Across the UK, across continental North America, and around the world on the internet, by webcast, and by podcast, my name is Howard Hughes, and this is edition 502.

The young explainer, how did we get here?

Well, it was a long and winding road as the Beatles once sang. I hope you're doing all right.

I hope that you're looking forward to whatever Christmas and new year that we might all have.

No idea what it's going to mean for me, but I tell you that Christmas is over the years it's tended to be mostly for me something to be got through.

And I think even this this year is going to be even more like that if you see what I'm saying.

But I think I'll take time out to pause and reflect as we all will.

And hopefully the virus will be on its way out in 2021, and the vaccine will start to do the job that we're spending all the money to do.

Let's hope so. Thank you very much for all of your emails, communications. I've had some wonderful ones lately, and I always love it when people say I've been there all the time.

I just haven't been in touch before. It makes a huge difference. And if you've contributed to the online show, if you've made a donation through the website, the unexplained.tv, thank you so, so very much.

You know who you are for what you've done and for helping to keep me going and helping to keep this, this going because you know, if all else disappears and if the show one day isn't on the radio, then it will be here online always.

Well, as long as I can do it, you know, till the money runs out, sort of thing.

So thank you for all the years. Nobody's more surprised than I am that we got to edition 500 and now we're on 502. Thank you to Adam, my webmaster, his constant hard work, and Haley as well for booking the podcast guests.

All right. What you're going to hear now is something that I wanted to put here on a podcast, my radio conversation recently with two people, husband and wife team who've done some interesting research on the Mayans, the Maya civilization who were around for a very long time and disappeared.

Or did they, the people will speak with our Matthew REST all whose English and the Mara Salari whose American they're both in the US and they've written a book called the Maya a very short introduction.

They are Maya completists, infusious. They are very, very knowledgeable and have studied the Maya extensively.

You will hear things here that I don't think you will ever have thought of or would have known before. So that's the conversation that we're going to have now on the fascinating culture of the Maya.

Some of the myths about them and some of the things that they have achieved over such a long history and a surprise and maybe a twist in the in the tail at the end of the story you may find the Maya a very short introduction is their book.

Matthew REST all, Amara Salari coming right up from the US like I say thank you for your emails if you want to get in touch please tell me who you are whereabouts in the world you are and how you use this show.

I don't think I know the same what I say now so let's cross to the US to Matthew REST all, Amara Salari thank you very much both for coming on the unexplained.

Nice to be here. Thank you.

I hope that introduction was not too wide of the mark did it kind of work. It works very well.

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