Podcasts by History Unplugged Podcast

The History of Equality, and How Close Different Civilizations Were to Attaining It from 2023-12-12T11:00:02

The most tried-and-true method of kings or politicians justifying their hold on power is by promising equality (this was the slogan of the French Revolution, along with liberty and brotherhood). Al...

How the Catholic Church Maintained Civilization in the Lowest Points of the Middle Ages from 2023-12-07T11:00:02

For 2,000 years, Catholicism – the largest branch of Christianity and – has shaped global history on a scale unequal by any other institution. It created the university, modern health care, reinvig...

Marty Glickman: The New York Sports Legend Who Lost His Spot in the 1936 Olympics For Being Jewish from 2023-12-05T11:00:02

For close to half a century after World War II, Marty Glickman was the voice of New York sports. His distinctive style of broadcasting, on television and especially on the radio, garnered for him l...

Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison’s Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation from 2023-11-30T11:00:02

The conquest of Indian land in the eastern United States happened through decades of the U.S. government’s military victories, along with questionable treaties and violence. This conflict between t...

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and Rebuilding The Windy City Into a World Metropolis from 2023-11-28T11:00:03

In October of 1871, Chicagoans knew they were due for the “big one”—a massive, uncontrollable fire that would decimate the city. There hadn’t been a meaningful rain since July, and several big blaz...

Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of JFK's Assassination from 2023-11-27T08:45:02

November 22nd marked the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. To commemorate this pivotal event in American history, learn more about Kennedy's 1963 Texas visit, reel...

Hitler, Stalin, and a Jewish Couple Who Met After Surviving Their Extermination Programs from 2023-11-23T11:00:03

About four years ago Times of London journalist Daniel Finkelstein undertook an effort to tell his parents’ stories of survival in WW2 Europe. They met at a Jewish youth club in London in the Sprin...

Crown, Cloak, and Dagger: How the British Royal Family Spied on Others and Was Spied on in Turn from 2023-11-21T11:00:02

The British Royal Family and the intelligence community are two of the most mysterious and mythologized actors of the British State. From the reign of Queen Victoria to the present, they shared a c...

Joshua Chamberlain: From Stuttering Child to Civil War Hero to Polyglot Governor of Maine from 2023-11-16T11:00:03

Before 1862, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain had rarely left his home state of Maine, where he was a trained minister and mild-mannered professor at Bowdoin College. His colleagues were shocked when he...

White House Wild Child: How Alice Roosevelt Charmed Early 1900s America from 2023-11-14T11:00:02

During Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency—from 1901 to 1909, when Mark Twain called him the most popular man in America—his daughter Alice Roosevelt mesmerized the world with her antics and beauty. Al...

The First Attempted Nazi Takeover of Germany: The Beer Hall Putsch of 1923 from 2023-11-09T11:00:02

In 1923, the Weimar Republic faced a series of crises, including foreign occupation of its industrial heartland, rampant inflation, radical violence, and finally Hitler’s infamous “beer hall putsch...

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 and the Making of Modern European Warfare from 2023-11-07T11:00:02

Among the conflicts that convulsed Europe during the nineteenth century, none was more startling and consequential than the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. Deliberately engineered by Prussian cha...

How Ancient Religions Affect What We Do and Don’t Eat in 2023 from 2023-11-02T11:00:03

Religious beliefs have been the source of food "rules" since Pythagoras told his followers not to eat beans (they contain souls), Kosher and Halal rules forbade the shrimp cocktail (shellfish are s...

Life in Rome at the Very Height of Its Power from 2023-10-31T11:00:02

The Pax Romana has long been shorthand for the empire’s golden age. Stretching from Caledonia to Arabia, Rome ruled over a quarter of the world’s population. It was the wealthiest and most formidab...

How Russians Survive the 900-Day-Long Siege of Leningrad from 2023-10-26T11:00:02

The first year of the siege of Leningrad that began in September 1941 marked the opening stage of a 900-day-long struggle for survival that left over a million dead. The capture of the city came ta...

The Origins of the KKK and its First Death in the 1870s from 2023-10-24T11:00:02

The Ku Klux Klan was arguably America’s first organized terrorist movement. It was a paramilitary unit that arose in the South during the early years of Reconstruction. At its peak in the early 187...

A Nazi Defector Revealed Germany’s Infiltration in All Major Governments in His 1945 Memoir from 2023-10-19T11:00:02

Heinrich Pfeifer was a senior member of the Nazi deep state who defected in 1938. He wrote his memoirs in 1945, with the goal of describing the inner workings of Nazi intelligence with enough detai...

From Orphan to RAF Hero from 2023-10-17T11:00:02

Many of the WW2 generation faced hardship in their youth (they did spend their childhood in the Great Depression), but few had as bad of an early life as Denis Elliott, who became an RAF Flight Lie...

The Life and Tragic Death of R101, The World’s Largest Flying Machine from 2023-10-12T11:00:02

The tragic story of the British airship R101—which went down in a spectacular hydrogen-fueled fireball in 1930, killing more people than died in the Hindenburg disaster seven years later—has been l...

The Postwar Lives of WW2 Leaders, Both Axis and Allies from 2023-10-11T07:20:02

Check out this episode sample from James Early's "Key Battles of American History," In this episode, which wraps up a season devoted to World War 2 in the European Theatre, hosts James Early and Se...

Why Robert E. Lee was America’s Most Admired General For Over a Century from 2023-10-10T11:00:02

Robert E. Lee has become a target of activists in the last decade, with statues of him being taken down across the United States, and eponymous schools and streets being renamed. But for over a cen...

Parthenon Roundtable: Which Person From History Deserves a Movie? from 2023-10-05T11:00:02

Who are people from the past whose lives are so cinematic that they deserve their own movie, but haven't received the right silver screen treatment, such as, say, Abraham Lincoln from Steven Spielb...

Charlie Chaplin vs. America from 2023-10-03T11:00:02

Charlie Chaplin was the most famous movie star in the world, especially at his height in the 1920s, when the silent film star won the hearts of audience around the globe. But in the aftermath of Wo...

Joe McCarthy, the Hydrogen Bomb, and Ten Fateful Months That Kicked Off the Cold War from 2023-09-28T11:00:02

There’s a good argument to be made that the entire trajectory of the Cold War was set off by ten fateful months of American and global history, between the first Soviet atom bomb test in the late s...

The SAS Began as a Lie but Became Britain’s Most Elite WW2 Commando Unit from 2023-09-26T11:00:02

Created during the World War II, the SAS was a small band of men brought together in the North African desert. They were the toughest and brightest of their cohort, the most resilient, most capable...

Eyewitnesses of History Share Stories of the 1980 Miracle on Ice, Pablo Escobar, Jonestown, and Much More from 2023-09-22T08:50:02

In this special compilation episode, Josh Cohen of Eyewitness History shares his favorite interview moments and stories from people who witnessed some of history’s most extraordinary events.
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In 1864, Nine Union Officers Escaped from a POW Camp and Trekked 300 Miles to the North from 2023-09-21T11:00:01

At the height of the Civil War in November 1864, nine Union prisoners-of-war escaped from a Confederate Prison known as Camp Sorghum in Columbia, South Carolina. They scrambled north on foot in rag...

Teddy Roosevelt Nearly Died in a Cavalry Charge Against German Machine Guns in WW1 from 2023-09-19T11:05:01

Teddy Roosevelt faced many challenges at the end of his life. Racked by rheumatism, a ticking embolism, pathogens in his blood, a bad leg from an accident, and a bullet in his chest from an assassi...

Beyond the Wall: What Life Was Really Like in East Germany from 2023-09-14T02:00:02

When the Iron Curtain fell in 1990, East Germany ceased to be. For over forty years, from the ruin of the Second World War to the cusp of a new millennium, the German Democratic Republic presented ...

How An Unlikely Cohort of Black Nurses at a New York Sanatorium Helped Cure Tuberculosis from 2023-09-12T02:00:02

Nearly a century before the COVID-19 pandemic upended life as we know it, a devastating tuberculosis epidemic was ravaging hospitals across the country. In those dark, pre-antibiotic days, the dise...

The Mississippi Was First Mapped by a Polyglot Priest and a College Dropout-Turned-Fur Trapper from 2023-09-07T02:00:02

Perhaps the most consequential expedition in North American history wasn’t the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was one that happened 130 years earlier and undertaken by a Catholic priest fluent in m...

The Eurasian Steppes Gave Us Atilla the Hun, Genghis Khan, Global Trade and Hybrid Camels from 2023-09-05T02:00:02

The barbarian nomads of the Eurasian steppes have played a decisive role in world history, but their impact has gone largely unnoticed. These nomadic tribes have produced some of the world’s greate...

Decades of Turbulent Decolonization After WW2 Launched With The Dutch-Indonesian Wars of 1945-49 from 2023-08-31T02:00:02

The Dutch–Indonesian War was one of the first postwar struggles that followed the Japanese surrender in September 1945, which left a power vacuum in the colonial Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). The ...

Could the Pacific War of WW2 Have Been Entirely Avoided if Not For U.S. Diplomats in Over Their Heads? from 2023-08-29T02:00:02

It’s November 1941. Japan and the US are teetering on a knife-edge as leaders on both sides of the Pacific strive to prevent war between them. But failed diplomacy, foiled negotiations, and possibl...

The WW2 Pacific Theatre of January-May 1942: When Japan Was Omnipotent and America Was a Fearful Underdog from 2023-08-24T02:00:02

After the devastating Japanese blows of December 1941, the Allies found themselves reeling with defeat everywhere in the Pacific. Although stripped of his battleships and outnumbered 10:3 in carrie...

The History of America’s Ice Obsession: Why The U.S. Loves Frozen Drinks and Ice Rinks from 2023-08-22T02:00:02

Ice is everywhere: in gas stations, in restaurants, in hospitals, in hotels via noisy machines, and in our homes. Americans think nothing of dropping a few ice cubes into tall glasses of tea to war...

Introducing Mark Vinet's New Show: Historical Jesus from 2023-08-20T07:20:02

This is a preview of the new Parthenon Podcast Network show "Historical Jesus," hosted by Mark Vinet. This show explores the question of who was Jesus Christ and why did he inspire such admiration,...

Leyte Gulf: The Largest Naval Battle in History and the Downfall of the Japanese Navy from 2023-08-17T02:00:02

The WW2 battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval encounter in history and probably the most decisive naval battle of the entire Pacific War, and one that saw the Imperial Japanese Navy eliminated...

Britain Controlled the Globe by Farming Out Colonial Governance to the East Indian Company and other Corporations from 2023-08-15T02:00:02

How did Britain – an island nation the same size as Oregon – manage to control most of the world through its colonial empires? The answer is that it didn’t, at least not directly. Britain farmed ou...

How the Monroe Doctrine Led to America Occupying Cuba, Panama, Hawaii, and Haiti from 2023-08-10T07:25:01

Following the Napoleonic Wars, a tidal wave of independence movements hit the Western Hemisphere. The United States was afraid that expansionist powers—namely Britain, France, Germany, and Japan—mi...

A 1943 Translation Blunder Saved FDR, Churchill, and Eisenhower From Being Assassinated from 2023-08-08T06:25:01

In a recently bombed, spy-infested Casablanca, Morocco, the architects of Allied victory in World War Two meet. It is January 1943, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaul...

James Garfield – Overlooked for his Short Presidency – Was the Most Beloved Politician of Reconstruction from 2023-08-03T06:00:02

James Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin, and was raised by a poor widow on Ohio’s rugged Western Reserve. By his late twenties, he had become a respected preacher, state senator, ...

Road Tripping with Henry Ford and Thomas Edison Through Rural America In Beat-Up Model Ts from 2023-08-01T10:50:01

Some of the most important moments in the lives of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison weren’t their inventions or business successes. It was their road trips through the most remote, rustic parts of Amer...

Did the South Lose the Entire Civil War Because One General Got Lost at the Battle of Gettysburg? from 2023-07-27T07:05:01

Did the Confederacy lose the entire Civil War on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 because one of their generals showed up late to a battle site? That’s a very simple answer to a v...

Alexander the Great’s Final Battle Nearly Killed Him with Drowning and War Elephants from 2023-07-25T07:45:02

In the years that followed Alexander the Great’s victory at Gaugamela on October 1, 331 BC, his Macedonian and Greek army fought a truly ‘Herculean’ series of campaigns in what is today Iran, Turkm...

In 1938, America Underwent a 7-Year Transformation From an Weak, Pacifist Nation to the Arsenal of Democracy from 2023-07-20T07:30:02

Nobody would have thought that the United States could fight in a world war in 1938, let alone be a major reason for victory. That year, it was so politically isolationist and pacifist that its def...

Exploring the Aztec Empire and Indigenous Mexico from 2023-07-19T07:00:03

This is a preview of Mark Vinet's "History of North America." Explore one of the most glorious Mesoamerican societies and encounter the Pre-Hispanic Mexico ancient culture & civilization that w...

The First War on Terror: How Europe Fought Anarchist Suicide Attacks, From 1850 to WW1 from 2023-07-18T07:10:02

At the end of the nineteenth century, the world came to know and fear terrorism. Much like today, this was a time of progress and dread, in which breakthroughs in communications and weapons were ma...

The Italian Squad: A Group of 1920s NYPD Immigrant Detectives Who Fought the Rise of the Mafia from 2023-07-13T07:50:02

The story begins in Sicily, on Friday, March 12th, 1909. Three gunshots thundered in the night, and then a fourth. Two men fled, and investigators soon discovered who they had killed: Giuseppe Petr...

Conspiracy Theories Haunt the Assassination of MLK 55 Years After His Death from 2023-07-11T06:30:02

Doubts about James Earl Ray, Dr. Martin Luther King’s lone assassin, arose almost immediately after the civil rights leader was fatally shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April...

Early 1800s Newspaperman William Hunter Was a British Soldier’s Son Who Built Early America from 2023-07-06T07:55:01

In June 1798, President John Adams signed the now infamous Alien & Sedition Acts to suppress political dissent. Facing imminent personal risks, a gutsy Kentucky newspaper editor ran the first e...

Long Before Seabiscuit, a Civil War-era Racehorse Smashed Records and Sired Thousands of Colts from 2023-07-04T07:00:02

The early days of American horse racing in the pre-Civil War era were grueling. Four-mile races, run two or three times in succession, were the norm, rewarding horses who brandished the ideal combi...

How the 1910 Return of Halley's Comet (Almost) Destroyed Civilization from 2023-06-29T07:50:02

Halley’s Comet visits the earth every seventy-five years. Since the dawn of civilization, humans had believed comets were evil portents. In 1705, Edmond Halley liberated humanity from these primord...

The Coronation of Charles III and the Meaning Behind His Vestments, 5-Pound Crown, and the "Sovereign Orb" from 2023-06-27T07:10:01

Charles III was crowned king of England on May 6, 2023, the first of its kind in 70 years. He wore regalia that look straight out of a portrait of Charlemagne: the St. Edward’s Crown, which wegiths...

Why Did WW2 Advance Civil Rights When WW1 Reversed Them? Here's What WEB DuBois Said from 2023-06-22T07:30:02

Many of us think that we know all there is to know about W.E.B Du Bois was the early 20th century’s most significant thinker, writer, and philosopher of the U.S. civil rights movement. He saw an ex...

What It Was Like to be a WW2 Paratrooper from 2023-06-20T06:35:01

When General Douglas MacArthur fled the Phillipines in the beginning of World War Two, he swore to return, and did so in 1944 in an epic battle in which the Allies faced banzai charges, jungle warf...

Six Kentucky Nuns Founded a Hospital in 1940s War-Torn India That Saved Hundreds of Thousands of Lives from 2022-04-19T07:15:02

The year was 1947, and the mother superior of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth had managed to keep her order safe from the perils of World War II, and focused on the work at home in Kentucky. But...

A 1719 Prison Ship Transported Dozens of Women Accused of Sex Crimes to New Orleans. They Became the Founding Mothers of the Gulf from 2022-04-14T07:00:02

In 1719, a ship named La Mutine (the mutinous woman), sailed from the French port of Le Havre, bound for the Mississippi. It was loaded with urgently needed goods for the fledgling French colony, b...

Introducing the Eyewitness History Podcast from 2022-04-13T08:35:02

Please enjoy this preview of the Eyewitness History Podcast, hosted by Josh Cohen. This show features first-hand testimonials of people who witnessed first-hand events such as the fall of the Berli...

The Global Manhunt For The Confederate Ship That Sunk Union Supply Vessels, From the Caribbean to the South Pacific from 2022-04-12T06:30:03

Naval warfare is an overlooked factor of the Civil War, but it was a vitally important part of overall strategy for North and South, especially from the perspective of the Union, which used naval b...

Most Historians Consider Warren G. Harding America’s Worst President. This One Thinks He Belongs in the Top 10 from 2022-04-07T06:55:02

Most historians think of Warren G. Harding as a jazz-age hedonist who was much more of an empty suit than a serious president. Once in the White House, they argue, the 29th president busied himself...

Why the Information Revolution Would Happened in Europe Even Without the Printing Press from 2022-04-05T07:05:02

After Johannes Gutenberg invented the moveable type printing press, Europe changed irrevocably. What happened was a shift in the generation, preservation and circulation of information, chiefly on ...

Deeply-Held Religious Beliefs Can’t Be Easily Eradicated. That’s Why Stalin Co-Opted Russian Orthodoxy As a Ruler. from 2022-03-31T06:45:02

The Russian Revolution is thought to have everything to do with the writings of Karl Marx. He predicted in the 19th century that history was marching inevitably toward a proletarian revolution and ...

What “Dear John” Letters Tell Us About the Fragility of Wartime Relationships…and How They Unexpectedly Lead to Greater Camaraderie from 2022-03-29T06:35:02

During World War II nearly one billion letters were sent to the front, but none struck more fear in the heart of the average soldier than the one that began with the following: “Dear John: I don’t ...

Cassie Chadwick Scammed the Gilded Age Elite Out of Millions and Convinced The World She Was Andrew Carnegie’s Bastard Daughter from 2022-03-24T07:40:02

Of all the self-made millionaires of the Gilded Age (and there were many, such as John Rockefeller, son of a literal snake oil salesman who became the world’s first billionaire), nobody can rival b...

How China Changed Its Language From Archaic Confucian Bureaucracy to the Lingua Franca of Globalization from 2022-03-21T06:45:02

After a meteoric rise, China today is one of the world’s most powerful nations. Just a century ago, it was a crumbling empire with literacy reserved for the elite few, as the world underwent a mass...

Which Statues Should We Take Down? How To Fairly Judge Historical Figures by Today’s Standards from 2022-03-17T06:40:02

In the United States, questions of how we celebrate – or condemn – leaders in the past have never been more contentious. In 2017, a statue of Robert E. Lee was removed – leading to a race riot and ...

On the Eve of World War One, Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt, and the Suffragette Jane Addams Sought to Prevent Armageddon from 2022-03-15T06:05:02

In the early years of the twentieth century, the most famous Americans on the national stage were Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Jane Addams: two presidents and a social worker. Each took ...

A Union Woman in Civil War Kentucky from 2022-03-10T07:10:03

Today’s episode is a look at the life of Frances Peter, a Civil War-era Kentuckian who witnessed all the major events of the conflict, and watched her hometown switch hands from the Confederacy to ...

Does Waging War Viciously Actually Save Lives? A Look at the WW2 Decisions to Firebomb Tokyo and Drop Atomic Bombs from 2022-03-08T07:35:02

This is a special episode, in which the microphone is turned around and Scott is interview. He was recently on Ray Harris’ History of World War Two Podcast. We discuss some of the biggest moral qua...

Successes and Failures of The Last Century of U.S. Presidents, From Harding to Trump from 2022-03-03T07:20:02

Today’s Guest is Ronald Gunger, author of “We the Presidents: How American Presidents Shaped the Last Century. We explore the successes and failures of 100 years of chief executives, from Warren G....

Mutiny on the Rising Sun: A Tragic Tale of Slavery, Smuggling, and Chocolate from 2022-03-01T07:25:02

On the night of June 1, 1743, terror struck the schooner Rising Sun. After completing a routine smuggling voyage where the crew sold enslaved Africans in exchange for chocolate, sugar, and coffee i...

A Real-Life French Serial Killer Inspired Dostoyevsky to Write “Crime and Punishment” from 2022-02-24T07:40:03

As a young man, Fyodor Dostoevsky was a celebrated writer, but his involvement with the radical politics of his day that swept Europe during the Revolutions of the 1840s condemned him to a long Sib...

The NAACP Leader Who Passed As White, Infiltrated Lynching Rings, Architected ‘Brown v. Board of Education’, and Ended His Life in Scandal from 2022-02-22T07:40:03

One of the most important Civil Rights Leaders in the 20th century, behind perhaps only the giants of the movement such as Martin Luther King Jr. WEB DuBois, or Booker T Washington, was Walter Fran...

How Clocks Created Earth’s First Global Supply Chain in the 1700s – And Keep GPS Alive Today from 2022-02-17T07:50:02

Our modern lives are ruled by clocks and watches, smartphone apps and calendar programs. While our gadgets may be new, however, the drive to measure and master time is anything but. It’s a long sto...

Parthenon Roundtable: Which Person From History Would You Keep From Dying Too Soon? (And You Can’t Choose JFK) from 2022-02-15T07:50:03

A couple of months ago, the guys from Parthenon Podcast Network (James Early, Key Battles of American History; Steve Guerra, History of the Papacy; Richard Lim, This American President; and Scott R...

Assassination Attempts of U.S. President – From JFK to Joe Biden from 2022-02-10T08:50:02

One of the most important – but overlooked – professions in U.S. history is a Secret Service agent assigned with presidential protection duty. That’s because failure can change the course of histor...

No, the Ancient Greeks Weren’t Color Blind. They Justed Had Unique Ways to Describe the World from 2022-02-08T07:25:02

Were ancients color-blind? They weren’t but this idea has been passed around for centuries, usually by classicists confused by the Greeks’ odd choice of descriptive language. Homer, author of The I...

The Severing Of a Sea Captain’s Ear Led to a Global War Between Spain and Britain in the 1740s from 2022-02-03T07:40:02

In the early 1700s, decades of rising tensions between Spain and Britain culminated in a war that was fought all over the world. And it all started with a scene that sounds like it belongs in Reser...

Future History: The Story Behind '2001: A Space Odyssey' from 2022-02-02T07:10:02

Listen to the rest of this episode and others from Beyond the Big Screen at parthenonpodcast.com

The Last King of America: George III, His Battles With Madness, and Being a Thoroughly Underrated Monarch from 2022-02-01T07:50:02

Most Americans dismiss George III as a buffoon: a heartless and terrible monarch with few, if any, redeeming qualities (picture the preening, spitting, and pompous version in Hamilton). But in 2017...

Dragons Exist In Nearly Every Culture’s Mythology As a Mirror of Their Fears. What Are Ours? from 2022-01-27T07:40:02

We live in the golden age of dragons – they appear in Game of Thrones, most film adaptations of the works of J.R.R. Tolkein, and nearly everything tangentially related to fantasy. They date back mi...

