For tonight, I retell you the story of Beowulf, the famous Anglo-Saxon epic poem put in writing in Old English at the turn of the Second Millennium but probably older. Beyond the story itself, what does Beowulf tells us of its time, the population of England, the emergence of the English language, or the society that produced it? And what was its influence on modern Fantasy, starting with the work of JRR Tolkien?

This bedtime story takes us along lost trails of the Andes Mountains, to the discovery of several millennia of civilization in this region (Caral-Supe, the Valdivia culture, Chimu, Wari, Tiwanaku...), until the rise of the Inca Empire. I will tell you about the history and culture of the Incas, as well as the development of their empire, from the small Kingdom of Cusco to one of the largest states in the world at the time of its splendor. We will also take a look at how the Spanish conquistadors brought it down so quickly.

This bedtime story is about structures built during the Cold War: bases, silos, bunkers... From America to the Soviet Union, the UK and China, we will explore some of them to discover what motivated their construction and their now eerie atmosphere.

In this science talk for bedtime, I review the periodic table of the elements methodically and explain in simple terms plenty of phenomenons and concepts about chemistry and physics (for example in this episode: metalloids, alpha and beta decay, Xenon poisoning of nuclear reactors...) as well as the industrial and economic relevance of some of these elements. For tonight, we continue with elements 30 to 118, including zinc, arsenic, rhodium, silver, tungsten, platinum, gold, mercury, lead, uranium and plutonium.

In this science talk for bedtime, I review the periodic table of the elements methodically and explain in simple terms plenty of phenomenons and concepts about chemistry and physics (for example in this episode: the timeline of the discovery of elements, why there is quite a lot of iron in the universe, endothermic and exothermic fusions...) as well as the industrial and economic relevance of some of these elements. For tonight, we continue with elements 13 to 29: aluminium, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, argon, potassium, calcium, scandium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel and copper.

In this science talk for bedtime, I review the periodic table of the elements methodically and explain in simple terms plenty of phenomenons and concepts about chemistry and physics (for example in this episode: the structure of atoms, valence and reactivity, isotopes, allotropes, ionic compounds, the definitions of metals...) as well as the industrial and economic relevance of some of these elements. For tonight, we begin with the first twelve elements: hydrogen, helium, lithium, berryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, sodium and magnesium. The rest will follow in ulterior episodes.

In this soft spoken ASMR bedtime story, I tell you about the concept of "generation ships": large spacecrafts that would transport dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people to faraway destinations in the galaxy, over several generations. Even though we are nowhere near seeing one, the technical, biological and social aspects of such a project are fascinating. So I review them to explain the main challenges and what possible solutions could be found.

In this bedtime story made to help you relax or fall asleep, I tell you the story of the crusades to the Holy Land, from 1096 to 1302. This is a re edition of the story I published in 3 parts. We take a look at medieval politics, societies, diplomacy and warfare, in the Christian and Muslim worlds, and I tell you about the many episodes, twists and historical figures involved (like Godfrey of Bouillon, Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, Frederick II or Saint Louis.

The "pact with the devil" is a cultural motif that keeps coming back in stories. The legend of Faust is a good example, but not the oldest: it took inspiration from other stories, such as the legend of Theophilus. In this episode, I tell you some of these stories. We will also discover the real, historical figures that inspired them (Theophilus, Johann Faust, Pope Sylvester II, Saemundr Sigfússon...), and the firm belief in the existence of such pacts, that were often invoked in witchcraft trials from the Middle Ages to the Seventeenth Century. As an example, I tell you the story of the Loudun Possessions, one of the last and most spectacular witchcraft trials in France.

In this episode, I tell you about the long history of timekeeping devices, from the first sundials and water clocks to mechanical clocks, quartz timers and atomic clocks. Beyond technique, we also explore how the perception and management of time are cultural phenomenons.

The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov is a monument of Science-Fiction. For tonight's story, I retell you the first novel published, "Foundation". We will discover why the Galactic Empire, that has ruled the galaxy for 12,000 years from its capital Trantor, is predicted to fall in just 300 years by Hari Seldon, the inventor of Psychohistory. Exiled from Trantor for believing in this theory and sent to Terminus, a planet lost at the periphery of the galaxy, a group of pioneers will lay the basis of the Foundation. But will the Foundation survive the threat of its bigger neighbours? What is its true purpose? In a constantly evolving world dominated by politics, technology, religion or trade, will the Foundation find its way and become what it is destined to be?

In this soft spoken ASMR bedtime story, I explore with you the mysteries of various "out-of-place artifacts", that is to say (allegedly) old objects that would challenge conventional chronology and/or the mainstream view of the technical advancement of ancient cultures. Forgeries, hoaxes and pranks abound. I tell you about some of them like the Michigan Relics or the Crystal Skulls; they were fake but still are good stories. A small number of objects really keep a part of mystery or invite us to rethink our views of ancient societies, like the Antikythera Mechanism. Or we still don't exactly know how they were made, like the Shroud of Turin.

