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August 5, 2026: The Wire Under the Ocean
Season 1 Episode 26217
Four failed attempts and a near bankruptcy didn't stop him. A fifth try, and one soaked, sleepless night, finally did the job.
On August 4, 1858, the …
1 month, 3 weeks ago
August 4, 2026: The Vote Nobody Was Watching
Season 1 Episode 26216
A signature that didn't stamp anything "rejected" turned out to matter more than most people realized at the time.
On June 19, 1987, President Reagan …
1 month, 3 weeks ago
August 3, 2026: A Name Worth More Than the Town Knew
Season 1 Episode 26215
A town got its name by accident in 1856, and it took almost ninety years before anyone realized what that name was actually worth.
On August 3, 1946, …
1 month, 3 weeks ago
Business Blooper: The $5 Billion Answer to the Wrong Question
Season 1 Episode 26212
Some business failures are about bad ideas. This one is about a great idea that took thirteen years to build while the world it was designed for disa…
1 month, 4 weeks ago
July 30, 2026: Democracy at a Price
Season 1 Episode 26211
The Virginia Company of London did not create the first elected legislature in the Americas out of idealism. They created it because colonists kept d…
2 months ago
July 29, 2026: The Degenerate Form of Books
Season 1 Episode 26210
When Donald Wollheim called J.R.R. Tolkien in 1964 to ask permission to publish a paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien told him he wou…
2 months ago
July 28, 2026: Eight Billion Dollars and 800 Miles
Season 1 Episode 26209
At any hour of the day or night during the mid-1970s, the Fairbanks McDonald's was packed with exhausted pipeline workers who had turned it into the …
2 months ago
July 27, 2026: What's Up, Doc?
Season 1 Episode 26208
In 1930, Warner Bros. contracted with Leon Schlesinger to produce animated shorts for one reason: Walt Disney was making money with Mickey Mouse, and…
2 months ago
July 24, 2026: The Last Campaign
Season 1 Episode 26205
This is Part 2 of a two-part episode. If you haven't heard Thursday's episode, start there.
When Grant and Ward collapsed in May 1884, Ulysses S. Gran…
2 months ago
July 23, 2026: The Man Who Lost Everything Except the War
Season 1 Episode 26204
This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 airs July 24.
On July 23, 1885, Ulysses S. Grant died in a borrowed cottage at Mount McGregor, New York,…
2 months, 1 week ago