William and Mary's Joint Sovereignty [Deep Dive] - February 13th, 2026

[00:00] Maya Kim: Welcome to Deep Dive. [00:02] Maya Kim: I am Maya Kim. [00:03] Michael Turner: And I am Michael Turner. [00:05] Michael Turner: Today is February 13th, a date that highlights major shifts in governance and human achievement. [00:12] Maya Kim: It really is a day defined by transition. [00:16] Maya Kim: We're looking at everything from the foundations of British democracy [00:19] Maya Kim: to the first time a human outpaced the speed of sound. [00:23] Michael Turner: That is a wide range, Maya. [00:26] Michael Turner: Let's start with a moment that changed the course of the British monarchy forever. [00:31] Michael Turner: On this day in 1689, William I.I. and Mary I.I. [00:36] Michael Turner: were officially proclaimed joint sovereigns of England. [00:39] Maya Kim: This was the culmination of the Glorious Revolution. [00:43] Maya Kim: What is so fascinating here is that they were the first monarchs to rule under the Bill [00:48] Maya Kim: of Rights. [00:49] Maya Kim: It was a complete shift in power. [00:53] Michael Turner: Exactly, Maya. [00:54] Michael Turner: Before this, the royal prerogative was much broader. [00:58] Michael Turner: The Bill of Rights established parliamentary supremacy, meaning the monarch couldn't just [01:03] Michael Turner: bypass the law. [01:04] Michael Turner: Mary was the daughter of the deposed James I, and her husband, William of Orange, was a Dutch prince. [01:11] Maya Kim: They ruled together until Mary passed away in 1694, at which point William continued on his own. [01:17] Maya Kim: But it was that initial partnership that stabilized the country during a very volatile time. [01:23] Michael Turner: It set the stage for the modern constitutional monarchy we see today. [01:28] Michael Turner: It is incredible how a single proclamation in 1689 still echoes in the way governments operate [01:35] Michael Turner: centuries later. [01:37] Maya Kim: Speaking of things that echo through history, Michael, we have some incredible birthdays to celebrate today. [01:44] Maya Kim: People who really push the boundaries in their respective fields. [01:48] Michael Turner: We certainly do. [01:49] Michael Turner: First up, born on this day in 1923 is the legendary Chuck Yeager. [01:55] Michael Turner: As a climate and weather reporter, I often think about the physical limits of our atmosphere, [02:00] Michael Turner: and Yeager was the man who broke one of the biggest ones. [02:03] Maya Kim: He was an Air Force officer and test pilot, but he is forever etched in history for what [02:09] Maya Kim: he did on October 14, 1947. [02:12] Maya Kim: he became the first person to break the sound barrier in level flight, [02:16] Maya Kim: flying that experimental Bell X-1 aircraft. [02:19] Michael Turner: It is hard to imagine the courage that took, Maya. [02:23] Michael Turner: But February 13th isn't just for the daredevils of the sky. [02:27] Michael Turner: In 1933, it also gave us the iconic actress Kim Novak. [02:32] Maya Kim: I have always admired her work. [02:35] Maya Kim: Most people know her best from Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, [02:38] Maya Kim: which is such a cornerstone of film history. [02:41] Maya Kim: She had this incredible screen presence in movies like Picnic and Bell, Book and Candle, too. [02:47] Michael Turner: She really defined a certain era of Hollywood glamour and mystery. [02:51] Michael Turner: And our third birthday today takes us into the world of music and activism. [02:56] Michael Turner: Peter Gabriel was born on February 13, 1950. [03:00] Maya Kim: He has had such a multifaceted career, Michael, [03:04] Maya Kim: starting out as the original lead singer for Genesis and then moving into a massive solo career [03:09] Maya Kim: with hits like Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes. [03:13] Michael Turner: Right, Maya. [03:14] Michael Turner: But it is not just about the music with him. [03:17] Michael Turner: He has used his platform for human rights activism for decades. [03:21] Michael Turner: It's a recurring theme today, isn't it? [03:23] Michael Turner: People using their roles to influence something much larger than themselves. [03:27] Maya Kim: That is a great point, Michael. [03:30] Maya Kim: Whether it's music or flight or even the highest offices in the world, [03:34] Maya Kim: leadership and change are everywhere on this date. [03:37] Michael Turner: That's remarkable. [03:39] Michael Turner: That brings us to our fact of the day, which involves a very modern transition [03:44] Michael Turner: On February 13, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI did something that hadn't been seen in centuries. [03:52] Maya Kim: He announced his intention to resign. [03:54] Maya Kim: That was a massive story in the global news spheres because it was so unexpected. [03:59] Maya Kim: He cited his failing health and age as the primary reasons. [04:03] Michael Turner: It was the first time a pope had voluntarily stepped down in nearly 600 years. [04:09] Michael Turner: You have to go all the way back to Gregory XII in 1415 to find another example, and he only did it to end the Western Schism. [04:18] Maya Kim: Benedict's decision took effect a few weeks later and led directly to the election of Pope Francis. [04:24] Maya Kim: It was a historic moment that showed even the most traditional institutions can face sudden, profound change. [04:32] Michael Turner: Yeah. [04:33] Michael Turner: From the Bill of Rights to the breaking of the sound barrier and the resignation of a pope, [04:38] Michael Turner: February 13th really is a day of rewriting the rules. [04:42] Maya Kim: It certainly is. [04:43] Maya Kim: Thank you for joining us for this look back through time. [04:46] Maya Kim: I'm Maya Kim. [04:48] Michael Turner: And I'm Michael Turner. [04:49] Michael Turner: For more episodes, head to deepdive.neuromnewscast.com. [04:53] Michael Turner: Deep dive is AI-assisted, human-reviewed. [04:57] Michael Turner: Explore history every day on Neural Newscast.