Podcasts by History Ago Go
Eclectic interviews with historians, authors and other interesting guests. Moderated by Rob Mellon.
Further podcasts by Rob Mellon
Podcast on the topic Geschichte
All episodes
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women (Kate Moore) from 2022-02-19T16:00
The incredible true story of the women who fought America’s Undark danger
The Curies’ newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh fa...
ListenLiberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution (Woody Holton) from 2022-02-13T23:00
Using more than a thousand eyewitness records, Liberty Is Sweet is a “spirited account” (Gordon S. Wood, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Radicalism of the American Revolution Listen
Stalin's War: A New History of World War II (Sean McKeekin) from 2022-02-05T11:00
World War II endures in the popular imagination as a heroic struggle between good and evil, with villainous Hitler driving its events. But Hitler was not in power when the conflict erupted in As...
ListenAmerican Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing our Nation (Seth David Radwell) from 2022-02-01T23:00
Two disparate Americas have always coexisted. In this thoroughly researched, engaging and ultimately hopeful story of our nation’s divergent roots, Seth David Radwell clearly links the fascinati...
ListenSmashing the Liquor Machine: A Global History of Prohibition (Mark Lawrence Schrad) from 2022-01-22T00:00
When most people think of the prohibition era, they think of speakeasies, rum runners, and backwoods fundamentalists railing about the ills of strong drink. In other words, in the popular imagin...
ListenThe Guns of John Moses Browning: The Remarkable Story of the Inventor Whose Firearms Changed the World (Nathan Gorenstein) from 2022-01-16T22:00
Few people are aware that John Moses Browning--a tall, modest man born in 1855 and raised as a Mormon in the American West-- invented the mechanism used in virtually all modern pistols, created ...
ListenCult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers (Doug J. Swanson) from 2022-01-10T00:00
The Texas Rangers came to life in 1823, when Texas was still part of Mexico. Nearly 200 years later, the Rangers are still going--one of the most famous of all law enforcement agencies. In C...
ListenRough Diamond: The Life of Colonel William Stephen Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton's Forgotten Son (A.K. Fielding) from 2022-01-03T20:00
Solider, politician, miner, pioneer, scion of a Founding Father, William Stephen Hamilton led a prolific life. Rough Diamond: The Life of Colonel William Stephen Hamilton examines the t...
ListenAmerican Comics: A History (Jeremy Dauber) from 2021-12-28T16:00
Comics have conquered America. From our multiplexes, where Marvel and DC movies reign supreme, to our television screens, where comics-based shows like The Walking Dead have become amon...
ListenFallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown (Steve Sheinkin) from 2021-12-21T15:00
New York Times bestselling author Steve Sheinkin presents a follow up to his award-winning book Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, taki...
ListenThe Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict (Elbridge A. Colby) from 2021-12-13T19:00
Elbridge A. Colby was the lead architect of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, the most significant revision of U.S. defense strategy in a generation. Here he lays out how America’s defense mus...
ListenThe Oxford Handbook of Christmas (Timothy Larsen) from 2021-12-07T22:00
The Oxford Handbook of Christmas provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary account of all aspects of Christmas across the globe, from the specifically religious to the purely cultural.
Yuletide in Dixie: Slavery, Christmas, and Southern Memory (Robert E. May) from 2021-12-01T18:00
How did enslaved African Americans in the Old South really experience Christmas? Did Christmastime provide slaves with a lengthy and jubilant respite from labor and the whip, as is generally ass...
ListenBack From the Future: A Celebration of the Greatest Time Travel Story Ever Told (Brad Gilmore) from 2021-11-22T22:00
The Back to the Future series is a timeless collection greatly revered by all audiences. The beauty of this book by Brad Gilmore is that it doesn’t present the history of the film as te...
ListenThe Antichrist: A New Biography (Philip C. Almond) from 2021-11-15T23:00
The malign figure of the Antichrist endures in modern culture, whether religious or secular; and the spectral shadow he has cast over the ages continues to exert a strong and powerful fascinatio...
ListenKingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier (Benjamin Park) from 2021-11-01T21:00
Compared to the Puritans, Mormons have rarely gotten their due, treated as fringe cultists at best or marginalized as polygamists unworthy of serious examination at worst. In Kingdom of Nauv...
ListenThe Trial of Lizzie Borden: A True Story (Cara Robertson) from 2021-10-29T00:00
When Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally hacked to death in Fall River, Massachusetts, in August 1892, the arrest of the couple’s younger daughter Lizzie turned the case into international news...
ListenEloise Asylum: The History, the Humanity and the Haunts (Cassandra St. Croix) from 2021-10-21T20:00
In America’s early history, the enactment of Poor Laws and the establishment of poorhouses and asylums gave physically, mentally and emotionally disabled people a place to live and eat. But what...
ListenThe Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War (J.L. Bell) from 2021-10-06T23:00
With a Clash Between American Rebels and Royal Authorities Heating Up, Radicals Smuggled Cannon Out of Boston—and the British Came Looking for Them
In the early spring of 1775, on a far...
Robert E. Lee: A Life (Allen Guelzo) from 2021-09-29T00:00
Robert E. Lee is one of the most confounding figures in American history. Lee betrayed his nation in order to defend his home state and uphold the slave system he claimed to oppose. He wa...
ListenThe Chicago Cub Shot For Love: A Showgirl’s Crime of Passion and the 1932 World Series (Jack Bales) from 2021-09-21T00:00
In the summer of 1932, with the Cubs in the thick of the pennant race, Billy Jurges broke off his relationship with Violet Popovich to focus on baseball. The famously beautiful showgirl took it ...
ListenMemories from the Microphone: A Century of Baseball Broadcasting (Curt Smith) from 2021-09-15T00:00
In this second in a series of Baseball Hall of Fame books, celebrate the larger-than-life role played by radio and TV baseball announcers in enhancing the pleasure of our national pastime.
Grand Delusions: The Cosmic Career of John De Lorean (Hillel Levin) from 2021-09-02T19:00
WHEN IN OCTOBER 1982 THE FLAMBOYANT AUTO EXECUTIVE JOHN DELOREAN was arrested for possession of over sixteen million dollars’ worth of cocaine, the world was aghast and fascinated.
FEW ...
Mercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War (Jeff Shesol) from 2021-08-25T18:00
A riveting history of the epic orbital flight that put America back into the space race.
If the United States couldn’t catch up to the Soviets in space, how could it compete with them on ...
ListenAmericanon: An Unexpected U.S. History in Thirteen Bestselling Books (Jess McHugh) from 2021-08-11T00:00
Surprising and delightfully engrossing, Americanon explores the true history of thirteen of the nation’s most popular books. Overlooked for centuries, our simple dictionaries, spellers,...
ListenDestination Jerusalem: The Legendary Tale of the First Crusade (Patrick Hotle) from 2021-07-24T22:00
Dr. Patrick Hotle discusses the amazing story of the First Crusade. He explains the economic and political conditions that led thousands to make their way across medieval Europe to Constantinop...
ListenThe Last Platoon: A Novel of the Afghanistan War (Bing West) from 2021-07-20T00:00
A small team of CIA operatives and Marines commanded by Captain Diego Cruz are protecting a tiny base in Helmand—the most violent province in Afghanistan. In a series of escalating fights, Cruz ...
ListenA Most Peculiar Book: The Inherent Strangeness of the Bible (Kristin Swenson) from 2021-07-15T23:00
The Bible, we are constantly reminded, is the best-selling book of all time. It is read with intense devotion by hundreds of millions of people, stands as authoritative for Judaism and Christian...
ListenAt the Sands: The Casino That Shaped Classic Las Vegas, Brought the Rat Pack Together, and Went Out With a Bang (David Schwartz) from 2021-07-06T23:00
The lights are coming down. Frank, Dean, and Sammy are about to take the stage. This is the moment we remember, when Las Vegas became classic. And it was at the Sands. Built in 1952 over the ash...
