Best Robert Thuerck Podcasts (2024)

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 29) - The Great Beyond (Part 3) 1:38:13

14d ago1:38:13

1:38:13

In this final episode of Ultima Thule we return to ancient Greece, where the term Thule first originated, and learn about their origin story of the Universe and how it compares to what we know about the Universe today. We then consider the concept of Ultima Thule through time and how people viewed the existence of the Earth, Moon, Sun, and stars fr…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 28) - The Great Beyond (Parts 1 & 2) 1:16:29

25d ago1:16:29

1:16:29

We have finally reached the final chapter of Ultima Thule: Unraveling the Unknown. In the penultimate episode we see how humans have come to view Earth by looking back at it from space, known as the overview effect. But the primary focus of this episode is to try and understand what is both the most abundant and vacant thing in the universe - empty…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 27) - The Big Ones (Part 7) 1:05:13

1M ago1:05:13

1:05:13

In this final episode of the largest meteorites to have ever hit Earth we focus on the most famous impact of them all - the Chicxulub impact that killed the dinosaurs. We explore what living at the time of impact must have been like and learn about the science behind how we know that it happened. Despite the most accepted theory by mainstream scien…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 26) - The Big Ones (Parts 3 - 6) 1:14:17

2M ago1:14:17

1:14:17

In the third installment on some of the largest meteorites to have ever hit Earth we explore some of the larger but lesser-known impacts on the planet. These include the impact sites of Chesapeake, Popigai, Manicouagan, Sudbury, and the largest of them all - Vredefort. We explore which may have been possible multiple-impact events, how they would'v…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 25) - The Big Ones (Part 2) 1:01:54

2M ago1:01:54

1:01:54

In this second episode on some of the biggest meteorites to have ever hit the planet we explore whether or not a large meteorite has ever hit a city. Currently, there are claims that this has happened twice in ancient times - at Tall el-Hammam in Jordan and Ch'ing Yang, China. But the evidence for each are very different. We uncover that the eviden…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 24) - The Big Ones (Part 1) 55:18

3M ago55:18

55:18

This is the first of four episodes dedicated to some of the biggest meteorite impacts in the history of the Earth. Today's episode is dedicated to the most mysterious - the 1908 Tunguska Event. What is actually known about what happened on that June morning in Siberia over a century ago? Where does the baseless speculation end and the evidence begi…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 23) - Cosmic Real Estate (Parts 5 - 7) 1:25:50

3M ago1:25:50

1:25:50

In the last episode we explored how much people will pay to possess a meteorite and the wide ranging prices depending on the type of meteorite. But we saved the most valuable meteorites for this episode starting with the pallasite, which can go for hundreds of thousands of dollars for a slice. We learn about the first widely studied pallasite found…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 22) - Cosmic Real Estate (Parts 1 - 4) 1:26:16

4M ago1:26:16

1:26:16

What happens when a rock from space falls onto our planet of complex property and ownership rights? Is it finders keepers? Is it owned by whose property it lands on? What if it hits you, do you own it? Welcome to the wild world of ownership rights of meteorites. In this episode we learn about some of the most well known meteorite hunters including …

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 21) - Cometary Meteorology 1:32:55

4M ago1:32:55

1:32:55

What is a meteor shower and how is it different from the lone fireball streaking across the sky? It turns out that meteor showers don't come from asteroids but instead comets. In fact, debris from meteor showers, unlike fireballs, very rarely ever make it to the ground, burning up on the way down. This has made it extremely difficult for scientists…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 20) - The Faith, Facts, And Pseudoscience Of Meteorites (Parts 3 &4) 1:04:15

5M ago1:04:15

1:04:15

In the last episode we explored how meteors and meteorites have been intertwined with faith as far back as ancient Egypt and in to the modern day. But this fascination has a dark side - it creates large quantities of misinformation - both unintentional and intentional. In this episode we explore both kinds through looking at other possible historic…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 19) - The Faith, Facts, And Pseudoscience Of Meteorites (Parts 1 & 2) 1:00:19

5M ago1:00:19

1:00:19

As extraterrestrial visitors meteors and meteorites have always fascinated humanity, but what role have meteorites played in the realm of faith? Whether it is the ancient crater at Lonar Lake in India, fireballs that fly across the sky over the Pacific Island of Mer, and possibly even the Black Stone of Kaaba, sacred to Islam there are signs that m…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 18) - The Making Of A Meteorite: Chondrite, Achondrite, and Iron 1:10:01

