Podcast Episodes
Back to Search
Episode #247 - Was Box Brown Magically Emancipated?
One of the most celebrated stories from the Underground Railroad is that of Henry Box Brown, the man who mailed himself to freedom. In 1849 Henry Bro…
3 months, 1 week ago
Bonus Episode - Disappearing Doppelgängers, Viking Thralls, and the Comedy of the Sagas
In this bonus episode Sebastian takes questions about the recent series on the Viking voyages to North America. In it he reckons with the history of …
3 months, 2 weeks ago
Episode #246 - How Far Did the Vikings Voyage? (Part III)
For centuries the western Norse colony of Vinland was known only to scholars of the Icelandic Sagas. But in the 19th century the work of a few Scandi…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
Episode #245 - How Far Did the Vikings Voyage? (Part II)
The only literary sources we have about the Viking settlements west of Greenland come from the Icelandic Sagas. The only problem is that the Sagas ca…
4 months, 1 week ago
Episode #244 - How Far Did the Vikings Voyage? (Part I)
Between the 9th and 11th centuries Norse explorers undertook a series of remarkable journeys through the North Atlantic. Iceland and Greenland were s…
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Bonus Episode - Ponzi Empires, Thieving Saints, and Skin Grafts
In this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions from listeners about the series on the original Ponzi Scheme. The host investigates the history of th…
5 months ago
Episode #243 - What Was Ponzi's Scheme? (Part II)
Charles Ponzi's remarkable rise and fall played out over the course of a wild eight month period. He went from being a failed importer-exporter mired…
5 months, 1 week ago
Episode #242 - What Was Ponzi's Scheme? (Part I)
The name Charles Ponzi has become synonymous with financial frauds. In 1920 the formerly obscure Italian immigrant suddenly became one of the most fa…
5 months, 3 weeks ago
Bonus Episode - Grisly Trophies, Evil Cowboys, and Questionable Mascots
In this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions about the recent series on Buffalo Bill and the Wild West Show. He unpacks Bill's influence on the co…
6 months, 1 week ago
Episode #241 - Who Invented the Wild West? (Part II)
Buffalo Bill's Wild West first started touring outdoor arenas in 1883. What started as a western themed circus soon grew in ambition. In the quest to…
6 months, 3 weeks ago