Forever Ago

We're moving the Brains On Universe Headquarters, and that means we have to stop putting out new episodes until we get settled. We know: not cool. But, our new home is going to be bigger and better and the absolute BEST. We can't wait until it's ready for you to visit.

This week, Joy, cohost Hannah and Articles of Interest’s Avery Trufelman trace the history of school uniforms, from their start 800 years ago in England, to their popularization in America by immigrants.

Joy and co-host Obasi are so obsessed with historical spycraft that they become top secret spies! Their mission, should they choose to accept it: investigate the life of superstar Josephine Baker.

Today, sports are popular all over the world!  But have you ever wondered what the first team sport was?  This week, Joy and cohost Xenia learn all about the Mesoamerican Ball Game, which is more than 3,000 years old!

Joy is a real cool customer. How cool? Well, let’s just say she regularly sleeps in feline PJs, aka the cat’s pajamas. Cat’s pajamas are slang for something being really cool. To prove how much slang she knows, Joy plays a game of First Things First featuring some of her favorite slang terms. Only the coolest kids can win the game, daddy-o.

Join Joy and Flora on their camping trip, while they explore the history of the Girl Scouts! This super popular group teaches girls all kinds of skills, from managing money to how to be a good friend. Over a million girls across the U.S. are members – but how did the group get started anyway?

If you’ve ever had maple syrup on your pancakes or waffles, you have the Native people of what’s now called North America to thank for that. Native people have been making maple syrup for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Forever Ago is on Spring Break this week! We’ll be back next week with a brand new episode all about the magic of maple syrup. In the meantime, enjoy this saucy showdown from our friends at Smash Boom Best!

Fireworks dazzle us on special holidays, at flashy concerts and during some big public events (National Mr. Potatohead Day anyone?). But did you know people have been using fireworks to celebrate for centuries?

Forever ago is back with a brand new episode all about the Native Youth Olympics! Join Joy and cohost Ali to learn all about how a group of students in Alaska started a sporting event that today has hundreds of participants!

Millions of people around the world love to watch the magical, musical, dance-filled films from India. The industry is nicknamed Bollywood. Join Joy and co-host Senna as they explore the life of pioneering filmmaker Dadasaheb Phalke, while excavating an ancient video rental store.

Host Joy Dolo loves the listeners of Forever Ago – but does she love them enough to do an episode about her nemesis MAYONNAISE??? Yes, yes she does.

Hey Forever Ago friends! Happy April Fools Day! We’re so excited to be back in your ears with brand new episodes next week, on April 9th!

We have a real whale of a story for you this week! It’s a FIN-tastic classic. Joy and cohost Mina meet up with Hugh the humpback whale to hear how scientist Roger Payne changed the course of history for whales by releasing a record of their songs.

Rap music is one of the most popular genres of music in the world today. But where did it all begin? Join hosts Joy and Savion as they go back to the 1970s to hear two stories about how rap music started.

As times change, so do jobs, and careers that once were common can go extinct! Join Joy and co-host Amirah as they head to the world famous “This Used to be a Career Fair.”

You probably know Sesame Street as a fun, fast-paced show full of talking puppets, like Elmo and Big Bird. But it actually started as a huge experiment to see if TV could change kids’ lives for the better! Join Joy and co-host Truman as tell the tale of how Sesame Street came to be.

It’s the holiday season, which for Forever Ago host Joy Dolo means one thing: DEALS!  Help her check off her holiday shopping list with a game of First Things First, where she and co-host Petra guess the order three classic toys were invented in.