6M ago1:10:01

1:10:01

Of course, Ultima Thule was never truly on Earth but always in the heavens. Since time immemorial humans have looked up and wondered what they were looking at and what it must be made of. But every year roughly 44,000 tons of rock rain down on us in the form of meteorites. In this episode we take a crash course in the three main types of meteorites…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 17) - Icehouses and Greenhouses 1:32:47

6M ago1:32:47

1:32:47

With humanity finally able to reach Antarctica we were able to pull out ice cores that go much deeper back in time than anything from the Arctic, giving us the ability to peer back millions of years. But ice cores are not the only way humans are able to peer into the past and rocks found all over the planet allow us to see back to nearly the creati…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 16) - Antarctic Adventures 1:35:37

7M ago1:35:37

1:35:37

The early 20th century Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration brought the whole of civilization to the last unexplored continent on Earth. Names like Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton, and Roald Amundsen became immortalized when each raced to be the first person to the South Pole. While honor and ego often butted heads during this era it can't ov…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 15) - Climate Shaping Human Evolution 1:39:13

7M ago1:39:13

1:39:13

Over the last couple of episodes we explored how humans pushed out of Africa into the rest of the world including the Americas. In this episode I recap how the climate changed over the last 100,000 years and shaped human survival. Overall, the Earth continued to descend into a much colder and drier climate than humans had ever experienced creating …

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 14) - 100,000 Years of Diaspora (Part 3) 46:11

8M ago46:11

46:11

In the last episode we focused on humanity's efforts to leave Africa over the last 100,000 years. In this episode we continue to see how humans went on to populate every corner of the Earth, particularly the Americas as the first Americans came over in numbers as low as a couple-dozen. These were the first humans to truly take on the Arctic and lea…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 13) - 100,000 Years of Diaspora (Parts 1 & 2) 1:28:26

8M ago1:28:26

1:28:26

In the last few episodes we've explore the Milankovitch Cycles and have come to understand how they impact the Humid Sahara discussed in the first episode of Ultima Thule. In this episode we go back only one eccentricity cycle ago - 100,000 years (or so) - and see what the world was like then for humans and how the Humid Sahara played an integral r…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 12) - Forgotten Seasons (Parts 4 - 6) 1:18:09

9M ago1:18:09

1:18:09

In the last episode we discussed the origins of climate science and how it came to give us insight into the climate of Earth's deep past. The climate trends discovered through science actually confirmed a mathematical theory of climate by a man who dedicated his life to the subject decades before climate science existed. Milutin Milankovitch had pr…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 11) - Forgotten Seasons (Parts 1 - 3) 1:11:27

9M ago1:11:27

1:11:27

How many seasons does the Earth have? If you think it's only four then this episode is for you. It turns out that the Earth has several deep seasons that span for tens-of-thousands-of-years at a time. Ultimately these deep seasons play an integral role on the Earth's climate. But how much of a role and how do we know? In this episode learn about th…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 10) - To The Ends Of The Earth (Part 5) 46:20

9M ago46:20

46:20

In this episode we conclude the chapter "To The Ends Of The Earth" by focusing on the island of Greenland. Greenland became a final frontier for humanity and one explorer was at the forefront of helping map and study it - Peter Freuchen. Not only would Freuchen go on to routinely defy death in one of the most lethal landscapes on Earth but he would…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 9) - To The Ends Of The Earth (Parts 3 & 4) 1:21:11

10M ago1:21:11

1:21:11

In this episode we continue to explore the global scientific effort of working together across boundaries in order to better understand our place in the Universe. While the 1760s Transit of Venus (explored in the last episode) did bring scientists together regardless of nationality that level of global collaboration didn't occur again for over 100 …

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 8) - To The Ends of the Earth (Parts 1 & 2) 1:50:04

10M ago1:50:04

1:50:04

Today, we take what we know about the sky for granted but for most of humanity it was a mysterious black abyss. Just like an eclipse a new object appearing in the sky became associated with all sorts of good and bad omens. So when was it that we collectively began to understand the heavens? In her amazing book, Chasing Venus, Andrea Wulf makes a ca…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 7) - The Dynamic Heavens 1:26:13