ListenTales from the Gem City #10 - Quincy the City of Refuge (Chuck Scholz) from 2021-07-01T20:00
Former Mayor Chuck Scholz explains how the city of Quincy took in nearly the entirety of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the winter of 1838-1839. That act of charity the comm...
ListenThe Presidents vs. the Press: The Endless Battle between the White House and the Media--from the Founding Fathers to Fake News (Harold Holzer) from 2021-06-15T22:00
"The FAKE NEWS media,” Donald Trump has tweeted, “is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!” Has our free press ever faced as great a threat? Perhaps not—but the tension betw...
ListenWhen the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland's Freedom (Christopher Klein) from 2021-06-10T21:00
Just over a year after Robert E. Lee relinquished his sword, a band of Union and Confederate veterans dusted off their guns. But these former foes had no intention of reigniting the Civil War. I...
ListenD-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II (Sarah Rose) from 2021-06-06T10:00
In 1942, the Allies were losing, Germany seemed unstoppable, and every able man in England was on the front lines. To “set Europe ablaze,” in the words of Winston Churchill, the Special O...
ListenA Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America's Hurricanes (Eric Jay Dolin) from 2021-06-03T18:00
Eric Jay Dolin returns to History Ago Go to discuss his most recent book A Furious Sky. The conversation includes a review of the 500 year history of hurricanes in the Americas starti...
ListenNöthin'But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the'80s Hard Rock Explosion (Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock) from 2021-05-26T23:00
Hard rock in the 1980s was a hedonistic and often intensely creative wellspring of escapism that perfectly encapsulated?and maybe even helped to define?a spectacularly over-the-top decade. Indee...
ListenTales from the Gem City #9 - The Lattice Fries Capital of the World (Chuck Scholz) from 2021-05-22T12:00
Rob and Chuck discuss the interesting tale of how Quincy, Illinois was "officially" designated the Lattice Fries Capital of the World in a federal court. Chuck explains how he got inv...
ListenStephen A. Douglas, Western Man: The Early Years in Congress, 1844-1850 (Reg Ankrom) from 2021-05-20T15:00
It didn't take long for freshman Congressman Stephen A. Douglas to see the truth of Senator Thomas Hart Benton's warning: slavery attached itself to every measure that came before the ...
ListenUncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World (Mark Pendergrast) from 2021-05-16T23:00
The definitive history of the world's most popular drug. Uncommon Grounds tells the story of coffee from its discovery on a hill in ancient Abyssinia to the advent of Starbucks. M...
ListenEvery Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inaugural of Abraham Lincoln (Ed Achorn) from 2021-05-11T20:00
By March 4, 1865, the Civil War had slaughtered more than 700,000 Americans and left intractable wounds on the nation. After a morning of rain-drenched fury, tens of thousands crowded Washington...
ListenJohn C. Calhoun: American Heretic (Robert Elder) from 2021-05-06T22:00
A new biography of the intellectual father of Southern secession—the man who set the scene for the Civil War, and whose political legacy still shapes America today.
John C. Calhoun is a...
Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure (Menachem Kaiser) from 2021-05-03T19:00
From a gifted young writer, the story of his quest to reclaim his family’s apartment building in Poland—and of the astonishing entanglement with Nazi treasure hunters that follows. Menachem Kais...
ListenGreek Poems to the Gods: Hymns from Homer to Proclus (Barry Powell) from 2021-04-28T00:00
The hymn—as poetry, as craft, as a tool for worship and philosophy—was a vital art form throughout antiquity. Although the Homeric Hymns have long been popular, other equally important ...
ListenThe Greedy Queen: Eating with Victoria (Annie Gray) from 2021-04-19T20:00
From Dr. Annie Gray, presenter of BBC2's Victorian Bakers - What does it mean to eat like a queen? Elizabeth gorged on sugar, Mary on chocolate and Anne was known as 'Brandy Nan'....
ListenTecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation (Peter Cozzens) from 2021-04-16T19:00
The first biography of the great Shawnee leader in more than twenty years, and the first to make clear that his misunderstood younger brother, Tenskwatawa, was an equal partner in the last great...
ListenArtCurious: Stories of the Unexpected, Slightly Odd, and Strangely Wonderful in Art History (Jennifer Dasal) from 2021-04-12T23:00
Art historian and author Jennifer Dasal talks about some the the most fascinating and truly unbelievable stories in art history. She details the wild journey of the Mona Lisa and indic...
ListenThe Final Campaign of the War from Petersburg to Appomattox in General Grant's Own Words (Curt Fields) from 2021-04-10T16:00
The nation's leading Ulysses S. Grant interpreter talks about the campaign for Petersburg and the end of the American Civil War as General Grant. He discusses the difficulty but importance...
ListenBlack Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates (Eric Jay Dolin) from 2021-04-06T16:00
Set against the backdrop of the Age of Exploration, Black Flags, Blue Waters reveals the dramatic and surprising history of American piracy’s “Golden Age”?spanning the late 1600s throug...
ListenHitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich (Robert Gervarth) from 2021-04-02T22:00
Reinhard Heydrich is widely recognized as one of the great iconic villains of the twentieth century, an appalling figure even within the context of the Nazi leadership. Chief of the Nazi Crimina...
ListenThe Real Horse Soldiers: Benjamin Grierson’s Epic 1863 Civil War Raid Through Mississippi (Timothy B. Smith) from 2021-03-31T20:00
Benjamin Grierson’s Union cavalry thrust through Mississippi is one of the most well-known operations of the Civil War. There were other simultaneous operations to distract Confederate attenti...
ListenPresidential Spirits: A Novel (Dan Coonan) from 2021-03-26T21:00
A political Field of Dreams. A moderate US president is struggling to lead amidst the country's dysfunctional polarization when he stumbles upon a centuries-old saloon where he can drink at...
ListenBitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's Kings of Beer (Bill Knoedelseder) from 2021-03-22T18:00
Journalist and author Bill Knoedelseder discusses the crazy and extremely interesting life of one of America's "royal" families - the Busch family. He starts from the beginning a...
ListenThe Wonders: The Extraordinary Performers Who Transformed the Victorian Age (John Woolf) from 2021-03-15T22:00
Author and historian John Woolf discusses the amazing freak performers and freak shows of the 19th century. He talks about famous performers such as Tom Thumb (Charles Stratton) and the greates...
ListenMr. Rickey's Redbirds: Baseball, Beer, Scandals&Celebrations in St. Louis (Mike Mitchell) from 2021-03-09T22:00
Author Mike Mitchell talks about his comprehensive book about the early years of the St. Louis Cardinals. He explains the tremendous impact that baseball executive Branch Rickey had on the game...
ListenRobert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause (Ty Seidule) from 2021-03-05T18:00
West Point Professor Emeritus of History Ty Seidule talks about is recently released book Robert E. Lee and Me. He discusses growing up in the American South and how he was indoctrinat...
ListenThe Black Heavens: Abraham Lincoln and Death (Brian Dirck) from 2021-03-02T00:00
Dr. Brian Dirck discusses how death impacted our greatest President during his life. He explains the death of his mother when he was a boy and how is father did not provide emotional support. ...
ListenThe University of Notre Dame: A History (Father Thomas Blantz) from 2021-02-26T21:00
Father Blantz discusses his comprehensive book on the history of the University of Notre Dame. He begins with the founding by Father Sorin and how the college has been impacted by French cultur...
ListenJFK vs. Allen Dulles: Battleground Indonesia (Greg Poulgrain) from 2021-02-23T21:00
Historian Greg Poulgrain explains the strategic and economic importance of the fourth largest country in the world, Indonesia. He describes the political situation in Indonesia before WWII and ...
ListenTales from the Gem City #8 - Baseball in the Gem City (Chuck Scholz) from 2021-02-19T19:00
Chuck returns to talks a little baseball. The discussion starts with the first baseball game played in Quincy and includes some of the early team names like the Occidentals, Dexters, Red Hots, ...
