Finest Hours

Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, made one of the most significant scientific discovers to humankind. The very fibers of our existence. Using pea plants, Mendel unlocked the secrets behind genetics that were previously a mystery.

On September 26, 1983, one man made a decision that saved the entire world from a nuclear holocaust. Stanislav Petrov, a Lt. Colonel in the Soviet Air Force was the duty officer at the early nuclear detection facility. Suddenly alarms rang overhead as the Soviet computers detected 5 nuclear missiles launched from the United States. Stanislav's decision-making that night would save hundreds of millions of lives.

In the begining of the Civil War, a bold and daring slave named Robert Smalls stole a confederate transport ship and sailed 17 enslaved African Americans towards the freedom of the Union. He delivered the ship into the hands of the Union, helped convince Abraham Lincoln to allow blacks to serve in the Union Army, served valiantly in 17 battles of the Civil War and fought to protect African American civil liberties as an elected official.

In 1914, 28 men set sail on a treacherous expedition to cross Antarctica, before they even reached the continent they were shipwrecked. All 28 men would survive thanks to the one man, Ernest Shackleton. Join us as we explore their gripping tale of survival. The odds were impossible, so how did they do it?

In episode 1 we discuss Gail "Hal" Halvorsen, the man who bombed berlin... with candy. Learn how a Utah farm boy helped heal the wounds of World War II, and win over the affections of post-Nazi Germany.

Halvorsen, AKA The Candy Bomber, played a crucial and touching role in rebuilding post-war Germany. He softened the hearts of former enemies, and gave joy to children living in a post-apocalyptic war zone.