Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchOperation Raspberry Takes on the U-Boats
Episode 1283
January 1, 1942. A retired British naval officer is ordered to turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic—using little more than chalk, string, and …
4 months, 1 week ago
Winning Monopoly
Episode 1282
December 31, 1935. An unemployed salesman registers a new board game at the US Patent Office without mentioning he stole the idea from someone else. …
4 months, 1 week ago
The Assassination of Russia’s “Mad Monk”
Episode 1281
December 30, 1916. Grigori Rasputin, the mystic confidant of the Russian royals, is assassinated in St. Petersburg, accelerating the fall of the Roma…
4 months, 1 week ago
The Brutal Killing of Thomas Becket Shocks England
Episode 1280
December 29, 1170. Archbishop Thomas Becket becomes a martyr after he is brutally killed by four knights in Canterbury Cathedral. This episode origin…
4 months, 1 week ago
Saturday Matinee: Curiosity Meets The Past
Episode 1279
On today’s Saturday Matinee, examine the human voice to learn what it can reveal about history, identity and expression across time.
Link to Curiosit…
4 months, 1 week ago
King Lear’s Royal Premiere
Episode 1278
December 26, 1606. The first performance of a new play in front of King James I caps an extraordinary year for William Shakespeare.
Support the show!…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
The First Performance of “White Christmas”
Episode 1277
December 25, 1941. Irving Berlin’s classic song “White Christmas” is premiered by Bing Crosby on his weekly radio show. This episode originally aired…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
America’s First National Christmas Tree
Episode 1276
December 24, 1923. U.S. President Calvin Coolidge inaugurates a new holiday tradition by putting up a Christmas tree outside the White House.
Support…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
The Fall of King James II
Episode 1275
December 23, 1688. King James II of England abandons the throne and flees abroad after a coup forces him from power. This episode originally aired in…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
The Mock Execution of Dostoevsky
Episode 1274
December 22, 1849. Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky is saved from execution by a last-minute reprieve, an event that shapes the writer’s greatest wor…
4 months, 2 weeks ago