Jack P Taylor's Political and Historical Curiosities Jack P Taylor

Embassies are fascinating entities having existed for longer than the concept of the modern nation-state.
They are often misunderstood and can offer a unique insight into the diplomatic issues that countries face.
In this episode I cover:
What embassies and consulates are,
Their unofficial varieties like from Taiwan,
Their titles e.g. the People's Bureua,
The difficulties in deciding where and how to build them,
And the laws that govern them.

Thomas Midgley Jr. was undoubtedly a great inventor, yet he was far from a great man.
Midgley was recognised by J. R. McNeill, a pioneer of the study of environmental history, as having “had more impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth's history“.
Midgley's inventions have contributed significantly to the 400,000 deaths from lead in the USA each year - with more around the world. On top of this his invention of Chlorofluorocarbons have wrecked our atmosphere
In this I examine: Midgley's background, how he came to invent leaded gasoline, how the scientific and regulatory community reacted, and what Midgley did next.

A lot of wonderful things can be said about Truman, particularly his attitude to the office of the President.
We can not say wonderful things about Truman's idea to internationalise the waterways of Europe. 
It was a silly idea and one given far too much attention by Truman. 
In this episode I give what detail is available on the idea, discuss how and why Truman pushed the policy, and showcase it's obvious flaws.

The Academy Awards/Oscars are the culmination of the Hollywood award season and celebrates the prior years greatest cinematic accomplishments.
In this episode I look at what the Academy Awards are, their history, what they recognise, what films are eligible, and how they are nominated.
Sample Official Screen Credits form: https://submissions.oscars.org/Content/Documents/Sample%20OSC.pdf 
The 2018 REMINDER LIST OF PRODUCTIONS ELIGIBLE FOR THE 90TH ACADEMY AWARDS: https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/90th_reminder_list.pdf 

Countries do not change their name often, and far less often their alphabet. 
Kazakhstan will soon be doing both to become Qazaqstan.
In this episode I cover the why, what, when, who, and how of this change.

REGULATION (EU) No 1151/2012 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs - is an incredibly curious piece of legislation.
The Dave Law, as I call it, looks to protect producers of quality food stuffs and consumers of them - making sure when you buy Champagne or Stilton that it is what you expect.
In this episode I discuss how the Dave law works, its impact across the world, and evaluate the criticisms of it.