby spy satellites. The rocket utilized autonomous avionics to execute the landin…
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S8 Ep256: PUSHING BOUNDARIES WITH DENSIFIED PROPELLANT AND BARGE LANDINGS Colleague Eric Berger. Following the 2015 launch failure, SpaceX introduced the "Falcon 9 Full Thrust," which utilized densified ...
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PUSHING BOUNDARIES WITH DENSIFIED PROPELLANT AND BARGE LANDINGS Colleague Eric Berger. Following the 2015 launch failure, SpaceX introduced the "Falcon 9 Full Thrust," which utilized densified propellants—super-chilled liquid oxygen—to increase fuel mass by up to 12% for greater efficiency. This technology required tight launch windows but was esse…
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S8 Ep256: RISKING IT ALL TO DOCK DRAGON WITH THE ISS Colleague Eric Berger. To fund its Mars ambitions, SpaceX needed NASA contracts to deliver cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) using the ...
13:24
13:24
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RISKING IT ALL TO DOCK DRAGON WITH THE ISS Colleague Eric Berger. To fund its Mars ambitions, SpaceX needed NASA contracts to deliver cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) using the Dragon spacecraft. Unlike traditional capsules, Dragon integrated propulsion directly into the vehicle to support future reusability. Behind schedule, SpaceX c…
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S8 Ep256: THE STRUGGLE TO BUILD AND TRANSPORT THE FIRST FALCON 9 Colleague Eric Berger. Moving from the single-engine Falcon 1 to the nine-engine Falcon 9 involved a "long hot summer" of grueling 100-hour ...
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THE STRUGGLE TO BUILD AND TRANSPORT THE FIRST FALCON 9 Colleague Eric Berger. Moving from the single-engine Falcon 1 to the nine-engine Falcon 9 involved a "long hot summer" of grueling 100-hour weeks for young engineers in Texas. The team faced immense challenges integrating complex plumbing and flight computers for the first time. Lacking a ship …
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S8 Ep256: THE AUDACITY OF THE MARS COLONIZATION VISION Colleague Eric Berger. In September 2016, Elon Musk presented a vision in Guadalajara that sounded like science fiction: a plan to colonize Mars to ...
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THE AUDACITY OF THE MARS COLONIZATION VISION Colleague Eric Berger. In September 2016, Elon Musk presented a vision in Guadalajara that sounded like science fiction: a plan to colonize Mars to prevent a potential extinction event. Despite a recent rocket explosion, Musk proposed a "grandiose architecture" involving massive reusable rockets designed…
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S8 Ep256: THE COLLAPSE OF 1989 AND THE MODERN AUTHORITARIAN PIVOT Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. In the final segment, McMeekin challenges the narrative that the 1989 collapse was solely a popular ...
7:57
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THE COLLAPSE OF 1989 AND THE MODERN AUTHORITARIAN PIVOT Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. In the final segment, McMeekin challenges the narrative that the 1989 collapse was solely a popular uprising. Instead, he argues it was a "top-down disintegration" caused by the withdrawal of Soviet force via the "Sinatra Doctrine" (letting satellites go thei…
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S8 Ep256: THE COLD WAR TRAP AND GORBACHEV'S MISCALCULATION Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. The timeline shifts to the Cold War rivalry, arguing that Soviet aggression was driven by a genuine belief ...
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11:37
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THE COLD WAR TRAP AND GORBACHEV'S MISCALCULATION Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. The timeline shifts to the Cold War rivalry, arguing that Soviet aggression was driven by a genuine belief—shared by the CIA—that their economic system would eventually outproduce the West. The invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 became a trap, as the US applied "hard p…
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S8 Ep256: THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION: THE CULT OF YOUTH AND ANARCHY Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. This segment covers the chaos of the mid-1960s Cultural Revolution. Mao mobilized a "cult of youth" to ...
6:19
6:19
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THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION: THE CULT OF YOUTH AND ANARCHY Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. This segment covers the chaos of the mid-1960s Cultural Revolution. Mao mobilized a "cult of youth" to destroy the "old"—teachers, books, and cultural heritage—in a bid to purge rivals and reinvigorate the revolution. McMeekin describes this as the "nihilistic…
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S8 Ep256: MAO'S XENOPHOBIC REVOLUTION AND THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. Moving to China, McMeekin explains that Mao Zedong's ideology was a "bizarre melange" of Marxism, class ...
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11:10
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MAO'S XENOPHOBIC REVOLUTION AND THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. Moving to China, McMeekin explains that Mao Zedong's ideology was a "bizarre melange" of Marxism, class envy, and intense xenophobia. Unlike European communists, Chinese communism was driven by a deep resentment of foreign imperialism. The conversation analyze…
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S8 Ep256: STALIN VS. TROTSKY AND THE LOGIC OF THE GREAT TERROR Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. The discussion turns to the rivalry between Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. While Trotsky was an inflexible ...
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STALIN VS. TROTSKY AND THE LOGIC OF THE GREAT TERROR Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. The discussion turns to the rivalry between Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. While Trotsky was an inflexible ideologue advocating for permanent revolution, Stalin was a "savvy political operator" willing to be ideologically flexible to consolidate power. The segm…
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S8 Ep256: LENIN'S INNOVATION: REVOLUTIONARY DEFEATISM AND GLOBAL CIVIL WAR Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. Focusing on Vladimir Lenin, this section examines how he radicalized Marx's vision through ...
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LENIN'S INNOVATION: REVOLUTIONARY DEFEATISM AND GLOBAL CIVIL WAR Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. Focusing on Vladimir Lenin, this section examines how he radicalized Marx's vision through the concept of "revolutionary defeatism." Lenin believed that disastrous imperial wars, like World War I, should be welcomed as catalysts to turn international…
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