Podcast Episodes
Back to Search
Piasa - the Monster of the Mississippi
Season 2 Episode 141
According to legend, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, there is a monster. It has horns like a deer, terrible red eyes, a l…
4 months, 1 week ago
Hopewell Earthworks
Season 2 Episode 140
For several hundred years across the Ohio River Valley a civilization we know as the Hopewell Culture moved a lot of dirt. This dirt was moved into …
4 months, 2 weeks ago
El Palo Alto
Season 2 Episode 139
In 1769, a Spanish explorer camped under a tall, distinctive redwood tree along the banks of the San Francisquito Creek. Little did he know that tree…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
The Original Ponzi Scheme
Season 2 Episode 138
It takes a special art to get something named after you, positive or negative. Such is the case with the Ponzi scheme - one of the largest and most s…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
Indestructible Jack Lucas
Season 2 Episode 137
In 1942, 14-year old Jack Lucas lied about his age to join the Marines - even bribing a notary to attest he was 17. Tired of missing out on the actio…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
The East German Hot Air Balloon Escape
Season 2 Episode 136
In September of 1979, two East German families escaped to the west using a very unconventional method - a hot air balloon. It was an escape that requ…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
War of the Golden Stool
Season 2 Episode 135
In 1900, a British colonial official demanded an African tribe - the Ashanti - give him a holy relic as a symbol of their capitulation to the English…
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Milwaukee Bridge War
Season 2 Episode 134
The city of Milwaukee began as a collection of three towns around the mouth of the Milwaukee River. None of these communities liked each other very m…
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Florentine Diamond
Season 2 Episode 133
The Florentine Diamond is a 137-carat diamond, known for its long association with European royalty. However, after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian …
4 months, 3 weeks ago
St. Olga of Kyiv
Season 2 Episode 132
Saints, in the Christian tradition, are people that are in heaven and can influence the world. Most saints are there for their kindness, generosity, …
4 months, 3 weeks ago