Have you ever used Morse Code, written a hidden message in a note to a friend, or even spoken pig latin to keep a secret from some young kids? No matter the method, we all have information that we’d like to keep private. Today banking, tech security, and even text messaging all involve encryption. Oftentimes computers are needed to “hack” into or break through these extra measures. But how was this done before computers? Join us as we take a breath of dead air with William and Elizebeth Friedman, who broke codes in the service of their country long before the digital age.

Sources

Clark, Ronald. The Man Who Broke Purple. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011.

Fagone, Jason. The Woman Who Smashed Codes. Harper Collins, 2017.

Greenfield, Amy Butler. The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life. Books on Tape- Listening Library, 2021.

Mundy, Liza. Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II. Hachette Audio, 2017.

“William F. Friedman Collection of Official Papers.” National Security Agency/Central Security Service, www.nsa.gov/Helpful-Links/NSA-FOIA/Declassification-Transparency-Initiatives/Historical-Releases/Friedman-Documents/. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.

Imagine you are at the base of a mountain. It’s impressive rocks covered with a blanket of lush, green grass and peppered with tall, proud pines, oaks, maybe even sequoias. You take a deep inhale, savoring the fresh air surrounding you, feeding you. Burbling creeks trickle down from the snow-capped mountain top, the beginning of spring bringing a promise of filling lakes and falls. The music of birds fills your ears, all chirping a part of the symphony of nature you are now a part of. You pause, savor all of the beauty and wonder around you. Then you take a step forward, your boots crunching the hiking trail beneath you, and begin your journey through this paradise. Join us as we take a breath of dead air with the environmentalist and writer, John Muir.

Sources -

• “The Wisdom of John Muir” Compiled by Anne Rowthorn, Foreword by Bill McKibben

• https://wilderness.net/learn-about-wilderness/people/john-muir.php

• https://www.sierraclub.org/minnesota/about-us#:~:text=Sierra%20Club%20National%20and%20the,about%20the%20national%20Sierra%20Club.

  https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/jomu/legacy.html

• https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/events/1906calif/18april/casualties.php

Have you ever experienced a moment in which doing something absolutely terrified you and yet you knew that you just had to do it anyway? During a time when women were typically thought to have very little power to change their circumstances, a courageous woman did something nerve-wracking in order to stop a genocide,. This woman and her story are now honored each year through the observance of Purim. So join us as we discuss the history of this holiday and take a breath of dead air with Queen Esther.

Sources -

“Esther.” Sefaria, www.sefaria.org/Esther.1.1?ven=english%7CTanakh%3A_The_Holy_Scriptures%2C_published_by_JPS&lang=bi. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.

Feinberg, Danielle. “What Are Hamantaschen?” My Jewish Learning, 6 Mar. 2025, www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/what-are-hamantaschen/.

“Purim.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/topics/holidays/purim. Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.

Reich, Aaron. “What Is the Story, Customs of the Jewish Festival of Purim?” The Jerusalem Post | JPost.Com, 21 Mar. 2024, www.jpost.com/judaism/jewish-holidays/article-793088.

“The Amazing Name Hadassah: Meaning and Etymology.” Abarim Publications, Abarim Publications, www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Hadassah.html. Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.

“What Is Purim?” IFCJ, www.ifcj.org/learn/jewish-holidays/what-is-purim. Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.

What Is Purim? - Chabad.Org, www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/645309/jewish/What-Is-Purim.htm. Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.

“Why Wear Purim Costumes? - On Dressing up and Wearing Masks on the Holiday of Purim.” Chabad.Org, www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/1456808/jewish/Why-Wear-Purim-Costumes.htm. Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.

• Truth or Dare - what do you choose? For one woman, to dare was to live. After all, her mantra was “do or die”. She pushed the limits of what was physically possible and socially acceptable, all while in front of a camera. Join us as we take a breath of dead air with Helen Gibson, Hollywood's first stuntwoman.

  
  

  Sources -

  “Daughter of Daring: The Trick-Riding, Train-Leaping, Road-Racing Life of Helen Gibson, Hollywood’s First Stuntwoman” by Mallory O'Meara

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most well-known figures in US history. He is famous for being the president during the civil war and the way in which he died. What was he actually like as a person? Today we will spend our time immersed in this topic as we take a breath of dead air with Abraham Lincoln.

Sources -

Lincoln Abraham. The Autobiography of Abraham Lincoln. New York : F.D. Tandy Co, 1905.

Kanefield, Teri. Abraham Lincoln: The Making of America. ABRAMS, Inc., 2018.

Meltzer, Brad, and Josh Mensch. The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America’s 16th President--and Why It Failed. Flatiron Books, 2020.

Pascal, Janet B., et al. Who Was Abraham Lincoln? Listening Library (Audio), 2019.

Zarefsky, David. Abraham Lincoln: In His Own Words. Teaching Company, 2015.

How did chocolate become such an important part of this holiday of love? Find out in this light-hearted, fun-filled, laid-back episode as we discuss one of our favorite food groups - chocolate.

Sources -

https://www.history.com/news/valentines-day-chocolate-box-history-cadbury

https://www.santabarbarachocolate.com/blog/why-chocolate-on-valentines-day/?srsltid=AfmBOoqmBzLXAOySzBjRDWGoVvtUAIHDuhgwgWJjU_H98821SSB5sgpZ

https://www.uschamber.com/economy/how-valentines-day-is-brought-to-you-by-american-business#:~:text=Valentine's%20Day%20Is%20an%20Economic%20Engine&text=The%20National%20Confectioners%20Association%20tells,the%20holiday's%20most%20popular%20candies.

Just what are we made of? Inside our bodies are trillions of cells doubling and replicating. Henrietta Lacks had been just like you until scientists found her cells were unlike anything they had ever seen. Join us for part two as we take a breath of dead air with Henrietta Lacks.

Sources -

• "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

  https://lacksfamily.com/

• https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2303077120

• https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/cells_tissues_membranes/cells/structure.html

  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9876/

• https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer

• https://youtu.be/ggIChkFTWE8?feature=shared

  https://youtu.be/22lGbAVWhro?feature=shared

• https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/family-of-henrietta-lacks-whose-cells-were-taken-for-medical-advancement-settles-with-company-that-profited#:~:text=Though%20her%20relatives%20hadn't,making%20Lacks'%20genetic%20makeup%20public.

• https://news.wttw.com/2023/08/04/henrietta-lacks-family-settles-lawsuit-biotech-company-used-her-cells-without-consent#:~:text=Despite%20that%20incalculable%20impact%2C%20the,their%20lawsuit%2C%20filed%20in%202021.

• https://www.npr.org/2023/08/01/1191283359/henrietta-lacks-descendants-settlement-stolen-cells#:~:text=Lacks'%20descendants%20have%20argued%20that,same%20name%20starring%20Oprah%20Winfrey.

Henrietta Lacks - A young woman of 30. She could feel a knot in her stomach. While coming from a low-income African American household, she sought medical help at The Johns Hopkins Hospital as it was one of the few places in 1951 that would offer treatment to poor African Americans. She stepped into the examination room, nervous of what the doctor attending her, Howard Jones, would find. Later on, she would hear two words that would change her future - “tumor” and “cancer”. Her cells would go on to change the world of medicine. Join us as we take a breath of dead air with Henrietta Lacks.

Sources -

"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

https://lacksfamily.com/

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2303077120

https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/cells_tissues_membranes/cells/structure.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9876/

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer