The Crayola Crayon Story

Mary Anning started hunting for fossils in Lyme Regis in the early 1800s. Around 1811, she uncovered the complete skeleton of an ichthyosaurus. She made several significant contributions to paleontolo...

5 Mars 201220min

Evliya Çelebi grew up in 17th century Istanbul as the "boon companion" of Sultan Murad IV. In his 20s, Evliya had a prophetic dream and spent decades traveling. During his travels he wrote the Seyahat...

29 Feb 201227min

Hans Christian Andersen is often considered the father of the modern fairy tale, but his life was not the quiet existence depicted in his photos. His personal life is fairly bizarre, and he is sometim...

27 Feb 201228min

Bessie Coleman knew that becoming a pilot was her dream. Because she was a black woman, no American flight schools would admit her. Despite the obstacles, Bessie managed to become the first African-Am...

22 Feb 201226min

A 1792 law prevented African Americans from taking up arms in the Civil War. As attitudes against blacks serving changed, black regiments were formed. But prejudices remained until the heroism of blac...

20 Feb 201226min

Robert Browning's early work wasn't as well-received as Elizabeth Barrett's poetry. Yet Barrett mentioned his work in one of her poems, and they started a correspondence that blossomed into love. Howe...

15 Feb 201226min

The Lone Ranger has traditionally been portrayed by white actors, but many believe this character is based on an African-American named Bass Reeves. A former slave, Reeves became one of the most succe...

13 Feb 201225min

Most people know the story of President Lincoln's assassination, but what happened afterward? In this podcast, we cover John Wilkes Booth's escape, his co-conspirators' attacks against other officials...

8 Feb 201227min