The story of the USS Indianapolis and the men who served aboard her is one that spans the entire pacific theater of WW2. She was in the fight from the jump, she was off the coast of Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was attacked. She took part in some of the most well known battles during the island hopping campaign to drive the Japanese back toward their home islands. And in 1945 she undertook the top secret mission to transport critical components for construction of the atomic bomb Little Boy on the island of Tinian. After sailing unescorted from Pearl to Tinian she headed for Guam before being sent alone, yet again, to the Philippines to prepare for the invasion of Japan. She never made it. At midnight on July 30th, 1945 she was struck by two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine and sunk in around 12 minutes. 300 men went down with the ship and 800 went into the water. The men that made it off the ship were met with a new set of horrors, total darkness, lack of fresh water or food, no rescue in sight and hundreds of sharks. They fought for 5 days as the Navy somehow missed one of their most decorated ships not showing up in harbor. This is the story of the men that lived through the nightmare. 

Support the show

The first Thanksgiving came a year after Plymouth Rock became Plymouth Rock. The Plymouth Colonists were basically taught to survive by the Wompanoag people. The 2 groups would sit down to celebrate the first Plymouth harvest by giving thanks. That was 1621. In 1675 the peace finally broke. Metcomet was the leader of the Wompanoag people. The colonists gave him the Christian name of King Philip. Since history is written by the victors, the rebellion is known as King Philip's War. That's an easier name than "The colony was growing and we needed more land, so we really ratched up harassing the native to draw them into conflict". Too wordy.  What followed was a war largely dominated by the Algonquian peoples that banded together to fight the colonists. It would end with the natives in the area being mostly erased from their ancestral lands in New England. Join us as we get Historically High on King Philip's War. 

Support the show

The world created by George R.R. Martin for A Song of Ice and Fire has a pretty rich history. The world familiar to most through Game of Thrones covers only a few years worth of events from Westeros and Esso. House of the Dragon does the same only giving us a snap shot of a years known as the Dance of Dragons. We're here to open up the history books and discuss the history of the world of ice and fire that hasn't gotten the premium cable treatment. From the Children of the Forest, to Aegon the Conquer's landing and conquest, to Robert's Rebellion. We'll talk the history of the Great Houses, some still standing, some long since gone, and much more. Welcome to Westeros. 

Support the show

The Fountain of Youth, The Philosopher's Stone, The Apples of Hesperides, The Peaches of Immortality, The Elixir of Life, The Holy Grail. The quest for everlasting life has been told in one way or another throughout recorded history. Every religion has its version, every culture has its myths, but the search of immortality is literally a tale as old as time. From religious doctrine, to the science of alchemy, and finally genetic engineering humanity has been trying to find the ultimate loophole to that thing called death. There have been some pretty insane attempts to live forever and we try to cover some of the best or most interesting on this weeks episode of Historically High. 

Support the show

Dubbed the Heist of the Century, the Antwerp Diamond Heist is straight out of a movie, seriously, I'm pretty sure the plot to the Ocean's 11 remake pulled a lotta inspiration from the events that actually took place. Antwerp is known as the diamond capital of the world. 85% of the rough diamonds in the world make their way to Antwerp. The Diamond District is where the cutting, polishing, wheeling, dealing takes place. When you have that many diamonds circulating around you're gonna need a very secure place to store them, like an underground vault with ten or more different levels of security preventing a break-in. Most thieves would look at this place and give it a hard pass. That is unless you're a member of The School of Turin, a mysterious organization known to count master thieves from all disciplines amongst its members. But to pull off a caper that escapes with more than $100 million in jewels, you need more than luck, you need preparation, skill....and a salami sandwich. Join us as we get Historically High on the heist of all heists. 

