Simon Mattacks
speaker
2,982 appearances
18 recordings
3 series
first heard Dec 2024
last heard yesterday
Simon Mattacks’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 15 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 3.
Appearances
And while previous conflicts had a wide-reaching impact, the modern world is more interconnected than ever.
This time, the impact is global.
As we come to the end of our story, here's something to think about.
The history of the Strait of Hormuz has been shaped by human ambition.
In essence, the strait itself is nothing more than a body of water.
For millions of years, that's all it was, part of the landscape.
Then humans came along and turned the Strait into something invaluable.
According to the geologist Mike Searle, the Strait of Hormuz will one day close for good, not as a result of human intervention, but gradual tectonic movement.
That's not due to happen for millions of years.
In the meantime, no doubt, humans will continue to add chapters to the straits' extraordinary history.
This is Sleepy History.
Sleepy History is a production of Slumber Studios.
To listen ad-free, get access to bonus episodes, and support the ongoing production of this show, check out our premium feed,
It's a gorgeous day. The sun beams bright in a cloudless sky, and you're seated beneath the shade of a massive tree. The warm sunshine is accompanied by a breeze, one that's cool and beautifully refreshing. It wafts through the leaves and branches of the tree, creating sounds like the music of wind chimes. The grass beneath you is as soft as a cushion. It's wonderfully spongy and smells divine.
Jade in color, it sparkles like gemstones. especially beyond the tree, where it's exposed to sunlight. You can smell the perfume of the tree on the breeze. It's musky, earthy, rich, and exotic. It blends with the scent of nearby water and the sounds of a lake lapping against the shore. Somehow, you know that this is Africa, and specifically, Tanzania, on the east of the continent.
The thought is as clear as the surface of the water, and as beautiful as the sunlight that flickers across the lake. You're mesmerized by the colors and patterns before you, the tiny waves and the ripples across the surface. Wreaths sway gently at the edge of the lake, fluttering back and forth in the morning breeze.
You gaze at the water from your spot beneath the tree, lounging happily against a gray rock. the comfiest backrest you've ever encountered. The stone seems to mold around your body. You suspect that the rock is in some way magic, because it's soft and warm, even in the shade. What's more, it feels as if it's somehow breathing, it rises and falls as if it were alive.
Intrigued, you lean back, relaxing further and let yourself be moved with the rhythm. As the stone rises, you're brought gently forwards and as it falls, you're rocked backwards. slowly and smoothly.
You're not sure how long you sit against the stone, relaxing in comfort beneath the shade of the tree, but you're soon stirred by the sound of yawning, and it appears to be coming from the side of the rock. You turn to examine the stone more closely, shuffling slightly on the grass. Not only is it breathing, but it appears to be moving. It looks like an animal waking up from a nap.
You close your eyes and blink a few times, as if to test whether you're awake or dreaming. You can't quite believe what you're seeing, What you'd thought was a stone is the back of an elephant. The sleeping creature has been curled up like a cat, with the rest of its body hidden from view. Only now it turns, lifting up its trunk and revealing the small tusks of a growing elephant.
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