Harry Guggenheim: The Elon Musk of the Gilded Age from 2022-01-25T07:55:02

Harry Guggenheim was a man of impressive achievements and staggering wealth. While most commonly known for the creation of the famed Solomon Guggenheim Museum, Harry was also the co-founder of News...

Are Cities Humanity’s Greatest Invention or an Incubator of Disease, Crime, and Horrific Exploitation? from 2022-01-20T08:35:02

During the two hundred millennia of humanity’s existence, nothing has shaped us more profoundly than the city. From their very beginnings, cities created such a flourishing of human endeavor—new pr...

Revolutionary Monsters: Why Lenin, Mao, Castro, and Others Turned Liberation into Tyranny from 2022-01-18T08:35:01

All sparked movements in the name of liberating their people from their oppressors—capitalists, foreign imperialists, or dictators in their own country. These revolutionaries rallied the masses in ...

Robert E. Lee Was America’s Most Gallant, Decorated Traitor from 2022-01-13T07:40:03

Robert E. Lee was one of the most confounding figures in American history. From Lee’s betrayal of his nation to defend his home state and uphold the slave system he claimed to oppose, to his traito...

Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Contentious Path to Emancipation from 2022-01-11T07:35:02

In a little-noted eulogy delivered shortly after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Frederick Douglass called the martyred president “emphatically the Black man’s president,” and the “first to show a...

Henry Kissinger Used Cold Realpolitik to Create Order in the Middle East. Did it Work? from 2022-01-06T08:45:02

More than twenty years have elapsed since the United States last brokered a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians. In that time, three presidents have tried and failed. Today’s gues...

Europe’s Babylon: 16th-Century Antwerp was a City of Wealth, Vice, Heresy, and Freedom from 2022-01-04T07:05:01

Before Amsterdam, there was a dazzling North Sea port at the hub of the known world: the city of Antwerp. For half the sixteenth century, it was the place for breaking rules – religious, sexual, in...

Parthenon Podcast Roundtable: Who Would You Eliminate From History? (And No, You Can’t Choose Hitler) from 2022-01-01T08:00:02

Today is a group discussion in which the four guys that make up the Parthenon Podcast Network (Steve Guerra from Beyond the Big Screen, Richard Lim from This American President, James Early from Ke...

WASPs: The Splendors and Miseries of an American Aristocracy from 2021-12-30T07:40:02

From politics to fashion, their style still intrigues us. WASPs produced brilliant reformers—Eleanor, Theodore, and Franklin Roosevelt—and inspired Cold Warriors—Dean Acheson, Averell Harriman, and...

The Untold History of Earth: Hobbits Really Existed, Dinosaurs Had Feathers, and Yetis Roamed Our Planet from 2021-12-28T06:25:02

In the beginning, Earth was an inhospitably alien place?in constant chemical flux, covered with churning seas, crafting its landscape through incessant volcanic eruptions. Amid all this tumult and ...

George Washington’s 1789 Road Trip Across the New United States from 2021-12-23T08:40:02

In the fall of 1789, George Washington, only six months into his presidency, set out on the first of four road trips as he attempted to unite what were in essence thirteen independent states into a...

The Allied Race to Retake Paris in 1945 Before the Nazis Could Destroy It from 2021-12-21T07:35:02

In a stunning move, the armies of Nazi Germany annihilated the French military and captured Paris, the crown jewel of Europe, in a matter of a few weeks. As Adolf Hitler tightened his grip on the ...

The Son of Mississippi Slaves Who Fled to Russia and Brought Jazz to Istanbul from 2021-12-16T07:35:01

Frederick Bruce Thomas was born in 1872 to former slaves and spent his youth on his family’s prosperous farm in Mississippi. However, a resentful, rich white planter's attempt to steal their land ...

What the Middle Ages Can Teach Us About Pandemics, Mass Migration, and Tech Disruption from 2021-12-14T07:50:02

The medieval world – for all its plagues, papal indulgences, castles, and inquisition trials – has much in common with ours. People living the Middle Ages dealt with deadly pandemics, climate chang...

Marine Raiders: The WW2 Special Forces Who Conquered Pacific Islands One Knife Fight At a Time from 2021-12-09T07:45:02

At the beginning of World War II, military planners set out to form the most ruthless, skilled, and effective force the world had ever seen. The U.S. Marines were already the world’s greatest fight...

The Boer Wars: The South African Conflict That Created Winston Churchill and (Possibly) Concentration Camps from 2021-12-07T07:55:01

South Africa, despite abolishing apartheid in the 1990s, still stays very fraught with racial tension, making the United States' experience of 2020 pale in comparison. A series of settlements and w...

Kim Philby: The KGB Mole Who Nearly Became the Leader of Britain’s MI6 from 2021-12-02T07:10:01

Kim Philby—the master British spy and notorious KGB double agent—had an incredible amount of influence on the Cold War. He became the mentor, and later, mortal enemy, of James Angleton, who would e...

George Washington: The First American Action Hero from 2021-12-01T07:05:02

This is an excerpt from an episode of This American President, a great history podcast that is the newest member of the Parthenon Podcast Network. You can find it at Listen

Why the 1619 Project is Dangerous and Should Be Totally Rejected from 2021-11-30T08:50:02

The biggest and most controversial historical debate in 2021 is the 1619 Project. Released last year in a special issue of the New York Times Magazine, it is a collection of articles which "aims to...

The 160-Minute Race to Save the Titanic from 2021-11-23T07:45:13

One hundred and sixty minutes. That is all the time rescuers would have before the largest ship in the world slipped beneath the icy Atlantic. There was amazing heroism and astounding incompetence ...

Age of Discovery 2.0, Part 6: Will SpaceX Control Mars Like the British East India Company Controlled the Indian Subcontinent? from 2021-11-18T07:20:14

The British East India Company is perhaps the most powerful corporation in history. It was larger than several nations and acted as emperor of the Indian subcontinent, commanding a private army of ...

Age of Discovery 2.0, Part 5: Death Has Always Been an Inevitable Part of Discovery, Whether on Magellan’s Voyage or a Trip to Mars from 2021-11-16T07:20:09

The history of exploration and establishment of new lands, science and technologies has always entailed risk to the health and lives of the explorers. Yet, when it comes to exploring and developing...

Age of Discovery 2.0, Part 4: How Lessons From U.S. History Will Help Space Colonies Be More Like Star Trek and Less Like Blade Runner from 2021-11-11T07:15:16

The human race is about to go to the stars. Big rockets are being built, and nations and private citizens worldwide are planning the first permanent settlements in space.

When we get the...

Age of Discovery 2.0, Part 3: Space Colonization Will Reinvigorate Humanity More Than the New World Discovery 500 Years Ago from 2021-11-09T07:20:15

The discovery of the New World irrevocably changed the economy of the Old World. Triangle trade, manufactured goods went from Britain to the Americas, which sent food staples to the Indies, which s...

Age of Discovery 2.0, Part 2: America’s New Destiny in Space, With Glenn Reynolds from 2021-11-04T06:40:03

With private space companies launching rockets, satellites, and people at a record pace, and with the U.S. and other governments committing to a future in space, today’s guest Glenn Harlan Reynolds...

Welcome to the Age of Discovery 2.0 from 2021-11-02T06:35:12

No decade transformed Western Civilization like the 1490s. Before then, Europe was a gloomy continent split into factions, ripe for conquest by the Islamic world. It had made no significant advance...

American’s Political Polarization Traces Back to 18th-Century Enlightenment Factions That Never Resolved Their Differences from 2021-10-28T06:10:03

Pundits on both the left and right proclaim our democracy is in crisis. This can be characterized by an eroding of civil institutions or politicians completely ignoring democratic norms by doing wh...

The Iowa Boy Who Loved Baseball, Leaked Atomic Secrets to the USSR, and Jump Started the Cold War from 2021-10-26T06:35:15

Of all the WW2 spies who stole atomic secrets from the Manhattan Project, none were as successfully, or as unassuming as George Koval. He was a kid from Iowa who played baseball, and loved Walt Whi...

Winston Churchill: Political Master, Military Commander from 2021-10-21T23:30:13

From his earliest days Winston Churchill was an extreme risk taker and he carried this into adulthood. Today he is widely hailed as Britain's greatest wartime leader and politician. Deep down thoug...

How This Union General Who Executed Guerrillas and Imprisoned Political Foes Became the Most Hated Man in Kentucky from 2021-10-21T06:20:18

For the last third of the nineteenth century, Union General Stephen Gano Burbridge, also known as the “Butcher of Kentucky,” enjoyed the unenviable distinction of being the most hated man in Kentuc...

The Escape of Jack the Ripper: History’s Most Infamous Serial Killer, and the Cover-up to Protect His Identity from 2021-10-19T06:20:03

He was young, handsome, highly educated in the best English schools, a respected professional, and a first-class amateur athlete. He was also a serial killer, the Victorian equivalent of the modern...

Two Revolutions and the Constitution from 2021-10-14T06:15:10

The United States is fraught with angst, fear, anger, and divisiveness due to our current political climate. How did we get here? And where are we headed?

Before the American Revolution...

Alfred Hubbard Was a 1920s Inventor, Bootlegger, and Psychedelic Pioneer Who Became the Patron Saint of Silicon Valley from 2021-10-12T06:50:13

Not many people have heard about Alfred Hubbard but he was one of the most intriguing people from the 20th Century. His story begins in 1919 when he made his first newspaper appearance with the exc...

The Normans: A History of Conquest from 2021-10-07T06:45:12

The Norman’s conquering of the known world was a phenomenon unlike anything Europe had seen up to that point in history. Although best known for the 1066 Conquest of England, they have left behind ...

Electric City: Ford and Edison’s Vision of Creating a Steampunk Utopia from 2021-10-05T07:55:13

During the roaring twenties, two of the most revered and influential men in American business proposed to transform one of the country’s poorest regions into a dream technological metropolis, a shi...

Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium from 2021-09-30T06:50:16

Of all the radioactive elements discovered at the end of the nineteenth century, it was radium that became the focus of both public fascination and entrepreneurial zeal.

This unlikely el...

An Alternate History of the Lincoln Assassination Plot from 2021-09-28T07:35:13

How deeply was the Confederate Secret Service involved in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln? Did the Confederate Secret Service assassinate Abraham Lincoln?” There are some strong indications that i...

What if Tsarist Russia Hadn’t Gone Communist? Revolutionaries Like Boris Savinkov Tried to Accomplish This from 2021-09-23T06:25:13

Although now largely forgotten outside Russia, Boris Savinkov was famous, and notorious, both at home and abroad during his lifetime, which spans the end of the Russian Empire and the establishment...

Reviving Lost WW2 Stories With An M1 Rifle from 2021-09-21T06:30:15

You wouldn’t believe how these ninety-year-old WWII heroes come alive when you put a rifle in their hands.

Andrew Biggio, a young U.S. Marine, returned from combat in Afghanistan and Ira...

Hollywood Hates History: El Cid (1961) from 2021-09-16T06:40:17

Eleventh-century Spain was a violent borderland of Christian-Muslim bloodshed, but on the eve of the First Crusade, the two religions cooperated as much as they warred in Iberia. And who else to ca...

Hollywood Hates History: The Messenger – The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) from 2021-09-14T06:25:09

What happens when you cast Milla Jovovich as Joan of Arc, take away her combat finesse she displayed in the Resident Evil series, but have her embody the fringe historical theory that the Maid of O...

American Dunkirk – How Half a Million New Yorkers Were Evacuated from Manhattan Island on 9/11 from 2021-09-09T06:20:06

The most famous large-scale sea rescue in history is the Dunkirk evacuation. Here nearly 400,000 Allied soldiers were surrounded by the German army in 1940, and Winston Churchill said, "the whole r...

Columbus of the Pacific: The Forgotten Portuguese Sailor Who Opened Up Earth’s Largest Ocean in 1564 from 2021-09-07T06:00:16

Lope Martín was a little-known 16th century Afro-Portugese pilot known as the "Columbus of the Pacific"--who against all odds finished the final great voyage of the Age of Discovery. He raced ahead...

Brown Brothers Harriman: The Shadowy Investment Bank That Built America’s Financial System from 2021-09-02T06:30:07

Conspiracy theories have always swirled around Brown Brothers Harriman, the oldest and one of the largest private investment banks in the United States, and not without reason. As America of the 18...

Drunk: How We Singed, Danced, and Stumbled Our Ways to Civilization from 2021-08-31T06:15:04

Humans love to drink. We have a glass or two when bonding with friends, celebrating special occasions, releasing some stress at happy hour, and definitely when coping with a once-in-a-lifetime pand...

Teaser: Key Battles of WW2 Pacific - Guadalcanal, Part 1 from 2021-08-27T07:40:11

Listen to this full episode by searching for "Key Battles of American History" in the podcast player of your choice or going to http...

Vikings Went Everywhere in the Middle Ages, From Baghdad to Constantinople to….. Oklahoma? from 2021-08-26T06:50:16

Scandinavia has always been a world apart. For millennia Norwegians, Danes, Finns, and Swedes lived a remote and rugged existence among the fjords and peaks of the land of the midnight sun. But whe...

A Small Island in the English Channel Was the Birthplace of the Russian Revolution from 2021-08-24T06:55:18

Russia’s revolutionaries, anarchists, and refugees of the 19th century found an unlikely place to scheme against the Czar. These political radicals, writers, and freethinkers -- exiled from their ...

The Best-Selling Books in American History Include Self-Help Shams and ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ from 2021-08-19T06:20:17

Many would assume that the most influential books in American History would be the Bible or the classical works that made the reading list for the Founding Fathers, like Vergil, Horace, Tacitus, , ...

The Common Factors That Cause Societies To Die, From Viking Greenland to Modern Somalia from 2021-08-17T07:45:12

If we do not learn from the past, we're ultimately doomed to repeat it. While our society may not be on the decline just yet, everything eventually must come to an end. Sandwich Board guys with rag...

America Won the Space Race Because of a Horrible Accident That Killed 3 Astronauts from 2021-08-12T06:20:02

“ We’ve got a fire in the cockpit!” That was the cry heard over the radio on January 27, 1967, after astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee climbed into a new spacecraft perched atop a...

The Daring WW1 Prison Break That Required an Ouija Board and a Life-or-Death Ruse from 2021-08-10T06:25:38

Today’s episode focuses on the true story of the most singular prison break in history—a clandestine wartime operation that involved no tunneling, no weapons, and no violence of any kind. Conceived...

How the Broken Marriage of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln Saved the Civil War from 2021-08-05T06:20:13

Abraham Lincoln was apparently one of those men who regarded “connubial bliss” as an untenable fantasy. During the Civil War, he pardoned a Union soldier who had deserted the army to return home to...

The Roman Brexit: How Civilization Collapsed in Britain After the Legions Withdrew in 409 AD from 2021-08-03T06:45:17

Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Grand cities and luxurious villas were deserted and left to crumble, and civil society collapsed into chaos. Into...

The Dive: The Untold Story of the World's Deepest Submarine Rescue from 2021-07-29T06:55:08

On August 29th, 1973, a routine dive to the telecommunication cable that snakes along the Atlantic sea bed went badly wrong. Pisces III, with Roger Chapman and Roger Mallinson onboard, had tried to...

The Civil War Battle That Resembled Dante’s Inferno from 2021-07-27T06:30:09

In the spring of 1864, President Lincoln feared that he might not be able to save the Union. The Army of the Potomac had performed poorly over the previous two years, and many Northerners were unde...

X-Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War II from 2021-07-22T06:35:07

The men of X Troop were the real Inglorious Basterds: a secret commando unit of young Jewish refugees who were trained in counterintelligence and advanced combat to deliver decisive blows against t...

The 1919 Tour de France That Took Place in the Bombed-Out Ruins of WW1 from 2021-07-20T06:05:14

On June 29, 1919, one day after the Treaty of Versailles brought about the end of World War I, nearly seventy cyclists embarked on the thirteenth Tour de France. From Paris, the war-weary men rode ...

The Apollo Program Had a Surprising Close Relationship With 1960s Counterculture from 2021-07-15T06:00:15

The summer of 1969 saw astronauts land on the moon for the first time and hippie hordes descend on Woodstock for a legendary music festival. For today’s guest, Neil M. Maher, author of the book Apo...

Travelers&Explorers, Epilogue – What is the Point of Exploration in the 21st Century? from 2021-07-13T06:10:07

What is the purpose of a dangerous journey in the twenty-first century? What is the reason
to explore when so much of the globe has been surveyed, mapped, photographed, filmed, and
catalo...

Travelers and Explorers, Part 8: Ernest Shackleton's Frozen March at the Bottom of the World from 2021-07-08T06:55:02

Ernest Shackleton was among the last of a group of intrepid men from the Golden Age of Discovery in the Victorian era. He sought honor for England and himself in embarking on a dangerous journey to...

Travelers and Explorers, Part 7: Sir Henry Stanley (1841-1904) – “Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?” from 2021-07-06T06:40:08

Henry Stanley was a soldier-turned-journalist-turned explorer who charged wide swaths of the Congo. He famously searched for the source of the Nile, commanded the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition (a ma...

Travelers and Explorers, Part 6: James Cook (1728-1797), England's Poseidon from 2021-07-01T06:35:06

James Cook came from a humble village upbringing. But by the end of his career, he circumnavigated the globe several times, discovered Australia and explored its west coast, mapped much of the Sout...

Travelers and Explorers, Part 5: Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) and His Terrifying Voyage Across an Endless Ocean from 2021-06-29T06:05:07

Ferdinand Magellan was ready to conquer the natives with nothing but a few loyal soldiers. He had already discovered vast new swaths of the globe and crossed the world's largest ocean. Capturing th...

Announcement: “Beyond the Big Screen” – a New Movie Podcast – Launches Next Week from 2021-06-28T06:15:16

I’m please to announce that Steve Guerra is launching a new podcast called Beyond the Big Screen that comes out next week. If you member from a few years back, Steve and I co-hosted a series called...

Travelers and Explorers, Part 4: Zheng He -- the Admiral Who Turned the Indian Ocean Into a Chinese Lake from 2021-06-24T06:40:12

What would have happened if China discovered America before Europe? More
importantly, what would have happened if it colonized America? It is a
plausible scenario. Prior to the nineteenth...

Travelers and Explorers, Part 3: Ibn Battuta (1304-1368) -- The Everlasting Pilgrim from 2021-06-22T06:35:19

Abu Abdullah Ibn Battuta was a 14th-century Islamic scholar who spent 20 years travelling the full extent of the Islamic world, which stretched from West Africa to the Middle East to Southern Russi...

Travelers and Explorers, Part 2: Marco Polo (1254-1324) -- Opening the Door to the East from 2021-06-17T06:30:06

Marco Polo’s legacy is arguably the greatest of any medieval figure. While he was by no means the first European to reach China – his father and uncle did so a generation earlier, making the younge...

Explorers Who Pushed the Boundary of the Known World, Part 1: Rabban Bar Sauma (1220-1294) – the Reverse Marco Polo from 2021-06-15T06:45:02

This is the first in a multi-part series on the most consequential travelers and explorers in history and how their discoveries, land conquests, and diplomatic negotiations shaped the modern world....

What Egyptian Crocodile Mummies Tell us About Life, Death, and Taxes Thousands of Years Ago from 2021-06-10T06:40:10

Our story begins in 1899, when two archaeologists — Arthur Hunt and Bernard Grenfell — were on an expedition in Northern Egypt in an ancient town once known as Tebtunis on a search for mummies and ...

The 1911 Meeting of Albert Einstein and Marie Curie that Changed Physics Forever from 2021-06-08T06:15:18

In 1911, some of the greatest minds in science convened at the First Solvay Conference in Physics, a meeting like no other. Almost half of the attendees had won or would go on to win the Nobel Pri...

Pancho Villa’s 1916 Raid on New Mexico: The Pearl Harbor Bombing of Its Time from 2021-06-03T06:20:13

Before 9/11, before Pearl Harbor, another unsuspected foreign attack on the United States shocked the nation and forever altered the course of history. In 1916, Pancho Villa, a guerrilla fighter wh...

How a Member of Easy Company’s “Band of Brothers” Found an Unlikely Friendship with a Former Nazi from 2021-06-01T06:55:14

One of the best-known screen depictions of World War 2 is Band of Brothers. This HBO miniseries followed the real-life Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division, and their mission in Wo...

U.S. Presidents and Their 160-Year Love/Hate Relationship With the Camera from 2021-05-27T06:25:09

John Quincy Adams was the first president of whom we have surviving photos. His picture was taken in 1843, two decades after his presidency ended. The picture was made with daguerreotype, the first...

Announcement: Steve Guerra’s History of the Papacy Podcast is Joining Forces with History Unplugged – Free Giveaway! from 2021-05-26T09:40:06

Steve Guerra is joining forces with History Unplugged. We are pleased to announce that his show History of the Papacy is a part of our new podcast network.

Steve has been on History Unpl...

Lincolnomics: How President Lincoln Constructed the Great American Economy from 2021-05-25T06:10:08

Abraham Lincoln’s view of the right to fulfill one’s economic destiny was at the core of his own beliefs—but some believe that he thought no one could climb that ladder without strong federal suppo...

The Gulf of Time Separating You From Napoleon III is Bridged By One Brandy Bottle from 2021-05-20T06:05:06

Some of the most remarkable historical artifacts found in the possession of collectors are vintage wines or spirits. A rare bottle’s journey spans continents and centuries, older than any human ali...

The Japanese-Americans Who Fought Nazis in Europe from 2021-05-18T06:25:19

The experience of Japanese-Americans in World War 2 is almost compoletely understood through the lense of internment camps. But for 10s of thousands of them, their most important experience was fig...

Meet the Four Congressmen Who Won the Civil War and Shaped Reconstruction from 2021-05-13T06:15:07

The popular conception of the Civil War is that Abraham Lincoln single-handedly led the Union to victory. But in addition to the Great Emancipator, we can also thank four influential members of Con...

Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica’s 1897 Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night from 2021-05-11T06:05:16

Polar exploration of the 19th century was the space travel of its day. There were moments of glory, like Ernest Shackleton’s heroic journeys to the Antarctic. There were moments of terror, such as ...

Teaser: Key Battles of WW2 Pacific - The Rise Of Imperial Japan from 2021-05-07T06:10:13

Listen to this full episode by searching for "Key Battles of American History" in the podcast player of your choice or going to http...

Gold Fever and Disaster in the Great Klondike Stampede of 1897-98. from 2021-05-06T06:40:11

In 1897, the United States was mired in the worst economic depression that the country had yet endured. When newspapers announced that gold was to be found in wildly enriching quantities at the Klo...

From the River to the Sea: The Railroad War of the 1870s that Made the West from 2021-05-04T06:15:21

It is remarkable now to imagine, but during the 1870s, the American West, for all its cloud-topped peaks and endless coastline, might have been barren tundra as far as most Americans knew. In 1869,...

