66: Warnings and Lies: The Deception of the Donner Party (Part 2)

James A. Reed was in federal court, about to argue his case, when a call came in from Kansas City. Nell Donnelly had been kidnapped. James panicked. To James, Nell was so much more than a celebrated f...

29 Jan 20251h 56min

It was 6 p.m. on the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 16, 1931. Legendary fashion designer Nell Donnelly was headed home from work. Her chauffeur, George Blair, drove Nell’s lime green Lincoln through the s...

22 Jan 20251h 56min

Back in 1911, the Mona Lisa didn’t get a lot of attention. Art critics considered it an excellent example of a painting from the renaissance era, but the general public wasn’t nearly so enamored. Tha...

15 Jan 20252h 6min

When a dark haired man showed up at the Hotel President one January afternoon in 1935, the hotel staff couldn’t help but take note. He showed up without luggage. He seemed nervous. He said his name wa...

8 Jan 20251h 50min

In this final episode of our series on Pocahontas, we see Pocahontas navigate life as a kidnapped young woman. She gets a marriage proposal. She ushers in an era of peace for her people. She gives bir...

18 Dec 20241h 55min

In this episode, tensions rise and true crime abounds. And, like an old timey episode of Dateline, it starts off peachy keen! Pocahontas married a warrior. She had a child. She lived what seemed to be...

11 Dec 20241h 46min

Chief Wahunsenaca was in a tough spot. English settlers were camped out nearby, desperate for food but heavily armed. He thought he might bring them under his fold by offering them food and community....

4 Dec 20241h 27min

When the English popped up on the shore of the “New World,” they were in rough shape. They didn’t have much food, knew next to nothing about their surroundings, and had a boatload of diseases. The Eng...

20 Nov 20241h 38min