ListenThe Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator (Timothy Winegard) from 2021-02-17T00:00
Historian and New York Times and LA Times Best Selling author Timothy Wingard explains the massive impact the mosquito has had on human history. He begins with an overview of why certain mosqui...
ListenThe General and the Genius: Groves and Oppenheimer the Unlikely Partnership that Built the Atom Bomb (James Kunetka) from 2021-02-14T22:00
Author and historian of the atomic age James Kunetka details the birth and exponential growth of the Manhattan Project during WWII. He describes the unlikely partnership between Army General Le...
ListenAmerican Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant (Ronald C. White) from 2021-02-05T21:00
Acclaimed presidential historian Dr. Ronald White discusses his classic New York Times Bestseller American Ulysses. He starts with the early days of Ulysses growing up in Ohio and how ...
ListenThe Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s (Andy Greene) from 2021-02-02T23:00
New York Times Best Selling author and Rolling Stone journalist Andy Greene discusses his book The Office. He starts from the beginning with the British version of The Office created b...
ListenBouton: The Life of a Baseball Original (Mitchell Nathanson) from 2021-01-25T15:00
Legal scholar and baseball historian Mitch Nathanson discusses the amazing and interesting life of Jim Bouton. He talks about his early days as how he wasn’t even the best pitcher on his high ...
ListenGoing the Distance: The Life and Works of W.P. Kinsella (William Steele) from 2021-01-19T22:00
William Steele discusses his amazing biography of famed writer W.P. Kinsella who was the author of Shoeless Joe which was the basis for the classic baseball movie Field of Dreams Listen
Tombstone: The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Vendetta Ride from Hell (Tom Clavin) from 2021-01-15T22:00
New York Times bestselling author Tom Clavin discusses his book Tombstone. He covers all of the key figures in the Wild West story including, Wyatt Earp and the Earp brothers, Doc Holl...
ListenThe Gatekeeper: Missy LeHand, FDR, and the Untold Story of the Partnership that Defined a Presidency (Kathryn Smith) from 2021-01-14T00:00
Author Kathryn Smith reveals the amazing life of FDR's gatekeeper, Missy LeHand. She starts from her early days helping Franklin Roosevelt with the 1920 Election and the tragedy of FDR bei...
ListenFrom the Miracle Mets to the Bad Boys of Baseball: The New York Mets in Popular Culture (David Krell) from 2021-01-04T23:00
Baseball writer and historian David Krell details the storied and amazing history of the New York Mets. He talks about a myriad of topics from the first sponsorship for the Mets to their connec...
ListenMafia Spies: The Inside Story of the CIA, Gangsters, JFK and Castro (Thomas Maier) from 2020-12-29T00:00
The award-winning author, journalist, and television producer Thomas Maier discusses the amazing story of the CIA's secret objective to assassinate Fidel Castro. He explains how the mafia ...
ListenFirst Principles: What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How that Shaped Our Country (Thomas E. Ricks) from 2020-12-21T17:00
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winning, New York Times best selling author Thomas Ricks discusses the classical education of the Founding Fathers and how that impacted the creation of the Amer...
ListenChristmas: A Biography (Judith Flanders) from 2020-12-17T17:00
Award winning author Judith Flanders discusses her book Christmas: A Biography. She explains two major assumptions that are made about the holiday and how we have grown to accept many ...
ListenAlaric the Goth: An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome (Douglas Boin) from 2020-12-14T20:00
Professor Douglas Boin discusses the Goths and ancient Gothia and why they are often misunderstood. He talks about the difficulty of researching a people that did not have a written language fo...
ListenJFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956 (Fredrik Logevall) from 2020-12-08T20:00
Pulitzer Prize winning author and Harvard University historian Dr. Fredrik Logevall covers the early years and eventual rise of John F. Kennedy. He discusses his father Joseph Kennedy, Sr. and ...