11M ago1:26:13

1:26:13

In the last couple of episodes we focused on how we understood time in terms of the Sun and the Moon, using them to guide us through the annual seasons and celebrating their solstices and equinoxes. But there are other seasons as well - deep seasons - that take thousands of years for just a single cycle. In this episode we focus on the deep season …

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 6) - Assembly of Time (Parts 3 & 4) 1:26:00

11M ago1:26:00

1:26:00

In the last episode we explored how the ancients conceptualized time with the Sun and the Moon as well as how they were deified. In this episode, we explore the four most critical anchors to our year given to us by the interplay between the Sun and the Earth- the solstices and equinoxes. Despite the dizzying movement of celestial bodies through the…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 5) - Assembly of Time (Parts 1 & 2) 1:09:00

12M ago1:09:00

1:09:00

Today, most of us barely pay attention to how time is derived from space, and yet they are inextricably intertwined. Time - what it is, how to measure it, and how we relate to it - has perpetually baffled humanity as the ultimate puzzle. Even today we have difficulty understanding what time truly is. In this episode we explore how humans came to un…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 4) - Thales: The Man, The Legend (Part 4) 48:02

12M ago48:02

48:02

In this episode we finish talking about the legend of Thales of Miletus and explore other ways that he may have possibly predicted the famous 585 BCE eclipse by focusing on the most commonly cited possibility - the Saros Cycle. The Saros Cycle is a predictable method in order to determine the next eclipse, but was it even possible for the ancient w…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 3) - Thales: The Man, The Legend (Parts 1 - 3) 1:03:24

1y ago1:03:24

1:03:24

In the last episode we learned about the historic Battle of the Eclipse, which is widely referenced as the earliest known event in history tied to a specific date. While neither the leaders of Lydia or Media knew what to make of the unusual eclipse that occurred over the final battle of the Lydo-Median War apparently one man had predicted the eclip…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 2) - Secrets of Antiquity (Part 4) 1:10:50

1y ago1:10:50

1:10:50

In this episode we leave the Sahara and move north to Anatolia and learn about the ancient empires of Lydia and Media over 2,500 years ago. Lydia was a kingdom that was centuries old by the time the Medes overthrew the powerful empire of Assyria and took control for themselves. An established and wealthy kingdom faces off against an upstart that no…

1
Ultima Thule (Episode 1) - Forward & Secrets of Antiquity (Parts 1 - 3) 1:31:37

1y ago1:31:37

1:31:37

This is the first episode of my book Ultima Thule: Unraveling the Unknown. Since the days of the ancient Greeks Ultima Thule has represented only one thing - the unknown. And while in those days the unknown lay in far-flung corners of the world the true unknown has always lay above our heads in the vast depths of the celestial ocean. What is outer …

1
God in the Frontier BONUS EPISODE 1:46:00

1y ago1:46:00

1:46:00

I've gotten a lot of feedback and have had a few more thoughts since I finished releasing God in the Frontier and thought I would make a bonus episode to share! I discuss a variety of topics related to the 12 part God in the Frontier series and expand on them. In this episode learn about the Thomas Indian School, the Shakers, Benjamin Fish and his …

1
God in the Frontier (Episode 12) - Sifting Through The Burned-Over District (Part 4) 57:54

1y ago57:54

57:54

In this final episode of God in the Frontier we explore what role faith has in the future of humanity and civilization itself. How do we overcome the barrier of religious exceptionalism while still not let go of our ability to believe? Today, we know better, we know that every human we meet shared a deep ancestor with each other. What we now know t…

1
God in the Frontier (Episode 11) - Sifting Through The Burned Over District (Part 3) 1:22:16

1y ago1:22:16

1:22:16

Why did new religions pop up so frequently in the Burned-Over District of New York during the 19th century? Did God decide it was special or was there something special about the area that made it prone to New Religious Movements. In this episode we describe some of the science behind New Religious Movements whether they're from the 19th century or…

1
God in the Frontier (Episode 10) - Sifting Through The Burned Over District (Part 2) 56:03

1y ago56:03

56:03

Is there a universal message between all religions? What exactly is an epiphany and why do so many religious movements seem to begin with one? Why do some religions flourish while others fail? Is God picking and choosing or is there something else going on here? Perhaps its worth exploring more deeply into the role of the brain and its evolution in…

1
God in the Frontier (Episode 9) - Sifting Through The Burned-Over District (Part 1) 1:03:55

1y ago1:03:55

1:03:55

The final 4 episodes of God in the Frontier are about reflecting on what we learned over the first 8 episodes in the Burned-Over District. How does the Christian prism look to those who see it through the Calvinist wavelength compared to those who see it through an Evangelical one? And how does Evangelicalism impact the relationship between the Uni…

