Exploration History

A ship was more to a pirate than just a place to make a living. Ships often provided more freedom than pirates could get in most places. Come aboard to see how pirates lived, worked, and fought on their ships.

Pirates were thieves and murderers. But even these criminals had to follow certain rules. And if they broke the rules, they faced severe punishments. Listen to learn about the pirate code and how it guided everyday life on a pirate ship.

Shivya Nath quit her corporate job at age twenty-three to travel the world. She gave up her home and the need for a permanent address, sold most of her possessions and embarked on a nomadic journey that has taken her everywhere from remote Himalayan villages to the Amazon rainforests of Ecuador...

Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set off from England aboard the ship Endurance, intending to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. Instead, Endurance becomes icebound and sinks 100 miles from land, leaving Shackleton and his men to fight brutal perils on ice, land, and sea...or die trying.

Brought to you by Penguin. *A Guardian, Financial Times, New Statesman and GQ Book for 2025 * The tortured poet. The rebellious scientist. The monstrous artist. The tech disruptor. You can tell what a society values by who it labels as a genius. You can also tell who it excludes, who it enables...

Benjamin Franklin was often curious about the world around him. Utilizing observation and testing of the scientific method, he was able to invent many new items that improved the world for others. These inventions include his famous bifocal glasses, lightning rod, and even a long extension arm.

Describes the adventures and experiences of Daniel Boone, a talented hunter and woodsman who helped explore the American West.

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong took one giant leap for mankind when he became the first person to set foot on the moon. Now, listeners can step back in time to learn about what led up to the Apollo 11 moon landing, how the historic event unfolded, and the ways in which one remarkable day changed America forever.

Brought to you by Penguin. To truly grasp the wisdom of a tree, you need to begin thinking like one... From New York Times bestselling author Robert Moor comes a wondrous, curious journey through the wilds of nature and the gnarls of history, exploring how trees – from the mightiest sequoia to...

Frances Drake. William Kidd. Blackbeard. These well-known pirates struck fear in the hearts of many sailors. Listen to learn all about the most famous pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy!

In 1517, the Ottoman Sultan Selim "the Grim" conquered Egypt and brought his empire for the first time in history into direct contact with the trading world of the Indian Ocean. During the decades that followed, the Ottomans became progressively more engaged in the affairs of this vast and previously unfamiliar region, eventually to the point of launching a systematic ideological, military and commercial challenge to the Portuguese Empire, their main rival for control of the lucrative trade routes of maritime Asia.

You may have heard of the Mayflower. The ship set sail in 1620, carrying English pilgrims across the sea to Plymouth. But did you know that science played a big role in this voyage? Learn how the Mayflower was constructed. Find out how science helped sail the ship across the ocean. And discover how modern technology is being used to understand the journey and the people aboard.

A companion book for young listeners based on 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, the groundbreaking best seller by Charles C. Mann.

Weapons and tools were as important to pirates as the ships they sailed on. To succeed at sea, pirates kept their gear clean and ready for action. From swords and cannons to maps and carpentry tools, jump in to learn about pirates’ most important gear.

From the moment Peter Mayle and his wife, Jennie, uprooted their lives in England and crossed the Channel permanently, they never looked back. Here the beloved author of A Year in Provence pays tribute to the most endearing and enduring aspects of his life in France—the charming and indelible...

You just tried out for the school play. Who wants the lead part more than anyone? YOU! Imagine sailing the high seas without a care in the world. Storming castles for gold and jewels. Wearing a horned helmet. But be careful what you wish for. That might not be the way it was for an explorer on a Viking ship.…

From cramped quarters and salty, rotten food to bloody battles and deadly storms at sea, life aboard a pirate ship was downright unpleasant. Get ready to explore the nasty side of pirate life.

We may love books, but do we know what lies behind them? In The Book, Keith Houston reveals that the paper, ink, thread, glue, and board from which a book is made tell as rich a story as the words on its pages - of civilizations, empires, human ingenuity, and madness. In an invitingly tactile history of this 2,000-year-old medium, Houston follows the development of writing, printing, the art of illustrations, and binding to show how we have moved from cuneiform tablets and papyrus scrolls to the hardcovers and paperbacks of today.

This exciting second book in the Lost series tells the incredible true story of the doomed Apollo 13 moon mission that nearly ended in disaster. On April 11, 1970, the Apollo 13 space shuttle set off for the third intended American moon landing. Two days later and 200,000 miles from Earth, disaster struck when an oxygen tank exploded onboard the spacecraft, leaving three astronauts with only one goal: to make it home alive.

Thousands of American settlers endured the long trip of more than 2,000 miles between Missouri and Oregon in the mid-1800s. They were determined to make a better life for themselves. They faced many hardships and made tough choices. Now the choices are yours. Would you rather run out of food supplies or spare wagon parts? Would you ford the river and get across faster but risk your wagon overturning? Or would you take apart your wagon and float it across but risk delaying your time-sensitive journey? It's your turn to pick this or that!