ListenTales from the Gem City #7 - Father Augustus Tolton from 2020-12-06T12:00
Chuck Scholz discusses the background and connection of Father Augustus Tolton to the Gem City. He was the first African American priest in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. After his ...
ListenA Date Which Will Live in Infamy: The Japanese Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941 (Mark Roehrs) from 2020-11-30T20:00
Dr. Mark Roehrs discusses the expansion of the Japanese military starting with their victory over Russia in 1905. He explains the role Japan played in the First World War and the political syst...
ListenThis Infernal War: How Civil War Letters Reveal an Anti-Lincoln Sentiment and a Threatened Rural Identity (Timothy Roberts) from 2020-11-24T21:00
Dr. Timothy Roberts describes his research into the letters written between an Illinois couple during the American Civil War. He discusses the migration patterns of central and southern Illinoi...
ListenThe Napoleonic Wars: A Global History (Alexander Mikaberidze) from 2020-11-19T17:00
Professor and author Alexander Mikaberidze offers an in-depth and informative discussion on the Napoleonic Wars. He explains how Napoleon was able to rise to prominence from relative obscurity ...
ListenThe Fisherman's Tomb: The True Story of the Vatican's Secret Search to Find the Grave of St. Peter (John O'Neill) from 2020-11-12T20:00
New York Times best selling author John O'Neill recounts the amazing tale of the secret Vatican search to find the true grave and bones of St. Peter. He explains what we know historically ...
ListenTales from the Gem City #6 - Presidential Visits (Chuck Scholz) from 2020-11-09T19:00
Former Mayor Chuck Scholz tells the story of the five sitting presidents that visited the Gem City including Rutherford B. Hayes, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Bill Clinton and Barack Ob...
ListenRevolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence (Carol Berkin) from 2020-11-06T01:00
Dr. Carol Berkin discusses her book Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence. She begins by explaining what aspects of American colonial society wou...
ListenThe Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret: George Washington, Slavery, and the Enslaved Community at Mount Vernon (Mary V. Thompson) from 2020-11-03T19:00
Mount Vernon Research Historian Mary V. Thompson discusses the Virginia slave system that was used on the plantations that George Washington grew up on. She explains how Washington first became...
ListenThe Music that Won the Wild West: Frontier Favorites that Helped Make America (Rex Rideout) from 2020-10-27T22:00
Musical historian Rex Rideout discusses the individual songs, composers and performers that helped tame the American West. From the first American explorers heading into the unknown, such as Le...
ListenGermans in America: Exploring German Heritage and Its Cultural Impact on the United States (W. Arthur Mehrhoff) from 2020-10-23T21:00
Dr. Arthur Mehrhoff explains how German traditions and customs have added to American life. He details the domestic issues and conflicts that were going on in Germany that led to a widespread m...
ListenThe Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team that Helped Win WWII (Anne R. Keene) from 2020-10-20T01:00
Author Anne R. Keene discusses the story of the Navy baseball team that was formed in the early years of World War II called the Cloudbuster Nine. The squad was made up of several major league ...
ListenShoot for the Moon: The Space Race and the Extraordinary Voyage of Apollo 11 (James Donovan) from 2020-10-16T00:00
Veteran writer James Donovan talks about the inspiration and dangerous beginnings of the American space program. He explains how the U.S. in WWI acquired important plans and equipment from the ...
ListenThe Legendary Billy the Kid: The Irish Lad Called Bilito (James B. Mills) from 2020-10-12T23:00
Author and historian James B. Mills explains how an Irish lad from New York named Henry McCarty became the legendary Billy the Kid. He attempts to glean from scarce information to determine whe...
ListenTales from the Gem City #5 - Famous People, Supreme Court Justices and Celebrities Passing Through Town (Chuck Scholz) from 2020-10-08T19:00
Former Mayor Chuck Scholz about the many famous people and celebrities that made their way through the Gem City. He starts with one of Quincy's native born residents Paul Tibbets who pilot...