Lady Bird Johnson: The Most Underestimated – and Most Powerful? – First Lady of the 20th Century from 2021-04-29T06:20:12

In the spring of 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson had a decision to make. Just months after moving into the White House under the worst of circumstances—following the assassination of President Jo...

American Espionage Was Born in the Dark Taverns of Philadelphia from 2021-04-27T06:10:11

Philadelphia is often referred to as the birthplace of a nation, but it would also be fair to say that it was the birthplace of American espionage.

Today’s guests, Keith Melton and Robe...

The Jazz Age Tale of America’s First Gangster Couple, Margaret and Richard Whittemore from 2021-04-22T06:20:18

Before Bonnie and Clyde, there was another criminal couple capturing America’s attention. Baltimore sweethearts, Margaret and Richard Whittemore, made tabloids across the country as Tiger Girl and ...

Announcement: Next Week James Early and I Launch "Key Battles of the Pacific Theatre (WW2)" from 2021-04-21T14:40:55

Good news! Next week James Early and I launch a 35-part series called Key Battles of the Pacific Theater (WW2). You won't hear it on this podcast but on James's new show called Key Battles of Amer...

For Centuries, America’s Best Friend in the Middle East Was…Iran? from 2021-04-20T06:15:05

As far back as America’s colonial period, educated residents were fascinated with Iran (or Persia, as it was known). The Persian Empire was subject of great admiration by Thomas Jefferson and John ...

George Washington Became Great Because He Spent Years in the Political Wilderness as a Washed-Up Has-Been from 2021-04-15T06:30:11

By age twenty-two, George Washington was acclaimed as a hero. As a commander of the Virginia Regiment, he gave orders to men decades older than himself. He was good at most things he tried and his ...

The Nazi’s Granddaughter -- Discovering War Crimes in Your Family's Past from 2021-04-13T06:05:08

This episode looks at a deathbed promise from a daughter to a mother, which leads the daughter on a journey to write about her grandfather who was a famous war hero. But this journey had a terrible...

The 15-Hour Work Week Was Standard For Nearly All of History. What Happened? from 2021-04-08T06:55:20

There’s nothing in human DNA that makes the 40-hour workweek a biological necessity. In fact, for much of human history, 15 hours of work a week was the standard, followed by leisure time with fami...

Low Troop Morale Can Literally Destroy a Nation. That’s Why the USO Was Formed in 1941. from 2021-04-06T06:25:18

A standing army is the most powerful force in a nation, but it can also threaten its very survival. That’s because you're taking a group of young men – those who are typically the core of your work...

Defining Treason – Why Are Founding Fathers Heroes But Confederate Leaders Not? from 2021-04-01T06:50:14

There is perhaps no other accusation as damning as ‘traitor.’ The only crime specifically defined in the Constitution, the term conjures notions of Benedict Arnold, hundreds of thousands of Civil W...

“Fire Eaters” of the Confederacy: The Foot Soldiers of the South Who Made Secession Possible from 2021-03-30T06:45:19

The story of the American Civil War is typically told with particular interest in the national players behind the war: Davis, Lincoln, Lee, Grant, and their peers. However, the truth is that countl...

Witnessing The Final Destruction of Hitler’s War Machine from 2021-03-25T06:40:04

By mid-February 1945, the Wehrmacht had finally reached strategic bankruptcy. In January and February alone, it had lost 660,000 men. The Home Army lacked the weapons (including small arms) and amm...

The USS Plunkett: The Unsinkable Navy Destroyer That Fought at Manzio, D-Day, and Southern France from 2021-03-23T06:50:17

The USS Plunkett was a US Navy destroyer that sustained the most harrowing attack on any Navy ship by the Germans during World War II, that gave as good as it got, and that was later made famous by...

How Ex-Slaves Built New Lives for Themselves – and America – After the Civil War from 2021-03-18T06:30:11

After the massive devastation of the Civil War, America tried to rebuild itself, leading to the era of Reconstruction. Many hoped the South would peaceably re-enter the Union, slaves would enjoy f...

George Washington’s Final (And Most Important?) Battle Was Uniting America By Building a New Capital from 2021-03-16T06:55:02

George Washington is remembered for leading the Continental Army to victory, presiding over the Constitution, and forging a new nation, but few know the story of his involvement in the establishmen...

Lessons Companies Should Learn From Mobsters' Business Practices from 2021-03-11T07:05:16

Every day, iconic brands like J.C. Penny, Sears, Kodak, and Blockbuster vanish. As entire lawful industries are disrupted out of existence, how have some organized criminal syndicates endured for n...

All of Human History, Civilization, and Culture Converge in One Place: Turkish Food from 2021-03-09T07:00:21

Napoleon once commented that if the Earth were a single state, Istanbul (nee Constantinople) would be its capital. The general clearly knew his geography: Istanbul is the meeting point of Europe an...

The Forgotten Fourteenth Colony of British North America from 2021-03-04T07:10:03

British West Florida—which once stretched from the mighty Mississippi to the shallow bends of the Apalachicola and portions of what are now the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisian...

How to Recover Family Treasure The Nazis Plundered in the 1940s from 2021-03-02T07:00:21

Today's guest recently went on a quest to reclaim his family’s property in Poland and found himself
entangled with Nazi treasure hunters. He is Menachem Kaiser, author of "Plunder: A Memoir o...

How 9 Former Slaves Started a Proto University in Alabama in 1867 from 2021-02-25T07:55:13

Alabama State University is well known as a historically black university and for the involvement of its faculty and students in the civil rights movement. Less attention has been paid to the schoo...

The Pen or the Sword? How Lincoln and John Brown Disagreed on Achieving Emancipation from 2021-02-23T07:20:02

John Brown was a charismatic and deeply religious man who heard the God of the Old Testament speaking to him, telling him to destroy slavery by any means. When Congress opened Kansas territory to s...

How States Got Their Shapes from 2021-02-18T07:40:10

Why do Midwestern and Rocky Mountain states share a boxy, sharp-edged shape while East Coast state borders look like the fever dream of an impressionist painter? Much of it has to do with when thes...

Great News! Frequent Guest James Early Has Launched His Own Podcast - Key Battles of American History. from 2021-02-17T07:00:10

Frequent History Unplugged guest James Early (co-host of Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WW1, and Presidential Fight Club) now has his own podcast! It's called Key Battles of Ameri...

When to Let the Past Die: The Case of Obersalzberg and Denazification from 2021-02-16T07:05:20

In this episode, we’ll look at Obersalzberg--a region that became a secret headquarters for the Nazi Party in WW2 that was later completely destroyed by the Allies and Germany to denazify it--and w...

The Mountain Man Was Once Considered To Be The Purest Distillation of the American Spirit from 2021-02-11T07:40:12

For a 100-year period, from the 1880s to 1980s, if you asked an American which profession was the purest expression of the nation's spirit, they wouldn't answer with soldier, baseball player, or as...

Sally Rand Was America's Sex Symbol, From the Roaring 20s to the Apollo Era from 2021-02-09T07:15:01

She would be arrested six times in one day for indecency. She would be immortalized in the final scene of The Right Stuff, cartoons, popular culture, and live on as the iconic symbol of the Chicago...

If the 1700s American Fur Trade Had Turned Out Differently, Californians Would Be Speaking Russian Today from 2021-02-04T07:35:20

Today's guest is David Bainbridge, author of "Fur War 1765-1840," which focuses on the catastrophic - and previously overlooked - elements of the Western fur trade in North America.

We d...

The Most Giant Leap in the Evolution of Modern Warfare was...the Jeep? from 2021-02-02T07:10:10

The 1940-41 era was a bleak time in American history. The country was still in the midst of a recession within the Great Depression. Resources were limited. The German Army rolled out its powerful ...

Abraham Lincoln Survived and Thrived in the Anarchy of Antebellum America from 2021-01-28T07:30:02

“Some 16,000 books have been written about Abraham Lincoln,” Gordon Wood writes in The Wall Street Journal, “more than any other historical figure except Jesus.” So why should you read one more? Be...

The Cuban Missile Crisis Was Horrifyling Close to Becoming a Nuclear Holocaust from 2021-01-26T07:40:12

The Cuban Missile Crisis of the early 1960s nearly led to a full-scale nuclear war between America and the Soviet Union. It thankfully didn't happen, but we came much closer than many realize. Listen

Atomic Bombs, Ancient Women Warriors, and Alien Conspiracy Theories of WW2 from 2021-01-21T07:00:12

This episode is a 3-in-1, in which Scott answers a trio of questions from listeners.

First question: Did ancient female warriors exist, and if so, how common they were on the battlefiel...

How Ancient Egypt Lives On from 2021-01-19T07:25:08

A nasty historical myth that won’t die is that aliens created the ancient pyramids. If you watch the show ancient aliens on the history channel you’ll see Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, the crazy hair guy. ...

In 1813, a Shawnee "Prophet" Launched a War to Conquer the Great Lakes Region from 2021-01-14T07:20:09

Until the Americans killed Tecumseh in 1813, he and his brother Tenskwatawa were the co-architects of the broadest pan-Indian confederation in United States history. In previous accounts of Tecumse...

Millions Were Left Homeless After WW2. What Happened To Those Who Were Permanently Exiled? from 2021-01-12T07:15:08

In May 1945, German forces surrendered to the Allied powers, putting an end to World War II in Europe. But the aftershocks of global military conflict did not cease with the German capitulation. Mi...

The Mafia Was the Glue That Held Entire American Cities Together in the 20th Century from 2021-01-07T07:00:12

The Mafia and many political machines ran entire American cities in the 19th and 20 centuries. But some mobsters claim that it went much further than that. Chicago-area Sam Giancana claims that he ...

Iron Empires: Robber Barons, Railroads, and the Making of Modern America from 2021-01-05T07:50:04

Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Tim Cook are just a few of today’s business pioneers who have succeeded in disrupting older existing business models, and whose motives and methods are constantly s...

An Army Without a Country: Prussia’s Cult of the Military and the Road to World War One from 2020-12-31T07:45:11

Almost no society worshipped its military as much as the German state of Prussia in the 1700s-1800s (outside of ancient Sparta). Prussia was famously described as not a country with an army but an ...

William Miller Predicted Christ’s Return in 1844. Here's What Happened After His Prophecy Failed from 2020-12-29T07:20:16

In October 1844, tens of thousands of people in New England believed the world would soon end. They followed William Miller, a man who claimed that through his study of the Bible to know the exact ...

This Civil War-Era Luke Skywalker Destroyed an Ironclad Death Star from 2020-12-24T07:35:02

One of America’s greatest but little-remembered Civil War heroes was Commander William Barker Cushing, who sank the Confederate ironclad Albemarle in a spectacular mission in 1864.

Regar...

The Greek Triple Agent: Alcibiades, The Strategist Who Fought On 3 Sides of the Peloponnesian War from 2020-12-22T07:10:06

Imagine if Benedict Arnold defected from America, went to England, then conspired against England with France during the Napoleonic Wars. During the War of 1812, America asks for him to come back b...

America’s Worst President Can Teach Us Much About Writing Raunchy Poetry and Dying Suspiciously from 2020-12-17T07:00:09

The common view of Warren G. Harding is this: a likable affable fool from Ohio who was chose as Republican presidential candidate at a deadlocked national convention because he was the lowest comm...

The Eternal Legacy of the First World War from 2020-12-15T07:30:14

World War One was the most consequential social event in centuries. 10 million soldiers died, creating 3 million widows and 10 million orphans. Many Europeans felt disillusionment and even anger ab...

The Sad Afterlives of WW1's Leaders: The Humbling (and Exiling) of Generals, Emperors, and Sultans from 2020-12-10T07:30:11

From 1914-1918, the leaders of World War One were generals who commanded millions of men, emperors who inherited dynasties with centuries of accumulated wealth, and Sultans who claimed a direct lin...

The 1919 Paris Peace Conference Laid The First Bricks of the Road to World War Two from 2020-12-08T07:25:17

The Paris Peace Conference opened on January 18, 1919. Its task was the writing of five separate peace treaties with the defeated separate powers: Germany, Turkey, Bulgaria, Austria, and Hungary (...

WW1 Ends with Armistice: The Moment of Silence That Sounded Like the Voice of God from 2020-12-03T07:25:16

After Germany's' failed spring offensive, realized the only way to win was to push into France before the United States fully deployed its resources. The French and British were barely hanging on i...

The 1918 Battle of Meggido Shattered the Ottoman Empire and Created the Modern Middle East from 2020-12-01T07:05:13

The Battle of Megiddo was the climactic battle of the Sinai and Palestine campaign of the First World War, with Germans and Ottomans on one side, and British and French forces on the other (with Ar...

The Pilgrims and Native Americans Were Both On the Verge of Death Upon Meeting. Here's How They Saved Each Others' Lives. from 2020-11-26T07:15:02

For thousands of years, two distinct cultures evolved unaware of one another’s existence. Separated by what one culture called The Great Sea and known to the other as the Atlantic Ocean, the course...

Thanksgiving Owes Its Existence To The 19th Century's Biggest Social Media Influencer from 2020-11-24T07:30:07

Thanksgiving today is now a commercially driven holiday with Black Friday following closely at its heels, celebrated with a department store parade, football, and at one point in time, masked costu...

The Empire Strikes Back: Germany's Final Push to Win WW1 in Spring 1918 from 2020-11-19T07:05:06

Many thought that Germany was capable of winning World War One until the very end. Unlike World War 2, in which the Allies believed that victory was inevitable as early as 1943, this was not the ca...

Tank Warfare--How Military Tech Took a Quantum Leap at the Battle of Cambrai (1917) from 2020-11-17T07:10:02

The British developed the tank in response to the trench warfare of World War I. In 1914, a British army colonel named Ernest Swinton and William Hankey, secretary of the Committee for Imperial Def...

The Yanks Are Coming -- America Enters World War One from 2020-11-12T07:10:10

Most Americans are indifferent about the nation's involvement in World War One (under half say the U.S. had a responsibility to fight in the war; one-in-five say it didn't). Many figure it entered...

The Slog of War -- the Passchendaele Campaign of 1917 from 2020-11-10T07:00:10

The best way to describe the Third Ypres (Passchendaele) Campaign of 1917. It’s ‘slog.’ When you think about a drudging act that seems to accomplish nothing, this battle is it. Mud. Mud to your wai...

Teaser: Forging a President, Part 6: The Newly-Minted Cowboy from 2020-11-06T07:05:07

This is a preview of an episode in a members-only series on Teddy Roosevelt's years in the Dakota Badlands called Forging a President. Subscribe today for access to all premium episodes! Listen

The Russian Revolutions of 1917-1923--A Bigger Threat Than the Kaiser? from 2020-11-05T07:10:16

We’ve looked at many battles in this series, but we’ve only tangentially touched on how this war fundamentally altered European society. The Great War is the watershed between the pre-modern and ea...

The Election of 1800 Was Worse Than 2020 in Every Way Imaginable from 2020-11-03T07:10:17

The election was perhaps the nastiest election the country has seen. It had horrible partisan rancor, personal insults, and a politicized media. But we aren't talking about the 2020 election betwee...

Why WW1 Was the Graveyard of Empires (Russian, Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian) from 2020-10-29T06:05:18

World War One shattered the empires of Russia, the Ottomans, and the Austro-Hungarians, which had all existed in one form or another for centuries. That's because it broke the fragile alliances tha...

The Battle of the Somme Caused 1 Million Casualties But Was a Turning Point for WW1 from 2020-10-27T06:00:21

The 1916 Battle of the Somme caused a total of 1 million casualties on all sides. the total is over a million casualties. The Allies had gained very little ground. At the end of the battle, they h...

The Flying Aces of World War One from 2020-10-22T06:25:17

Since the first successful flight of an airplane, people had imagined and dreamed of airplanes being used for combat. H. G. Wells's 1908 book (The War in the Air was an example. When World War One...

The Brusilov Offensive: Russia's Mortal Blow to Austria-Hungary from 2020-10-20T06:50:03

Russia had lost a great deal of territory to Germany and Austria in 1915, and they wanted to gain it back. Russian General Alexei Brusilov put together a plan in April 1916 to launch a major offen...

Teaser: Forging a President, Part 5: Four-Eyes from 2020-10-16T19:28:36

This is a preview of an episode in a members-only series on Teddy Roosevelt's years in the Dakota Badlands called Forging a President. Subscribe today for access to all premium episodes! Listen

WW1 At Sea: The Battle of Jutland (1916) from 2020-10-15T06:30:17

Although overlooked today, the war at sea was a crucial part of World War I overall. The German use of the Unrestricted Submarine Warfare (in which non-military ships could be blown up by submarine...

Verdun - The 299-Day Battle That Killed 300K Soldiers And Still Scars The Earth With Unexploded Shells from 2020-10-13T06:25:06

The Battle of Verdun--fought from February 21-December 18 1916 in the Western Front of France--was horrifying and hellish even by the standards of World War One. Over a 299-day-period, there were 1...

1915: World War One's Year of Poison Gas, Genocide, and Millions of Refugees from 2020-10-08T06:25:17

In 1915, the Central Powers and Allies dug in their heels and tried desperately to break the stalemate of the war, still hoping for a short conflict on the scale of a few months. Poison gas was use...

The Battle of Gallipoli (1915) How Ataturk and the Ottomans Hurled the Allies (Including Winston Churchill) Into the Sea from 2020-10-06T06:25:19

The Allies desperately wanted to take control of the Dardanelles (the straights connecting Constantinople with the Mediterranean). They were crucial to Russia and would make it possible for Russia ...

Teaser: Forging a President, Part 4, Man vs. Beast from 2020-10-02T06:05:17

This is a preview of an episode in a members-only series on Teddy Roosevelt's years in the Dakota Badlands called Forging a President. Subscribe today for access to all premium episodes! Listen

World War 1 Trenches Were A Labyrinth of Rats, Disease, Decaying Flesh, and the Omnipresent Threat of Death from 2020-10-01T06:10:15

“Rats came up from the canal, fed on the plentiful corpses, and multiplied exceedingly. A new officer joined the company and...when he turned in that night he heard a scuffling, shone his torch on ...

The Average WW1 Soldier Was a 110-Pound Villager Who Suffered Disease, Hunger, and PTSD from 2020-09-29T06:10:03

This episode is an overview of the profile of an average soldier in World War One. We will look at the backgrounds, training, and provisions allotted to troops in the British, French, German, Russi...

Germany's Plans For Total French Defeat in 1914 Failed at the Battle of the Marne from 2020-09-24T06:05:16

The beginning of World War One was marked the breakdown of the western powers’ war plans. Leaders on both sides experienced surprises, shocks, and the failure of plans. The first few months saw s...

Germany So Completely Annihilated Russia At the WW1 Battle of Tannenberg That A Russian General Committed Suicide from 2020-09-22T06:45:08

The Battle of Tannenberg was the first major battle of World War One, fought between Germany and Russia, who surprised everyone with its fast mobilization. This muddled the plans of Germany, which ...

Teaser: Forging a President, Part 3, Teddy Roosevelt's First Buffalo Hunt from 2020-09-18T06:50:08

This is a preview of an episode in a members-only series on Teddy Roosevelt's years in the Dakota Badlands called Forging a President. Subscribe today for access to all premium episodes! Listen

Europe's Pre-WW1 Alliances Were a Doomsday Machine That Pulled the Entire Continent Into War from 2020-09-17T06:55:02

An impossibly complex web of alliances that maintained a fragile peace in Europe (and surprisingly held it together since the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815) always threatened to unravel. The 1...

Introducing "Key Battles of World War One": Why Europe in 1914 Had Absolutely No Idea It Was About To Enter The Most Hellish War Ever from 2020-09-15T06:00:15

World War One is the watershed moment in modern history. The Western World before it was one of aristocrats, empires, colonies, and optimism for a future of unending progress. After four years of h...

2 Announcements: Key Battles of WW1 Begins Soon; History Unplugged Launches Youtube Channel from 2020-09-11T06:55:10

Next week James Early and Scott Rank will kick off their massive series called Key Battles of World War One. By the end, you'll know every aspect of the Great War, arguably the most horrific event ...

Dreams of India's Vast Wealth Made Everyone From Ancient Greeks to Renaissance Portuguese Risk Death To Reach It from 2020-09-10T06:10:11

Claims of India's fantastic wealth lead Europeans through the centuries to seek to trade with this fabled land, which existed on the far eastern reaches of known civilization.
As far back as t...

Why 1776 -- Not 1619 -- Matters More Than Ever in 2020 from 2020-09-03T06:35:13

The American Revolution has received a burst of attention in the last two decades, with Pulitzer Prize-winning monographs from David McCullough and Ron Chernow (and the biggest Broadway musical in ...

A Jewish Family Couldn’t Flee Nazi Germany. So They Wrote Letters to Strangers in America Asking For Help from 2020-09-01T06:35:15

In 1939, as the Nazis closed in, Alfred Berger mailed a desperate letter to an American stranger who happened to share his last name. He and his wife, Viennese Jews, had found escape routes for the...

Teaser: Forging a President, Part 2 from 2020-08-28T06:55:04

This is a preview of a members-only series on Teddy Roosevelt's years in the Dakota Badlands called Forging a President. Subscribe today for access to all premium episodes! Listen

The Fall of Constantinople in 1453 Ended the European Middle Ages and Sealed the Rise of the Ottomans from 2020-08-27T06:45:18

1453 was the most shocking year in Europe since the starting of the Bubonic Plague (1347), the beginning of the First Crusade (1095), or the crowning of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor in 800. Ma...

George Washington's Dream of Eternal Harmony Between White Settlers and Indians, and Why It Failed from 2020-08-25T06:40:16

For George Washington, the “foreign” nation that posed the biggest threat to the survival of the infant United States wasn’t Britain, France, or Spain; it was the numerous Indian nations that still...

Adolf Hitler Didn’t Survive WW2 or Secretly Flee to Argentina. Here’s Why So Many Think He Did from 2020-08-20T06:10:10

Did Hitler die in his bunker…or not? I’m talking with Robert J. Hutchinson today to explore what really happened to Hitler. He’s the author of the book What Really Happened: The Death of Hitler. Listen

God's Shadow: Why A 16th-Century Ottoman Sultan Created the Modern World from 2020-08-18T06:30:19

Long neglected in world history, the Ottoman Empire was a hub of intellectual fervor and geopolitical power. At the height of their authority in the sixteenth century, the Ottomans, with extraordin...

Teaser: Forging a President, Part 1 from 2020-08-14T06:45:11

This is a preview of a members-only series on Teddy Roosevelt's years in the Dakota Badlands called Forging a President. Subscribe today for access to all premium episodes! Listen

Making a Book in the Middle Ages Took Years and Was Literally Physical Torture from 2020-08-13T06:50:15

Making a book in the Middle Ages was extremely hard work. It took the skin of several calves to make the vellum (a writing material), an army of monks in a scriptorium, rare ink for the illustratio...

Martha Dodd: The American Soviet Spy and Hitler’s Would-Be Lover Who Dreamed of a Communist World from 2020-08-11T06:40:06

In 1933, Martha Dodd, a 24-year-old aspiring writer who had already had several affairs and a failed marriage embarked with her family to Berlin, where her father was America's ambassador to Hitler...

