The Puzzling Planet Podcast

A series about obscure topics related to geography and the world’s overall randomness 

Latest Episode

Episode 1: What is Ambergris

First Episode Info

First things first, what exactly is Ambergris? It’s often referred to as the “floating gold” of the sea. This mysterious substance is produced in the digestive system of sperm whales and is found ashore on beaches around the world. Now, you might be wondering, why is it so precious? 

Ambergris Resources

How whale vomit became the key to the most luxurious fragrances
NY Post Article

Ambergris YouTube Video

How to Get Rich Selling Whale Poop
Watch here

Expert Speaker: Chris Kemp

Chris Kemp began his career at Michigan State University in 2010, relocating from the University of Otago in New Zealand. Mr. Kemp has a B.S. in Applied Biological Sciences from The University of the West of England, and an M.S. in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of Cincinnati. Mr. Kemp has been the laboratory manager for Dr. Caryl Sortwell since 2010. His expertise lies in the areas of tissue imaging, developing animal models of disease, small animal surgeries, and testing of movement disorders in animal models. His skill set includes a wide array of neurobiology techniques including immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, microscopy, and molecular techniques such as RNA extraction, qPCR and ddPCR. Mr. Kemp also managing general lab matters, purchasing, safety training and administration for a large research group. When he isn’t in the lab he basks in the light emitted by his children.

Your Host

Meet Aidan Egazarian 

My passion lies in geography, since I was a little boy, I was obsessed with maps and often stared at them for hours on end admiring their intricacies and dreaming of adventures there. This continued passion along with a photographic memory has allowed me to develop somewhat of a globe memorized in my head, and a baseline knowledge of at least every single country’s flag and capital.

My other true passion lies in adventure, and going out to explore these interesting places on the map that excite me, what’s it like to camelback in a caravan with a Tuareg tribe for 15 days in the Sahara Desert, or to kayak for 80 days the entire length of the Amazon River, and questions like where is the most remote place on Earth? Has anybody stepped foot there? How many parts of our planet are still yet to be explored? As well as social and political issues as they relate to geography, why are there so many military bases in Djibouti? I love to scour Google Earth and find interesting things that other people haven’t yet.

For my podcast, I’m looking for an outlet to explore these curiosities with the world and its randomness in all its beauty, as well was reach out to people who have some answers to my questions. 

 

Curious about the world

Stay Tuned For Our Latest Episodes

Follow us on our social media platforms below to stay up to date with all of the latest episode releases! 

Look forward to future episodes! 

Episode 2 featuring Alexandra Prokopenko

Alexandra Prokopenko Bio 

Alexandra Prokopenko is a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. She is a visiting fellow at the Center for Order and Governance in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP).

In her research, she focuses on Russian government policymaking on economic and financial issues.

From 2017 until early 2022 Alexandra worked at the Central Bank of Russia and at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow. She is a former columnist for Vedomosti. She is a graduate of Moscow State University and holds an MA in Sociology from the University of Manchester.

Episode 3

Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

Norilsk

Picture this: a city cloaked in perpetual winter, a wasteland forged by industry. Norilsk is not your typical urban landscape. It holds the ominous title of being the most polluted city on Earth, in addition to being the second largest city in the Arctic circle (Murmansk), and its story is as complex as the heavy smoke that shrouds its skyline.

NBC News Article

Norilsk

Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

Radio Free Europe Article

Norilsk

Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

Watch YouTube Video