Lights Out Library: Sleep Documentaries

In this sleepy story, we trace the shared history of wolves and dogs, from their ancient evolutionary origins to the deep bond they formed with humans through domestication. We explore how wolves live, communicate, and organize their social world, and how, over thousands of years, some of them evolved into the many dog breeds we know today. Along the way, we see how dogs developed their unique emotional connection to us—a bond that has made them one of our closest and most devoted companions.

This podcast is entirely scripted and recorded by real people, it includes no...

This long soft spoken sleep story tells you the history of Ancient Rome from its foundation to the fall of Constantinople. It is in 3 parts.

In part 1, I tell you about the origins of Rome, its slow emergence and wars until the 1st Century BC - including the founding of the Republic and the rivalry between the Senate and the plebs, the conquest of Italy, the wars against Carthage, the overseas expansion, figures like Scipio, Marius, Sulla, Pompey and Caesar, and also life, religion, society, urbanism and warfare in Roman antiquity.

In part 2, we go...

For tonight's bedtime story, let's explore the stories of various gods from Antiquity that once were very relevant to the societies that worshipped them, before mostly disappearing from memories:

• Sol Invictus, the sun god of the Romans that was propelled from obscure cult to imperial religion in the Third Century AD, and whose festival on December 25th became Christmas.

• Mithra, an Iranian deity borrowed from Zoroastrianism by several foreign peoples, especially the Romans, who reinvented this cult completely into a mystery religion for initiates.

• Inanna/Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of love, procreation, political power...

This is a remake of one of our first episodes because the original sound was harsh and uneven when I started the podcast. For tonight's talk, I invite you to a long moment in the woods. We explore the origins of plants and how they evolved from microscopic algae to mosses, ferns, seed plants with or without flowers. I also discuss the life cycle of trees, their composition, and many often unnoticed aspects, such as their ability to exchange signals, connect by their roots, develop mutualistic relationships or adapt to different environments. We also review extraordinary trees: Hyperion, the t...

In tonight's story, I take you on a historical tour of the myth of El Dorado. I discuss what the early years of the Spanish conquest of America were like, how the encounter between older European legends and the reality of pre-Columbian America created new myths about fabulous places, and some of the expeditions that went on a search for El Dorado or the Cities of Gold, to the Andes Mountains, the Amazonian forest or New Mexico.

This podcast is entirely scripted and recorded by real people, it includes no AI, and mid-roll ad breaks are turned...

In this soft-spoken bedtime story about China, I take you to the discovery of the Forbidden City. We explore this extraordinary complex and follow the history of Imperial China from the rise of the Ming Dynasty and the construction of the Forbidden City in the 15th Century, to the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty, until the fall of the Empire in 1911.This podcast is entirely scripted and recorded by real people, it includes no AI, and mid-roll ad breaks are turned off so that you can relax without interruption.  

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #history #china

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In this soft-spoken sleep documentary, I tell you about ceramics: what pottery, earthenware, stoneware, terracotta, and porcelain are; how they appeared; and how significant they have been since prehistory around the world—in Ancient Egypt, Greece, the Americas, the Islamic world, Europe, and of course, China.This podcast is entirely scripted and recorded by real people, it includes no AI, and mid-roll ad breaks are turned off so that you can relax without interruption.  

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #history

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a sl...

For this extra long episode, we put together various of our mythology stories. From Asia to America via Europe, all these stories reflect how humanity makes sense of the world around us, transmits wisdom and cautionary tales, and infuses storytelling with meaning and faith.This podcast is entirely scripted and recorded by real people, it includes no AI, and mid-roll ad breaks are turned off so that you can relax without interruption.

0:00 Ring of the Nibelung (Germanic Mythology) 

1:04:18 Aztec and Maya Mythology 

2:06:24 Hindu Mythology 

3:06:13 Greek Mythology: Labours of Heracle...

This is a new version of one of our first episodes, that I remade because the sound was a bit harsh and uneven when I started the podcast. I also added a few elements to the script. In this bedtime story, I tell you all about Buddhism: the beliefs and culture of Ancient India; the life of Siddartha Gautama, the historical Buddha; how Buddhism spread in Asia; the differences between various Buddhist traditions (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Zen, Tibetan or Tantric Buddhism...); and I explain a lot of terms that you might have encountered without knowing their full meanings, like...

