1470: "Forbidden City, Beijing"

1470: "Forbidden City, Beijing"

Author: JC November 15, 2025 Duration: 4:50
Interesting Things with JC #1470: "Forbidden City, Beijing" – A palace built in fourteen years with quake-flexing timber, golden bricks that rang underfoot, and a cosmic axis meant to bind an emperor to the stars. Step inside and you find a city engineered to survive fire, war, and anyone who dared to cross its gates.

Curiosity often leads us down the most rewarding paths, and that's the spirit behind Interesting Things with JC. Each episode is a compact dive into a story that makes you pause and think, hosted by JC. You'll find a mix here: forgotten chapters from our past that explain the present, nuanced looks at cultural shifts happening now, and those remarkable tales that simply never got the spotlight they deserved. This isn't a dry lecture but a conversation about the threads connecting history, society, and our everyday lives. The focus is on depth over breadth, making each installment of this podcast a self-contained exploration. Whether it's an obscure historical event with surprising modern echoes or a fresh perspective on a current topic, the aim is to feed that curiosity with something substantive. Tune in for a thoughtfully researched and engagingly presented look at the world's fascinating corners.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 300

Interesting Things with JC
Podcast Episodes
1385: "Judge Frank Caprio" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:21
Interesting Things with JC #1385: "Judge Frank Caprio" – From the son of an immigrant fruit seller to America’s “nicest judge,” Frank Caprio carried justice with compassion. His legacy lives not in verdicts, but in the l…
1384: "Does Black Paint Make Metal Hotter" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:59
Interesting Things with JC #1384: "Does Black Paint Make Metal Hotter" – A black bumper scorches, a white one simmers. Behind that burn lies the physics of light, heat, and a 160-year-old discovery that still shapes ever…
1383: "Hawaii, the 50th Star" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:52
Interesting Things with JC #1383: "Hawaii, the 50th Star" – Bells rang, fireworks lit the night, and a new star joined the flag. Hawaii’s statehood wasn’t just politics, it was belonging.
1382: "Lazy Pierogi" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:51
Interesting Things with JC #1382: "Lazy Pierogi" – A shortcut that still tastes like tradition. From church basements to kitchen tables, this humble dish carries comfort, memories, and grit in every bite.
1381: "Terence Stamp" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:42
Interesting Things with JC #1381: "Terence Stamp" – From the shadow of the Blitz to the heights of cinema, he carried presence like a weapon. Few actors could command silence, power, and myth across six decades. This is…
1380: "The Battery that Refuses to Die" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:11
Interesting Things with JC #1380: "The Battery that Refuses to Die" – At Oxford, a mysterious battery has powered two bells for nearly 185 years. Unopened, unexplained, and still ringing. How can something built in 1840…
1379: "The Tunnel That Never Thaws" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:15
Interesting Things with JC #1379: "The Tunnel That Never Thaws" – Carved into ancient permafrost, this frozen tunnel holds more than ice, it holds time. From mammoth hair to volcanic ash, it’s a living archive beneath Al…
1378: "The Brazilian Current" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:41
Interesting Things with JC #1378: "The Brazilian Current" – It moves just one mile an hour, but it carries more than 50 Amazon Rivers. When warm meets cold, the ocean stirs. So does the planet.
1377: "Explosive Pancake Batter of WWII" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:54
Interesting Things with JC #1377: "Explosive Pancake Batter of WWII" – It looked like breakfast…but it packed a punch strong enough to derail a train. How wartime spies turned flour into firepower...right under the enemy…