Podcast Episodes

The Mysteries of Absinthe: Dancing With The Green Fairy

A Special Presentation: We know some of you like to celebrate the holiday spirit with actual alcoholic spirits so we thought you'd enjoy this episode…

3 years, 3 months ago

#400 Jacob Riis: 'The Other Half' of the Gilded Age

In 1890 the Danish-American journalist Jacob Riis turned his eye-opening reporting and lecture series into a ground-breaking book called How The Othe…

3 years, 3 months ago

#399 The Changing Lower East Side: A View From Seward Park

To wrap up our 15th anniversary celebration -- and to set up our big 400th episode -- we take a fond look at one corner of New York City which taught…

3 years, 4 months ago

#398 Marilyn Monroe in New York

In late December 1954 Marilyn Monroe came to New York City wearing a disguise.

Monroe -- the biggest movie star in the world when she arrived -- came …

3 years, 4 months ago

Rewind: Birth of the Five Boroughs

On January 1, 2023, New York City will celebrate a special moment, the 125th anniversary of the formation of Greater New York and the creation of the…

3 years, 5 months ago

#397 Ghost Stories of the Hudson River

Beware! The ghosts and goblins of the Hudson River Valley have been awakened.

In this year's annual celebration of New York urban legends and folktale…

3 years, 5 months ago

Rewind: An Evening at Sardi's

In honor of an exciting new theater season, we're revisiting our 2011 episode on the history of Sardi's restaurant, updated to cover the trials and t…

3 years, 6 months ago

#396 Samuel Tilden and the Presidential Election of 1876

You may have heard about the messy, chaotic and truly horrible presidential election of 1876 -- pitting Democrat Samuel Tilden and Republican Rutherf…

3 years, 6 months ago

#395 Jefferson Market and the Women's House of Detention

In the heart of Greenwich Village sits the Jefferson Market Library, a branch of the New York Public Library, and a beautiful garden which offers a r…

3 years, 7 months ago

#394 New York Calling: A History of the Telephone

Just a few months ago, New York City removed most of the remaining phone booths from the streets, oft neglected, a nostalgic victim of our increasing…

3 years, 7 months ago