In this bedtime story, we visit different real or hypothetical space objects and phenomena. I tell you about the life cycle of stars that can leave behind a white dwarf, a neutron star (that can take the form of pulsar and/or magnetar), or a stellar black hole. We also explore the concept of dark matter and various kinds of hypothetical or less familiar planets, including coreless planets, iron planets, carbon planets, "blanets" (planets orbiting a black hole), chthonian planets or helium planets.

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #space #outerspace

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This bedtime story about Japanese mythology begins with the world creation myth by Amaterasu. Then we will explore Japan’s spiritual tradition: Shinto, and its countless Kami. We will also follow the path of Emperor Jimmu’s legendary journey, and discover beloved folktales like Momotaro and The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue, before closing with the powerful story of the 47 Ronin.

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #mythology #japan

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and fall asleep to documentary-style bedt...

Tonight's episode is an overview of the history of gold and other precious metals: how much is there on Earth? Where is it? How was gold discovered and how did it acquire its powerful status as a symbol of wealth and power, that makes it a store of value? From the tombs of ancient pharaohs to the reserves of central banks, let's delve into this history, as we settle in for a good night's sleep.

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #history #gold

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For this extra long episode, we put together various of our mystery stories. Secret places, out-of-place artifacts, mysterious events or ghost ships: here are 25 stories that will take you back in time and around the World. The stories are:

00:00:00 Easter Island and Mu 

00:41:40 Yonaguni Monument 

00:53:01 MV Joyita 

01:11:20 Roman Dodecahedrons 

01:28:50 Carved Stone Balls 

01:39:11 Stone Spheres of Costa Rica 

01:48:27 Lewis Chessmen 

01:59:22 Captain Kidd's Treasure 

02:16:17 HMS Hussar and East River 

02:29:58 The Leatherman 

02:41:40 Disappearance of Judge Joseph Crater 

02:52:14 Underground Secrets of NYC 

...

Petra, the capital of the Nabataeans (Jordan), Göreme and Derinkuyu in Cappadocia (Turkey), the Wieliczka Salt Mine (Poland): in this sleep story, I take you to extraordinary troglodyte or subterranean structures, where men projected their ambitions, creativity, dreams, and talent for centuries. As usual, I explain the historical context in a soft spoken voice for your relaxation.

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #history #petra

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and fall asleep to documentary-style bedtime stories read i...

In tonight's episode, we will travel from Mercury to Pluto and beyond, in our longest space travel to date. We will thoroughly explore each planet, their main satellites, and discover plenty of scientific laws, theories, or chemical phenomena. I will even tell you about more speculative topics, such as the possibility of life in the Solar System or the possibility of terraforming Mars one day.

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #space #astronomy #science

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax...

In tonight's sleep-inducing episode, I invite you to an overview of rooms since humankind started to build homes. For much of our history, most people lived in single-room dwellings and multiple-room homes were a privilege for the happy few. This started to change after the 16th Century, and rooms multiplied for almost everyone, often influenced by aristocratic and bourgeois homes. From medieval long houses and manors to aristocratic apartments, parlors or drawing rooms to living rooms and modern bedrooms, we have a lot to discover!

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #history

What is this subjective experience, this awareness of existence, that we call consciousness? In tonight's episode, we will examine some of the aspects of this philosophical, scientific, and spiritual question. Is consciousness a binary thing, or is it a kind of continuum with different "levels"? Do animals experience a degree of consciousness and how can it be inferred or measured? Is it reducible to biology, is it the product of the treatment of information, is it something immaterial and detached from the physical world? Could an AI acquire consciousness from a silicon substrate, and if yes, what would be...

In this relaxing sleep story, I invite you to relive the mythical Twelve Labors of Heracles, one of the most enduring legends of Ancient Greece. From Heracles’ birth under the curse of the goddess Hera to his path toward redemption, we embark on a colorful journey across Greece and the Mediterranean Sea, meeting countless characters along the way. Gods like Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, Artemis, and Hades; monsters such as the Nemean Lion, the Hydra, and the Cretan Bull; and other figures including Eurystheus, Pythia, Chiron, Geryon, Atlas, and the Hesperides.

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #hi...

