Podcast Episodes

The Forgotten Life & Tragic Death of President James Garfield | A Conversation with ‘Death by Lightning’ Creator Mike Makowsky

Season 6 Episode 23

November 3, 1880. Congressman James Garfield wakes up on his quiet farm in Ohio to learn that he’s been elected President of the United States. He never campaigned to be on the ticket. He never wante…

Published on 12 hours ago

The Haunting Case of H.H. Holmes

Season 6

October 28, 1895. It’s the first day of a murder trial in Philadelphia, and H.H. Holmes has been left to represent himself. His lawyers say they haven’t had time to prepare for his case, although the…

Published on 1 week ago

Land of the Free? The Real Story Behind the Star-Spangled Banner

Season 6

October 19, 1814. An eager audience files into the Holliday Street Theater in Baltimore, about to see a debut performance, described as a “much-admired new song.” The composer of this song, Francis S…

Published on 1 week, 4 days ago

They Saw What the United Nations Couldn’t

Season 6 Episode 22

October 24, 1945. The Charter of the United Nations is signed, promising to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” Back when the charter was drafted a few months earlier in San Franci…

Published on 2 weeks ago

How LEGO Rebuilt the Toy Itself

Season 6 Episode 21

October, 1955. In living rooms across Denmark, children tear open the box of a brand-new toy: the LEGO System in Play. Inside are plastic bricks, a printed playmat of roads, little houses and trees —…

Published on 3 weeks ago

Stalin’s War on Genetics

Season 6 Episode 20

October 11, 1955. Nearly three hundred of the Soviet Union’s top scientists sign a secret letter demanding the removal of one man: Trofim Lysenko. For decades, Lysenko had Joseph Stalin’s ear, ruling…

Published on 4 weeks ago

The Bone Wars

Season 6

October 4, 1915. President Woodrow Wilson designates Dinosaur National Monument as a national historic site. That’s a big deal, right? There must’ve been a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony, maybe even a…

Published on 1 month ago

When Nintendo (and Mario) Rescued Video Games

Season 6 Episode 19

September 27, 1986. You’re a kid in the mid-80s. You get home from school, flip on the TV, and see something strange: a commercial where a giant egg hatches behind a family’s console, revealing a toy…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

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 1 month, 2 weeks 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 1 month, 3 weeks ago