All Your Favorite Landmarks Are Built on Swamps

All Your Favorite Landmarks Are Built on Swamps

I knew nothing about "land reclamation" two weeks ago. Turns out we've been quietly MAKING land — out of swamps, mudflats, and open ocean — for centuries. The Lincoln Memorial, Ellis Island, LaGuardia, and roughly a third of Manhattan are all built on filled-in muck. This week i kept going down this rabbit hole to find out how the Mississippi built Louisiana and how we broke it, why America basically stopped building land in the 1970s, the Dutch magic of polders, why indonesia's capitol is sinking so fast it's building a whole new capital, Tokyo making fresh ground out of its own burned trash, and — yes — the real-life sand mafias who disappear people over one of the most-mined resources on Earth. Plus: garden updates from a punishing July heat wave, and a very sad night at Subway.  00:00 Intro: what is land reclamation?  00:26 Garden life & a brutal July heat wave  03:00 Comedy update (+ a sad night at Subway)  05:38 The rabbit hole: New Orleans  06:16 Making land 101: Ellis Island, LaGuardia, DC  07:58 How the Mississippi built Louisiana — and how we broke it  11:45 Why America basically stopped building land  14:14 The Netherlands & the magic of polders  15:39 Asia goes big: China & the South China Sea  17:27 Dubai, desert sand & the sand mafias  18:33 Buying a country's land by the boatload  19:41 America's made land, recapped  21:11 Jakarta is sinking — and just giving up  24:47 Tokyo: built on filled swamp and its own burned trash  25:41 The Louisiana fix we canceled  27:55 Building with nature: the Marker Wadden  29:39 Wrap-up & upcoming shows

What I'm Growing, Pt. 2: Tomato Conspiracy | The Connor Larsen Show Ep. 12

This weeks episode is the 2nd half of what im growing in the garden, how europeans were terrified of tomatoes, the three sister, seed saver exchanges, why the intentionally make food taste worse for the supermarket and how its not as crazy you think. Also i talk about doing comedy at the comedy mothership, austin, rabbits, some other fun stuff.  Check it out The Connor Larsen Show  🌐 ComedianConnorLarsen.com  📸 Instagram & TikTok: @connorlarsencomedy  ▶️ Watch "Dusty and Connor React" on YouTube UPCOMING SHOWS - Comedy Cabin — Janesville, WI — Fri/Sat, July 10–11, 2026 (HEADLINING) - Zanies — Nashville, TN — multiple dates all month Full dates & tickets: ComedianConnorLarsen.com

EP 011 — "WHAT I'M GROWING (PART 1)"

It's mid-June in Nashville, my garden is finally cashing in on all the spring prep — this week i did a deep dive on everything I'm currently growing. A lot of fun stuff in here. Flowers people look down on for being too easy. The strawberry that didn't exist 300 years ago until a French spy smuggled one across the ocean. How watermelons used to be pale and were getting stolen all the time. plus why doctors warned that smelling basil would grow a scorpion in your head.  UPCOMING SHOWS 🎤  Opening for Dusty Slay at The Mothership — Austin, TX — this weekend (Fri/Sat/Sun) 🎤  Headlining the Comedy Cabin — Janesville, WI — July 9–1 Thanks for watching! Here's where to find more 🎟️ Catch upcoming live dates at ComedianConnorLarsen.com 🎤 Website — ComedianConnorLarsen.com 📸 Instagram — instagram.com/connorlarsencomedy 🎵 TikTok — tiktok.com/@connorlarsencomedy 📺 Watch "Dusty and Connor React" with Dusty Slay — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QepninhUOd8 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QepninhUOd8]

LAWNS Why Your Lawn Makes No Sense | Connor Larsen Show Episode 10

I love mowing the lawn but I also think the lawn is completely insane so i did some research and its actually way crazier. The lawn we know started as a rich-guy flex then became a great place for bio warfare chemicals to have second acts plus allow HOA's to fine or jail people for growing vegetables. Craziness, i had fun researching this though.  Thanks for watching! Here's where to find more of Connor:  🎤 Website — ComedianConnorLarsen.com  📸 Instagram — instagram.com/connorlarsencomedy  🎵 TikTok — tiktok.com/@connorlarsencomedy  📺 Watch "Dusty and Connor React" with Dusty Slay — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QepninhUOd8

EXCAVATION: THE WAR ON DIRT - The Connor Larsen Show Episode 9

I tried to dig out all the big old shrubs and stumps in my backyard, got poison ivy, and spent two full days using the wrong shovel before a friend handed me a pick and changed my life. Which got me thinking: I can't be the first guy to stand in a hole and go, "there has to be a better way to do this." This week i deep dived moving dirt, we go down the rabbit hole on the history of digging — the giant canals that countries threw millions of lives at, the ancient engineers who somehow moved water across hundreds of miles at exactly the right slope, and the crazy ways people used to do it. Check it out. 🎙️ New episodes every Tuesday. 👍 Subscribe so you don't miss the next one — next week I'm talking myself into tearing out my entire lawn. 🎤 LIVE: I'm in Austin opening for Dusty Slay at the Comedy Mothership, June 19–21. Come out.  🌐 comedianconnorlarsen.com 📱 @connorlarsencomedy on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook ▶️ @ConnorLarsenComedy on YouTube #ComedyPodcast #TheConnorLarsenShow #StandUpComedy #History #PanamaCanal #Excavator #DeepDive