Support the show

Imagine if you will, it's the 1940's and Europe is being overrun by the Nazi war machine. Scientists that would take part in the success of the Manhattan Project have fled their now occupied nations bringing their knowledge of harnessing atomic power to the Allies. That didn't deter the Nazi's from forming a program of their own, starting the "Uranium Club" in 1939. No one knew where the other stood in their goal of building the bomb, for all the allies knew Hitler was on the cusp of developing it first. Nuclear fission was discovered in Berlin after all. When a Norwegian scientist escaping Nazi occupation informed the British a hydroelectric plant, which just so happen to be the largest producer of Heavy Water in the world, was captured by Hitler and its production ramped up, the Allies knew the implications. Heavy Water is a key ingredient in the process of creating nuclear fission. It allowed the process to occur with natural uranium, instead of the much more difficult to produce enriched uranium. To slow the Nazi's nuclear program several missions were attempted to destroy the heavy water production, the only problem was the plant was build like a fortress in one of the most inhospitable places in the world. This is the story of those men that took on a suicide mission to stop Hitler from getting The Bomb. Join us this week as week as get Historically High on Operation Gunnerside. 

Support the show

The Battle of the Alamo is taught in a way that makes you believe it is U.S. History. In truth, the Texas Revolution took place on Mexican land with mostly Mexican citizens. The Texas Revolution was won off of the loss at The Alamo. This battle had it all. Famous names, sneak attacks, answering questions via cannon. There wasn't ever really a question who was going to win the clash at the Alamo. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and his Mexican troops were headed to squash a rebellion. He had recently taken the Texian tax free status away, and was planning on enforcing the abolishment of slavery, all while flexing his dictatorial wings. The men of the Texian Army that were lost at the Alamo did not die in vain. Their sacrifice could be heard on every battlefield after. Shouts of "Remember the Alamo!", fueled the revolution. Ultimately, Santa Anna was caught between a rock and a legless place, but that's a story for another day. Today you should join us as we get Historically High on The Battle of the Alamo.

Support the show

WW1's end saw the signing of the Treaty of Versailles which went hard at the country of Germany. So much so it allowed Adolf Hitler to ascend to power using the treaties punishment as a tool to turn a large portion of the country to him for the fix. The Allies were determined to make sure that mistake was not repeated after WW2. The proposed solutions included mass killings and show trials, summary executions of leadership, to an international criminal trial. The IMT or International Military Tribunal was formed to try the 25 highest remaining nazi military officers, political figures, and economic collaborators for their crimes against peace and humanity. A Judge and Prosecutor from The U.S., U.K., France, and Soviet Union would determine their fates and in the process give the world its first look at what the third reich was doing besides just making war. This is where the world would hear evidence about the early nazi parties plan to invade other countries, the atrocities they committed on the eastern front, and about the individual roles they played in the Holocaust. Disclaimer: This episode deals with some heavy shit, so we apologize for all the anger swearing you're gonna hear as we get Historically High on The Nuremberg Trials. 

Support the show

In May of 1588 150 ships of the Spanish Armada would begin sailing for England on a mission of conquest. What occurred during that attempt would come to be known as....The Spanish Armada. Yes I know it's confusing, it refers to both the armada of the Spanish and the naval campaign against the English Navy. Ok we good now? Basically Spain was pissed because the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth I of England told the recently widowed Philip II of Spain (who was formerly the King of England through marriage to Elizabeth's dead half-sister Queen Mary who changed England from Protestant to Catholic) that she wouldn't marry him and was taking England back to the Protestant way of doing things. Philips took the news poorly and ran to the pope who gave Philip a voucher good for one free crusade. Spain and the recently Spanish acquired Portugal had the largest most powerful navy's in the world, so they totally wiped the floor with the English Navy right? Right? We guess you're just gonna have to listen to find out as we get Historically High on The Spanish Armada.

Support the show

If you have ever been bested by the safety features of over the counter medicine, you are dealing with a direct result of the Tylenol Murders. In the fall of 1982, Chicago had 7 confirmed deaths from Tylenol consumption. The initial concern was a manufacturing issue. Once they found out the tainted pills came from different facilities, the theory got darker. A potential mass poisoning caused by a single person or group of people was feeling more likely. Then Johnson & Johnson got a letter demanding a million dollars for the chaos to stop. The writer of the letter felt like he was the perfect suspect for the crime. The only problem was they couldn't tie him to anything. Then the suspect list widen. To this day, the Tylenol Murders are unsolved. Join us as we try to solve this true crime mystery while we get Historically High on The Tylenol Murders.

Support the show