{"podcast":{"title":"I Can’t Sleep","slug":"i-can-t-sleep-7771740","podcast_index_feed_id":7771740,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/6913380/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/i-can-t-sleep--6913380","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/f84190b8f9025174f328d2b0f0cd8a4b.jpg","author":"ju","episode_count":556,"summary":"Trouble sleeping? You could count sheep, or let I Can’t Sleep do the heavy yawning for you. Host Benjamin Boster reads slow-paced, fact-filled content on science, history, and everyday oddities with zero plot twists and even less urgency. It’s calm. It’s consistent. And yes, you might accidentally learn something. So get comfy, press play, and let your brain wander off without you.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-20T04:18:31.435951+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/i-can-t-sleep-7771740"},"episode":{"title":"Silk | Can't Sleep? Learn About Ancient Fabric and the Silk Road","slug":"silk-can-t-sleep-learn-about-ancient-fabric-and-the-silk-road","published_at":"2026-05-27T00:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/i-can-t-sleep-7771740/silk-can-t-sleep-learn-about-ancient-fabric-and-the-silk-road","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/i-can-t-sleep-7771740","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/silk-can-t-sleep-learn-about-ancient-fabric-and-the-silk-road--72177661","audio_url":"https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72177661/glss1002675513.mp3","summary":"Silk changed global trade long before most people had maps that made any sense. This episode covers how silk is made, why it became one of the most valuable materials in history, and how entire empires got weirdly protective about tiny caterpillars with very productive hobbies. Along the way, you’ll hear about the Silk Road, ancient China’s monopoly on silk production, medieval trade networks, and the long process of turning cocoons into fabric people still associate with luxury pajamas and expensive scarves. It turns out humans have spent thousands of years obsessing over shiny fabric, which honestly tracks. It’s steady and consistent, with no whispering and no sudden changes, just enough to give your mind something to follow as you wind down. Happy sleeping! Read with permission from Silk, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. — Ad-free episodes: icantsleep.supportingcast.fmHave a topic in mind? Request a topic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"Silk changed global trade long before most people had maps that made any sense. This episode covers how silk is made, why it became one of the most valuab…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1865,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/i-can-t-sleep-7771740/episodes/silk-can-t-sleep-learn-about-ancient-fabric-and-the-silk-road/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/i-can-t-sleep-7771740/silk-can-t-sleep-learn-about-ancient-fabric-and-the-silk-road.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}