History in Five

History in Five episodes:

• 08.25.2022

  5 Life Lessons from Mother Teresa

  Jim Towey had been a high-flying Congressional staffer and lawyer in the 1980s until a brief meeting with Mother Teresa illuminated the emptiness of his life. Soon, he had given up his job and possessions and had become a full-time...

  
• 08.16.2022

  LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI and the Flatboat Era

  As a historian, Buck resurrects the flatboat era's adventurous spirit, but he also challenges familiar myths about American expansion, confronting the bloody truth behind settlers' push for land and wealth.

  
• 08.15.2022

  LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI by Rinker Buck

  The role of the flatboat in our country's evolution is far more significant than most Americans realize. Like the Nile or the Seine before them, the western rivers in America became a floating supply chain that fueled national growth.

  
• 07.27.2022

  Saving Sigmund Freud

  Historian and World War II expert Andrew Nagorski discusses the daring mission to exfiltrate Sigmund Freud to London from an Austria under siege by Hitler's German forces.

  
• 07.12.2022

  Experience LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI with bestselling author Rinker Buck

  Master American storyteller Rinker Buck returns with Life on the Mississippi, an epic, enchanting blend of history and adventure in which Buck builds a wooden flatboat from the grand “flatboat era” of the 1800s and sails it down the Mississippi...

  
• 06.28.2022

  Call the Midwife: Labor of Love

  An intimate and engrossing celebration of the first ten years of the international smash-hit TV series Call the Midwife. Learn the up-close and personal story of Call the Midwife as told by the cast and crew. A Labour of Love is...

  
• 06.13.2022

  What Bill Browder Knows About Vladimir Putin

  Bill Browder understands what motivates Vladimir Putin. Through his work on the Magnitsky Act and other efforts to hold Putin accountable, Browder knows he will never back down, and will do anything to remove the people who stand in his...

  
• 05.09.2022

  Journalist Kim Kelly Spotlights An Overlooked Group in Labor History: Incarcerated Workers

  Journalist Kim Kelly, shares five facts you may not know about incarcerated workers in the United States and their unwavering and inspiring fight for labor rights. Her book FIGHT LIKE HELL is available now! CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR Twitter: twitter.com/grimkim Instagram: instagram.com/kimkellywriter

  
• 05.03.2022

  Power of Crisis

  Renowned political scientist Ian Bremmer draws lessons from global challenges of the past 100 years—including the pandemic—to show how we can respond to three great crises unfolding over the next decade.

  
• 05.03.2022

  Cleopatra, Octavian, Antony, Actium, and the Fate of Rome

  The Battle of Actium proved to be a pivotal moment in Roman history, and world history, as Cleopatra and Mark Antony faced Octavian and Agrippa upon the seas as chronicled by Cornell professor Barry Strauss in “The War That Made...

  
• 04.29.2022

  Becoming Putin's Longtime Enemy

  When Bill Browder's young Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was beaten to death in a Moscow jail, Browder made it his life's mission to go after his killers and make sure they faced justice. Freezing Order documents Browder's journey to track...

  
• 04.26.2022

  Five Things You Didn't Know About Andrew Jackson

  Andrew Jackson rose from rural poverty to become the dominant figure in American politics between Jefferson and Lincoln. His reputation, however, defies easy description. Learn more about Andrew Jackson's public career, including the momentous Battle of New Orleans and the...

  
• 04.22.2022

  What We've Got Wrong About Emancipation

  Author Kris Manjapra describes the continued misunderstanding of emancipation. Read in depth in his book Black Ghost of Empire.

  
• 04.20.2022

  Five Things You Didn't Know About Emancipation

  Read more in Black Ghost of Empire by Kris Manjapra. Learn more about Kris Manjapra's work at Global Histories of Resistance: https://www.historiesofresistance.com/; Twitter: @histresist.

  
• 04.18.2022

  Wiretapping America's Most Notorious Mobster

  Prosecutor John Gleeson describes listening in on John Gotti and his mobsters--from Sammy the Bull, to Carmine the Snake. Read more in his book The Gotti Wars, a decades-in-the-writing memoir from the determined young prosecutor who, in two of America's...

  
• 02.18.2022

  Five Things You Didn't Know About Salmon P. Chase

  Salmon P. Chase wasn't just Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury—he served in multiple branches of government, was a leading proponent for Black rights, and was an advocate for financial reform. Learn more about this key figure in American politics in...

  
• 02.11.2022

  Five Items Found in Lincoln's Wallet the Night He Died

  On the night he died, 8 articles were discovered inside a compartment in Abraham Lincoln's wallet. John Avlon explains how these treasured clippings speak to Lincoln's state of mind at the end of the war, and his hopes for how...

  
• 02.08.2022

  How a 22-Year-Old Became a Democratic State Senator

  Learn how Will Haskell waged the campaign of his young life, fought for change at the state capitol, and proved that his generation is ready to claim a seat at the table.

