Podcast Episodes

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail (1846) [Archive Favorite]

It's August 13th. This day in 1846, Henry David Thoreau is thrown in jail -- for one night -- for refusing to pay his back taxes.

Jody, NIki, and Kell…

10 months, 3 weeks ago

Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and The Brutal Calculus of WWII (1945) w/ Garrett Graff

It's August 7th. This day in 1945, the US has bombed the Japanese city of Hiroshima, and two days later would drop a nuclear weapon on Nagasaki.

Jody,…

10 months, 3 weeks ago

WWII Internment: Latin Americans in Texas (1944)

It's August 5th. This day in 1944, a crucial moment in World War II history, a series of internment camps are being set up in Texas. Unlike the more …

10 months, 4 weeks ago

Texas Dems Flee To Stop Redistricting (Some Context) w/ Harry Enten

One of the biggest stories today, in 2025, is that Texas Democracts have left the state and are in Illinois, looking to hold up drastic redistricting…

10 months, 4 weeks ago

Weird, Controversial, and Fake Historical Markers (Part 2)

Last episode, we talked about the history of historical markers, and what they indicate about the present. Today, a tour through some of our favorite…

11 months ago

The History Of History Markers (Part 1) (1913)

It's July 29th. This day in 1913, Pennsylvania passed a law that would establish a system for adding historical markers and plaques around their stat…

11 months ago

The Frick Near-Assassination (1892)

It's July 24th. This day in 1892, labor activist Alexander Berkman attempts to assasinate industrialist Henry Clay Frick, head of the Carnegie Steel …

11 months, 1 week ago

John Dillinger Is Killed, The FBI Is Born (1934)

It's July 22nd. This day in 1934, gangster John Dillinger is killed by federal agents while walking out of a movie theater in Chicago.

Jody, Niki, and…

11 months, 1 week ago

Willis Carrier Invents Air Conditioning (1902)

It's July 17th. This day in 1902, a New York engineer by the name of Willis Haviland Carrier is trying to figure out a system for keeping printing ma…

11 months, 2 weeks ago

The Great Grain Robbery (1972)

It's July 14th. This day in 1972, Russian agricultural officials are in New York City cutting deals with American farmers for surplus U.S. wheat. Bef…

11 months, 2 weeks ago