(Extended Trailer) Flashback: Isaac Newton’s ‘Year of Wonders’

Each of us handles social distancing in our own way. Some are doing virtual yoga classes. Others are turning to art. And then there are those truly rare birds... like Sir Issac Newton. He once turned his time in quarantine into an opportunity to change the way we understand the world around us. Learn about history’s unintended consequences on Flashback, a new podcast from OZY and iHeart Radio Podcast Network. Find out how some of the best-laid plans can go horribly wrong or prove unexpectedly magnificent.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
So with social distancing the new normal, what is there
to do to keep busy? Each of us handles social
distancing in our own way. Some in the fitness community
are determined to not only stay in shape, but socialize.
Some are doing virtual yoga classes. Others are turning to art.
And I have found that coloring is very, very soothing,

(00:22):
and some are even more creative. And since today's St
Patrick's Day, why not hunt for a leprechat. And then
there are those truly rare birds like Sir Isaac Newton.
He once turned his time in quarantine into an opportunity
to change the way we understand the world around us.
We're all living in the ripple effects of history. A

(00:44):
butterfly flaps its wings in China in the nineteenth century,
and your uber driver misses the turn for the airport.
Or a twenty two year old genius is forced to
stay home from college and ends up becoming a father,
the father of modern science. Welcome to Flashback, a new
podcast from AZZI, the creators of The Thread. I'm Sean
Braswell and I'll be your visiting professor, taking you on

(01:07):
a journey through history that will change the way you
look at the past, and even at some of its
most disastrous events. When the Great Plague hit England in
sixteen sixty five, Isaac Newton wasn't a sir or a
scientific legend, just a college student at the University of Cambridge.

(01:27):
And when the university closed its doors and sent its
students home for the seventeenth century version of social distancing,
Newton returned to his family estate to spend his time
working on a few of his own pet projects. The
young scholar thrived at home, calling the year plus he
spent away as his Year of Wonders, among other things.
Newton used this time to work out calculus and his

(01:49):
theory of gravity, aided by the apple tree right outside
his window. Newton returned to Cambridge the following year with
some groundbreaking theories under his belt, ideas that would make
him a call age fellow, then a professor, and ultimately
the founding father of a new scientific age. History is

(02:09):
littered with stories like Newton's Year of Wonders, stories about
unexpected turning points and hidden connections. You just have to
know where to look. And that was the world we saw.
It was the only world we saw. And occasionally do
a little digging, I heard about Hitler's personal physician, fit
Or Morel, and I found an extraordinary that his case
notes on adult Hitler's health had been lying in the

(02:34):
archives for you know, the better part of sixty seventy years,
and they revealed the most extraordinary story. In the first
season of Flashback, will connect the dots on some of
the most incredible unintended consequences in history. We'll hear about
dangerous books. It assumes that you're interested in this conspiracy

(02:56):
that explains everything that's wrong with the world and their
explosive legacy. A massive car bomb exploded outside of a
large federal building in downtown Oklahoma City. About virtuous intentions
steps into the gap and says well will volunteer and
the vices they can produce, stacks of cash, piles of weapons,
and a mountain of cigarettes, And about remarkable individuals who

(03:19):
can reshape entire industries. Michael Jordan today comes back not
just to play, but again aiming to be the best.
We'll learn about how some of the past greatest unintended
outcomes continue to impact us today. What we have now
is really almost frictionless environment for this kind of propaganda.
Stay at home and change the world, or at least
the way you look at it. Learn about histories unintended

(03:42):
consequences on Flashback, a new podcast from Aussie and I
Heart Radio podcast Network, find out how some of the
best laid plans can go horribly wrong or prove unexpectedly magnificent.
On May six, listen to Flashback on the I Heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or ever you get your podcasts.

(04:13):
We all need a break from the constant cycle to
learn something new, to gain new perspectives. The Great Courses
Plus streaming service is an excellent resource to expand our
knowledge on a variety of subjects or pick up a
new hobby. I've been enjoying the Great Courses Plus while
researching this season of Flashback. Lectures like Playball, the Rise
of Baseball is America's Pastime, History of the Supreme Court,

(04:37):
and Battlefield Europe have helped me connect the dots on
several stories from history. Right now, they're giving our listeners
a special limited time offer a free month of unlimited
access to their entire library. Sign up now through our
special U r L go to the Great Courses Plus
dot com slash Aussie that's the Great Courses Plus dot

(04:58):
Com slash o z Y The Great Courses plus dot
com slash Ozzie