America’s First Black Fighter Pilot Was Also a Boxer, Night Club Owner, and WW2 Spy in France from 2020-08-06T06:25:02

One of the greatest unsung heroes of the twentieth century is Gene "Jacques" Bullard, a World War One fighter pilot, boxer, spy, and overall adventurer. He was the first American-born black fighter...

Sam Colt's Six-Shooter Launched The American Industrial Revolution and Sped Western Settlement from 2020-08-04T06:35:05

In August of 1831, a 16-year-old from Connecticut named Sam Colt boarded a ship of missionaries bound for a round-trip voyage to Calcutta. Restless and rambunctious, with a particular fondness for ...

The Nazi Spy Ring in America: The Third Reich's Agents, the FBI, and the Case That Stirred the Nation from 2020-07-30T06:30:17

In the mid-1930s, just as the United States was embarking on a policy of neutrality, Nazi Germany embarked on a program of espionage against the unwary nation. Hitler’s attempts to interfere in Ame...

Introducing "The Sneak: Murders at Whiskey Creek" from 2020-07-29T06:55:12

This episode is a preview of the new season of Wondery's "The Sneak."


World Champion surfer Jack Murphy pulled off the biggest jewel heist in American history. He became infamous a...

In 1200 AD, This Indian City on the Mississippi Was Larger Than London And On the Verge Of Starting an Advanced Civilization from 2020-07-28T06:25:14

Many great Mesoamerican civilizations existed before and long after the arrival of Christopher Columbus: The Incans, Mayas, and Aztecs. But there was one civilization in North America you likely ne...

America's Hub of Global Trade and Culture Was and Is....the Midwest? from 2020-07-23T06:35:17

When Kristin L. Hoganson arrived in Champaign, Illinois, after teaching at Harvard, studying at Yale, and living in the D.C. metro area with various stints overseas, she expected to find her new ho...

How Hollywood First Depicted the Atomic Bomb and the Manhattan Project from 2020-07-21T06:40:06

Soon after atomic bombs exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, MGM set out to make a movie studio chief Louis B. Mayer called “the most important story” he would ever film: a big budget dram...

A Time of Perfect American National Unity is a Myth, But Some US Origin Stories Are Better Than Others from 2020-07-16T06:30:06

The cherished idea of United States as a unified country has been long believed. But today’s guest Colin Woodard argues that this is an invented tradition. He has argued for the existence of 11 sep...

40 Thieves on Saipan: The Elite Marine Scout-Snipers in One of WWII’s Bloodiest Battles from 2020-07-14T06:20:04

Before there were Navy SEALs, before there were Green Berets, there were the 40 Thieves: the elite Scout Sniper Platoon of the Sixth Marine Regiment during World War II.


Behind en...

George Washington’s Team of Rivals: How His Cabinet Forefathered One of America’s Most Powerful Institutions from 2020-07-09T06:35:02

The U.S. Constitution never established a presidential cabinet—the delegates to the Constitutional Convention explicitly rejected the idea. So how did George Washington create one of the most power...

Lessons From James Monroe, Who Defeated a Pandemic and Overcame Partisanship from 2020-07-07T06:35:05

James Monroe, America’s fifth president and the last chief executive of the Founding Father generation, lived a life defined by revolutions. From the battlefields of the War for Independence, to hi...

Empires of the Sky: Zeppelins, Airplanes, and Two Men’s Epic Duel to Rule the World from 2020-07-02T06:10:06

At the dawn of the twentieth century, when human flight was still considered an impossibility, Germany's Count von Zeppelin vied with the Wright Brothers to build the world's first successful flyin...

Nazis Nearly Assassinated Stalin, Churchill, and FDR in 1943. What If They Had Succeeded? from 2020-06-30T06:00:15

In the middle of World War II, Nazi military intelligence discovered a seemingly easy way to win the war for Adolf Hitler. The three heads of the Allied forces—Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill...

In the 1850s, A Mormon Renegade Started a Massive Pirate Colony in Michigan from 2020-06-25T06:50:20

In the summer of 1843, James Strang, a charismatic young lawyer and avowed atheist, vanished from a rural town in New York. Months later he reappeared on the Midwestern frontier and converted to a ...

The Good Assassin: A Mossad Agent's Hunt For WW2’s “Butcher of Latvia” from 2020-06-23T06:40:06

Before World War II, Herbert Cukurs was a famous figure in his small Latvian city, the “Charles Lindbergh of his country.” But by 1945, he was the Butcher of Latvia, a man who murdered some thirty ...

Death From Above - How Paratroopers Evolved From a WW1 Pipe Dream To A Key Part of Combined-Arms Assault from 2020-06-18T06:40:09

“Paratroopers are about the most peculiar breed of human beings I have ever witnessed. They treat their service as if it were some kind of cult, plastering their emblem on almost everything they ow...

Want to Star Your Own Nation? That's What a Family Did in 1967 When it Created "Sealand" from 2020-06-16T06:20:13

In 1967, a retired army major and self-made millionaire named Paddy Roy Bates cemented his family's place in history when he inaugurated himself ruler of the Principality of Sealand, a tiny dominio...

Why the Galileo Affair is One of History's Most Misunderstood Events from 2020-06-11T06:00:17

One of the most misconstrued events in history is the Galileo affair. It is commonly understood as a black-and-white morality play of science vs. religion. Galileo proves the Sun is the center of t...

Henry Knox's Noble Train: How a Boston Bookseller’s Expedition Saved the American Revolution from 2020-06-09T06:45:21

During the brutal winter of 1775-1776, an untested Boston bookseller named Henry Knox commandeered an oxen train hauling sixty tons of cannons and other artillery from Fort Ticonderoga near the Can...

Dewey Defeats Truman: The 1948 Election and the Battle for America's Soul from 2020-06-04T06:50:03

On the eve of the 1948 election, America was a fractured country. Racism was rampant, foreign relations were fraught, and political parties were more divided than ever. Americans were certain that ...

History’s First Global Manhunt: The Search for 18th Century Pirate Henry Every from 2020-06-02T06:45:06

Most confrontations, viewed from the wide angle of history, are minor disputes, sparks that quickly die out. But every now and then, someone strikes a match that lights up the whole planet.
<...

History's Most Insane Rulers, Part 5: Ludwig II of Bavaria from 2020-05-28T06:50:05

Ludwig II of Bavaria was a dreamer, above all. The king famously built fairy-tale style castles that adorned the Alps but were completely useless for defensive or social reasons (the king held larg...

History's Most Insane Rulers, Part 4: George III from 2020-05-26T06:40:19

Americans might have been tempted to schadenfreude after learning the fate of British King George III. The villain of the American Revolution spent the final years of his life insane, having long a...

History's Most Insane Rulers, Part 3: Ibrahim I -- The Sultan Who Loved Fur and Drowned His Harem from 2020-05-21T06:05:10

Ottoman Sultan Ibrahim (1616-1648) believed he was the sort of ruler that came out of legend, so he ordered a massive tax to fund the decoration of his palace in sable fur. He also preferred full-f...

History's Most Insane Rulers, Part 2: Charles VI -- The King Who Thought He Was Made of Glass from 2020-05-19T06:55:04

King Charles VI of France (1368-1422) suffered from a particular disorder called "The Glass Delusion." He believed himself to be made of glass and could shatter at any moment. Advisors were told to...

History's Most Insane Rulers, Part 1: Emperor Caligula--Bankrupting Rome By Appointing Your Horse Senator from 2020-05-14T06:25:11

When Salvador Dali set out to paint a depiction of the infamous Roman Emperor Caligula in 1971, he chose to depict the thing nearest and dearest to the emperor's heart: his favorite racehorse, Inci...

These Are History's Nine Most Insane Rulers from 2020-05-12T06:15:06

Few mixtures are as toxic as absolute power and insanity. When nothing stands between a leader's delusional whims and seeing them carried out, all sorts of bizarre outcomes are possible.

Listen

D-Day Girls: The Female Spies Who Armed the French Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Made the Normandy Invasion Possible from 2020-05-07T06:35:01

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 Operations ...

How Economies Bounce Back From Total Collapse: The German Economic Miracle (1948-1957) from 2020-05-05T06:25:13

After World War II the German economy was a smoldering ruin. Scorched-earth policies destroyed 20-70% of all houses. Factories, hospitals, and schools were bomb craters. Germans only ate 1,000-1500...

Discovering Your Grandfather Was Joseph Stalin's Bodyguard from 2020-04-30T06:35:20

Delving into your family history can reveal many surprises, but for Russian-American author Alex Halberstadt, it meant learning about his grandfather's experience as Joseph Stalin's bodyguard.
Listen

A Confederate Civil War Submarine Was Lost 150 Years Ago. Its Reappearance Was An Unsolved Mystery...Until Now from 2020-04-28T06:30:19

One of the most mysterious submarine disasters in history was the sinking of the HL Hunley, a Confederate Civil War submarine. This 40-foot-long tin can was the first to successfully attack another...

Reconstruction: America’s Terrible National Hangover After the Civil War from 2020-04-23T06:40:03

After the massive devastation and scorched earth wartime methods of the Civil War, America tried to rebuild itself. This era was known as Reconstruction and lasted from 1865 to 1877. Many hoped at ...

The Lincoln Assassination: Did John Wilkes Booth Act Alone Or Was it a Confederacy-Ordered Hit? from 2020-04-21T06:35:20

Everyone thinks they know what happened at the Lincoln assassination… but do they? After 150 years, a multitude of unsolved mysteries and urban legends still surround the assassination of Abraham L...

Japan Developed an Atomic Bomb in WW2. It Laid the Groundwork for North Korea's Nuclear Program from 2020-04-16T06:45:09

Japan’s WWII development of a nuclear program is not universally known. But after decades of research into national intelligence archives both in the US and abroad, today’s guest Robert Wilcox buil...

The Celebrity Power Couple Who Mapped the West and Helped Cause the Civil War from 2020-04-14T06:40:11

John and Jessie Frémont, the husband and wife team who in the 1800s were instrumental in the westward expansion of the United States, became America’s first great political couple.

Joh...

Nazi Super Science: The Third Reich's Plans for Transatlantic Bombers, Atomic Weapons, and Orbital Death Rays from 2020-04-09T06:55:16

Fiction abounds with stories of Nazi Superscience: From Captain America's nemesis Red Skull to the B-movie treasure Iron Sky (which suggests the Third Reich established a moon base after the war). ...

Why Dan Carlin Believes That The End is Always Near from 2020-04-07T06:45:09

With the endless talk of COVID-19, many think we are facing an unprecedented threat of the collapse of our civilization. But Dan Carlin, host of Hardcore History, doesn’t believe anything we are fa...

American Sherlock -- Meet The 1920s Forensic Scientist Who Created Modern CSI from 2020-04-02T06:55:06

Before the 1900s, solving a murder was done using conjectural theories or flimsy psychological notions of what makes a killer a killer. That all changed with the development of forensic techniques...

How Does a Nation Have an Identity When Its People Speak Different Languages? Ask Canada (Quebec Specifically) from 2020-03-31T06:05:07

A listener named Liam requested an episode looking at a deep dive into his hometown of Montreal and how it came to be a center of commerce and culture in North America. We’ll do that, but rather th...

Scott's Book "History's 9 Most Insane Rulers" Launch Update and Bonus Offer from 2020-03-30T16:56:30

Go to www.historyunpluggedpodcast.com to learn about Scott's new upcoming book "History's 9 Most Insane Rulers" and how you can g...

How the Florida of the Roaring 20s Created Modern America and Triggered the Great Depression from 2020-03-26T06:35:17

The 1920s in Florida was a time of incredible excess, immense wealth, and precipitous collapse. The decade there produced the largest human migration in American history, far exceeding the settleme...

History Has Lots of Great Ideas About What To Do During a Quarantine from 2020-03-24T06:55:05

Quarantines are nothing new: they've been used since at least the Bronze Age to prevent the spread of leprosy. In this episode (rebroadcasted from a Facebook Livestream), we'll look at the various ...

The Civil War in the American West: When Multi-Racial Armies Fought Over Gold Mines and Indian Lands from 2020-03-19T06:30:12

When people think of the American Civil War, specific images spring to mind—Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Scarlett O’Hara escaping a burning Atlanta in a hoop skirt, and blue and grey uniforms clas...

St. Patrick Didn't Get Rid of Any Snakes, But He Is The Patron Saint of Exterminators from 2020-03-17T06:45:12

Nearly 1,600 years after Patrick arrived on Ireland (first as a slave, then as a missionary who brought Christianity to the island), he is celebrated as the patron saint of the Emerald Isle and apo...

COVID-19 is Nothing Compared to the 1918 Spanish Flu from 2020-03-12T06:55:05

COVID19, aka - the coronavirus, has triggered mass quarantines and spooked markets across the globe. To date, over 3,000 have died and over 100,000 infected. But however dangerous this virus ends u...

The Lost History of James Madison's Black Family from 2020-03-10T06:45:05

“Always remember—you’re a Madison. You come from African slaves and a president”

This was Betty Kearse's family motto; a way to remember that they were descended from James Madison, but ...

The Cold War -- Not WW2 -- Was Arguably the Defining Event of the 20th Century from 2020-03-05T07:25:16

The Cold War existed vaguely in a fifty-year stretch and lacked the defining moments of a major military conflict. However, there is a strong argument to be made that it defined the 20th century. W...

Fight House: Cutthroat White House Rivalries From Truman to Trump from 2020-03-03T07:15:07

Some American presidents appear to do their jobs in a more organized way than others, but the White House has always been filled with ambitious people playing for the highest stakes and bearing bit...

How An American Tank Gunner Successfully Dueled with Panzers in World War Two from 2020-02-27T07:50:40

When Clarence Smoyer is assigned to the gunner’s seat of his Sherman tank, his crewmates discover that the gentle giant from Pennsylvania has a hidden talent: He’s a natural born shooter.
At f...

New York Has Been America's Capital of Spying Since the Beginning of the U.S. from 2020-02-25T07:00:21

If you visit New York, your waiter, your cabbie, or the lady on the train playing Candy Crush could very well not be who they appear to be. That's because there are more spies working in New York C...

The 1881 Expedition to Reach Farthest North Led to Starvation, Madness, and Glory from 2020-02-20T07:30:19

In July 1881, Lt. A.W. Greely and his crew of 24 scientists and explorers were bound for the last region unmarked on global maps. Their goal: Farthest North. What would follow was one of the most e...

The Terrifying Conquests of Hannibal of Carthage from 2020-02-18T07:15:13

Hannibal ad portas! The phrase was enough to terrify anyone in the Roman Republic and became an adage for parents to scare their children at nights: “Hannibal is at the gates.” The Carthaginian com...

The Negro Leagues Made Baseball a Global Sport and Kickstarted the Civil Rights Movement from 2020-02-13T07:30:17

Many people think the Negro Leagues as a sad, somber part of America's legacy of racial division. In many ways it is, says Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro League Baseball Museum. But on the 10...

The Royal Touch: When British and French Kings Were Thought to Have Healing Powers from 2020-02-11T07:35:09

“The Hands of the King are the Hands of a Healer” -- this phrase appears in the Lord of the Rings, referring to how Aragorn was identified as the king of Gondor by his healing powers. Tolkien likel...

The Worst Gambling Scandal in NCAA History Led to an Unlikely Story of Redemption from 2020-02-06T07:35:15

The 1949-50 City College Beavers basketball team were incredible underdogs who experienced an incredible rise and subsequent fall from grace. At a time when the National Basketball Association was ...

The Confederate States of America, An Alternate History: 1865-2020 from 2020-02-04T07:30:08

Civil War historians have asked if the South could have won the Civil War (or at least fought to a stalemate) since 1866. If they would have won, then what then? What would a divided states of Ame...

An Admiral's List of the 10 Greatest Admirals in History from 2020-01-30T07:30:19

Today's episode features a special guest, James Stavridis, a four-star U.S. Navy Admiral and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. He joins us to discuss the ten greatest admirals in history and...

Pearl Harbor May Have Been Avoided If a Lone US Diplomat Had Gotten His Way from 2020-01-28T07:40:20

Could one American diplomat have prevented the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor? The answer might be yes. America’s ambassador to Japan in 1941, Joseph Grew, certainly thought so. He saw the writin...

How 20K Marines Held Out Against 300K Chinese Soldiers At The Chosin Reservoir, The Korean War's Greatest Battle from 2020-01-23T07:45:14

On October 15, 1950, General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of UN troops in Korea, convinced President Harry Truman that the Communist forces of Kim Il-sung would be utterly defeated by Thank...

Dragons Never Existed. So Why Are They Found in Absolutely Every Ancient Folklore? from 2020-01-21T07:00:11

You don't have to read the ancient folklore of China, Sumeria, or anywhere else long before you encounter a dragon. Sometimes they guard treasure. Sometimes they kidnap local maidens. Sometimes the...

The Crusades, From Both Arab and European Perspectives from 2020-01-16T07:00:10

For more than one thousand years, Christians and Muslims lived side by side, sometimes at peace and sometimes at war. When Christian armies seized Jerusalem in 1099, they began the most notorious p...

How the Nazi Ministry of Propaganda Radicalized Germany from 2020-01-14T07:05:05

Once the Nazi Party took power in Germany, they managed to end democracy and turned the nation into a one-party dictatorship, launching an endless propaganda campaign to mobilize the public for war...

Star Spangled Scandal: The Antebellum Murder Trial that Changed America from 2020-01-09T07:45:18

Two years before the Civil War, Congressman Daniel Sickles and his lovely wife Teresa were popular fixtures in Washington, D.C. society. Their house sat on Lafayette Square across from White House ...

237 Years After the Revolutionary War, Some Say It Was a Mistake. Are They Right? from 2020-01-07T07:50:16

There are few events that would shake the world order like the success of the American Revolution. Some changes would be felt immediately. English traditions such as land inheritance laws were swep...

George Washington's Spies: The Culper Ring, Nathan Hale, and the Plot to Capture Benedict Arnold from 2020-01-02T07:50:05

Spycraft was seen as a treacherous craft, but it was necessary to win a war. Washington knew this, as his early attempts to gather intelligence on British-occupied New York led to an execution of N...

The Revolutionary War Comes to an End from 2019-12-31T07:50:17

After Yorktown, a truce was declared in America, although some skirmishes did break out until final peace was negotiated in Paris in 1783. In this episode, Scott and James looks at what happened to...

The Battle of Yorktown: Britain's Surrender in the Revolutionary War from 2019-12-26T07:50:14

On October 14, 1781, Washington and French General Comte de Rochambeau attacked on October 14th, capturing two British defense. British Gen. Cornwallis surrendered two days later.

The Siege of Yorktown: American and France Corner Britain from 2019-12-24T07:50:08

The Battle of Yorktown sealed the fate of the Revolutionary War. In late 1781, American and French troops laid siege to the British Army at Yorktown, Virginia. First, a bit of backgroun. The partis...

King’s Mountain: The Revolutionary War's Largest 'All-American Fight' from 2019-12-19T07:50:15

The Battles of King's Mountain and Cowpens were fought in 1781, between the Continental Army under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan and British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Sir Banastre Tarleton,...

The Treason of Benedict Arnold from 2019-12-17T07:45:14

In 1788, the battle lines of the Revolutionary War moved from New England to the southern colonies. Lord George Germain, the British secretary responsible for the war, wrote to Lieutenant General S...

How France and America Cooperated During the Revolutionary War from 2019-12-12T07:10:20

The Battle of Rhode Island (also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill and the Battle of Newport) took place on August 29, 1778. The battle was the first attempt at cooperation between French and Amer...

American Politicians Nearly Had George Washington Fired During the Revolutionary War from 2019-12-10T07:05:04

After the setbacks of 1777 and 1778, other American officers angled to take Washington's position as leader of the Continental Army. A conspiracy called the Conway Cable tried but failed to force h...

The Philadelphia Campaign: When Britain Took Over Ben Franklin's House from 2019-12-05T07:30:06

The Philadelphia Campaign of 1777-8 was a British attempt to capture Philadelphia, then capital of the United States and seat of the Continental Congress, led by Gen. William Howe. They did capture...

The Battle of Saratoga—Benedict Arnold, An American Hero from 2019-12-03T07:55:15

The Battle of Saratoga was incredible turn of fortunes for the United States. British , Gen. John Burgoyne thought he would cut off New England from the rest of the colonies. Instead, he lost the b...

Rebroadcast: Turkey is Both a Bird and a Country. Which Came First? from 2019-11-28T07:30:12

It's no coincidence that the bird we eat for Thanksgiving and a Middle Eastern country are both called Turkey. One was named after the other, and it all has to do with a 500-year-old story of emerg...

The Saratoga Campaign: Turning Point of the Revolutionary War from 2019-11-27T07:40:16

The Saratoga campaign gave a decisive victory to the Americans over the British during the American Revolutionary War. The battle also saw great heroics by Benedict Arnold.

The Battle of Princeton Proves George Washington Was So Lucky, It Was Almost Supernatural from 2019-11-26T18:35:16

Washington and his men had their work cut out for them after crossing the Delaware River. Over the next ten days, they won two battles. First, the Patriots defeated a Hessian garrison on December ...

19th-Century American Radicals: Vegans, Abolitionists, and Free Love Advocates from 2019-11-21T07:45:07

On July 4, 1826, as Americans lit firecrackers to celebrate the country’s fiftieth birthday, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were on their deathbeds. They would leave behind a groundbreaking p...

Benedict Arnold, Vidkun Quisling, and Other Historical Villains—When is Someone Misunderstood vs. Truly Bad? from 2019-11-19T07:20:20

Do historical “villains” like Benedict Arnold, Vidkun Quisling, and Emperor Caligula deserve their terrible reputations, or are they victims of biased accounts? In this rebroadcast of a live event ...

When Does A Scorched-Earth Policy Work? A Look at the Civil War's Final Year from 2019-11-14T07:05:08

Ulysses S. Grant arrives to take command of all Union armies in March 1864 to the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox a year later. Over 180,000 black soldiers in the Union army. And most of a...

Medic! First Aid in Combat, From WW1 Trenches to Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2019-11-12T07:30:03

Up until the recent past, if a soldier was wounded in battle, he remained in the field where he had fallen without hope of rescue. Maybe a comrade would drag him to safety, but more likely he would...

The Confederacy Dominated the Early Civil War. So Why Did It Ultimately Lose? from 2019-11-07T07:40:17

The Confederacy won the early battles of the Civil War, led by brilliant generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee (to name a few) against blundering Union commanders like the endlessly ditherin...

Constantine's Conversion to Christianity: Opportunism or a Sincere Gesture? from 2019-11-05T07:25:19

History Channel documentaries and pop historians have argued that when Constantine converted to Christianity in the fourth century, he was merely following the religious demographic trends of the R...

Was the US Involvement in World War One a Mistake? from 2019-10-31T06:45:14

Most Americans are unclear about their country’s contribution to victory in World War I. They figure we entered the conflict too late to claim much credit, or maybe they think our intervention was ...