  
• 01.26.2022

  Five Things You Didn't Know About Buster Keaton

  Camera Man author Dana Stevens discusses legendary comedian and filmmaker, Buster Keaton.

  
• 01.24.2022

  Lessons from Abraham Lincoln's Fight for Peace

  The power of Lincoln's personal example in the closing days of the Civil War offers a portrait of a peacemaker. While his assassination sent the country careening off course, Lincoln's vision would be vindicated long after his death, inspiring future...

  
• 12.14.2021

  5 Figures Who Shaped the 1960s

  The 1950s has a reputation for being a decade of conformity, while the 1960s is known as a time of rebellion and massive change. However, without these brave individuals in the 1950s who pioneered the gay rights, feminist, civil rights,...

  
• 12.02.2021

  Who Are The 9.9 Percent?

  Matthew Stewart's THE 9.9 PERCENT is a scorching, trenchant analysis of how the wealthiest group in American society is making life miserable for everyone—including themselves.

  
• 10.27.2021

  How to Stay Informed on Geopolitics

  THE POWER OF GEOGRAPHY author Tim Marshall shares his three main tips for staying on top of geopolitical developments around the world.

  
• 10.26.2021

  5 Current Events That Affect Our Geopolitical Futures

  THE POWER OF GEOGRAPHY author Tim Marshall discusses how forces such as Covid-19, climate change, space travel, and more may shape our lives.

  
• 10.18.2021

  5 Leadership Lessons from Angela Merkel

  Angela Merkel spent sixteen extraordinary years as the uncontested leader of Europe. Here are five strategies Merkel used to become an exceptional leader, from Kati Marton's definitive biography, THE CHANCELLOR. For more information: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Chancellor/Kati-Marton/9781501192623 CONNECT WITH HISTORY IN FIVE Website: https://www.simonandschuster.com/p/hi... Twitter:...

  
• 09.07.2021

  5 Facts You Didn't Know About Cuba From Award-Winning Author Ada Ferrer

  The history of Cuba lends itself to monumental and epic tellings, and its relationship with the United States is complicated. As a Cuban-American, Ada Ferrer has a unique perspective on this sometimes tense history, and in CUBA: AN AMERICAN HISTORY,...

  
• 09.02.2021

  Climate Change Is One Of The Most Pressing Issues We Face Today—And Here's Why You Should Care

  This is not another doomsday narrative about a planet on fire. In SAVING US, The Nature Conservancy's Chief Scientist Katharine Hayhoe argues that when it comes to changing hearts and minds, facts are only one part of the equation.

  
• 09.01.2021

  Learn How to Talk About Climate Change from a Climate Scientist

  In her book, SAVING US, Chief Climate Scientist Katharine Hayhoe negotiates distrust of data, indifference to imminent threats, and resistance to proposed solutions with ease. Over the past fifteen years Hayhoe has found that the most important thing we can...

  
• 08.31.2021

  Five Things You Didn't Know About the Miss America Pageant

  THERE SHE WAS author Amy Argetsinger dishes out secrets of the renowned pageant as it celebrates its 100th anniversary.

  
• 08.31.2021

  A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World

  Called “one of the nation's most effective communicators on climate change” by The New York Times, Katharine Hayhoe knows how to navigate all sides of the conversation on our changing planet. In SAVING US, she negotiates distrust of data, indifference...

  
• 08.16.2021

  Chris Wallace is Back With COUNTDOWN BIN LADEN

  Following Chris Wallace's “riveting” (The New York Times) and “propulsive” (Time) #1 national bestseller COUNTDOWN 1945 comes a deeply reported, revelatory, and thrillingly told account of the final months of the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

  
• 08.04.2021

  How New York City Transformed Over the Past 40 Years

  A lively, immersive history by an award-winning urbanist of New York City's transformation, and the lessons it offers for the city's future. Read more about NEW YORK, NEW YORK, NEW YORK by Thomas Dyja here: http://bit.ly/39AAXO2New York, New York, New...

  
• 05.27.2021

  5 Facts About the Inventor of the Modern Handgun

  Learn about John Moses Browning, a visionary inventor who designed the modern handgun and whose awe-inspiring array of firearms helped ensure victory in numerous American wars and found an important place in American culture. A new biography, THE GUNS OF...

  
• 05.19.2021

  Alex Marlow reads an audiobook excerpt from BREAKING THE NEWS

  Watch Breitbart News Network editor-in-chief Alex Marlow narrate his audiobook BREAKING THE NEWS. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3bqTQ83 A deeply researched investigation of the media's biases from the editor-in-chief of Breitbart News Network. CONNECT WITH SIMON & SCHUSTER AUDIOWeb: https://www.simonandschuster.com/audioTwitter: https://twitter.com/simonaudioInstagram:...

