Neural Newscast

Welcome to Deep Dive. I am Vanessa Calderon, and today we are looking at a day that basically invented the whole concept of the public museum while also serving up some of the wildest spy drama in military history. And I'm Claire Donovan. It is a pleasure to be here. Today is January 16th, and we are starting all the way back in 1759, which is when the British Museum in London officially opened its doors to the public for the first time. Okay, but Claire, what is wild to me is the phrasing they used. They said it was open to all and, I quote, studious and curious persons. And the best part, it was free. That feels like a massive shift for that era, right? It really was. I mean, before this, most collections of art or history were kept in private cabinets of curiosity for the wealthy. The British Museum was the first national museum in the world to establish that knowledge should be accessible. It set the precedent for the modern public library and museum systems we rely on today. So, basically, it was the original open-source project for human history. I love that. But while the museum was letting people in to learn, a century or so later, governments were working very hard to keep people from finding out what they were actually saying to each other. Right. You are talking about the Zimmerman telegram. This happened in 1917, and it is a fascinating look at how international relations and secret communications can change the entire trajectory of a war. Exactly! German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmerman sends this message to the German minister in Mexico. And basically he is like, hey, if the U.S. enters World War I, how about you guys team up with us? He even promised Mexico they could get back territory like Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. It was a bold, if ultimately disastrous, move for Germany. The British intercepted and deciphered it, then handed it over to the United States. Before this, there was a lot of public resistance to getting involved in the European conflict. But once that telegram was published, well, the narrative changed overnight. Yeah, people were livid. It was the ultimate receipts-driven drama. You know, it pushed President Woodrow Wilson and the American public toward war. If that telegram hadn't been caught, who knows how the map would look today, or if the war would have dragged on for years longer. It really highlights the power of intelligence and diplomacy. While we are on the subject of people who have made a massive impact on the world, Vanessa, we have some heavy hitters celebrating birthdays today. Oh, we absolutely do! Let us start with Jill Tartar, born in 1944. If you have seen the movie Contact or read the Carl Sagan book, the main character Ellie Aeroe was actually inspired by Jill. She is a giant in the field of astronomy. As the director of the Center for SETI Research, she has spent her career looking for evidence of technological civilizations in space. It takes an incredible amount of steady discipline and vision to do that kind of work. It is the ultimate long game, Claire. And speaking of icons who left us too soon, we have to talk about Alia, born in 1979, the princess of R&B. She was only 22 when she passed, but she had already completely... completely redefined the sound of pop and hip-hop. Totally. Her influence on the industry was profound. She wasn't just a singer. She was a trendsetter in fashion and performance. She changed the workplace for artists after her, proving that you could blend genres and still dominate the charts. No doubt. And finally, someone who is very much still with us, and I mean still working like he is running out of time, Lin-Manuel Miranda, born in 1980. From In the Heights to Hamilton, and then his work with Disney on Moana and Encanto, he has completely reshaped the modern musical landscape. He has brought history and diverse storytelling into the mainstream in a way we haven't seen in decades. The man is a machine. Honestly, looking at this list, January 16th is just stacked with people who dared to do things differently, whether it is searching the stars, changing the sound of radio, or writing a hip-hop musical about a founding father. It is a reminder that whether through science, art, or even secret telegrams, history is shaped by individuals with the courage to take a stand. That is all the time we have for today's look back. I am Vanessa Calderone. Thanks for joining us for this look at the past. And I'm Claire Donovan. We will see you next time. Deep Dive is AI-Assisted, Human Reviewed. Explore History Every Day on NeuralNewscast.com. Deep Dive is AI-Assisted, Human Reviewed. Explore History Every Day on NeuralNewscast.com.