Hans Kammler, Nazi Architect of Auschwitz, Defector to the US? from 2019-10-29T06:35:13

Hans Kammler was among the worst of the Nazis. He was responsible for the construction of Hitler’s slave labor sites and concentration camps. He personally altered the design of Auschwitz to increa...

Announcement: Mid-Season Break for "Key Battles of the Revolutionary War" from 2019-10-26T06:25:03

Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, Part 12: Crossing the Delaware from 2019-10-24T06:40:07

At the end of 1776 George Washington was in a desperate situation. The Continental Army had retreated completely out of New York after losing Long Island to British General William Howe. Many of hi...

Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, Part 11: New York Campaign (2/2) from 2019-10-22T06:55:19

The New York Campaign ended in decisive victory for the British and terrible defeat for the Continental Army, which barely escaped destruction. It was completely driven out of New York fro the rest...

Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, Part 10: The New York Campaign (1/2) from 2019-10-17T06:30:13

When the British left Boston, George Washington realized that their eventual destination would be New York City. He quickly traveled to NYC to oversee the building of defenses, organized the Conti...

Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, Part 9: Sidetrack Episode -- the Declaration of Independence from 2019-10-15T06:35:11

In the background of the opening battles of the Revolutionary War, an assembly of colonial statesmen issued a document announcing their formal separation from the British Empire. How did this docum...

Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, Part 8: The Battle of Quebec from 2019-10-10T06:20:20

The Battle of Quebec, fought on December 31, 1775, marked the end of American offensive operations in Canada. General Richard Montgomery was killed, Arnold wounded, and Daniel Morgan and more than ...

Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, Part 7: The Quebec Campaign from 2019-10-08T06:10:06

The Continental Army thought they could rally the French-speaking residents of Canada in their uprising against the British. Such thinking led to the Quebec Campaign. Although a major defeat for th...

Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, Part 6: Bunker Hill (2/2) from 2019-10-03T06:30:06

"Dont' fire till you see the white's of their eyes!" -- famous words, and smart strategy for using terribly inaccurate muskets, but what were the conditions that gave arise to that advice? Find ou...

Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, Part 5: Bunker Hill (1/2) from 2019-10-01T06:35:06

With the Revolutionary War turning from cold to hot, the British made plans to send troops from Boston to break the Colonials' siege of that city and occupy the surrounding hills. About one thousan...

Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, Part 4: British and Continental Soldiers from 2019-09-26T07:15:07

The Continental Army and the British Army were significantly different in their organizational structure, levels of experience, and funding. The Continental Army was an undisciplined, unprepared fi...

Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, Part 3: Lexington and Concord from 2019-09-24T17:35:03

The Battles of Lexington and Concord were of minor military significance but of world-historical importance in the modern era. They were the first military engagements of the Revolutionary War, mar...

Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, Part 2: Background to the War from 2019-09-19T06:00:17

Our series is picking up steam as we jump to the years immediately prior to the Shot Heard 'Round the World. James and Scott discuss the interregnum between the French-Indian War and the Revolution...

Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, Part 1: The World of the American Revolution from 2019-09-17T07:50:12

Grab your musket and your portion of rum, Yankee, because we have a war to fight! James Early returns to the History Unplugged Podcast to kick off a massive series called Key Battles of the Revolut...

Announcement: Key Battles of the Revolutionary War Starts Next Week from 2019-09-14T07:45:14

Grab your tricorne hat and musket because next week we are kicking off a massive series called Key Battles of the Revolutionary War.

Opium: How an Ancient Flower Shaped and Poisoned Our World from 2019-09-12T06:40:07

In 2017, over 47,000 Americans died as the result of opioid overdoses, more than died annually in this country during the peak of the AIDs epidemic, and more than die every year from breast cancer....

Eisenhower's Interstates: The Modern-Day Roman Roads from 2019-09-10T06:55:19

Dwight Eisenhower inaugurated the US. Interstate System, which now boasts more than 50,000 miles of roads. The idea came to a young Eisenhower in 1919 when he spent 62 days with a military convoy s...

After Watergate, Richard Nixon Created the Career Path for All Ex-Presidents from 2019-09-05T07:55:13

On August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first and only U.S. president to resign from office—to avoid almost certain impeachment. Utterly disgraced, he was forced to flee the White House with a ...

Women Warriors: How Females Have Fought in Combat Since History's Beginning from 2019-09-03T06:35:11

From Vikings and African queens to cross-dressing military doctors and WWII Russian fighter pilots, battle was not a metaphor for women across history.

But for the most part, women warr...

Hollywood Hates History, Part 8: Dracula Untold (2014) from 2019-08-29T06:20:15

Dracula Untold has absolutely no right being as historically accurate as it is. Made in 2014, this was Universal Studio's first attempt to use the intellectual property of their 1930s monster movie...

Hollywood Hates History, Part 7: The Alamo (2004) from 2019-08-27T07:10:20

In the final two episodes of this mini-series, Steve and Scott talk about movies that actually do a good job of conveying history, or at least as much as possible when handled by Hollywood producer...

Teaser: Rendezvous With Death, Part 8 from 2019-08-24T07:50:16

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Hollywood Hates History, Part 6: The Scarlet Letter (1995) from 2019-08-22T06:10:19

Demi Moore did not win any Academy Awards for her portrayal of 17th-century Puritan Hester Prynne. But she did succeed in transforming Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous moral drama into a Cinemax movie ...

Hollywood Hates History, Part 5—The Conqueror (1956) from 2019-08-20T06:55:07

In our second John Wayne film, we watch the Duke put on a fake fu manchu mustache and yellow face makeup to play the role he was born NOT to play: Genghis Khan. Scott and Steve discuss the infamous...

Hollywood Hates History, Part 4—The Green Berets (1968) from 2019-08-15T06:05:17

John Wayne was 62 years old when he tried to portray a fit Vietnam War Green Beret colonel, but the obvious age gap isn't the only head scratcher in this film. Released in 1968, the film was Lyndo...

Hollywood Hates History, Part 3—The Da Vinci Code (2006) from 2019-08-13T06:45:04

Based on Dan Brown's mega best-selling instructional manual on how to write terrible English, Scott and Steve discuss "The Da Vinci Code," the 2006 Ron Howard film that dares to ask the question: ...

Hollywood Hates History, Part 2: Agora (2009) from 2019-08-08T07:15:03

In the second episode of this series, Stephen tells us everything he doesn't like about the 2009 film Agora, which is a lot. The movie stars Rachel Weisz (maybe the only good thing about the film)...

Hollywood Hates History, Part 1: Kingdom of Heaven from 2019-08-06T07:10:13

This episode is the first in a mini-series that Scott is doing with fellow history podcaster Stephen Guerra (History of the Papacy, Beyond the Big Screen) about some of the most historically inaccu...

Announcement: 'Hollywood Hates History' Starts Next Week from 2019-08-03T06:45:03

Next week an eight-part mini-series called Hollywood Hates History launches. Scott co-hosts with fellow history podcaster Steve Guerra to look at some of the most historically inaccurate movies eve...

A Vote of No Confidence: How to Obliterate Your Current Government from 2019-08-01T07:35:21

Americans and Europeans are confused by much about each other, especially their respective governmental systems. Europeans are baffled by American elections, the powers of the president, and most o...

George Washington as Man, General, Leader, and Mule Pioneer from 2019-07-30T06:55:13

George Washington is nearly as famous for his character as he is a general and statesman. In this episode we look at his famed attributes for leadership and doing such things as keeping together th...

A Shred to End All Shreds: World War I Meets Swedish Metal from 2019-07-25T06:50:18

This episode of History Unplugged is unlike any we've ever done. Scott interviews Joakim Brodén, lead singer of Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton, whose new album “The Great War” is a concept record...

Has The Lost Colony of Roanoke Been Found? from 2019-07-23T06:50:22

In 1587, 115 men, women, and children arrived at Roanoke Island on the coast ofNorth Carolina. Chartered by Queen Elizabeth I, their colony was to establish England's first foothold in the New Worl...

Einstein's War: How Relativity Triumphed Amid the Vicious Nationalism of World War I from 2019-07-18T07:15:12

Albert Einstein’s rise to fame was not instantaneous and easy. Rather, Einstein’s celebrity was, in large part, not his own doing. His grand ideas (ideas that would change physics forever) were for...

The Forgotten Assassin – Sirhan Sirhan and the Killing of Robert F. Kennedy from 2019-07-16T07:05:12

Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1968 seemed like it should have been an open-and-shut case. Many people crowded in the small room at Los Angeles’s famed Ambassador Hotel that fateful night and...

Chief Executives in the Cockpit—When Presidents Take to the Skies from 2019-07-11T06:40:10

In this episode we look at all U.S. presidents who served as fighter pilots or in any sort of military combat role. We also look at the first president to fly (it was in a rinky-dink Wright Bros. f...

George Mason: The Most Important Founding Father Nobody Remembers from 2019-07-09T06:40:09

If a list were constructed of the most important Virginians in American history, George Mason would appear near the top. His influence on public policy, the Revolution, and the Constitution was far...

Teaser: Rendezvous With Death, Part 7 from 2019-07-06T07:00:22

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Spies in the Ancient World, Part 2: On His Roman Emperor's Secret Service from 2019-07-04T07:15:08

In this episode we are looking at ancient Greek cryptography and the Roman frumentarii, a group of wheat sellers who turned into the empire's premier intelligence outfit in the second century.
Listen

Spies in the Ancient World, Part 1: How a Bronze-Age Tribe Infiltrated Jericho from 2019-07-02T07:05:03

Spycraft is as old as civilization and just as essential to running a government as taxes, roads, armies, or schools. Sun Tzu devoted an entire chapter to spy craft in his 2,600-year-old treatise T...

Teaser: Rendezvous With Death, Part 6 from 2019-06-29T08:35:12

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The Real Oregon Trail: Beyond Dysentery and the Apple II Game from 2019-06-27T07:40:18

If you were a middle schooler in the United States anytime after 1985 and had a study hall with an Apple II, there is a very high chance you played Oregon Trail. After setting out from Independence...

How to Get Processed Through Ellis Island In 2 Hours or Less from 2019-06-25T06:45:11

More than 12 million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island during its years of operation from 1892 to 1954. Those that came typically spoke no English and fled religious persecu...

Special Announcement: Check Out My New Show 'Ottoman Lives' from 2019-06-22T07:00:22

Go to www.ottomanlives.com to check out my new show about the people who made the Ottoman Empire run. The Ottoman Empire lasted for six hun...

George Armstrong Custer: Cocky Military Officer or America's Version of Leonidas at Thermopylae? from 2019-06-20T07:20:04

George Armstrong Custer had a storied military career—from cutting his teeth at Bull Run in the Civil War, to his famous and untimely death at Little Bighorn in the Indian Wars. But what was his le...

An Interview with 95-Year-Old Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. Harry Stewart from 2019-06-18T07:05:09

“Colored people aren’t accepted as airline pilots.” The “negro type has not the proper reflexes to make a first-class fighter pilot.” These were the degrading sentiments that faced eighteen-year-ol...

Vlad the Impaler is the (Partial) Inspiration for Count Dracula from 2019-06-13T07:20:05

Vampire lore goes back to the ancient world (revenant legends abound from Rome to China) but vampire mythology doesn't come into its own until at least the Renaissance period. Was the inspiration f...

'A Woman of No Importance': The One-Legged WW2 Spy Virginia Hall from 2019-06-11T07:10:17

In 1942, as World War II was raging, the Gestapo sent out an urgent message: “She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her.” That spy was Virginia Hall, a young Ameri...

The 4,000-Year-Old Question: Is Judaism a Religion, Ethnicity, Race, or Culture? from 2019-06-06T07:40:13

What is Judaism? What does it mean to be Jewish? Is it an ethnicity (being one of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), a religion (following the tenets of the Torah, Mishnah, and Talmud) ...

The 500-Year Story of a Gutenberg Bible And Everyone Who Owned It from 2019-06-04T07:20:13

For rare-book collectors, an original copy of the Gutenberg Bible—of which there are fewer than 50 in existence (and which can sell for $100 million)—represents the ultimate prize. One copy, Number...

Teaser: Rendezvous With Death, Part 5 from 2019-06-01T07:55:04

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Hitler’s “Desert Fox”: The Military Career of Erwin Rommel from 2019-05-30T07:35:09

Erwin Rommel, a German field marshal in World War Two, was probably more respected and feared than any other figure in the Wehrmacht. He issued early defeats against the British in North Africa aga...

When Irish Vets of the American Civil War Invaded Canada in 1866 from 2019-05-28T07:15:15

One year after the Civil War ended, a group of delusional and mostly incompetent commanders sponsored by bitterly competing groups riddled with spies, led tiny armies against the combined forces of...

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present from 2019-05-23T07:00:13

The received idea of Native American history--as promulgated by books like Dee Brown's mega-bestselling 1970 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee--has been that American Indian history essentially ended w...

How Industrialists Plotted to Overthrow FDR Over The New Deal in 1934 from 2019-05-21T07:45:20

FDR launched the New Deal immediately after his 1933 inauguration, but it was not universally popular. Some hated it bitterly. Critics from the right thought it was part of a long-term plan to push...

Teaser: Rendezvous With Death, Part 4 from 2019-05-18T07:35:08

Subscribe today for access to all premium episodes! https://patreon.com/unplugged

Making Your Death Memorable: The Oldest Tombs We Can Trace To One Person from 2019-05-16T07:15:19

What are the oldest known tombs that can reliably be traced to a person? These are surprisingly tricky to track down. While archeologists constantly find human remains at an excavation site, there ...

The Kremlin Letters: Stalin's Wartime Correspondence with Churchill and Roosevelt from 2019-05-14T07:05:19

From 1941 to 1945, Joseph Stalin exchanged more than six hundred messages with Allied leaders Churchill and Roosevelt. The correspondence ranged from intimate personal greetings to weighty salvos a...

The RAF Won the Battle of Britain With Strategy But Also Plenty of Luck from 2019-05-09T07:00:07

In the summer of 1940, Germany sent armadas of bombers and fighters over England hoping to lure the RAF into battle and annihilate the defenders. Day after day the RAF scrambled their pilots int...

Why The Printing Press Appeared in the Middle East 400 Years After Europe from 2019-05-07T07:00:03

Why were there no printing presses in the Middle East until four centuries after Europe? Did it have to do with Islam prohibiting this technology? Was the calligraphy lobby too strong? Or is the a...

Teaser: Rendezvous With Death, Part 3 from 2019-05-04T07:30:04

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Last Night on the Titanic: Conclusion from 2019-05-02T06:35:03

In the final episode in this series, Veronica and Scott discuss the enduring legacy of the Titanic and why a disaster that happened 107 years ago still captures our imaginations.

Last Night on the Titanic: Doctors and Con Artists from 2019-04-30T07:30:12

The Titanic was filled with medical professionals either working as ship personnel or traveling in a non-professional capacity. There were also plenty of con artists aboard, hoping to worm their wa...

Last Night on the Titanic: The Musicians from 2019-04-25T07:10:22

The musicians of the Titanic famously continued playing as the ship went down, a testimony to practicing one's craft until their dying breath. But did it really happen like this?

Varyin...

Last Night on the Titanic: The Trend Setters from 2019-04-23T06:50:20

Many Titanic passengers were known for setting the styles. In this episode we will profile the two Luciles: famed fashionistas Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon and Lucile Polk Carter. We will also look at Joh...

Teaser: Rendezvous With Death, Part 2 from 2019-04-20T11:10:14

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Last Night on the Titanic: The Life Savers from 2019-04-18T07:35:22

Mr. Rogers once said, “When there is a disaster, always look for the helpers; there will always be helpers.

Many died on the night of the Titanic's sinking, but many more would have die...

Last Night on the Titanic: The Cooks from 2019-04-16T07:00:15

The cooks and other support staff of the Titanic “drowned like rats” due to not being assigned a clear place in the pecking order of escapees. One who did survive was French cook Paul Mauge, who us...

Sneak Peek of the New Podcast Series "Espionage" from 2019-04-13T17:15:14

Code Names. Deception. Gadgets. It might seem like something out of the movies, but these
are just some of the essential components of being a spy.

ESPIONAGE tells the stories of th...

Last Night on the Titanic: The Writers from 2019-04-11T07:05:03

The sinking of the Titanic is memorable for its countless stories, and the reason that so many of them have found their way down to us today was the many writers that were onboard the ship. The fir...

Last Night on the Titanic: The Popcorn Vendor from 2019-04-09T07:20:07

One legendary fixture on the Titanic was a gregarious popcorn vendor known as Popcorn Dan (Coxon). He was one of America's first food truck operators and a highly successful purveyor of popcorn. He...

Teaser: Rendezvous With Death from 2019-04-06T11:10:20

Subscribe today for access to all premium episodes! https://patreon.com/unplugged

Last Night on the Titanic: The Bakers from 2019-04-04T07:25:15

In this episode we are looking at the life of Charles Joughin, a colorful character who has appeared in both film version of the Titanic. After the sinking, Joughin claimed he knew it was an iceber...

The Last Night on the Titanic: Overview of the 1,500 Passengers and Crew Who Lost Their Lives from 2019-04-02T07:20:20

On the night of April 14, 1912, in the last hours before the Titanic struck
the iceberg, passengers in all classes were enjoying unprecedented luxuries. Innovations in food, drink, and decor m...

ANNOUNCEMENT: Special Series 'Last Night on the Titanic' Starts Next Week from 2019-03-30T07:05:13

An announcement for a forthcoming series coming to the History Unplugged Podcast called "Last Night on the Titanic."

Light-Horse Harry Lee: A Founding Father's Journey From Glory to Ruin from 2019-03-28T07:00:22

The history of the American Revolution is written by and about the victors like Washington, Jefferson, and Adams. But separating the heroes from the villains is not so black and white.

S...

Bad Puns and Dirty Jokes in Rome and Ancient Greece from 2019-03-26T07:20:16

"A student dunce went swimming and almost drowned. So now he swears he'll never get into water until he's really learned to swim." That was a decent dad joke to be sure. But it's not a joke your da...

Wright Brothers, Wrong Story? Why Some Say Wilbur—Not Orville—Discovered Manned Flight from 2019-03-21T07:00:22

How did two brothers who never left home, were high-school dropouts, and made a living as bicycle mechanics figure out the secret of manned flight? The story goes that Wilbur and Orville Wright wer...

When Danzig Became Gda?sk: What Happens to a City When Its Demographics Change Completely from 2019-03-19T07:05:17

What happens to a city when its demographics change completely in the space of a few years? To explore this question, we will take a look at the case of Danzig (modern-day Gda?sk) in northern Polan...

The Revolution Before the Revolution: How 1776 Happened from 2019-03-14T07:20:08

In the 1760s, the American colonies were completely incapable of organized resistance. One's loyalty was to their state, as the idea of being an “American” was nearly empty. Few clamored for democr...

An Active Neutrality: The WW2 Experiences of Switzerland, Portugal, and Turkey from 2019-03-12T07:45:06

Neutrality is not the same thing as passivity. Just ask the many nations who had to walk an extremely thin tightrope during World War 2 to stay out of the war (in which they saw nothing for themsel...

Kangaroo Squadron: The Tip of the American Spear in the WW2 Pacific Theatre from 2019-03-07T08:15:07

In early 1942, while most of the American military was in disarray from the devastating attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines, a single USAAF squadron advanced to the far side of the world to...

Common Knowledge About The Middle Ages That Is Incorrect, Part 5: Crusades In The Renaissance from 2019-03-05T08:20:05

The Crusades are typically bookended between Pope Urban II's call to reclaim the Holy Land in 1095 and the fall of Acre and the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1291. But two of the most notable relig...

Common Knowledge About The Middle Ages That Is Incorrect, Part 4: The Medieval Technological Explosion from 2019-02-28T08:20:08

The Middle Ages was not a thousand-year period of technological stagnation between the fall of Rome and Leonardo da Vinci. It was an incredible period of invention and scientific innovation that sa...

Common Knowledge About The Middle Ages That Is Incorrect, Part 3: Witch Burnings from 2019-02-26T08:40:22

At the height of the witch burning craze, thousands people, largely women, were falsely accused of witchcraft. Many of them were burned, hanged, and executed, typically under religious pretense. Bu...

Common Knowledge About The Middle Ages That Is Incorrect, Part 2: Were Indulgences a Get-out-of-Hell-Free Card Or Something Else? from 2019-02-21T08:10:07

Was it really possible to buy your way out of hell in the Middle Ages? If so, how much did it cost? And what did the Catholic Church do with all this money? In this second episode in our five-part ...

Common Knowledge About The Middle Ages That Is Incorrect, Part 1: Why the Middle Ages, Not the Renaissance, Created the Modern World from 2019-02-19T08:00:18

The popular view of the Middle Ages is a thousand-year period of superstition and ignorance, punctuated by witch burnings and belief in a flat earth. But the medieval period, more than any other ti...

Civil War Barons: The Tycoons, Entrepreneurs, and Inventors and Visionaries Who Forged Victory and Shaped a Nation from 2019-02-14T08:40:17

The American Civil War brought with it unprecedented demands upon the warring sections—North and South. The conflict required a mobilization and an organization of natural and man-made resources on...

Women Have Been Running For President Since 1872. Here Are 4 Of Their Stories from 2019-02-12T08:45:21

2016 was the first election in which a woman won the nomination of a major political party to be president of the United States. But women have been legally running for president as far back as 187...

War Animals: How 55 Birds, Dogs, and Horses Saved Thousands of Lives in World War Two from 2019-02-07T08:10:16

Did you know that in World War Two there were “para-dogs,” or dogs that parachuted along with paratroopers in anticipation of D-Day? Or that carrier pigeons were dropped into France in their bird c...

Hunting the President: Threats, Plots and Assassination Attempts, Part 5: Barack Obama from 2019-02-05T08:20:16

With the election of America's first African-American president in 2008, many feared that the presidency of Barack Obama would bring out the most reactionary elements in society and end his life in...

Hunting the President: Threats, Plots and Assassination Attempts, Part 4: Bill Clinton from 2019-01-31T08:00:18

Many tried to kill Bill Clinton during his presidency, including former military officers, white supremacists, and a little-known militant named Osama bin Laden. Most famously, Frank Eugene Corder ...

Hunting the President: Threats, Plots and Assassination Attempts, Part 3: Ronald Reagan from 2019-01-29T08:00:21

After his presidency, a deranged man broke into Ronald Reagan’s California home and attempted to strangle the former president before he was subdued by Secret Service agents. This attempt on his li...

Hunting the President: Threats, Plots and Assassination Attempts, Part 2: JFK from 2019-01-24T08:10:08

The only president to be assassinated in the last century was John F. Kennedy. What caused this failure in the Secret Service's typical protection procedures? Was it a perfect storm of bad luck, a ...

Hunting the President: Threats, Plots and Assassination Attempts, Part 1: FDR from 2019-01-22T08:45:20

In American history, four U.S. Presidents have been murdered at the hands of an assassin. In each case the assassinations changed the course of American history.

But most historians have...

