Podcast Episodes

The First Lady Who Tamed the Bull Moose

Season 6 Episode 18

September 14, 1901. Midnight in the Adirondacks. A pounding knock at the door jolts Theodore and Edith Roosevelt awake. William McKinley is dead. Hours later, Theodore will be sworn in as the younges…

Published on 8 hours ago

Presenting: The C-Word

With every episode, Lena Dunham and Alissa Bennett take you on a historical deep dive into the life of a woman society dismissed by calling her mad, sad, or just plain bad: Lindsay Lohan, Judy Garlan…

Published on 4 days, 8 hours ago

An Astronomer Hunts a KGB Hacker

Season 6 Episode 17

September 10, 1986. It’s just before 8am when Cliff Stoll’s pager jolts him awake. A computer at Lawrence Berkeley Lab has flagged a problem: a tiny 75-cent accounting error. But when Stoll rushes to…

Published on 1 week ago

Shaving Russia

Season 6

Sept 5, 1698. Tsar Peter the Great of Russia returns home from a year-long European tour. When noblemen, religious figures, and friends gather to welcome him home, Peter pulls out a straight razor, h…

Published on 2 weeks ago

José Cuervo Rebuilds a Tequila Empire

Season 6 Episode 16

August 28, 1920. In the town of Tequila, fireworks burst overhead as people celebrate Mexico’s independence. Then… gunshots. Malachías Cuervo, heir to the famous tequila dynasty, has just reignited a…

Published on 3 weeks ago

The True Winnie-the-Pooh

Season 6

August 24, 1914. A train pulls up to the lumber town of White River, Ontario, carrying a regiment of Canadian troops on board. On the tracks where they disembark is a small black bear cub. An army ve…

Published on 3 weeks, 4 days ago

Egypt’s Last Hieroglyph and the Fiery Archbishop of Alexandria

Season 6 Episode 15

August 24, 394. On the walls of a fading Egyptian temple, a priest carves what will become the last known hieroglyph in history. At the same moment, in Alexandria, a fiery archbishop named Theophilus…

Published on 4 weeks ago

The Shark Attacks That Made Us Fear the Water

Season 6 Episode 14

August 15, 1915. American diplomat J. T. Du Bois publishes a letter in The New York Times. It’s not about diplomacy or foreign affairs. This letter is about sharks. It’s Du Bois’ attempt to prove to …

Published on 1 month ago

When Nazis Killed Nazis in the Middle of America

Season 6 Episode 13

August 7, 1943. Off the coast of Venezuela, a Nazi U-boat is under siege. For nine days, it’s hunted by Allied aircraft across the Caribbean, until its engines fail and its commander gives the order:…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

Barbie for President!

Season 6

July 29th, 1992. The Baltimore Sun runs a feature about a surprise candidate in the upcoming presidential race: Barbie. The 11.5-inch icon of girlhood and glamor is running for office – and flying of…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago