Conquering Polio | The March of Dimes | 1

Conquering Polio | The March of Dimes | 1

In the summer of 1921, 39-year-old Franklin Delano Roosevelt was on vacation with his family when he developed a fever, muscle aches, and chills. Pain spread to his legs, and soon, he was paralyzed from the waist down. Doctors diagnosed him with polio, which was fast becoming America’s most dreaded infectious disease.

Every summer, polio struck without warning, causing swimming pools and movie theaters to close and panicked parents to keep their children indoors. Polio killed thousands of Americans each year and paralyzed many more. But scientists had no idea how to stop it.

Roosevelt and his friend and colleague Basil O’Connor resolved to change that, launching the March of Dimes, a revolutionary fundraising campaign that galvanized millions of Americans to donate their time and money to the fight against polio.

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Episoder(471)

Evolution on Trial | Live and Let Live | 4

Evolution on Trial | Live and Let Live | 4

The Scopes ""Monkey"" Trial was set against the backdrop of the roaring twenties, a time of both cultural upheaval and deep social tensions. While ostensibly about science versus religion, the trial b...

30 Jul 202538min

History Daily: Henry VIII’s Fifth Wedding

History Daily: Henry VIII’s Fifth Wedding

July 28, 1540. King Henry VIII of England marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, 32 years his junior.You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Music app. Or for all that and more, go to IntoH...

28 Jul 202515min

Evolution on Trial | Duel to the Death | 3

Evolution on Trial | Duel to the Death | 3

On July 20, 1925, the trial of John Scopes continued in the stifling heat of the overcrowded county courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee. Tempers flared as the defense and prosecution sparred over the ques...

23 Jul 202538min

Evolution on Trial | Monkeytown | 2

Evolution on Trial | Monkeytown | 2

On the sweltering morning of July 10, 1925, 200 newspaper reporters, newsreel film producers, and radio broadcasters flooded the county courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee. Hot dog vendors, preachers, and...

16 Jul 202537min

History Daily: The Lincoln Hospital Takeover

History Daily: The Lincoln Hospital Takeover

July 14, 1970. A group of Puerto Rican activists stage an occupation demanding better health care at the Lincoln Hospital in South Bronx, New York City.You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon ...

14 Jul 202514min

Evolution on Trial | A Clash of Giants | 1

Evolution on Trial | A Clash of Giants | 1

In 1925, the famous politician and presidential contender William Jennings Bryan returned to the limelight to lead a new crusade against the teaching of evolution. With Bryan’s support, Tennessee beca...

9 Jul 202538min

Typhoid Mary | Cook, Carrier, Captive | 3

Typhoid Mary | Cook, Carrier, Captive | 3

In 1906, a New York health department investigation into an outbreak of typhoid fever led to the discovery that a cook, Mary Mallon, was an unsuspecting ""healthy carrier"" of the deadly bacteria. Thi...

2 Jul 202541min

Typhoid Mary | Destroying Angel | 2

Typhoid Mary | Destroying Angel | 2

After spending two years in forced isolation on a remote island in the East River, Mary Mallon fought back, insisting that she posed no danger to the public and city officials had overstepped their au...

25 Jun 202534min

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