Understanding the Rise of Islam Through Military History from 2019-01-17T08:50:20

How did an initially small religious movement envelope such enormous areas of the world? That is precisely what the community of believers under Muhammed did, conquering the Persian Empire and crip...

Fugitive Slaves in America, From the Revolution to the Civil War from 2019-01-15T08:40:17

For decades after its founding, America was really two nations – one slave, one free. There were many reasons why this nation ultimately broke apart in the Civil War, but the fact that enslaved bla...

Moral Panics and Mass Hysteria: The Dancing Plague, Salem Witch Trials, and The Tulip Market Bubble from 2019-01-10T07:55:15

One person's psychosis can be easily dismissed, but how do we account for collective hysteria, when an entire crowd sees the same illusion or suffer from the same illness? It's enough to make someb...

How a Researcher Discovered That Her Grandparents Were in the Nazi SS from 2019-01-08T08:00:19

How would you react if you discovered that your family were deeply embedded within the Third Reich? Today I'm talking with Brazilian-born American Julie Lindahl about her journey to uncover her gra...

Teaser: Ottoman Lives Part 7—The Outlaw from 2019-01-05T09:30:05

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James Holman Traveled Over 250,000 Miles in the Early 1800s. He Was Also Completely Blind. from 2019-01-03T08:00:11

He was known simply as the Blind Traveler. A solitary, sightless adventurer, James Holman (1786-1857) fought the slave trade in Africa, survived a frozen captivity in Siberia, hunted rogue elephant...

The History of Cannabis and Its Use By Humans from 2019-01-01T08:00:10

History is often looked at through the perspective of a very high-up official. We look at military history through the eyes of a general. We look at political history through the eyes of a presiden...

Bonus Q&A on the Civil War Series with Scott&James from 2018-12-27T08:10:17

Two weeks ago we finished the 25-part series on the 10 most important battles in the Civil War. Some of you had follow-up questions. We ran a poll to so which ones were the most popular. In a recor...

What Would the Real St. Nicholas Drink? Here's What an Ancient History Professor Thinks from 2018-12-24T08:00:23

Ever wondered what cocktail a fourth-century bishop from Asia Minor would order? That would be an obscure question to ask if the bishop in question weren't the historical basis for the Santa Claus...

How Ancient Europeans Circumnavigated Africa, Explored Iceland, and Sent Goods all the Way to Japan from 2018-12-20T08:45:16

What is the greatest extent of classical European reach, and how did they affect or influence the culture of the known world in that period?

In today's episode I answer this question—whi...

What if George Custer Had Survived the Battle of Little Bighorn? from 2018-12-18T08:30:13

George Custer, if he is remembered at all, is a cautionary tale of hubris. He grossly underestimated Sitting Bull's forces at the Battle of Little Big Horn and he was killed in one of the American...

Teaser: Ottoman Lives Part 6—The Holy Man from 2018-12-15T09:25:03

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History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 22: How the Civil War Lives on Today from 2018-12-13T08:40:19

In this very final episode, James and Scott discuss the lasting effects of the Civil War and why it is the single most important event in the history of the United States. The Revolutionary War may...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 21: What Became of the Men Who Wore the Blue and the Grey from 2018-12-11T08:35:12

In this epilogue episode James and Scott talk about the Union and Confederate generals whom we've gotten to know so well after the war finished. They became presidents, professors, bankrupt busines...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 20: The Naval War from 2018-12-06T08:15:15

The Civil War is now finished but our series is not. Scott and James discuss an aspect of the Civil War that for the most part didn't tie into our main discussion: the naval war. Learn how battles ...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 19: African Americans in Uniform from 2018-12-04T08:35:19

As the Civil War came to an end, a big question remained for the North and eventually the reunited United States. What would become of its African-American residents? Would they be given full legal...

Teaser: Ottoman Lives Part 5—The Peasant from 2018-12-01T08:15:14

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History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 18: The Overland Campaign from 2018-11-29T08:25:11

We're nearing the end of our Civil War series. It's 1864. Lincoln is re-elected, and Sherman's March to the Sea obliterated the Confederacy's industrial base. But work remains for General Grant. He...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 17: Sherman's March to the Sea from 2018-11-27T08:00:10

From November to December 1864, Gen. Sherman led over 60,000 soldiers from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia in a scorched earth campaign to completely demoralized the Southern war effort. Sherman expla...

Turkey is Both a Bird and a Country. Which Came First? from 2018-11-22T08:00:18

It's no coincidence that the bird we eat for Thanksgiving and a Middle Eastern country are both called Turkey. One was named after the other, and it all has to do with a 500-year-old story of emerg...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 16: The Battle of Atlanta from 2018-11-20T08:20:17

In the fall of 1864, the Union Army now had full momentum against the Confederacy, pushing deeper into the South than ever before. General Sherman overwhelmed forces led by John Bell Hood. With th...

Teaser: Ottoman Lives, Part 4—The Concubine from 2018-11-17T09:50:04

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History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 15: Chattanooga from 2018-11-15T08:00:25

Following Union defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga, Union forces retreated to the railroad junction of Chattanooga, Tennessee. From November 23-25, 1863, Union troops routed the Confederates at th...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 14: Chickamauga from 2018-11-13T09:00:03

The Battle of Chickamauga marked the end of Union Maj. Gen. William Rosencran's offensive into southwestern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia and the most significant Union defeat in the Western T...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 13: The Battle of Gettysburg from 2018-11-08T08:10:18

The 1863 Battle of Gettysburg stopped Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North. It was the deadliest battle of the Civil War, with over 50,000 casualties during the three day battle, a scale of...

September 1918: War, Plague, and The World Series from 2018-11-06T08:30:12

In the late summer of 1918, a division of Massachusetts militia volunteers led the first unified American fighting force into battle in France, turning the tide of World War I. Meanwhile, the world...

Teaser: Ottoman Lives, Part 3—The Eunuch from 2018-11-03T10:25:17

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6 Historical Figures Who Deserve Their Own Movie—History Unplugged Meets 1001 Stories from 2018-11-01T07:00:06

Historical biopics perform a great service. These movies remind the world of people that would have otherwise fallen into obscurity: Oscar Schindler (Schindler's List), John Nash (A Beautiful Mind)...

The Story of Bravo, The Greatest Rescue Mission in Navy SEAL History from 2018-10-30T07:00:20

Today's guest is Stephan Talty, author of the new book, SAVING BRAVO, which comes out October 30. Talty tells the never-before-told story of one of the greatest rescue missions not just of the Vi...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 12: (Vicksburg 2 of 2) from 2018-10-25T06:00:03

Welcome to the second part in our episodes on the Vicksburg Campaign, one of the most consequential Civil War battles in the Western theatre and what many historians consider to be the turning poin...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 11: Vicksburg (1 of 2) from 2018-10-23T07:20:09

In the next two episodes Scott and James will discuss the Siege of Vicksburg. In the summer of 1863, Grant’s Army of the Tennessee came to Vicksburg, located on a high bluff converged on Vicksburg,...

Teaser: Ottoman Lives, Part 2—The Sultan from 2018-10-20T10:00:48

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History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 10: Battle of Chancellorsville from 2018-10-18T07:00:27

The Battle of Chancellorsville is considered Robert E. Lee’s masterpiece.  His reputation as a military genius was sealed by fighting an incredibly successful offensive battle despite being outnumb...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 9: The Battle of Fredericksburg from 2018-10-16T07:00:56

Following McClellan's disastrous Union loss at Antietam, Lincoln replaced him with Ambrose Burnside, who planned to march to the city of Fredericksburg, getting there before Lee and possibly marchi...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 8: Sidetrack Episode on Emancipation from 2018-10-11T07:50:02

The entire point of the Civil War was to end slavery, right? Not exactly, and definitely not at the beginning of the War. The North went to war strictly to save the Union and had little interest in...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 7: The Battle of Antietam from 2018-10-09T07:50:03

The Battle of Antietam—an 1862 clash between Robert E. lee's Army of Northern Virginian and George McClellan's Army of the Potomac—was the deadliest one-day battle in American history, with a total...

Teaser: Ottoman Lives, Part 1: The Janissary from 2018-10-06T07:30:02

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History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 6: The Seven Days' Battle from 2018-10-04T07:15:03

Union General George B. McClellan, who led 100,000 men and moved as fast as an iceberg, attempted to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond in a series of six different battles along the Virg...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 5: The 1862 Peninsula Campaign from 2018-10-02T07:25:04

In early 1862 the Union Army launched a major operation in southeastern Virginia, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. Lincoln replaced McDowell with George B. McClellan as comm...

History of Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 4: The Battle of Shiloh from 2018-09-27T08:05:03

The Battle of Shiloh was a battle in the Western Theater fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. On the first morning, 40,000 Confederate troops struck Union Soldiers at Pittsburg Landin...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 3: Border States and the War in the West from 2018-09-25T08:00:05

In the summer of 1861, four slave states had still not seceded. If even two or three joined the Confederacy, the Union would be in big trouble. Lincoln was determined to keep all four in (Maryland,...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 2: First Battle of Bull Run from 2018-09-20T07:45:05

Abraham Lincoln believed that the Civil War would be over in a few months, with the Union Army marching on Richmond by late 1861. Both sides hastily assembled armies and Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell l...

History of the Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 1: Background to the Civil War from 2018-09-18T07:35:04

The origins of the Civil War go back decades, even before the United States became an independent nation The federal union had always been precarious, ever since the framing of the Constitution, wi...

Special Announcement: A History of the Civil War in 10 Battles Begins Next Week from 2018-09-14T07:20:05

The Civil War pitted brother against brother and divided a nation. It also featured the most epic—and deadliest—battles in American history. From Shiloh to Vicksburg to Gettsburg, these battles res...

How a 1522 Battled Transformed Russia from a Minor Duchy into Earth's Largest Empire from 2018-09-13T07:15:05

The Russian Siege of Kazan in 1552 and the conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan by Muscovy can be seen as the birth of a Russian Empire. It had profound consequences for the steppe region and beyond, al...

The Most Famous Founding Father You’ve Never Heard of Was Hamilton's Arch-Nemesis and a Deficit Hawk from 2018-09-11T07:20:05

Alexander Hamilton had a nemesis… and it was not Aaron Burr. After Hamilton enacted a wide-scale spending program to build up America's military and infrastructure, and thus send it into debt, new...

Lost Civilizations, Part 3: European Visitors to the New World Before Columbus from 2018-09-06T07:20:05

Learn about cultures that came to America long before Columbus, suggesting that trans-oceanic voyages could be accomplished well back into the Bronze Age.

Lost Civilizations, Part 2: The Egyptian Pyramid Builders, the Nabateans, and the Aksumites. from 2018-09-04T07:30:06

Welcome to part two on our series on the greatest lost civilizations in history. Today we are looking at three groups: The Egytian Pyramid Builders, the Nabateans, and the Aksumites. These three g...

Lost Civilizations: Ancient Societies that Vanished Without a Trace, Part 1 from 2018-08-30T07:30:06

A stock trope of literature is the king who believes that his kingdom will last forever, only to see it collapse under his own hubris (Exhibit A is Percy Bysshe Shelly's Ozymandias). But the trope ...

The Most Powerful Women in the Middle Ages, Part 3: Elizabeth of Tudor and Ottoman Queen Mother Kösem Sultan from 2018-08-28T07:25:04

This is the third in our three-part series on the most powerful women in the Middle Ages. To wrap things up we will explore the lives of two female rulers — one very famous, the other almost unknow...

Teaser: Intro to Audie Murphy Series from 2018-08-25T10:25:04

Subscribe today for access to all premium episodes! https://patreon.com/unplugged

The Most Powerful Women in the Middle Ages, Part 2: Catherine of Sienna and Isabella of Castile from 2018-08-23T07:15:05

Female rulers dominated the Middle Ages. But it wasn't just the queens or empresses who wielded enormous power. This episode is the second of a three-part series at the lives of the most powerful w...

The Most Powerful Women in the Middle Ages, Part 1: Queens, Empresses, and Viking Slayers from 2018-08-21T07:10:05

The idea of a powerful woman in the Middle Ages seems like an oxymoron. Females in this time are imagined to be damsels in distress, trapped in a high tower, and waiting for knights to rescue them,...

How the Vicksburg Siege May Have Turned the Tide of the Civil War—Samuel Mitcham from 2018-08-16T07:52

“Traitor!” “Failure!” “Bungling fool!”




Southern newspapers hurled these sentiments at Confederate General John C. Pemberton after he surrendered the fortress of Vicksbu...

The Story of Malaria, The Killer of Half of Humanity from 2018-08-14T07:01

Long before Thanos snapped his fingers in Avengers: Infinity War, another villain successfully killed half of humanity.

Malaria is a simple parasite, transmitted by a mosquito bite. But ...

An Archeologist Talks About the Discovery of a Civil War Surgeon's Burial Pit at Manassas Field from 2018-08-09T14:08

In August 1862, two Union soldiers were gravely wounded at the Battle of Second Manassas. They were brought to a field hospital, though both died as a result of their injuries. Their bodies were la...

Why U.S. Political Elections Have Always Been Chaotic—David Severa from the Early and Often Podcast from 2018-08-07T14:07

You've heard it before: American politics have never been nastier or more divisive than they are today. Just witness the recent words of one recent front-runner candidate, who told told the media h...

The History of Slavery, Part 5: The Road to Abolition from 2018-08-02T07:45

Slavery died a long death in the Western World. Abolitionists began mobilizing in the 1700s (chief among them Quakers and other Protestant sects) but the movement took decades of activism, bookmaki...

The History of Slavery, Part 4: African Slavery in the New World, 1500-1865 from 2018-07-31T07:45

Slavery predates European entry into the Atlantic world in the Age of Exploration, but the system that developed during the 16th and 17th centuries was arguably a more inhumane and racially tinged ...

The History of Slavery, Part 3: Christian Slaves and Muslim Masters—Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean, 1500-1800 from 2018-07-26T07:44

As the trans-Atlantic slave trade from sub-Saharan Africa to the Americas began to grow in the 1500s, there was another slave trade that operated on an even larger scale in the same time period. It...

The History of Slavery, Part 2: The Medieval Slave Trade to Arabia from 2018-07-24T07:44

The term "slave trade" conjures up images of a white slaver capturing African tribesmen, packing them like corkwood into a ship, selling them in the Antebellum South, and having a plantation owner ...

The History of Slavery, Part 1: Shackled and Chained in the Ancient World from 2018-07-19T07:51

When asked “what is slavery?” most Americans or Westerners would respond with a description of an African slave in the antebellum South, picking cotton and suffering under the whip of a cruel maste...

Prohibition: How it Happened, Why it Failed, and How it Still Affects America Today from 2018-07-17T07:51

America has a strange relationship with alcohol. Certain drinks represented the darkest parts of the national psyche. Rum was once associated with slavery because sugar cane plantations that made r...

What Did People Eat in the Middle Ages? from 2018-07-12T07:00

Welcome to an anthology episode where I ask six short questions about the Middle Ages from you, the listener. Here they are in order of appearance:


What Did People Eat in the Middl...

Almost Everything in American Politics has Happened Before, Even Donald Trump—Bruce Carlson from My History Can Beat Up Your Politics from 2018-07-10T07:54

Cable news pundits tell you everything is “breaking news.” TV pundits discuss politics in a vacuum. But in nearly every case, the politics of today have long roots in history. This includes media c...

The Quest to Make Information Free Forever: Copyright Battles From Venetian Printers in the Renaissance to 21st Century Hackers from 2018-07-05T07:48

The © symbol (or "Copyright") is a completely forgettable character ignored by all but lawyers. It is buried at the bottom of legal notices that your brain reflexively skips over. But this little s...

How a Rivalry Between Two Cherokee Chiefs Led to the Trail of Tears and the Collapse of Their Nation from 2018-07-03T07:44

A century-long blood feud between two Cherokee chiefs shaped the history of the Cherokee tribe far more than anyone, even the reviled President Andrew Jackson. They were John Ross and the Ridge. To...

If It Weren't For Two Iowans, Billions Would Have Died of Starvation or Been Left in a Technological Dark Age from 2018-06-28T07:40

Norman Borlaug and Robert Noyce aren't household names. But these two Iowans influenced the 20th century more than anyone else on Planet Earth. Borlaug created drought and disease-resistant varieti...

Introducing the History Unplugged Membership Program from 2018-06-27T07:18

Learn how to get access to bonus episodes of History Unplugged (including a multi-part series on Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in WW2), the entire History Unplugged back catalogue, and e...

Life After Auschwitz: How European Jews Attempted to Assimilate in America After Unspeakable Tragedy from 2018-06-26T07:26

What happened to Jews after they were liberated from concentration camps? Some tried to return to their homes, only to find them occupied by neighbors who thought them dead and refused to give up t...

Patton and Churchill's Experiences Before and During World War Two from 2018-06-21T07:03

This is an anthology episode that looks at the experiences of Winston Churchill and Gen. George S. Patton before and during World War Two. Specifically this episode will explore


Pa...

Special Announcement: Presidential Fight Club Is Now Its Own Podcast from 2018-06-20T14:25:35

Remember when we did the 44-episode series on this show called Presidential Fight Club that imagined what would happen if every president fought each other one-on-one? Now it has been re-released a...

An Infantry Officer's Fight Through Nazi Europe, From D-Day to VE Day from 2018-06-19T06:38

Falling comrades, savagery of war, and the intense will to prevail in battle faced young Bill Chapman when he stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. For the following eleven months Chapma...

Everything You Need to Know About D-Day: H-Hour, Weapons Info, and First-Hand Accounts via Soldiers, Beachmasters, and the French Resistance from 2018-06-14T07:30

The D-Day landing of June 6, 1944, ranks as the boldest and most successful large-scale invasion in military history.




On June 6, as Operation Overlord went forward, rou...

Everything You Need to Know About D-Day: H-Hour, Weapons Info, and First-Hand Accounts via Soldiers, Beachmasters, and the French Resistance from 2018-06-14T07:30

The D-Day landing of June 6, 1944, ranks as the boldest and most successful large-scale invasion in military history.




On June 6, as Operation Overlord went forward, rou...

Benjamin Franklin: Diplomat, Polymath, and Member of 18th Century Jet Set—Elizabeth Covart of the Ben Franklin's World Podcast from 2018-06-12T07:09

Benjamin Franklin was a world traveler, consummate learner, and a polymath extraordinaire; the Founding Father was a printer, scientist, inventor, diplomat, postmaster general, educator, philosophe...

From Farm Fields to Classrooms: Horace Mann's War for Universal and Compulsory Education for Children from 2018-06-07T07:38

In a remarkably short span of time, American children went from laboring on family farms to spending their days in classrooms. The change came from optimistic reformers like Horace Mann, who in the...

Meet Joan: The Female Pope—Stephen Guerra of the History of the Papacy Podcast from 2018-06-05T07:09

According to medieval accounts, a woman named Joan reigned as pope, 855-857 A.D., by disguising herself as a man. The story is widely thought to be fiction, but almost everyone took it as fact in t...

The Most Productive People in History, Part 2: Thomas Aquinas to Thomas Edison from 2018-05-31T07:52

This is Part 2 of an exploration of the live of the most productive people in history. We will look at the life, times, and work habits of medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas (the most prolific wri...

The Most Productive People in History, Part 1: From Archimedes to Ben Franklin from 2018-05-29T07:42

They never knew how he did it. Few composers write more than one or two symphonies in their lifetimes. Beethoven spent a year on his shorter symphonies but more than six years on his 9th Symphony. ...

The Union's Secret Rebels: The Story of Gettysburg's Five Rebellious Double Crossers Who Returned as Foreign Invaders from 2018-05-24T07:47

The Civil War is called the war in which brother fought against brother. But few knew of the

“Gettysburg Rebels”: the five privates from that very town who moved south to Virginia in the...

How to Reach Allied Territory When Your Plane Is Shot Down in Nazi-Occupied France from 2018-05-22T07:35

Lieutenant George W. Starks' worst fear came true when his B-17 was shot down over Nazi-occupied

France. Earlier that morning, the boyish 20-year-old and his crew were assigned to the mo...

Anthology: How Switzerland Remained Neutral In Two World Wars from 2018-05-17T07:32

How was Switzerland able to remain neutral in the two world wars? Why was a tiny mountainous nation of watch-makers, bankers, and chocolateers able to dictate their own fate at a time when nobody e...

Grammar Girl (Mignon Fogarty) on the Strange History of the English Language from 2018-05-15T07:28

Mignon Fogarty has spent years helping others sort out the extremely peculiar grammar of the English language. But in the course of her research on how to navigate the weirdness of English, she lea...

History's Most Insane Rulers: From Emperor Caligula to Muammar Gaddafi from 2018-05-10T07:44

Few mixtures are as toxic as absolute power and insanity that comes from megalomania or severe mental illness. When nothing stands between a leader's delusional whims and seeing them carried them o...

Meet Pico, The 23-Year-Old Wunderkind Who Kicked Off the Renaissance from 2018-05-08T07:47

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (Pico for short), was the wunderkind of the Renaissance. In 1486, at the age of 23 he proposed to defend 900 theses on religion, philosophy, natural philosophy, and ma...

Richard Burton: The Victorian Explorer Who Discovered the Kama Sutra, Made a Secret Pilgrimage to Mecca, and Knew 29 Languages from 2018-05-03T07:25

Everybody imagines the World's Most Interesting Man to be a fictional grey-haired lothario who drinks Mexican beer and boasts of his legendary exploits. But what if a man like this really lived? Listen

Panic on the Pacific: How America Prepared for a Japanese West Coast Invasion after Pearl Harbor from 2018-05-01T07:19

The aftershocks of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor were felt keenly all over America—the war in Europe had hit home. But nowhere was American life more immediately disrupted than on the...

The Hypothetical Economy of a Present-Day Confederate States of America, Alternate Theories to the Titanic Sinking, and Other Counterfactual from 2018-04-26T07:22

In this anthology episode I answer questions from the audience all centered around one theme. Today's theme is about alternate history and alternate theories to historical questions. Well, three of...

The 4 Successful (And Hundreds of Unsuccessful) Assassination Attempts of U.S. Presidents—Mel Ayton from 2018-04-24T07:09

In American history, four U.S. Presidents have been murdered at the hands of an assassin. In each case the assassinations changed the course of American history.




But mo...

Prostitution Throughout History: Sumerian Temple Priestesses, Ottoman Brothel Workers, and Call-Girls for the Medieval Clergy from 2018-04-19T07:01

Prostitution, often known as the world's oldest profession, can be traced throughout recorded history. This cliché is so often repeated it remains completely unexamined. Is prostitution really a na...

The Ladykiller who Killed Lincoln: The Scandalous Love Life of John Wilkes Booth from 2018-04-17T07:28

What if People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” assassinated a U.S. President? John Wilkes Booth has been despised as a traitor, hailed as a martyr, and dismissed as a lunatic. But in the 1860s he wa...

Ulysses S. Grant Was (Mostly) Responsible For Winning the Civil War. Robert E. Lee Was Responsible For Losing It. from 2018-04-12T07:46

Ever since the end of the Civil War, a mythology of Robert E. Lee's military genius was developed by Confederate veterans as a way to support the idea that the South was defeated only because of th...