ListenReaganland: America's Right Turn 1976-1980 (Rick Perlstein) from 2020-10-06T23:00
New York Times bestselling author and historian Rick Perlstein explains in detail the rise of the New Right and conservative movement in American politics in the 1970s. He covers the election o...
ListenThe Lost Colony that was Never Lost: English Colonial Ambitions, Native Tribes and the Roanoke Mystery Solved (Scott Dawson) from 2020-10-01T18:00
Scott Dawson historian from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and author of the book The Lost Colony and Hatteras Island explains how information from the project he is working on uncovered evi...
ListenThe Mormon Wars: A Prophet Falls, the Battle of Nauvoo, and the Destruction of a Temple (David Harbin) from 2020-09-28T22:00
Historian David Harbin discusses the beginning of the Mormons from the Second Great Awakening to the Midwest (3:25). He provides an overview of the life of Joseph Smith and the founding of a ne...
ListenRevolutionary Political Creed and the Standard-Bearers of Equality: The First National Debate on Slavery (Paul Polgar) from 2020-09-25T17:00
Dr. Paul Polgar explains how the nation moved from very limited anti-slavery sentiment before the 1760s to a more vibrant anti-slavery posture in the 1780s and 1790s. He describes the differenc...
ListenTales from the Gem City #4 - The Invention of Mountain Dew (Chuck Scholz) from 2020-09-22T17:00
Former Mayor Chuck Scholz tells the interesting story of the birth of Mountain Dew and the connection the inventor has to Quincy. The story goes back to the city's founder John Wood and th...
ListenThe Problem of Democracy: The Presidents Adams Confront the Cult of Personality (Andrew Burstein) from 2020-09-21T14:00
Historian and prolific author Dr. Andrew Burstein discusses the book, he co-authored with Dr. Nancy Isenberg, on John Adams and John Quincy Adams. He describes the problems that both Adams had ...
ListenRifles of the Great War: The Bolt Action Infantry Rifles of WWI (Christopher McDonald) from 2020-09-17T12:00
Dr. Christopher McDonald discusses the innovations and developments of the bolt action infantry rifles of World War I. He explains the difficulties the British had in South Africa and the Ameri...
ListenSearching for Jim: Slavery in Sam Clemens's/Mark Twain's World (Terrell Dempsey) from 2020-09-15T17:00
Terrell Dempsey tells the untold story of Mark Twain and the slave culture in Missouri that helped shape him. The discussion focuses on slavery in Hannibal and northeast Missouri where Samuel L...
ListenTales from the Gem City #3 - On the Presidential Campaign Trail (Chuck Scholz) from 2020-09-10T18:00
Chuck relives his many stories of the presidential candidates and campaigns that made their way through the Gem City. From being a delegate for Jimmy Carter when other Illinois leaders were Ken...
ListenDemagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy (Larry Tye) from 2020-09-08T09:00
New York Times best-selling author Larry Tye discusses his new book Demagogue on the life of Senator Joseph McCarthy. He explains how he became interested in the topic and why...
ListenLadies Behind the Hoods: Women of the Ku Klux Klan and the Appropriation of Feminism (Nancy Benz) from 2020-09-04T19:00
Nancy Benz discusses her research into the Women Ku Klux Klan (WKKK) that developed in the early 20th century. She explains the formation and early history of the KKK and the group's reviv...
ListenTales from the Gem City #2 - Simon and Goldwater (Chuck Scholz) from 2020-09-01T18:00
Former Mayor Chuck Scholz details the life of service of Illinois Senator Paul Simon. Chuck talks about how Senator Simon grew up and his start in politics in southern Illinois. He has an upli...
ListenLife Behind the Mike: History of Local Radio, Covering Quincy Basketball,and Capturing Unforgettable Moments (Mike Moyers) from 2020-08-31T14:00
Mike Moyers details the history of local radio in Quincy and the importance of covering local sporting events to the fabric of a community. He discusses his time with WTAD and WGEM and the grea...
ListenFood Fit for Kings: Tasting History with Timeworn Recipes, Ancient Ingredients and Archaic Cookery (Max Miller) from 2020-08-27T14:00
The video creator and host of the wildly successful Tasting History on YouTube explains how he started cooking ancient recipes and his passion for history. He details the history of important R...
