The Mafia Was the Glue That Held Entire American Cities Together in the 20th Century
The Mafia and many political machines ran entire American cities in the 19th and 20 centuries. But some mobsters claim that it went much further than that. Chicago-area Sam Giancana claims that he and...
7 Jan 202153min
Iron Empires: Robber Barons, Railroads, and the Making of Modern America
Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Tim Cook are just a few of today’s business pioneers who have succeeded in disrupting older existing business models, and whose motives and methods are constantly scru...
5 Jan 202142min
An Army Without a Country: Prussia’s Cult of the Military and the Road to World War One
Almost no society worshipped its military as much as the German state of Prussia in the 1700s-1800s (outside of ancient Sparta). Prussia was famously described as not a country with an army but an arm...
31 Dec 20201h 3min
William Miller Predicted Christ’s Return in 1844. Here's What Happened After His Prophecy Failed
In October 1844, tens of thousands of people in New England believed the world would soon end. They followed William Miller, a man who claimed that through his study of the Bible to know the exact day...
29 Dec 202046min
This Civil War-Era Luke Skywalker Destroyed an Ironclad Death Star
One of America’s greatest but little-remembered Civil War heroes was Commander William Barker Cushing, who sank the Confederate ironclad Albemarle in a spectacular mission in 1864.Regarded as erratic ...
24 Dec 202033min
The Greek Triple Agent: Alcibiades, The Strategist Who Fought On 3 Sides of the Peloponnesian War
Imagine if Benedict Arnold defected from America, went to England, then conspired against England with France during the Napoleonic Wars. During the War of 1812, America asks for him to come back but ...
22 Dec 202050min
America’s Worst President Can Teach Us Much About Writing Raunchy Poetry and Dying Suspiciously
The common view of Warren G. Harding is this: a likable affable fool from Ohio who was chose as Republican presidential candidate at a deadlocked national convention because he was the lowest common d...
17 Dec 202051min
The Eternal Legacy of the First World War
World War One was the most consequential social event in centuries. 10 million soldiers died, creating 3 million widows and 10 million orphans. Many Europeans felt disillusionment and even anger about...
15 Dec 202057min
