Audio: Christmas & The North Pole https://media.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/content.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/80_Days_Christmas_2022.mp3 In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’re (sort of) exploring the history of the North Pole, and in particular, it’s significance to the Christmas season. We also conduct our now-traditional Christmas quiz, and give a brief update on Season 6. From all of us, have a very merry festive season, and we’ll see you in 2023. Your hosts, as always, are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Dublin, Ireland, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in the U ..read more

Audio: Quebec City https://media.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/content.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/80_Days-Quebec_City.mp3 In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’ll be talking about the only walled city north of Mexico on the American Continent – Quebec City. The capital city of Canada’s Quebec province, the city is located on the St Lawrence River, around 500 kilometres from the Eastern coast of Canada, and around 700km northeast of New York City. Founded in July 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, a French explorer, Quebec City originated as Stadacona, a Iroqious Na ..read more

Audio: Bougainville http://media.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/content.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/80Days_Bougainville.mp3 In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’ll be talking about Bougainville, the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Located 1,000 kilometers east of the mainland national capital of Port Moresby, Bougainville is the most remote of Papua New Guinea’s 19 provinces. Bougainville is the largest island in the Solomon Islands archipelago, lying around 1500km or 1000 miles off the northeast coast of Aus ..read more

Audio: Christmas Traditions Around the World https://media.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/content.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/80DaysChristmasMinisode2021.mp3 In this festive episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’ll be taking a look at some Christmas traditions from around the world that we’ve discovered. We’re also joined by a special guest or two, as you’ll hear early on in the podcast. Hopefully this episode provides some distraction from the world at large, and brings a bit of festive cheer. Merry Christmas from all of us at 80 Days. Your hosts, as always, are Luke Kelly ..read more

Audio: Ulaanbataar http://media.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/content.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/80Days_Ulaanbataar.mp3 In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’ll be talking about Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia.  Its modern name means ‘Red Hero’ and it is a city that has had many names including Urga, Örgöö, and Ikh Khuree. Ulaanbaatar was originally founded in 1639 as a nomadic Bhuddist monastery, essentially a moveable city,  and was not permanently settled at its current location in 1778, where it became a crucial trading hub between Russia a ..read more

Audio: Paris Catacombs https://media.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/content.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/80_Days-Paris_Catacombs.mp3 In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’ll be talking about Paris, or rather, what lies underneath it — The Paris Catacombs. What began as a network of mines beneath the city which spanned approximately 200 miles or 322 km soon morphed into something much more. A crisis in the 18th Century quite literally shook the foundations of the city, prompting the creation of an ossuary or network of catacombs beneath the city, which would go on to ..read more

Audio: Gabon http://media.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/content.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/80Days_Gabon.mp3 In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’ll be talking about Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic, an equatorial country on the west coast of Africa. Originally inhabited by Bantu tribes, the area we now know as Gabon was first explored by Europeans in the 15th Century. Local inhabitants began to sell slaves to Europeans in the 18th and 19th centuries, which established the region as a hub for the slave trade. In 1910, Gabon became one of the four territorie ..read more

Audio: Paraguay https://media.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/content.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/80_Days-Paraguay.mp3 In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’ll be talking about Paraguay, a small South American nation sometimes referred to as the “heart of South America”, bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. One of only two landlocked countries in South America, the other being Bolivia, Paraguay was home to a number of Native Indian groups, most prominently the Guarani, before being colonised ..read more

  Audio: Kaliningrad / Koenigsberg https://media.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/content.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/80_Days_KaliningradKoenigsberg.mp3 We’re (finally) kicking off season five! In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’ll be talking about Kaliningrad, formerly Koenigsberg, a city on the Pregolya River, at the head of the Vistula Lagoon on the Baltic Sea. This city has a storied history, having been originally established as a Sambian or Old Prussian settlement, before being administered by the State of the Teutonic Order, the Duchy of Prussia, the Ki ..read more

Minisode: Christmas Stories https://media.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/content.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/Christmas_Minisode.mp3 In this festive episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’re inviting you all to join us for a little festive celebration, after what’s been a very hard year for many of you out there. On the menu we have three Christmas stories, as well as a surprise or two, and a short sneak preview of what’s to come in season 5. We really want to take the time to thank our patrons, many of whom joined us in the past 12 months, so we’ll be sprinkling our thanks ..read more