In this soft spoken ASMR bedtime story, I tell you about the History of the Norsemen in the Middle Ages. At the end of the Eighth Century, they embarked on raids, explorations and conquests farther and farther from their homelands in Scandinavia. This took them as far east as the Volga River in Russia and Byzantium, and as far west as America, even though they did not stay there for long. They founded colonies such as Iceland or Vineland in Newfoundland, Canada, created new states such as the Kievan Rus', and settled in regions like Yorkshire or Normandy. We explore the reasons why they suddenly became outward looking, what their societies were like, and how things unfolded until christianisation and the formation of larger kingdoms in Scandinavia (in Norway, Sweden and Denmark), that put an end to the Viking Age.

In this soft spoken ASMR bedtime story, I tell you about the History of Astrology: how it appeared as a discipline that was not formally separated from Astronomy across different cultures (Babylon, China, India, Egypt, Greece, the Islamic World, the Maya...), and how it evolved. Western Astrology with its zodiac signs, birth charts, horoscopes and individualized predictions is a tradition that began to form more than 2,000 years ago in the Eastern Mediterranean. Even though critiques to the practice are probably as ancient as Astrology itself (some Roman authors, Muslim scholars and various religious traditions were vocal about their rejection of it), Astrology survived its separation from Astronomy and even thrived in the West since the 20th Century.

In this soft spoken ASMR bedtime story, I tell you about four Greek myths: - Pandora and her jar (or box), that according to Hesiod contained countless plagues that she let escape, providing a backstory for the existence of suffering in human life. This myth works as a "theodicy" (a backstory or an argument that explains why evil is part of human condition, when God(s) would have the power to avoid it). It is also connected to the biblical character of Eve, and scratching the surface by looking at different versions of this myth reveals a more ambivalent figure. - The tragedy of the Danaïdes, daughters of king Danaus condemned to a futile task forever for the murders of their husbands. - Sisyphus, the king of Corinth who was sentenced to another eternity of useless work for defying Zeus and cheating death. He was punished for his hubris: the overconfidence that made him lost touch with the reality of his condition. - Icarus, the young man who flew too close to the sun and fell, in another example of hubris.

The Ninth Legion (Legio IX Hispana, also sometimes called the "Lost Legion") had a long history. It served under command of Julius Caesar during the First Century BC, on the side of Octavian in the civil war against Mark Antony and Cleopatra, was sent to Spain, Germania, Pannonia and Britain. In Roman Britain, it fought rebellions, including the rebellion of Queen Boudica in which it narrowly avoided destruction. But its trace gets lost in Northern England in the early Second Century AD, which is highly unusual for such an important unit at a time when the Roman Empire was in good shape overall. Was it destroyed in Britain by Celtic tribes, sent to the Netherlands, or did it disappear in a later conflict, in Judea or Cappadocia? In this story, we look at the hypothesis and the historical context, which is a good opportunity to explore what Roman legions were, the conquest of Roman Britain and other aspects of Roman history.

In these bedtime stories, I tell you about three "lost cities" and the civilisations that built them: - Machu Picchu, built as a retreat for Inca emperors 50 miles from their capital Cusco and forgotten for 300 years by the rest of the world; - Meroe, the capital of the Kingdom of Kush, and a brief history of Nubia and its relations with Egypt in the antiquity. Before Meroe was founded, Nubian kings from Kush founded the XXVth Egyptian Dynasty, and in the 1st millenium BC they covered Nubia with pyramids. - Mohenjo-Daro, an enigmatic large city from the 3rd millennium BC, that was created by the Indus Valley Civilisation and declined with it.

Tonight I tell you three different diamond-related stories: - The Hope Diamond and its legend; - The exceptionally big Cullinan Diamond, from which the Star of Africa comes from; - The Affair of the Diamond Necklace, a scandal surrounding a magnificent necklace and Queen Marie-Antoinette that had political repercussions.

In this soft spoken ASMR video, I tell you about the History of the Great Wall, the "Ten-Thousand Mile Wall" (万里长城) and, through it, the history of Ancient China from the birth of civilization around the Yellow River and the Yangtze River to the Ming Dynasty, the last one to maintain and expand the Wall.

In this soft spoken ASMR story designed to lull you to sleep, I tell you about historical and scientific mysteries and their context: - The Voynich Manuscript, a strange codex apparently from the early 15th Century, written in an unknow language. - The Phaistos Disc, an artifact discovered in Crete in the ruins of a Minoan palace, with what looks like a script, but that has always resisted attempts at deciphering it. - The Sailing Stones from the Racetrack Playa, California, a rare geological phenomenon that was finally explained over the past few decades.