In this sleep documentary, I take you to the mythical city of Constantinople to explore the history of the Byzantine Empire. As the Western Roman Empire collapsed under invasions, its Eastern counterpart lived on and perpetuated the dream of recreating the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages. I discuss the waves of invaders that Byzantine had to face, from the Huns and the Arabs to the Turks, its culture, politics and society, how it drifted away from the west religiously, leading to the East-West Schism between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, and many more things, until the final fall...

In this science sleep story, we explore the microcosmos and discover what our bodies and the physical world around us are made of. First, I tell you about tissues and living cells, DNA, molecules, and cellular biochemistry. Then we go smaller and talk about atoms and how they bond into molecules or other forms of grouping such as metallic bonding, and how electrons and electromagnetism are at play in these mechanisms. Finally, we descend inside atoms with their main particles and what they are made of, and I tell you a bit about Quantum Mechanics.

For tonight's episode, we invite you to delve into European myths from Antiquity and the Middle Ages, as well as the history of the peoples that carried them. We will begin with Celtic stories, taken in particular from Irish mythology. We will then relive the story of the Ring of the Nibelung, as told in the Germanic myths that inspired Wagner to create his famous operas from the Ring cycle. Finally, we will finish this overview with Norse stories.

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #history #mythology

Welcome to Lights Out L...

Tonight's episode takes us on a historical tour of monasticism, especially Catholic monasteries. I get that the topic of monasticism may sound at the same time random and particularly arid. But bear with me: I promise that if you are not familiar with it, you will discover a world of ideas, social experiments, spirituality, or controversies, that you did not realize you needed to know about. Give it a shot!
You will learn what anchorites and cenobites are, how Christian monasticism appeared in the Third and Fourth Centuries AD, how monasteries became economic and intellectual centers in medieval...

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 y...

In this episode, I invite you to travel along the Spice Road and discover how these mysterious spices, which were high-luxury goods for centuries, were brought to India, the Middle East, and Europe. From the expansion of Austronesians to the Age of Discovery and Portuguese navigators, we explore what spices are, where they came from, and why they were in such high demand.

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #history

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and fall asleep to...

In tonight's episode, we take a look at three topics that keep sparking debates in their respective scientific communities: 

• The existence of supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies, which are several million times more massive than "regular" black holes born from supernovas. Did these gigantic black holes appear as such, did they become so big by absorbing other bodies for billions of years, or is it something else? 

• Deep-Sea Gigantism, the fact that many species living deep under water become much bigger than their shallow waters relatives, despite living in an environment that offers...

This is a softly spoken story about the History of the Roman Empire. In part one, I told you about the origins of Rome, its slow emergence and wars until the 1st Century BC - including the founding of the Republic and the rivalry between the Senate and the plebs, the conquest of Italy, the wars against Carthage, the overseas expansion, figures like Scipio, Marius, Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar, and also life, religion, society, urbanism, and warfare in Roman antiquity. In this second part, we go through the campaigns of Caesar, the transformation into an Empire under Augustus, the...

Tonight's sleepy episode takes us back to Ancient Egypt, with a compilation of stories that shed light on various aspects of this wonderful civilization. Stories include the biography of Queen Hatshepsut, the story of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, the story of Akhenaten (the "heretic pharaoh") and his new capital, Amarna, an overview of the different periods of Egyptian history, and finally the story of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #history #egypt

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In this sleepy mythology episode, I tell you some myths and legends from the Hindu tradition, including the Ramayana and Mahabharata (two legendary epics), and other stories about the creation of the world, Ganesha or goddess Durga. I also tell you about Hinduism and its various denominations, and some of the most well-known gods and heroes, like Rama, Krishna, Hanuman, Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma or Shakti.

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #history #mythology

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and fall asleep to do...

In this sleepy episode about history and espionage, we explore the lives and times of two famous spies: the extraordinary Josephine Baker, entertainer, war hero, and activist; and Sidney Reilly, the "Ace of Spies," who was involved in multiple events and whose personality and adventurous lifestyle are credited with inspiring the character of James Bond.

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #spy #history

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and fall asleep to documentary-style bedtime stories read in a calming...

