How a Slave Coupled Escaped the Antebellum South in Disguise
In 1848, a year of international democratic revolt, a young, enslaved couple, Ellen and William Craft, achieved one of the boldest feats of self-emancipation in American history. They escaped slavery ...
7 Mar 202348min
Operation Torch: WW2’s first Paratrooper Missions Were On One-Way Flights With Drops Into Total Darkness
The December 7, 1941, surprise attack on Pearl Harbor thrust theUnited States into World War II. Just six months later in May 1942,flying new C-47 transport aircraft, the 60th Troop Carrier Group ledt...
2 Mar 202334min
Anne Frank Was Only One of Thousands in Occupied Netherlands That Kept Diaries. Others Include Dutch Nazis, Farmers, and Resisters
Growing up in New York as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, Nina Siegal had always wondered about the experience of her mother and maternal grandparents living in Europe during World War II. She h...
28 Feb 202346min
How Shakespeare Impacted U.S. Presidents, from John Adams to JFK
There are countless ways Shakespeare has made his way into unexpected corners of American life. It starts at the top with our presidents. Shakespeare is a longtime ally of America’s Commanders-in-Chie...
23 Feb 202340min
The Unexpected Turbulence of the Eisenhower Years
Some remember Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency as a time of peace and prosperity, but in reality, it was an era of constant global crises. In this episode preview from This American President, host R...
22 Feb 202319min
A Union Spy's Mission to Stop the Confederates From Building a Secret Navy in Britain
In 1861, just as the Civil War began, the leaders of the Confederacy soon realized they were outmatched when it came to military might, especially in terms of Naval power. (For example, the U.S. Navy ...
21 Feb 202336min
WW2 Bombing Raids on Germany Were Bloodbaths for the Allies Until a Futurist Fighter Plane (the P-51) Was Developed
One of the lowest points of World War 2 for the Allies was autumn 1943, when bombing runs from England to Germany were ramping up. Hundreds of B-17s flew out to strike military targets, but they flew ...
16 Feb 202335min
John Burgoyne: The British Playboy Who Lost the Revolutionary War
No British General of the Revolutionary War has been written about more than John Burgoyne. That’s because of his surrender of his army at Saratoga, New York in 1777, widely seen as the turning point ...
14 Feb 202331min
