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The Complicated History of the Pinkertons
Before the FBI or Secret Service became household names, there were the Pinkertons.
Founded by Scottish immigrant Allan Pinkerton in 1850, the Pinker…
1 month, 2 weeks ago
The Truth Behind the War of the Worlds Broadcast
On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles interrupted America's radios with terrifying news: Martians had invaded New Jersey.
Except they hadn't.
Welles's Wa…
1 month, 2 weeks ago
Anti-German Hysteria of World War I
Before World War I, German was everywhere in America. Millions of Americans spoke it. German-language newspapers flourished. Schools taught it. Churc…
1 month, 3 weeks ago
WWII's Operation Fish
In 1940, with Nazi Germany sweeping across Europe and invasion seemingly possible, Britain faced an extraordinary question: What happens to the count…
1 month, 3 weeks ago
Russia's Invisible Rocket Man
He launched Sputnik. He sent Yuri Gagarin into space. He helped turn the Soviet Union into the world's first space superpower.
And almost no one knew…
1 month, 3 weeks ago
The Persian King who Punished the Ocean
In 480 BC, Persian King Xerxes I was preparing one of the largest invasions of ancient Greece ever attempted. To move his enormous army into Europe, …
1 month, 3 weeks ago
The WWI Sepoy Mutiny of Singapore
In February 1915, with the First World War raging, hundreds of Indian soldiers serving the British Empire in Singapore suddenly mutinied.
Men of the …
1 month, 3 weeks ago
CIA's Secret Weather Weapon in Vietnam
During the Vietnam War, the United States launched a secret operation with an extraordinary objective: use the weather as a weapon.
Beginning in the …
1 month, 3 weeks ago
Was Benjamin Franklin a British Spy?
Benjamin Franklin was a printer, scientist, inventor, diplomat—and possibly one of the most effective intelligence operators of the American Revoluti…
1 month, 4 weeks ago
The 1835 Bat Men of the Moon
In August 1835, a New York newspaper announced an astonishing discovery: life had been found on the Moon.
According to The Sun, famed astronomer Sir …
1 month, 4 weeks ago