What is the advantage of using coal? The change in England from wood to coal was all driven by money. When trees started to become sparse, coal filled in the gaps, and changed everything along the way.

Click above to listen to part 2 of Iron, Coal, Wood, featuring Ruth Goodman, Historian of British social customs, presenter of a number of BBC television series, including Tudor Monastery Farm, and the author of The Domestic Revolution: How the Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything.

Iron, Coal, Wood:
Part 1: Jonathan Waldman – Iron’s Infirmity
Part 2: Ruth Goodman – A Coal New World
Part 3: Roland Ennos – Wonders of Wood

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for our three part series on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Big Picture Science is an immersive radio show and podcast that reveals the unexpected connections in science.

Our Skeptic Check episodes take a critical look at extraordinary science claims and pseudoscience.

Don’t settle for a science snapshot. Get the big picture. 

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Molly Bentley Executive Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science  

Seth Shostak Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science
Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute

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