1
God in the Frontier (Episode 8) - Mormonism: An American Prophet, An American Empire (Part 2) 1:00:58

1y ago1:00:58

1:00:58

Who was Joseph Smith? How did he end up becoming the founder of an entire religion? And how does learning about Mormon history inform us about the relationship between faith and violence in all religions? In this episode we follow Joseph Smith from his origins on the outskirts of Rochester, NY and his push westward where he and his followers demons…

1
God in the Frontier (Episode 7) - Mormonism: An American Prophet, An American Empire (Part 1) 1:11:54

1y ago1:11:54

1:11:54

In this episode learn about the birth of the most powerful religion of the Americas - Mormonism. How do Mormons worship differently than other forms of Christianity? What was the role of Brigham Young in its development? Why is there such a strong pushback against the faith by both Christians and non-Christians alike? And how can understanding Morm…

1
God in the Frontier (Episode 6) - Distorted Reflections of Spiritualism (Part 2) PLUS Moral Intellectualism at the Chautauqua Institution 1:16:52

1y ago1:16:52

1:16:52

A magician faces off against a group of fortune tellers in front of the US Congress - who wins? Harry Houdini takes on Congress to warn of the very real dangers of Spiritualism in one of the most dramatic demonstrations in American history only to be accused of being a secret Spiritualist himself. Also, the largest Spiritualist community in the wor…

1
God in the Frontier (Episode 5) - Distorted Reflections of Spiritualism (Part 1) 1:10:17

1y ago1:10:17

1:10:17

The birth and rise of Spiritualism - first in Rochester, then in New York City, then the world - giving rise to "spirit photography" and permeating the highest echelons of society, including the Lincoln White House. But what happens when scientific investigation tries to get a closer look at the phenomenon and what is the truth when one of the foun…

1
God in the Frontier (Episode 4) - Selfishness and Selflessness in Oneida PLUS Cosmos Crumbling: The Birth of Adventism 1:04:50

1+ y ago1:04:50

1:04:50

How do you know when you've reached peak Christian Perfectionism? When one man was confident he had found it he started a commune that led to one of the most successful businesses in American flatware. Or what do you do when you read the Bible only to discover a message of when the world was going to end hidden within its text? Would you tell the w…

1
God in the Frontier (Episode 3) - An Awakening in the Burned-Over District 1:26:26

1+ y ago1:26:26

1:26:26

What happened when Evangelicalism met Calvinism on the New York frontier in Rochester, NY? The little known history of the underpinnings of how the United States shaped its Christian foundation with one man seemingly behind it all - Charles Grandison Finney. Learn about Col. Nathaniel Rochester, his nemeses the Brown family, and how the influx of r…

1
God in the Frontier (Episode 2) - New York: An Old Land, A New Frontier 56:22

1+ y ago56:22

56:22

How did one of the most powerful Native American confederations of the Americas give way to European and US encroachment? And how did Christians feel about this shift of power? In this episode we are introduced to the New York frontier and how a little remembered campaign of total destruction - the Sullivan Expedition - led to the fall of Haudenosa…

1
God in the Frontier (Episode 1) - Broad Strokes: Fractures in the Prism of Christianity 1:05:16

1+ y ago1:05:16

1:05:16

What is religion? How are there so many faithful and yet at the same time so much disagreement over how to worship? In the first episode of my book God in the Frontier: The Impact of the 19th Century Burned-Over District and The Psychology of Faith I dive into a very brief history of Christianity from its inception to early 18th century America, se…

1
The Forging of Humanity 1:11:18

1+ y ago1:11:18

1:11:18

Ever wonder why animals can live outside 24/7 in the middle of winter while we huddle indoors and turn up the heat? So have I! And so has Harvard Biological Anthropologist Professor Richard Wrangham whose book Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human is the main source of information for this episode. Did we outsmart the rest of the animal kingdom …

1
Introduction to No Character Limit 48:03

1+ y ago48:03

48:03

Want to know what No Character Limit is all about? This is the episode to check out. Find out the reason why I created this podcast and what principles guide my episodes. Subscribe! Link To This Episode! Support No Character Limit Paypal Mastodon/Reddit Main PageBy Robert Thuerck

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