  
• 05.19.2021

  Sebastian Junger on his audiobook FREEDOM

  Watch Sebastian Junger discuss what he hopes listeners take away from his audiobook FREEDOM in this behind-the-scenes video from the recording studio. Learn more: https://bit.ly/30qHyX3 A profound rumination on the concept of freedom from the New York Times bestselling...

  
• 04.26.2021

  Marie Arana on the Three Crucibles of Latin American History

  Author and National Book Award finalist, Marie Arana, tells us about her newest book Silver, Sword, and Stone, a powerful narrative about the three enduring forces that have defined Latin America, and its people, since pre-Columbian times.

  
• 04.12.2021

  The Secret History of Alexander Graham Bell

  Most people know Alexander Graham Bell as the inventor of the telephone, but he saw himself first and foremost as an educator to the deaf. However, his advocacy had a dark side. Katie Booth, author of The Invention of Miracles,...

  
• 03.24.2021

  THE LOST BOYS OF MONTAUK by Amanda M. Fairbanks | Book Trailer

  THE LOST BOYS OF MONTAUK is an immersive account of a tragedy at sea whose repercussions haunt its survivors to this day, lauded by New York Times bestselling author Ron Suskind as “an honest and touching book, and a hell...

  
• 03.02.2021

  The Hotel That Set Women Free

  When newly liberated young women landed in New York, looking for a career in the arts, The Barbizon was where they stayed. This full-service residential hotel housed would-be writers, actresses, and models, allowing them to live independently and in style...

  
• 03.01.2021

  The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women's Rights

  Learn about the friendship between three women who fought for abolition and women's rights in 19th-century America: Harriet Tubman, Martha Coffin Wright, and Frances Seward in The Agitators by New Yorker executive editor Dorothy Wickenden.

  
• 02.05.2021

  Ida B. Wells: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the Civil Rights Icon

  Journalist. Suffragist. Antilynching crusader. In 1862, Ida B. Wells was born enslaved in Holly Springs, Mississippi. In 2020, she won a Pulitzer Prize posthumously. Ida B. Wells committed herself to the needs of those who did not have power and...

  
• 01.08.2021

  How the NBA Became a Cultural Phenomenon

  From Hang Time to Prime Time author Pete Croatto explains the NBA's unprecedented rise as a global institution.

  
• 12.22.2020

  The Extraordinary High School Football Team in a World War II Incarceration Camp

  Here are five things you should know about the Japanese Americans in California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona who were sent to incarceration camps on the outskirts at the base of Heart Mountain, Wyoming, in the spring of 1942.

  
• 12.08.2020

  UNSINKABLE: Five Men and the Indomitable Run of the USS Plunkett

  Drawing on Navy logs, war diaries, action reports, letters, journals, memoirs, and dozens of interviews, Unsinkable tells the tale of five incredibly brave men aboard the Navy destroyer The USS Plunkett who fought off numerous and prolonged German attacks during...

  
• 11.20.2020

  Abraham Lincoln Leaves Springfield (Lincoln on the Verge)

  When President-Elect Abraham Lincoln boarded a train for Washington D.C., he seemed to know it was the last time he would ever be in Illinois, says Ted Widmer, author of "Lincoln on the Verge."

  
• 11.20.2020

  The Foiled Plot to Murder Abraham Lincoln in 1861 (Lincoln on the Verge)

  Ted Widmer, author of "Lincoln on the Verge," explains how President-Elect Abraham Lincoln and his handlers foiled a murder attempt in Baltimore, evacuating the city under the cover of night.

  
• 11.20.2020

  Abraham Lincoln's Grueling 13-Day Trip to Washington (Lincoln on the Verge)

  "Lincoln on the Verge" by Ted Widmer recounts President-Elect Abraham Lincoln's 13-day trip to Washington D.C., a span where the relatively unknown president realized the grave crisis the nation faced.

  
• 10.16.2020

  Foundations of Freedom Word Cloud Boxed Set

  Since its founding, the United States of America has represented freedom, whether it be that of the state or the individual. This boxed set of six special-edition Word Cloud Classics includes The U.S. Constitution and Other Key American Writings, Selected...

  
• 10.13.2020

  Steve Kroft Narrates His Audiobook BARACK OBAMA: THE 60 MINUTES INTERVIEWS

  Watch award-winning 60 Minutes veteran Steve Kroft narrate his audiobook BARACK OBAMA: THE 60 MINUTES INTERVIEWS, an audio-only collection offering an unprecedented glimpse into the Obama presidency through a series of extended interviews presented with new commentary from Kroft. Learn...

  
• 10.02.2020

  Barack Obama Speeches

  You'll be inspired to be the change you wish to see in the world as you read through this collection of speeches delivered by Barack Obama. These messages of hope for a more perfect union in America will appeal to...