How Long Have Foreign Governments Attempted to Meddle in U.S Elections? Answers to This And 3 Other Questions from 2018-04-05T07:37

Foreign governments did not only start trying to influence American presidential elections in 2016. It goes all the way back to the 18th century. In this anthology episode I answer this question a...

The Life and Times of Aristotle, and How His Philosophy Conquered the World—Lantern Jack from the Ancient Greece Declassified Podcast from 2018-04-03T07:15

Whether you have a BA in philosophy or have never read a book, your daily life is impacted by Aristotle. Have you ever tried to win an argument? Have you ever tried to solve a riddle? Have you trie...

World War Two Spycraft: Stealing Nuclear Secrets, Blowing Up Nazi Factories, and Infiltrating Japanese High Command from 2018-03-29T08:53

Spies have been a feature of state security and military intelligence since the beginning of warfare. Entire wars have been won or lost according to these secret activities. Today we will look at s...

A Retired Policeman Tells us the Story of The Most Daring Jailbreak in the Underground Railroad's History from 2018-03-27T08:26

You probably know what the Underground Railroad is—you know, the network of secret routes and safe houses set up in antebellum America and used by African-American slaves (with the help of abolitio...

What are Arguments For and Against Bombing Japan, Why Don't Militias Matter in American, and What is Close-Air Support? from 2018-03-22T08:18

In this anthology series I answer four listener questions. Three of them have to do with World War II, one of them has to do with the second amendment. Here they are:What are the arguments for bomb...

Daily Lives of Middle Eastern Women in the School, the Home, the Harem, and Everywhere Else—Marie Grace Brown from 2018-03-20T08:19

For those who haven't studied the Middle East, the historical lives of women there can be thought to be a black hole: no information available about those who were thrown under a burkha and locked ...

How Archeologists Decide What We Remember—Chris Webster, Archeology Podcast Network from 2018-03-13T13:56:15

Chris Webster is a cultural resource management archeologist. That means when the National Registry of Historic Places is thinking about adding a mining town, Spanish mission, or Native American bu...

When Weather Wipes Out Civilization -- Four Cases of Climate Killing Empires from 2018-03-08T08:37

The deadliest army on earth can't top the weather for its destructive potential. History's mightiest empires have fallen for no more of a reason than climate change leading to failed harvests and a...

George Washington's Guide to Greatness, As Told by His Great Nephew —Austin Washington from 2018-03-06T08:28

George Washington—widely considered a man of honor, bravery and leadership. He is known as America’s first President, a great general, and a humble gentleman, but how did he become this man of stat...

Medieval Health Care: Bloodletting, Primitive Surgery, and How Surprisingly Good Doctors Could Be Despite Knowing Almost Nothing from 2018-03-01T08:47

The Middle Ages were a terrible time to get sick. There was no sanitation inside cities and hardly any in rural areas. The common way to relieve pain amongst sick people was to inflict more pain up...

A First-Hand Account of the Battle of Ramadi, Iraq – Maj. Scott Huesing from 2018-02-27T08:30

From the winter of 2006 through the spring of 2007, two-hundred-fifty Marines from Echo Company, Second Battalion, Fourth Marine Regiment fought daily in the dangerous, dense city streets of Ramadi...

Mesopotamian Civilization (2): Everyday Life of Merchants, Temple Priests, and Prostitutes from 2018-02-22T08:50

Welcome to part two in our series on Mesopotamia. The last installment covered the lives of the elites; now let's go several steps down the social ladder. We are going to be covering everyday life ...

One Nation Under (the Influence of) Alcohol: Drinking During the Civil War—Mark Will-Weber from 2018-02-20T08:04

Bloody battles, lionhearted leaders, valiant victories, and lamentable losses—the history of the Civil War has been told time and again. Yet, one monumental component of the Civil War has gone unto...

Mesopotamian Civilization: Gilgamesh, Sargon, and Why 1 GB of Information on Cuneiform Tablets Weights as Much as a 747 from 2018-02-15T08:49

Welcome to the first episode in a two-part series on Mesopotamian civilization. In this episode we are going to be covering four topics: 1) The origins of Mesopotamian civilization with Sumeria, it...

Race to the Top of the World: Richard Byrd and the First Flight to the North Pole—Sheldon Bart from 2018-02-13T08:16

In the age of adventure, when dirigibles coasted through the air and vast swaths of the Earth remained untouched and unseen by man, one pack of relentless explorers competed in the race of a lifeti...

Positive Legacies of the Mongolian Empire: International Trade, Religious Tolerance, Career Opportunities, and Horse Milk from 2018-02-08T07:59

The Mongolian Empire has a well-deserved reputation for its brutality (it did, after all, kill 40 million in the 12th century, enough people to alter planetary climate conditions). But it's positiv...

America's Utopian Communities: From Plymouth Colony's Failed Experiments in Collective Farming to 60s Hippie Communes—Timothy Miller from 2018-02-06T08:35

One of the oldest traditions in America is trying (and failing) to set up a utopian community. French Enlightenment thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed if man could return to a state of...

The Reasons the Mongolian Army Was Unstoppable from 2018-02-02T08:11

Mongols were fierce on horseback, but so were the many other steppe nomads who tried and failed to conquer the walled cities of China, Persia, and Rome. 




Yet the Mongol...

Horse and Bow- A Mongol's Two Best Friends from 2018-02-01T08:08

Steppe nomads plagued the ancient world with their cavalries, but nobody perfected this form of warfare like the Mongols. A horse archer had such a deep kinesthetic relationship with his steed he c...

The Rise of Genghis- From Temujin to the Great Khan from 2018-01-31T08:10

The Mongols Killed So Many People They Lowered the Global Temperature from 2018-01-30T08:05

Welcome to part one of Mongol Week(s). In this multi-part series, we will look at the Mongolian Empire from multiple perspectives, including its unprecedented level of brutality (so many died from ...

Chester A. Arthur's Presidency Was a Colossal Accident...And a Huge Success from 2018-01-29T08:48

Chester A. Arthur, America's 21st president, lands on the lists of the most obscure chief executives. Few know anything about him besides his trademark mutton-chop sideburns. Moreover, he fell into...

The Vietnam War Was About...Stealing Asia's Tin? from 2018-01-26T08:07

Fighting over scarce resources have fueled wars back to the Sumerian city-states squabbling over water-use rights of the Euphrates river. Did the same drive fuel America's entrance into Vietnam to ...

About 70-90 Percent of a Society Needs to Die Before It Completely Collapses from 2018-01-25T08:07

 

Some disasters hurt society (Hurricane Katrina in 2005). Bigger ones permanently alter it (the Black Death in the 1300s; Mao's Great Leap Forward). The worst of disasters completely de...

Why The Black Plague is Partially (But Not Completely) Responsible For the Renaissance? from 2018-01-24T08:07

The death of thirty percent of Europe's population in the fourteenth century permanently altered the medieval social order, and many scholars credit the Black Plague with ushering in the Renaissanc...

Did Mussollini Really Make the Trains Run on Time? from 2018-01-23T08:00

Fascism is loved by few, but many at least credit Mussolini's heavy-handed rule for making Italy's notoriously disastrous train system operate effectively. Was this actually true or more of Il Duce...

How Teddy Roosevelt Became The Man He Was in the Badlands—William Hazelgrove of “Forging a President” from 2018-01-22T08:21

Teddy Roosevelt wasn’t born as the rough riding, big-game-hunting, Amazon-exploring legend that America has come to love. So how did he become the larger-than- life character portrayed in history b...

The Origin of the High Five from 2018-01-18T08:07

The origins of some cultural practices are lost to the mists of time. Not so the high five. We can trace it back to a specific day at a specific baseball game. From then on the world was never the ...

Nobody in the Middle Ages Thought the Earth Was Flat from 2018-01-17T08:00

One of the most widespread and pernicious bits of common knowledge about the Middle Ages that is incorrect is the idea that everyone believed the world to be flat. This is ridiculous. Nobody though...

Which Leader Had the Best Shot at World Domination? from 2018-01-16T08:00

Which world leader or dictator had the best chance at world domination? (i.e. Hitler, Napoleon, Alexander the Great). In this episode I discuss whether such a goal is even possible, and if so, unde...

Pinetti, the 18th-Century Illusionist and Forerunner of Chris Angel and David Copperfield—Brian Earl from the Illusion Podcast from 2018-01-15T08:00

Giussepe Pinetti: You might not know the name, but he's considered the guy who made magic into a respected theatrical art form. Before him, it was practiced mostly by buskers on street corners, or ...

The Origin of the Military Salute from 2018-01-12T09:27

The simple military salute is a symbol whose meaning goes back centuries earlier than most any soldier would suspect.

Would Somebody from 1000 BC Transported to 1000 AD Notice the Difference? from 2018-01-11T09:21

Did technological and social change happen fast enough in the 2,000-year period between 1000 BC and AD that a time traveller would notice he were transported from one to the other?

The English Channel—The 26-Mile Strait That Has Stopped Armies For Millenia from 2018-01-10T09:12

Why has a puny strip of sea stopped invading armies almost as effectively as the Atlantic Ocean has for America? Because staging a successful amphibious assault is extremely hard.

The Richest Man in History Was the 14th c. King of Mali from 2018-01-09T09:11

Learn about King Musa, the man so rich he crashed the value of gold in Egypt by giving away too many gifts while on an extended vacation.

Canines in Combat: How the 8125th Sentry Dog Detachment Saved Countless Lives in the Korean War—Rachel Reed from 2018-01-08T09:30

The Korean War is widely misunderstood in the 21st century. Most have a sepia-toned nostalgia of the bravery of World War Two, or the less black-and-white nature of the Vietnam War. But not Korea. ...

Europe's Military Quantum Leap (1350-1650)—Patrick Wyman From Tides of History from 2018-01-01T09:06

Want to conquer Europe in the Middle Ages? You need plenty of knights mounted on steeds to launch a full cavalry charge. Once they take out their enemies in pitched battle, you need engineers to la...

Christmas Special: Fr. Longenecker on Why The 3 Wise Men Were Real...But They Weren't From the Orient or Kings (Rebroadcast) from 2017-12-25T09:50

How do we separate myth from fact in ancient history? How do we do this when it comes down to one of the most beloved and well-known stories of all time: The Nativity? Fr. Dwight Longenecker, a Cat...

Bringing Abraham and Mary Todd to Life in Steven Spielberg's “Lincoln”—Historical Consultant Catherine Clinton from 2017-12-18T09:04

Being a historical consultant for movies is never easy. How do you get the period details right while keeping it contained within an interesting narrative? But being a historical consultant about o...

Meet Nathaniel Clark Smith, the Melchizedek of Jazz—Bill McKemy from 2017-12-11T07:00

Jazz is the most American of musical genres. But its origins are shrouded in mystery. Some like to think that Louis Armstrong and his bluesmen friends were sitting at a bar in New Orleans, when a s...

The Story of Human Language, From Proto Indo-European to Ebonics English—John McWhorter from 2017-12-04T07:00

Language not only defines humans as a species, placing us head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators, but it also beguiles us with its endless mysteries. For example... ...

The Causes of World War 2 from 2017-12-01T07:00

In the wreckage of World War 1, Germany was slapped with a war reparations bill worth billions and the loss of much of its land. This and many other reasons launched the Second World War. 

The Causes of World War 1 from 2017-11-30T07:00

The reasons for the Great War go way beyond the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Learn about the causes of one of humanity's most vicious wars.

Is There Any Hard Evidence Hannibal Took Elephants Over the Alps? from 2017-11-29T07:00

Hannibal's crossing of the Alps with war elephants is considered one of the most daring move of the Punic Wars. But is it professionally accepted among historians that he actually crossed the Alps...

The Greek Military Owned The Ancient World. Why Did They Roll Over For the Romans? from 2017-11-28T12:33:32

When did the ancient Greeks stop making armies or supplying fighting men? One moment they're beating up the the Persian empire and conquering the known world, and the next, they're slave tutors for...

Why Food Tells Us More About a Culture Than Anything Else—Ken Alba from 2017-11-27T07:00

You and your ancestor from 1,000 years ago have almost nothing in common. Your clothes are different. Your worship rituals are different. Your thoughts about the opposite sex are definitely differe...

The Electoral College Isn't an Outdated 18th-Century Relic; It Keeps America From Falling Apart—Tara Ross from 2017-11-24T07:00

The Electoral college is one of the most confusing—and, after the 2016 election, contentious—parts of American democracy. After losing two of the past five presidential races in the Electoral Colle...

Arabic Numerals Took Over 600 Years To Spread Across the West from 2017-11-23T16:15:45

Western scholars first encountered "Arabic" numerals in the seventh century, making mathematics and accounting much easier. But Roman numerals stubbornly stuck around until the invention of the pri...

A Short History of the War of the Roses from 2017-11-22T07:00

The Wars of the Roses were a series of battles that were fought between the supporters of the House of Lancaster (Lancastrians) and the supporters of the House of York (Yorkists). The wars were cal...

Richard Francis Burton—The Man Who Knew the Most Languages in History from 2017-11-21T07:00

Richard Francis Burton was an explorer, translator, and contender for the 19th-century's world's most interesting man. He was also functional in dozens of languages and translated monumental works ...

The Scopes Monkey Trial, HL Mencken, and Religion in Public Life—Darryl Hart from 2017-11-20T07:00

If you’ve seen the 1960 Spencer Tracy movie Inherit the Wind, you know about the Scopes Monkey Trial. In this real-life 1925 case, John Scopes was accused of violating Tennessee’s Butler Act, which...

The Reformation Happened 500 Years Ago, But It's More Timely Than Ever—Benjamin Wiker from 2017-11-17T07:00

Secularism, radical Islam, and nationalism all sound like buzzwords pulled straight from today’s headlines. But you might be surprised to know that 500 years ago they were at the epicenter of one o...

How Did You Call the Police Before the Phone Was Invented? from 2017-11-16T07:00

Dialing 9-1-1 is a new innovation (at least in the sense of the scope of human history), but the need for emergency services goes back to the earliest settlements. How did a pre-modern civilization...

All the Presidents Who Owned Slaves and How They Treated Them from 2017-11-15T07:00

A whole bunch of presidents owned slaves considering they took an oath to uphold the rights of their citizens. But how many of the pre-Civil War presidents actually owned slaves? And how did they t...

Who Were Worse—The Spanish Conquistadors or the Aztecs? from 2017-11-14T07:00

The Spanish conquistadors have rightly been called out for their brutal treatment and enslavement of native populations. But did they behave worse than the Aztecs?

The Lives of Slaves, Heretics, Cave-Dwellers, and Other People Ancient History Never Tells You About—Robert Garland from 2017-11-13T07:00

The 19th-century historian Thomas Carlyle wrote, “The history of the world is but the biography of great men.”  In a sense that's true. We have plenty of biographies of emperors, popes, kings, quee...

What Did Entertainment Do To The Romans? from 2017-11-10T08:00

You can point to hundreds of factors that led to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire (which Edward Gibbon and many others have been doing for centuries). Decadence and frivolous entertainment ...

Syriac-The Best Language for Conquering The Ancient World from 2017-11-09T08:00

If you were transported to the ancient world, there's only one language that could be used in Roman Briton and China alike. It was Syriac: the lingua franca of the Silk Road and your best language ...

The Most Valuable Lost Treasure That Still Exists from 2017-11-08T08:00

As Imperial Spain transported literal tons of gold from the New World to the motherland, hurricanes sunk much of it to the bottom of the Atlantic. Find out about the most valuable treasure that is ...

Did Vikings Have Tattoos? from 2017-11-07T08:00

Vikings left behind nearly no writings, except for Runic scripts on rocks. New burial site excavations show they also left them behind on their bodies.   TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest revi...

Call of Duty: WW2's Historical Advisor Marty Morgan on Bringing the War to Life from 2017-11-06T07:00

Call of Duty is top best-selling first-person shooter series based on real events, but lately it has veered into futuristic sci-fi country. Call of Duty: World War II is an attempt to go back to th...

The Codpiece—The Worst Fashion Trend in History from 2017-11-03T06:00

  A wealthy man in the 1500s wore a large flap on the front of his trousers to accentuate his "credentials," which looked like an exterior athletic cup. How did this bizarre fashion trend take off,...

Why Almost No Medieval Peasant Cottages Survive Today from 2017-11-02T06:00

Archeological findings have led to breakthroughs in our understand of the Roman and ancient Near Eastern worlds, but little survives from the 500s-900s. Why weren't medieval buildings made to last?...

How a Nikita Khruschev Mistranslation Threatened Nuclear War from 2017-11-01T06:00

When Nikita Khruschev pounded his shoe on a podium, declaring "We will bury you!" many feared imminent nuclear war. Turns out a better translation of his original Russian completely changes the mea...

British Girl, Nazi German POW—A Love Story from 2017-10-31T06:00

Were there any British women who fell in love with German POWs living in England in the mid-1940s? Despite the extreme cultural taboo, the answer is yes. Love always finds a way.     TO HELP OUT...

Assassin's Creed's Resident Historian Maxime Durand on Mixing Fact with Fiction from 2017-10-30T06:00

Like it or not, far more millennials will learn about Renaissance and medieval history through Assassin's Creed than they ever will through a history book. That can be dispiriting on the one hand —...

Cruel and Unusual (Medieval) Punishment from 2017-10-27T05:00

An inquisitor thirsty for a confession had plenty of medieval tools of torture at his disposal: the iron maiden, the judas cradle, the rack, or the brazen bull. Turns out many of these devices are...

The Easter Uprising of 1916 from 2017-10-26T06:00

Learn about one of the most important events in modern Irish history. On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, a group of Irish nationalists proclaimed the establishment of the Irish Republic. They, along...

Misattributed Quotes—No, Mark Twain Didn't Say That from 2017-10-25T07:00

Thomas Jefferson once said you can't believe everything you read on the Internet. With those extremely true words in mind, let's look at other quotes that are widely believed to be authentic but to...

How to Build a 13th-Century Castle From Scratch from 2017-10-24T07:00:34

In a remote forest clearing in Burgundy, France, a 13th-century castle is slowly being constructed using only the tools, techniques, and materials that would have been available to the builders of ...

Telling Japan’s Story in The Last Samurai, Letters From Iwo Jima, and Medal of Honor—Dan King from 2017-10-23T07:00:33

The Japanese military of World War Two has a nasty reputation—kamikaze pilots, baby killers, and brain-washed, honor-obsessed soldiers who threw away their lives for a lost cause. Parts of this rep...

Teddy Roosevelt’s Journey Through Uncharted Amazonian Jungle from 2017-10-20T07:00:32

Teddy Roosevelt was not afraid to tempt death. He hiked the Matterhorn during his honeymoon. He arrested outlaws on the Dakota Frontier. He hunted rhinos in Africa. But his most dangerous journey c...

How Teddy Roosevelt Gave a 90-minute Speech After Being Shot from 2017-10-19T07:00:31

Theodore Roosevelt was hell bent on becoming president in 1912. He ran as a third-party candidate for the Progressive Party, a splinter group of Republicans dissatisfied with William Howard Taft. H...

When Teddy Roosevelt Arrested Three Boat Thieves from 2017-10-18T07:00:29

Perhaps no president has as many unbelievable stories about his life than Teddy Roosevelt. He was an amateur boxer. He was the first American politician to learn judo. He summited the Matterhorn du...

Carrie Nation—The Hatch-Wielding Prohibitionist from 2017-10-17T07:00:27

Nothing supports the Prohibition movement like a hatchet-wielding radical ready to smash in a Midwestern saloon. Carrie Amelia Nation would know. She made a career out of physical assaulting the al...

Discovering Embarrassing Family Secrets and Famous Third Cousins with Genealogist Crista Cowan From Ancestry.com from 2017-10-16T07:00:26

Shake a family tree long enough and something embarrassing secret is sure to drop out: a felon uncle here, an illegitimate nephew there, a grandfather arrested for indecent exposure there. Genealog...

Why Does American Give Automatic Birthright Citizenship? from 2017-10-13T07:06:30

Anyone born on American soil gets automatic citizenship. This isn't true in the rest of the world. Few other nations in the world practice jus soli (right of the soil). Rather, your parents have to...

What Was It Like To Be Enrolled at the University of Constantinople? from 2017-10-12T07:06:47

The Pandidakterion (University of Constantinople) was the empire's imperial school. It can trace its origins to 425 AD to Emperor Theodosius II. Learn what it was like to be enrolled in the ancient...

John Birch-The First Death in the Cold War from 2017-10-11T07:06:45

The first death of the Cold War quickly became an anti-communist icon and symbol of the American far right from the 1950s onward.   TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratin...

George Washington Wasn’t the First President. He Was the Ninth from 2017-10-10T07:06:38

George Washington was the First President of the United States. This is the most basic fact that an American school child can learn. Only it isn't true. He wasn’t the first. Nor the second. He was ...

Anthony Esolen on Translating Dante’s Divine Comedy and Dan Brown’s Supercilious Stupidity from 2017-10-09T07:06:37

‘Dante and Shakespeare divide the modern world between them: there is no third’ —T.S Elliot The most towering epic poem in Western literature, save perhaps the works of Homer, is Dante's Divine Com...

Christopher Columbus Wasn’t as Good—Or as Terrible—As You Think from 2017-10-06T07:06:34

Depending on which account you hear, Columbus was either the bravest explorer of the early Renaissance or a mass murdered who subjected the indigenous population of the new world to death or slaver...

How the 1565 Siege of Malta Led to the Golden Age of Piracy from 2017-10-05T07:06:35

The Knights Hospitaller were kicked out of Jerusalem following the Third Crusade, but they found a new home on the Mediterranean island of Malta. Their defense fortifications were so strong that no...

Europeans in the Far East Before Marco Polo from 2017-10-04T07:06:32

Marco Polo is the most famous European explorer to the Far East, but he definitely wasn’t the first. His father and uncle came there years before. And they found a small colony of Europeans who liv...

The Lost Technology of Damascus Steel from 2017-10-03T07:07:28

Damascus swords, which were generally made in the Middle East anywhere from 540 A.D. to 1800 A.D., were sharper, more flexible and harder/stronger than other contemporary blades. According to legen...

Alexander Hamilton’s Broadway Musical is Great, but Brion McClanahan Thinks He Screwed Up America from 2017-10-02T07:06:48

He’s the subject of a hit Broadway musical, the face on the ten-dollar bill, and one of the most popular Founding Fathers. But what do you really know about Alexander Hamilton? In this interview wi...

Timur the Tatar’s Revenge on Bayezit—When an Emperor Literally Made a Sultan His Footstool from 2017-09-28T07:34:28

One of the most chilling stories of revenge is Timur the Tatar's defeat of Ottoman Sultan Bayezit and literally making him his footstool. The humiliation likely led to his death. Learn about the cl...

A Revolutionary-Era Soldier Fights a Modern One Hand-to-Hand. Who Wins? from 2017-09-27T07:34:27

If we were to have a battle royale with American soldiers from its different eras all duke it out, who would win? Would a Revolutionary-era soldier win due to his scrappy toughness, or would the mo...