This sleepy story about the History of Ancient Rome is the first of two parts, because there were too many things to say for one single episode. The next part about the end of the Republic and the Empire will be out soon. In this episode, I tell you about the origins of Rome, its slow emergence and wars until the 1st Century BC - including the founding of the Republic and the rivalry between the Senate and the plebs, the conquest of Italy, the wars against Carthage, the overseas expansion, figures like Scipio, Marius, Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar...

In this soft-spoken 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.

#sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #space #outerspace #science

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a...

In these new mystery stories set in New York City, we will travel through time at different periods of the history of the city, from its foundation as New Amsterdam to our days. Stories include:
- Captain Kidd's Treasure, which could be hidden somewhere on Manhattan, Long Island or Gardiner's Island;
- The wreck of the HMS Hussar in the East River with a big treasure on board during the American Revolution;
- The Leatherman, a mysterious vagabond who travelled constantly on the same 365-mile-loop in Connecticut and New York for more than 30 years, returning to...

Tonight, we revisit three Mystery Stories episode from Lights Out Library: - The Lost Roman Legion - Out of Place Artifacts, including the Crystal Skulls, Antikythera Mechanism and Shroud of Turin stories, among others - Oracle of Delphi, Changelings and Grand Duchess Anastasia. I hope you enjoy this collection of sleepy mystery stories as you fall asleep tonight.

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and fall asleep to documentary-style bedtime stories read in a calming ASMR voice. Learn something new while you enjoy...

In this sleepy episode, we explore the lives and times of two famous spies: Mata Hari in the world of show-business and courtesans in Paris during the Belle Epoque and WW1; and Richard Sorge, a spy for the Soviet Union who provided Moscow with valuable information about Germany and Japan before and during WW2. I hope you enjoy the mystery and intrigue in the stories of these spies, as you drift off to sleep tonight.

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and fall...

For thousands of years, cultures rose and disappeared in Mesoamerica. In tonight's episode, we explore Maya and Aztec mythological tales, and I tell you about the sources we have about their legends, their cosmology, and cultural traits that existed across the entire Mesoamerica, like ball games, advanced astronomical knowledge, and the cult of a feathered serpent (Kukulkan for the Maya, Quetzalcoatl for the Aztecs...). We also explore the Aztec pantheon, and I tell you about Huitzilopochtli, Tlaloc, and Tezcatlipoca. Under surprising forms, this heritage can sometimes resurface in contemporary culture, for example with the cult of Santa Muerte.

This new space journey will take you to the mysterious and gigantic expanse that exists beyond the planet Neptune. We will discover different bodies from the Kuiper Belt, including its most famous resident: Pluto, its satellites like Charon, and other dwarf planets such as Haumea, Makemake, and Eris. I will also tell you about tilted orbits and why they happen, tholins, regolith, the mysterious "Planet Nine", the Oort Cloud beyond the Kuiper Belt, and more things...

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and...

This new batch of historical mystery bedtime stories takes us to Easter Island and its enigmatic alignments of statues (the moais). We will also discover how the legend of a lost continent called Mu appeared in the 19th Century, explore the Yonaguni Monument, and I will tell the story of a ghost ship, the MV Joyita.

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and fall asleep to documentary-style bedtime stories read in a calming ASMR voice. Learn something new while you enjoy a restful...

Tonight's episode takes us on a historical tour of salt. How much is there on Earth? Why did it start to be an important commodity for humans in the Neolithic? How was it extracted and transported in ancient times? We will explore all this, and more: how the taxation of salt helped early states to function, how salt was extracted and transported in medieval times, the history of various food preservation methods using salt, and how it was partially replaced with other techniques such as canning and refrigeration.

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Tonight, we revisit three "Ancient History" episodes from Lights Out Library, compiled into a single episode to lull you to sleep for longer: History of the Silk Road - History of Carthage and the Phoenicians - History of the Vikings. Please enjoy this extended ancient history bedtime story, and sleep well.

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and fall asleep to documentary-style bedtime stories read in a calming ASMR voice. Learn something new while you enjoy a restful night of sleep.

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In this sleepy bedtime story, we explore the history of textiles and fabrics. We will see where fibers come from and how they were adopted by mankind, with special sections about the history of cotton, silk and wool. We will also delve into the world of fabrics, their manufacturing and trade, how they influenced international relations and contributed to economic history.

Welcome to Lights Out Library

Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and fall asleep to documentary-style bedtime stories read in a calming ASMR voice. Learn something new...