History is full of winners and losers, but rarely do you come across an individual who is a winner 100% of the time. Sometimes faced with insurmountable odds, these five military leaders always found a way to win. Whether facing Hannibal’s elephants in Zama, battling across the breadth of a river in Worcester or commencing a battle at 11pm to take their Ottoman enemies by surprise, these military geniuses of the Western world were the original action heroes not just of their time, but throughout the ages.  

 Episode Resources:

 Books

• The Campaigns of Alexander by Arrian
• The Age of Alexander by Plutarch
• Scipio Africanus: Soldier and Politician by H.H. Scullard
• Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon by Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart
• The History of Rome by Michael Grant
• Plutarch’s Lives: Life of Julius Caesar by Plutarch, John Dryden (Translator) 
• Battles That Changed History by DK and Smithsonian Institution 
• Cromwell, Our Chief of Men by Lady Antonia Fraser
• God’s Executioner Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland by Michael Siochru
• The Reader’s Companion to Military History by Robert Cowley and Geoffrey Parker
• Eagles Over The Alps: Suvorov in Italy and Switzerland by Christopher Duffy

 Film

• Alexander Revisited: The (Unrated) Final Cut (2016) Directed by Oliver Stone 
• Julius Caesar (1953) Shakespeare’s version with Marlon Brando, directed by Mankiewicz
• Rome (2005) HBO Series
• Cromwell (1970) with Richard Harris and Alec Guinness
• Patton (1970) with George C. Scott 

Imagine being uninvited to perform at a presidential inauguration because of whom you just married or buying a baby carriage for an infant who, 21 years later, would become your spouse, or how about finding out the person you just married wasn’t actually divorced from their previous spouse. Without a doubt, history is full of sensational marriages and here, in episode 9, we explore a handful of them. Get ready, these are some unusual and fascinating stories.

 Episode Edits: 

1.  Any background noise you may hear in this episode is actually an excavator being used by our neighbors. Many apologies if you find it distracting.
2.  Geoffrey Rush was an Academy Award nominee for best supporting actor for The King’s Speech. Colin Firth, who played King George VI, won the Academy Award for best actor.

 Episode Resources:

 Books

• Justinian and Theodora (Annotated) by William Gordon Holmes
• History of the Byzantine State by George Ostrogorsky
• American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Mecham
• Grover Cleveland by Henry F. Graff
• Frank: The Story of Frances Folsom Cleveland, America’s Youngest First Lady by Annette B. Dunlap
• King Edward VIII: A Biography by Philip Ziegler
• Wallis in Love by Andrew Morton
• Yes I Can: The Story of Sammy Davis Jr by Sammy Davis Jr & Jane & Burt Boyar

 Films

• The President’s Lady (1953) with Susan Hayward & Charlton Heston 
• The King’s Speech (2010) with Colin Firth & Geoffrey Rush
• Sammy Davis Jr. – I’ve Gotta Be Me (2019) Documentary
• Ocean’s 11 (1960) with Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin  
• Robin And The 7 Hoods (1964) with Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin
• Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994) Miniseries

Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum was invented by one of Hollywood’s greatest beauties. An Associate Justice of the Minnesota State Supreme Court was also known by millions as a Purple People Eater. A record 11 Academy Awards were given to a film based on a book written by a Civil War general. Who were these people? In this episode, we explore 6 individuals who had surprising hidden talents that were wildly different from what they were ultimately known for.

Episode Edits:

1.  Alan Page played in the NFL for 14 seasons. 11 years with the Minnesota Vikings and 3 years with the Chicago Bears.
2.  Ben-Hur was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won 11.

 Episode Resources:

 Books

•  Hedy’s Folly by Richard Rhodes
•  Ecstasy and Me: My Life as a Woman by Hedy Lamarr
•  Painting as a Pastime by Winston Churchill
•  Sir Winston Churchill: His Life and His Paintings by David Coombs and Minnie Churchill
•  Lewis Carroll: A Biography by Morton N. Cohen
•  Alice in Wonderland: All Four Books by Lewis Carroll
•  All Rise: The Remarkable Journey of Alan Page by Bill McGrane
•  Hirohito: A Life From Beginning to End by Hourly History
•  The Sword and The Pen: A Life of Lew Wallace by Ray E. Boomhower
•  Ben-Hur: A Tale of The Christ by Lew Wallace

 Film

•  Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story
•  Samson and Delilah (1949) – with Hedy Lamarr
• Alice in Wonderland (2010) – Tim Burton Version
•  Ben-Hur (1959) - with Charlton Heston

Warren G. Harding did what in a White House Closet? Who was FDR with when he died? JKF had how many women while he was president? These are just a few of the questions that get answered in this week’s episode as we delve into secrets that could have brought down political careers, administrations, and even entire governments (and some secrets that actually did!) This may be our best episode yet, and who doesn’t love an intriguing, salacious scandal or two? 

 Episode Edits:

1.  John Profumo resigned in June of 1963, not July as stated in the episode.
2.  In 1975, John Profumo was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire which he received personally from Queen Elizabeth II.

 Episode Resources:

 Books

•  Modern Times: The World From the 20’s to the 90’s by Paul Johnson
•  Florence Harding: The First Lady, The Jazz Age, and The Death of the Most Scandalous President by Carl Sferrazza Anthony
•  Eleanor and Franklin by Joseph P. Lash
•  Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond by Essie Mae Washington-Williams
•  The Dark Side of Camelot by Seymour M. Hersh
•  A Thousand Days by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
•  Secrets and Lies: The Autobiography by Christine Keller

 Films/Documentaries

•  The Maltese Falcon with Humphry Bogart
•  The Bride of Frankenstein with Valerie Hobson (John Profumo’s wife)
•  Kind Hearts and Coronets with Valerie Hobson
•  Ken Burns: The Roosevelts – An Intimate History - Documentary
•  The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt - Documentary
•  Scandal – the film about the Profumo Affair

From the very founding of the United States to the Whisky Rebellion to John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry, Americans have always had a voracious drive to fight for what they believe – even if that means treason. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, "We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." What galvanizes people to fight for their cause even if it means the hangman’s noose? Here we explore some of America’s earliest rebellions from Fries Rebellion over taxes to Aaron Burr’s insatiable quest for power to the treasonous plot to kidnap Abraham Lincoln.

 Episode Edits:

1. Colonel Robert E. Lee was commissioned by President James Buchanan to lead the forces against John Brown at Harper’s Ferry.

 Episode Resources:

• Shays' Rebellion: The American Revolution’s Final Battle by Leonard L. Richards
• The Whisky Rebellion by Thomas P. Slaughter
• The Impending Crisis – America Before the Civil War 1848-1861 by David Potter
• Burr: A Novel by Gore Vidal
•  My Theodosia: A Novel by Anya Seton
• To Purge This Land with Blood: A Biography of John Brown by Stephen Oates 
• John Brown by Frederick Douglas
• Ralph Waldo Emerson Praises John Brown
• Frederick Douglas: Autobiographies by Frederick Douglas
• Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly
• The Conspirator – 2011 film about the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln.
• The Good Lord Bird – 2020 series starring Ethan Hawke as John Brown 

Since its very inception, America has always had to be on the lookout for spies not just from foreign adversaries, but also from its own citizens. Alger Hiss, along with Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, all American citizens, were former members of the Communist Party (a party that still exists in America today.) They were all accused of passing American secrets to the U.S.S.R. in the 1940’s and were brought to trial in the early 1950’s. In this episode, we take a deep dive into what those three were accused of, what they were found guilty of, and what their ultimate sentence was. 

Episode Edits:

1. While most federal crimes have a five-year statute of limitations, acts of espionage generally carry a 10-year statute of limitations.
2. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were married in 1939, the same year Julius graduated from City College of New York.
3. Julius Rosenberg was fired from the Army Signal Corps in 1945 because they found out he was a Communist.