The Origin of the Middle Finger Insult from 2017-09-26T07:34:25

We’ve all done it in moments of anger. But why do we use our middle finger to express anger? And why do we call it “the bird.” Suggestions range from The Battle of Agincourt in 1415 to Ancient Rome...

Why the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the Norman Conquest of England Changed Everything—Jennifer Paxton from 2017-09-25T07:34:24

If you were to ask a scholar about one critical moment after which the history of the English-speaking world would never be the same again, it would undoubtedly be the year 1066. I know that becaus...

The Daily Schedule of a Samurai from 2017-09-22T07:34:22

Samurai were the military nobility and officer cast of feudal Japan, serving an important role of social stability until their functions ceased in the 19th century. But what did a samurai exactly d...

Why Did British Men Wear Wigs in the 1700s? from 2017-09-21T07:34:20

You’ve seen the look in historical dramas. You laughed at the foppish dandies that appear on Masterpiece Theater. In grade school you sneered at pictures of King George with his powdered wig, adjus...

Who Had the Worst Flatulence in History? from 2017-09-20T07:34:19

The goal of this podcast is to answer any question that you have about history... and I mean anything. To prove it, I am answering a question from a listener named Raj about who had the worst flatu...

Constantinople’s Walls—The Strongest Fortress Ever Built from 2017-09-19T07:34:18

There are many contenders for the strongest fortress in history (Malumat in Iran or the island fortifications of Malta to name a few). But nothing can compare to the Theodosian City Walls of Consta...

How Religion Has Influenced Politics Across History, From Ancient Sumeria to the 21st Century—Paul Rahe from 2017-09-18T07:34:15

In our interview, Prof. Paul Rahe says that a liberal democracy that guarantees the rights of all citizens needs the guarantee that no one religion is established as the official state belief syste...

Why The Potato Led to the Rise of Modern Europe from 2017-09-15T07:00:42

The humble potato has done more for Old World peasants than any other food. Famine plagued the lower class from time immemorial. But once the potato was introduced to Europe in the 1500s and widely...

When Churchill Experimented with Chemical Weapons—Giles Milton of the Unknown History Podcast from 2017-09-14T07:00:40

Winston Churchill is consistently ranked as the greatest leader in British History. But like any complex historical figure, he has his dark side. Most notoriously, but least well known, is his inte...

Dan Carlin of Hardcore History on Why the German Military Was Better in WW1 Than WW2 from 2017-09-13T07:00:38

I was honored on this episode to interview Dan Carlin, whose podcast Hardcore History is the biggest history podcast in existence. It regularly features shows of 5-6 hours in length covering everyt...

The History of Pig Latin (ig-pay atin-lay) from 2017-09-12T07:00:36

Everyone's favorite code (it's not a language) has quite a storied history. Learn how Pig Latin became the fastest, most convenient way to sound intelligent when you didn't know any ancient languag...

Wait, Nixon Was Innocent?—Geoff Shepard from 2017-09-11T07:00:35

Richard Nixon left the White House over 40 years ago, yet he remains embedded in American pop culture like no other ex-president. He was the body-less leader of Earth in Futurama, the five-time pre...

How Was Alexander Able to Supply His Army Deep Into Asia? from 2017-09-08T07:00:32

It's one thing to conquer the known world and beyond without the benefit of modern communications like Alexander the Great did. It's another thing to supply tens of thousands of soldiers deep into ...

Daily Life During the Civil War for Non-Combatants from 2017-09-07T07:00:30

More soldiers died in the Civil War than any other American conflict. But how did non-combatants fare? It depends on where you were and your life station. A northerner may barely know a war was goi...

Why Gutenberg Didn’t Kick Off the Reformation from 2017-09-06T07:00:29

Gutenberg’s moveable type printing press was the prime mover of the Renaissance. From his machine came millions of books, leading to the democratization of knowledge, the fall of the papacy, and th...

What if Japan Hadn’t Surrendered After Nagasaki? from 2017-09-05T07:00:27

The Allied Forces hoped the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would finally convince Imperial Japan to end the war. If not, they were prepared to launch Operation Downfall—the proposed plan...

Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, and the Barbarian Empires of the Steppe—Kenneth Harl from 2017-09-04T07:00:25

Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan loom large in Western popular consciousness as two of history’s most fearsome warrior-leaders. Chroniclers referred to them as “The Scourge of God” and “Universal Lo...

Why the Galileo Affair is Completely Misunderstood from 2017-09-01T07:00:23

There are few episodes in history that are so misunderstood as the condemnation of Galileo. His trial has become a stock argument to show the fundamental clash between science and dogmatism. Turns ...

Did Medieval Women Really Wear Chastity Belts? from 2017-08-31T07:00:21

According to legends of the Middle Ages, knights used the chastity belt on their wives as an anti-temptation device before embarking on the Crusades. When the knight left for the Holy Lands, his La...

Why is Louis Such a Popular Name for French Kings? from 2017-08-30T07:00:20

If you want to be a French king who is also named Louis, then you have to slap enough Roman numerals at the end of your name to look like an encrypted message. Why are so many French kings named Lo...

Did People in the Past Get 8 Hours of Sleep a Night? from 2017-08-29T07:00:18

Doctors love to say that eight hours of nightly rest is vital to good health. But did people in the past get this much sleep, more, or less? And how did the lack of a lightbulb affect their sleep c...

The Real-Life Pirates of the Caribbean—Matt Albers from The Pirate History Podcast from 2017-08-28T07:00:15

Pirates are popular these days: they adorn our favorite brands of bargain-basement rum and populate beloved Disneyland rides and multibillion-dollar film franchises. But who were these men and wome...

Would You Rather Be An Average Person Today or a Billionaire 100 Years Ago? from 2017-08-25T07:00:43

It's good to be as rich as a Rockefeller. John—the patriarch of the family—rose from a lowly Ohioan bookkeeper to the leader of Standard Oil, which owned 90 percent of America's petroleum until it ...

Why Wasn’t There a Scientific Revolution Under the Romans? from 2017-08-24T07:00:41

Scientific progress has moved steadily forward across much of the world for centuries, with few examples of abatement. The Scientific Revolution is often considered to have begun at Copernicus's 15...

What if the Nazis Had Won World War Two? from 2017-08-23T07:00:40

This episode is fifth in our Alternate History Week series, where I look at famous books of alternate history and discuss why I think their alternate timelines aren't plausible. The Man in the High...

If I Were Sent Back in Time to the Roman Empire, How Would I Take Over? from 2017-08-22T07:00:37

This episode is fourth in our Alternate History Week series, where I look at famous books of alternate history and discuss why I think their alternate timelines aren't plausible. Lest Darkness Fall...

A Vietnam POW’s Story of 6 Years in the Hanoi Hilton — Amy Shively Hawk from 2017-08-21T07:00:36

A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic. -Joseph Stalin When consider major historical events that involved millions of people— World War 2, the Great Depression, the Cold War—...

What if Byzantium Had Never Fallen? from 2017-08-18T07:00:34

This episode is third in our Alternate History Week series, where I look at famous books of alternate history and discuss why I think their alternate timelines aren't plausible. Today's book is Har...

What if China Had Discovered the New World? from 2017-08-17T07:00:32

This episode is second in our Alternate History Week series, where I look at famous books of alternate history and discuss why I think their alternate timelines aren't plausible. Today's book is Ki...

Could One Marine Corps MEU Destroy the Entire Roman Army? from 2017-08-16T07:00:31

This episode is the first of a five-part series in our Alternate History Week—our version of Shark Week, if you will. We are looking at famous books of alternate history, and I'm discussing why I t...

The Bronze Age Collapse of 1177 BC: The Most Catastrophic Event in History from 2017-08-15T07:00:28

There was an event in history worse than World War I, worse than the Mongol invasions that killed 40 million, worse than the little Ice Age that triggered famines and rebellions across the medieval...

Is There a Roman City in Present-Day China? from 2017-08-11T07:00:06

Since the 1950s, many classicists and military historians have believed that an ancient Roman bloodline lives on in a Chinese village. The town of Liqian sits on the edge of the Gobi desert, and 4,...

Why The Irish May Have Really Saved Civilization from 2017-08-10T07:00:04

Thomas Cahill argues in his best-selling book How the Irish Saved Civilization that Ireland played a critical role in Europe's evolution from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era. Is his n...

Did Rome And China Know of Each Other? from 2017-08-09T07:00:03

Rome and China were the two poles of the Silk Road. One sent precious porcelain, spices, and silks, the other sent out glassware and high-quality cloth. As Rome expanded into the Near East and Chin...

Americana: The Brazilian City Where the Confederacy Lives On from 2017-08-08T07:00

The United States has accepted immigrants throughout its history, but America has its emigrants as well. Did you know there is a city in Brazil founded by Confederates who wanted to flee the U.S. d...

Curtis Lemay: World War II’s Greatest Hero or Worst War Criminal?—Warren Kozak from 2017-08-07T07:00:57

General Curtis LeMay is perhaps the most misunderstood general of the 20th century, despite the fact that he played a major role in so many important military events of the last century: he turned ...

If the Moon Landings Weren’t Fake, Why Haven’t We Been Back? from 2017-08-04T07:00:55

Conspiracy theorists have many "reasons" for why we've never been to the moon: the Van Allen radiation belts are too deadly, the challenges are too difficult, re-entry into the atmosphere is too ho...

An Interview With Jerry Yellin, the 93-Year-Old Vet Who Flew WW2’s Last Combat Mission from 2017-08-03T07:00:53

I had the extraordinary pleasure to talk with Captain Jerry Yellin, a 93-year-old World War Two vet who flew the final combat mission in World War Two's Pacific Theatre. Yellin piloted for the 78th...

What Were Rome’s Persian Borderlands Like? from 2017-08-02T07:00:51

Being a Roman isn't easy. Running an intercontinental empire across hundreds of languages, customs, and ethnic groups without the benefit of telegraphs or steam power requires constant vigilance or...

German POWs in the US During WW2 from 2017-08-01T07:00:50

Did you know that over 400,000 German POWs were settled in the United States during World War II? Did you know that they may have built some of the stone buildings that make up your town square? Or...

How Emperor Justinian Changed the World—Robin Pierson from The History of Byzantium Podcast from 2017-07-31T07:00:34

Justinian I of Byzantium is among the most towering figure of the ancient and medieval periods. His innovations in governance, architecture, law, and welding together religion with imperial power w...

How Texas Almost Became German from 2017-07-28T07:00:27

Like much of the United States, Texas has a large popular whose ancestors originated in Germany. But Texas takes it a step further. In the 1840s a massive immigration of Germans arrived when the Ad...

Did America Switch from Tea to Coffee Due to the Boston Tea Party? from 2017-07-27T07:00:24

In mid-December 1773 a force of colonists, dressed up as Mohawk Indians, boarded the three boats and dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. The protest later became known as the Boston Te...

Did a 6th-Century Irishman Really Reach America? from 2017-07-26T07:00:22

Archeological evidence proves that Leif Ericsson, the Icelandic Viking, arrived in the New World centuries before Columbus. But what if he was in turn beaten by an Irish monk a full five extra cent...

Emperor Norton I of the United States from 2017-07-25T07:00:19

Emperor Norton is San Francisco's original oddball.  In 1859 he proclaimed himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States." He later expanded his pretense by claiming to be "Protector of Mexico" a...

Dorsey Armstrong on the Legend of King Arthur: From Noble Knight to Guy Ritchie’s 'Excalibro' from 2017-07-24T07:00:17

For a guy that lived 1,500 years ago, King Arthur has remarkable staying power. He became a stock figure in Welsh and Latin chronicles of Britain by the 800s. His story spread to France, Germany, S...

What Can We Learn from the Kurds About Nationalism and Nation Building? from 2017-07-21T07:00:15

The Kurdish people are arguably the largest stateless people on Earth. An estimated 35 million live in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and elsewhere, but do not have a nation to call their own. Despite ...

Had Native Americans Been Resistant to Old World Diseases How Different Would the New World Have Been? from 2017-07-20T07:00:13

Smallpox is arguably the deadliest weapon in history. Ninety percent of some Native American tribes were wiped out by this disease when they first encountered Western explorers. But what if they ha...

What Is the Biggest Forgery in History? from 2017-07-19T07:00:11

You probably haven't heard of the Donation of Constantine. It was a fake letter that represented one of the biggest real estate scams in history. How did an anonymous medieval clergyman try to forg...

How Did the Ottoman Imperial Harem Operate? from 2017-07-18T07:00:09

Nothing fascinated Europeans about the Ottoman Empire quite like the harem. Since no foreigners were permitted to enter it themselves, imaginations ran while about what sort of licentiousness happe...

Where Did Sea Monsters From the Edge of Medieval Maps Come From? from 2017-07-14T07:01:44

Have you ever seen a picture of an old map of the world and wondered why they contained enormous serpents, giant squids, Krakken, and other terrifying creatures drawn on its edges? What is the purp...

What Are Some Inventions That Are Much Older Than We Think? from 2017-07-13T07:01:41

Many of us assume that cars, computers, and batteries are modern inventions. Before that time we lived in a technological dark age too barbaric and boring to contemplate. But what if the 21st centu...

Who Was the Most Powerful Woman in the Middle Ages? 2/2 from 2017-07-12T07:01:38

Joan of Arc has one of the most incredible stories in history. Consider this: How did an illiterate peasant lead an army into victory against England in the Hundred Years War? Learn about her upbri...

Who Was The Most Powerful Woman in the Middle Ages? 1/2 from 2017-07-11T07:00:36

Eowyn, the Shieldmaiden of Rohan, is one of the best characters from the “Lord of the Rings.” But J.R.R. Tolkien didn't invent her out of thin air. Ever the scholar of Anglo-Saxon England, Tolkien ...

How One Man Ruled 1920s Kansas City Like a Caesar—Jason Roe from 2017-07-10T07:00:32

America attempted to legislate morality in the 1920s by outlawing the production, sale, and transport of intoxicating liquors through the Volstead Act. But that didn't stop the drinks from flowing ...

Was There a Real-Life Dr. Frankenstein? from 2017-07-07T07:00:40

Was there a real life Dr. Frankenstein who tried to bring the dead back to life by science and alchemy? Yes there was, and his name was Johann Dippel. He lived in the transitional period between al...

Who is the Bravest Person Who Ever Lived? from 2017-07-06T07:00:38

In the early 1800s there was no English explorer greater than James Holman. He covered a distance almost twenty times farther than Marco Polo on foot or cart—almost never using trains or steamships...

Does China Really Have a 5,000-Year-Old History? from 2017-07-05T07:00:37

Few will dispute that China has one of the most ancient cultures on earth, but is there any truth to the claim—made by many residents of China—that there is a 5,000-year-long line of continuity in ...

Why Is July 4 Celebrated The Way It Is (Fireworks n’ Hot Dogs)? from 2017-07-04T07:00:36

Why do Americans celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks? Are we trying to take the National Anthem as literally as possible, creating “Bombs Bursting in Air”? Or is there another reason? It tu...

Is There Any Language In Use Today That Could Be Used 1,000 Years Ago? from 2017-06-30T08:00:44

  Any fan of Shakespeare knows how much the English language has changed over the last 400 years. A student of Chauncer knows even better. A brave student of Beowulf knows almost better than anyone...

When Did The Roman Empire Really End? from 2017-06-29T08:00:42

Rome didn’t fall in 476 when Romulus, the last of the Roman emperors in the west, was overthrown by the Germanic leader Odoacer, who became the first Barbarian to rule in Rome. Nor did it fall in 1...

Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews? from 2017-06-28T08:00:41

The horrors of the Holocaust are as vivid now as they were in 1945 when the world discovered the horrors of Nazi Germany's atrocities. But why did Hitler hate the Jews so vehemently? Furthermore, w...

Was There an Objective Reason for the European Colonization of Africa? from 2017-06-27T08:00:39

By the late 1800s Europe's Great Powers controlled nearly 80 percent of the African continent. Much research has analyzed the brutal aspects of its colonization—particularly in the Belgian Congo—bu...

Understanding Putin Through the History of Russian Invasions — Mark Schauss from the Russian Rulers in History Podcast from 2017-06-26T08:00:38

In today's episode we are possibly going to bite off more than we can chew... by discussing the entire history of Russia. OK, maybe not the entire history of Russia. But we will discuss how invasio...

Did People Get Depressed in Ancient Times? from 2017-06-23T08:00:41

Depression is not a modern phenomenon. Take the example of Abraham Lincoln. He is an unusual psychological case study. He was both chronically melancholy, and yet among the strongest people in hist...

Were Ancient People More Advanced Than Us? from 2017-06-22T08:00:39

The ancients had abilities that have fallen into near-complete disuse in the modern age. Consider memorization. The average peasant of 1,000 years ago had 10x more memorized than you ever will. The...

Why Was Africa Never as Developed as The Rest of the World? from 2017-06-21T08:00:37

Today's question is a tricky one that has to do with global politics, colonialism, and threatens to enter the minefield of race. Why do so many African nations sit at the bottom of global developme...

Did King Arthur and Merlin Truly Exist? from 2017-06-20T08:00:35

Did the greatest king who ever lived ever live? That's a tricky question. The fabled first king of England, the mythological figure associated with Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table, may h...

What the Saints Drank and Monks Brewed—Michael Foley from 2017-06-19T08:00:32

Michael Foley loves contradictions. He is a Catholic professor of patristics—a study of the lives of early Christian theologians—at a dry Baptist university. That didn't stop him from writing a boo...

Who Built the Pyramids? Aliens? from 2017-06-16T08:00:16

Today's question comes from Nayeli Carpenter She asks about lost civilizations: pyramid builds, Egyptians, Mayans, Incans, especially the ones where cultures disappeared mysteriously. I'm going to ...

Can You Explain the 1915 Armenian Genocide? from 2017-06-15T08:00:14

Today's question comes to us from Kevin deLaplante, creator of the Critical Thinker Academy and host of the Argument Ninja Podcast. Can you tell me about the 1915 Armenian Genocide and why today's ...

How Important Was the Spice Trade to Medieval Europe? from 2017-06-14T08:00:12

Today's question comes from Jaime Martínez Bowness: Hi - here's a quick list of topics I thought of:  The importance of the spice trade in Medieval times   TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest revi...

What Happened to Places Like Catalonia After Rome’s Fall? from 2017-06-13T08:00:10

Today's question comes to us from Nate Finch: I would love for you to do a podcast (series?) on Mediterranean "empires" after Rome (e.g. the Catalonian "empire", which extended all the way to Italy...

Was Hitler a Christian, Atheist, or Something Else? — Richard Weikart from 2017-06-12T08:00:18

No matter how little you know about history, you know something about Adolf Hitler. And if you want to shut down an opponent, you can claim that Hitler said/did/believed the same thing. Godwin's La...

Who Was WW2 Spy Zig-Zag? from 2017-06-09T08:00:42

Today's question comes from Dean Wallace: Could you tell me about the career of [World War Two] agent Zigzag?     WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY? Click here to learn more.     TO HEL...

What Is The World’s Oldest University? from 2017-06-08T08:00:40

Today's question comes from James Ganong: Could you please tell me the history of oldest university? I think it is in Egypt...   WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY? Click here to learn m...

Tell Me About the Varangians (The Vikings of Russia) from 2017-06-07T08:00:37

Today's question is about the Varangians, a group of Vikings that conquered Kievan Rus and became the first rulers of the Russian state. I'd love it if you could talk about Kievan-Rus, the Rurik dy...

Can We Really Know Anything in History Or Is It All Fake News? from 2017-06-06T08:00:35

Today's question comes from C. M. Ho: How much of history has been the figment of some power hungry person or group? Some historians or those that call themselves historians are not adhering to the...

Every President’s Go-to Drink, From Washington’s Whisky to Obama’s Homebrew—Mark Will-Weber from 2017-06-05T08:00:32

There are books about presidents. There are books about cocktails. Then there are books that create and attribute a cocktail to each of the 45 U.S. presidents. Journalist and editor Mark Will-Weber...

What Were French Trappers Doing in 1700s America? from 2017-06-02T07:00:46

Today's question comes from Suzanne: I would enjoy anything about the French in North America, Canada and the US, early American History of the Michigan Territory, Seven Years War, etc.   WANT ME T...

Did the Inventor of the Guillotine Die By Guillotine? from 2017-06-01T07:00:43

Today's question comes from August Berkshire: Is it true that the person who invented the guillotine was guillotined himself? What the story behind both events? WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOU...

What is the Bloody Mary Myth Based On? from 2017-05-31T07:00:41

Today's question comes from Goa Yong: Is Bloody Mary a real person?   WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY?   Click here to learn more.     TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on i...

Was Leif Erikson First to Visit the New World? from 2017-05-30T07:00:39

Today's question comes from Ryan: Was Leif Erikson really the first explorer of European descent to explore North America? WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY?   Click here to learn more....

Tevi Troy on Pop Culture in the White House: From Washington’s Library to Trump’s Twitter Account from 2017-05-29T07:00:25

In the 21st century presidents can't stay out of the spotlight. Barack Obama released his NCAA tournament brackets every year on ESPN, was a regular guest on Jimmy Fallon and the rest of the late n...

When Did People Start Using Last Names? from 2017-05-26T07:00:48

Today's question comes from Melanie Padon: When did people start using last names and why? How did they come up with them? WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY?   Click here to learn more....

Did Conquering Armies Really Salt the Earth of Their Enemies? from 2017-05-25T07:09:38

Today's question comes to us from Peter Swanson. My question is what is the history of "salting the earth" after a military victory. How would an army in the ancient world have transported tons and...

What if JFK Had Lost the 1960 Election? from 2017-05-24T07:00:17

Today's question comes to us courtesy of Brandon. Here's his question: This is Brandon Wall, and I'm wondering what would have happened if Nixon beat JFK in the 1960 presidential election. How woul...

Justin from the Generation Why Podcast: What Assassination Had the Most Impact on History? from 2017-05-23T05:00:11

Today's question comes to us from Justin from the Generation Why Podcast. It's a true crime podcast that you should definitely check out. Here's his question: What murder or assassination through h...

Why Your Favorite Presidents (Lincoln, Washington) Actually Screwed Up America—Brion McClanahan from 2017-05-19T05:00:56

Quick – name your favorite president. You probably said Washington or Lincoln, right? C'mon. You can be more original than that. Well, Brion McClanahan is original. He gladly tells people that the ...

How a Horse Became a Sergeant in the Korean War — Robin Hutton from 2017-05-19T04:59:52

The story of Reckless—a pack horse in the Korean War who was a beloved household name in the 1950s and the only animal in U.S. history to officially achieve the rank of Sergeant—is one of the stran...

When Camels Roamed the American Southwest—The U.S. Camel Corps (1856-1866) from 2017-05-11T14:16:26

Welcome to the first episode of the History Unplugged podcast. We are kicking things off by exploring the US Army’s failed experiment of using camels as the military’s main pack animal in the Ameri...