ListenTales from the Gem City #1 (Chuck Scholz) from 2020-08-25T17:00
Former Mayor Chuck Scholz describes the monumental challenge of dealing with the Great Flood of 1993 as the mayor of Quincy, Illinois. He details working with city, state and federal officials,...
ListenThe Agora Bone Well: An Illinois Farm Girl becomes a CSI Archaeologist of an Ancient Greek Mass Grave (Lynn Snyder) from 2020-08-18T18:00
Dr. Lynn Snyder a Zooarchaeological Researcher who has worked for the Smithsonian and the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece describes how a farm girl from a small town in Il...
ListenIstanbul, Not Constantinople: History of the Byzantine Empire and the Ancient City of Constantinople (Patrick Hotle) from 2020-08-06T18:00
Dr. Patrick Hotle a decorated and award winning historian and professor discusses the amazing and important history of the Byzantine Empire and the ancient city of Constantinople. He explains t...
ListenMaking an Antislavery Nation: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Battle Over Freedom (Graham Peck) from 2020-07-30T18:00
Author, historian and filmmaker Dr. Graham Peck speaks about his award winning book, Making and Antislavery Nation. The conversation covers the early controversy over slavery in the Un...
ListenBlack Codes, Segregation and the Ugly Legacy of White Supremacy and Jim Crow (Scott Giltner) from 2020-07-28T19:00
Dr. Scott Giltner explains the ugly legacy of white supremacy and Jim Crow in America in the period after Reconstruction. He discusses the immediate impact of the 13th Amendment and how Souther...
ListenLincoln’s Obol: COL Rutherford Guards a Fallen President (Iris Nelson) from 2020-07-23T18:00
Historian and Librarian Iris Nelson details the interesting story of COL George V. Rutherford and his duties on the night that Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth. After being called ...
ListenThe Political Ascension of Richard M. Nixon (Justin Coffey) from 2020-07-16T18:00
Dr. Justin Coffey discusses the early years of Richard Nixon and his political rise. Coffey stresses the development of Nixon's work ethic and social resentments which form his politics. ...
ListenThe"Fighting Black Devils"and the Heroic Service of Black Soldiers in WWI (Phil Reyburn) from 2020-07-15T18:00
Author and researcher Phil Reyburn tells the history of the Illinois National Guard unit of Black Soldiers the 8th Illinois. Their service on the Mexican border and in the Spanish-American War....
ListenPolitical Apprenticeship of Stephen Douglas (Reg Ankrom) from 2020-07-14T21:00
Historian and author Reg Ankrom discusses his book Stephen A. Douglas: The Political Apprenticeship 1833-1843. The talk includes the early days of Douglas and his move west to Illinois...
ListenPolitical Apprenticeship of Stephen Douglas (Reg Ankrom) from 2020-07-14T21:00
Historian and author Reg Ankrom discusses his book Stephen A. Douglas: The Political Apprenticeship 1833-1843. The talk includes the early days of Douglas and his move west to Illinois...
ListenRise of Adolf Hitler and Setting the Stage for WWII (Wendell Mauter) from 2020-07-14T21:00
History professor Dr. Wendell Mauter details the political environment in Germany after WWI and how Adolf Hitler used the chaotic time to gain power. Mauter describes Hitler's life in Vien...
ListenDiscovery of the Sword in the Wall (Tim Jacobs) from 2020-07-14T21:00
Dr. Tim Jacobs the Commander of the Quincy Civil War Roundtable discusses the curious and amazing story of the sword in the wall detailing the tale of the Ruddell family. The talk included the ...
ListenPolitical Apprenticeship of Stephen Douglas (Reg Ankrom) from 2020-07-14T21:00
Historian and author Reg Ankrom discusses his book Stephen A. Douglas: The Political Apprenticeship 1833-1843. The talk includes the early days of Douglas and his move west to Illinois...
Listen