 Episode Resources: Alger Hiss (1904-1996)

•  Witness by Whittaker Chambers
• Secrecy: The American Experience by Daniel Patrick Moynihan
• Alger Hiss: Why He Chose Treason by Christina Shelton
• Interview with Christina Shelton – video by Simon & Schuster Books (She spent twenty-two years working as a Soviet analyst and a Counterintelligence Branch Chief at the Defense Intelligence Agency.)
• Hiss and Chambers Face to Face in 1948 – actual video footage
• Alger Hiss Interview 1970 – video by British Pathé 

Episode Resources: Julius Rosenberg (1918-1953) and Ethel Rosenberg (1915-1953)

• The Rosenberg Trial by Jake Kobrick (Research Historian, Federal Judicial History Office, Federal Judicial Center) This is the motherload of reference material.
• Final Verdict by Walter and Miriam Schneir the rebuttal to their own 1965 book.
• Invitation to an Inquest by Walter and Miriam Schneir
• Heir to an Execution: A Granddaughter’s Story – Film Documentary
• Excerpt from David Greenglass obituary in NY Times by Robert D. McFadden 
• Rebuttal to Greenglass obituary in the NY Times 

You can find quotes in most places these days, on cards, shirts, magnets, hanging in offices or you may even have one hanging over your fire place. In this episode, we explore some of the most famous historical quotes from "Let them eat cake!" to "When going through hell, keep going." and we also do some fact checking as to whether the famous people they're attributed to actually said them.  We also take a look into the times and circumstances in which they may (or may not) have been said because in the words of Yogi Berra, "I really didn't say everything I said."

Episode Resources:

Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric by Ward Farnsworth

Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser

Fart Proudly: A Letter to a Royal Academy by Benjamin Franklin

Churchill By Himself: The Definitive Collection of Quotations by Richard Langworth

All About Eve starring Bette Davis

Bette Davis on The Sexes - Interview with Shirley Eder

Quote Investigator - Website by Garson O'Toole

Everyone knows the Hollywood Cleopatra, but what about the woman trying to preserve her family’s 275-year-old dynasty, the woman trying to keep Egypt safe from the ever-reaching grasp of Roman rule? Were her bedroom alliances with Caesar and Mark Anthony done out of love for these powerful Roman men or to save herself and her country? Would her first-born child by Caesar be strong enough to continue the Ptolemaic Dynasty and ally himself with Rome? This episode is jam packed with fascinating facts about Cleopatra and the times in which she lived.  

Episode Edit: 
*The comment regarding chess and checkers mentioned at about 8 minutes into the episode is purely satirical. As far as we can tell, neither of those games were around in the 1st century BC.

 Episode Resources:

 Anthony and Cleopatra by Adrian Goldsworthy

 From Gracchi to Nero by H. H. Scullard

 Plutarch’s Lives (Volume I and II)

 Clues to Cleopatra’s Tomb Discovery (Travel & Leisure Magazine)

 Cleopatra’s Real Appearance (Express UK)

 Gal Godot’s New Cleopatra Movie (BBC) 

 Cleopatra (1963 film with Elizabeth Taylor)

 Cleopatra (1934 film with Claudette Colbert)

If you think politics has never been as controversial as it is today, wait until you hear this episode. For example, in the 1876 election 20 electoral votes were in dispute, Tilden needed only one of those votes and Hayes needed all 20. Guess who became president? We cover 4 different types of elections from America’s past to try to shed some light on the possibilities that may be just around the corner.  

Episode Edits:  
* Bush won the 2000 election by 537 votes, not the 567 mentioned in the episode. The percentage remains unchanged at .009%.

Episode Resources:

Modern Times by Paul Johnson

Truman by David McCullough

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Jefferson and His Time by Dumas Malone (6 Volumes)

Hamilton Broadway Cast Recording

Dewey defeats Truman Photo

Oliver Cromwell died on September 3, 1658, but his head didn't reach its final resting place until March 25, 1960. Where was it during that 302 year stretch in between? In this episode we not only cover Cromwell, but also Mary Queen of Scotts and Lord Nelson in addition to exploring the various peregrinations of the bodies of Eva Peron and Charlie Chaplin. Who they were, why they died and what happened to their corpse - all in time for Halloween!

* Cromwell's head was placed on a spike and displayed above Westminster Hall.

Link to Mary Queen of Scots (Biography by Antonia Frasier)

Link to Oliver (Biography of Oliver Cromwell by Antonia Frasier)

Link to Nelson's Trafalger: The Battle That Changed The World (by Roy Adkins)

Link to Evita (the Original Broadway Cast Album)

Link to The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplin Film)