History Shorts

Passed in 1910, the Mann Act was meant to protect women from exploitation. Instead, it became one of the most powerful and abused moral weapons in American law.

In this episode of History Shorts, we unpack the story of the Mann Act, a federal law that criminalized transporting women across state lines for "immoral purposes." Vaguely worded and aggressively enforced, the law quickly expanded far beyond its original intent, allowing prosecutors to target consensual relationships, interracial couples, political enemies, and cultural figures who challenged social norms.

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In this special interview episode, Prof. Greg Jackson, the creator and voice behind the wildly popular History That Doesn't Suck, joins History Shorts for a wide-ranging conversation about how history can be rigorous, entertaining, and deeply relevant all at once.

PRE-ORDER GREG'S BOOK: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Been-There-Done-That/Greg-Jackson/9781668062609

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In 336 BCE, at the height of his power, King Philip II of Macedon entered a grand theater to celebrate a royal wedding. He never left alive.

In this episode of History Shorts, we revisit one of antiquity's most shocking political murders—the assassination of Philip II, the man who transformed Macedonia from a backwater kingdom into the dominant military power of Greece and laid the foundations for an empire his son would soon inherit.

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She was called disobedient. Arrogant. Dangerous. She is now remembered as one of the greatest minds of the Spanish-speaking world.

In this episode of History Shorts, we revisit the life of Juana Inés de la Cruz—a 17th-century nun whose brilliance and independence made her a problem for Church authorities.

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The U.S. Constitution grants Supreme Court justices life tenure to protect judicial independence. But what happens when that protection becomes a liability?

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In November 1957, at the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2 into orbit. On board was not a pilot or a scientist—but a small stray dog named Laika.

Her mission was never meant to return.

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Cannibalism sits at the outer edge of human history, invoked as taboo, weaponized as propaganda, and whispered about in moments of extreme survival. Yet it appears again and again across cultures, centuries, and continents, not as myth alone, but as documented reality.

In this episode, we trace the long and complex history of cannibalism, separating fact from fear and ritual from rumor

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"Listen, my children, and you shall hear…" With those famous words, an event that unfolded in darkness and confusion became one of the most enduring legends in American history. But Paul Revere's midnight ride was not born a myth. It was shaped into one.

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In this interview episode, I'm joined by author Mark Braude to dive into his latest book, The Typewriter and the Guillotine: An American Journalist, a German Serial Killer, and Paris on the Eve of WWII—a gripping blend of biography and true-crime set in the City of Light just before it went dark. Braude takes us into interwar Paris, where an American journalist builds a life and a voice amid glamour, ambition, and mounting political dread—while the shadow of a German serial killer and a sensational case helps reveal what a society is willing to ignore until it can't anymore.

CHECK OUT MARK'S BOOKS: https://www.markbraude.com/

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Hidden behind iron gates along the Mississippi River stood a place most Americans never wanted to acknowledge, and many pretended didn't exist. For nearly a century, men, women, and even children diagnosed with Hansen's disease were sent to Carville National Leprosarium, a secluded institution that became both a prison and a refuge.

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