How easy it is to see someone well-known for a skill and to say, “They were born with it,” or we assume, ”They must have it so easy.” However, we know that isn’t always true. For many talents and abilities, we struggle and strive to master it, and sometimes we never see the fruits of our labors. Other times, our efforts bring us to places we could never have imagined for ourselves. Now, imagine you are born with the exact deficits to hold you back from succeeding at a specific goal - what would you do? How would you try to overcome it? Or would you simply give up? Today, we follow the story of such a man, born with a severe speech impediment, who went on to accomplish something they never thought he could. Join us as we take a breath of dead air with an orator of ancient Greece, Demosthenes.

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Demosthenes-Greek-statesman-and-orator

https://medium.com/thrive-global/how-7-people-overcame-huge-obstacles-to-become-famous-4ae0386f4ee1

https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=resources&s=char-dir&f=demosthenes2

https://catholicbiblestudent.com/2022/01/two-ways-to-calculate-the-value-of-a-talent.html#:~:text=The%20value%20of%20ten%20talents%20of%20silver,in%20comparative%20American%20wages%20of%202006%2C%20$6%2C000%2C000

https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=read&author=lemon&book=greek&story=demosthenes

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Demosthenes*.html#:~:text=3%20However%2C%20at%20the%20age,force%20him%20to%20do%20so.

https://www.vaia.com/en-us/explanations/greek/greek-literature/greek-oratory/#:~:text=Greek%20oral%20tradition.-,Classical%20Period,Greek%20oratory%20with%20local%20practices.

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/dominique-charpentier/clapotis

License code: UFC1IOXIP5RCUBWF

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/brandon-hopkins/inner-workings

License code: AWKTSAR0YDGTDMZZ

Intro: Before Tony the Tiger, Dig’em Frog, Snap, Crackle, and Pop, breakfast was a very different meal. For the wealthy it included large spreads of meats, eggs, and breads. For the poor, breakfast usually consisted of a daily bowl of porridge. But all of that changed just before the turn of the 20th century, when two brothers discovered something new. Join us as we take a breath of dead air with the Kellogg brothers.

Sources:

“Almanac: Graham Crackers.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, www.cbsnews.com/news/almanac-graham-crackers/.

“Cereal: Accidental Invention That Changed American Breakfast.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Aug. 2025, www.history.com/articles/cereal-breakfast-origins-kellogg.

Gross, Terry. “How the ‘battling’ Kellogg Brothers Revolutionized American Breakfast.” NPR, NPR, 8 Aug. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/08/08/542145177/how-the-battling-kellogg-brothers-revolutionized-american-breakfast.

“Our Story & Timeline - WK Kellogg Co.” Our Story & Timeline - WK Kellogg Co®, www.wkkellogg.com/who-we-are/our-story. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.

“Sylvester Graham: History: Research Starters: EBSCO Research.” EBSCO, www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/sylvester-graham. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.

Music was obtained through Riverside.

During a time when tensions were high and grudges were rampant, the city of Berlin had been caught in the crossfire of former allies now at odds. The newly established United States Airforce was called on to bring food and necessities to these people who had, until very recently, been considered enemies. It was a great humanitarian effort for those who were in dire straits, but would it be enough to sustain the West Berliners while they held out to build their own democratic and free government? Tune in to learn how two sticks of gum changed history, as we take a breath of dead air with Gail Halvorsen.

Sources:

Cherny, Andrei. The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America’s Finest Hour. CNIB, 2014.

Halvorsen, Gail S., and Denise H. Williams. The Candy Bomber. Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, 2022.

Tunnell, Michael O. Candy Bomber. Charlesbridge, 2014.