History Shorts

For decades, Geronimo resisted attempts by the United States and Mexico to confine the Apache people to reservations. His small band repeatedly escaped into the rugged mountains of the Southwest, pursued by thousands of American troops across some of the most unforgiving terrain in North America.

By 1886, however, the pursuit was nearing its end. On September 4, Geronimo and his remaining followers surrendered to General Nelson Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona. His surrender effectively brought the long Apache Wars to a close—but peace did not mean freedom. Geronimo and hundreds of other Chiricahua Apache, including scouts who had served the U.S. Army, were sent into captivity far from their homeland.

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Did Franklin D. Roosevelt secretly maneuver the United States into World War II?

Long before Pearl Harbor, FDR was determined to help Britain survive Nazi Germany. His administration traded destroyers for British bases, pushed through Lend-Lease, expanded the Navy's role in the Atlantic, and imposed increasingly severe economic sanctions on Japan—all while most Americans remained deeply wary of another world war.

To Roosevelt's critics, these actions prove he was quietly leading the country toward a conflict he publicly promised to avoid. To others, they show a president confronting growing threats while trying to support America's allies without entering the war directly.

So where does the evidence lead?

In this episode of History Shorts, we separate conspiracy from documented history and examine how Roosevelt pushed the limits of American neutrality, what he knew before Pearl Harbor, and whether FDR deliberately brought the United States into World War II—or simply prepared for a war he increasingly believed was unavoidable.

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In 1697, Tsar Peter the Great set out on one of history's most unusual diplomatic missions. Traveling across Europe under the alias "Peter Mikhailov," the towering Russian ruler attempted to remain anonymous while studying the technologies, industries, and military innovations that had made Western Europe so powerful. Unsurprisingly, almost no one believed his disguise.

Rather than simply meeting kings and diplomats, Peter worked in Dutch shipyards as a carpenter, studied naval architecture in England, toured factories and arsenals, and absorbed ideas he believed could transform Russia. His energetic curiosity was matched only by the chaos he and his entourage left behind—including the near destruction of an English country house.

In this episode of History Shorts, discover how the Grand Embassy reshaped one man's vision for his country and laid the foundations of modern Russia—from the creation of a navy to the founding of St. Petersburg and the sweeping reforms that made Peter one of history's most consequential rulers.

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Sometimes history turns on the most unexpected moments. In 1618, a group of Protestant nobles stormed Prague Castle and hurled three Catholic imperial officials from a seventy-foot window. Against all odds, the men survived—thanks, perhaps, to the castle moat below. Catholics credited divine intervention. Their enemies had a far less heavenly explanation.

What became known as the Second Defenestration of Prague is remembered today for its absurdity, but its consequences were anything but amusing. The incident ignited the Thirty Years' War, a conflict that devastated Central Europe, claimed millions of lives, and reshaped the political map of the continent. Its conclusion, the Peace of Westphalia, established principles of state sovereignty that continue to influence international relations today.

In this episode of History Shorts, we explore how one act of political theater changed the course of European—and world—history.

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In 1014, after a decisive victory over the Bulgarian Empire at the Battle of Kleidion, Byzantine Emperor Basil II made a decision that would echo through history. Thousands of captured Bulgarian soldiers were blinded, with one man in every hundred left with a single eye to guide the others home. When Tsar Samuel saw the shattered remnants of his army return, he is said to have suffered a fatal stroke just two days later.

Whether every detail unfolded exactly as later chroniclers described remains a subject of historical debate, but the story cemented Basil's legacy forever. He would be remembered not as "the Great," but as Bulgaroktonos—the Bulgar-Slayer.

In this episode of History Shorts, we examine one of the most infamous episodes of the medieval world, separating legend from evidence while exploring what it reveals about Byzantine warfare, imperial power, and the values of an age far removed from our own.

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In the summer of 1917, the U.S. Army stationed the Buffalo Soldiers of the 24th Infantry in Houston, Texas, where they encountered the harsh realities of Jim Crow segregation. After weeks of racial abuse, police violence, and growing tensions, a rumor that a fellow soldier had been killed sparked a deadly confrontation that became known as the Houston Riot of 1917.

The aftermath was swift and severe. More than 100 Black soldiers were convicted in the largest murder trial in U.S. military history, and 19 were executed—many after proceedings that failed to meet basic standards of due process. More than a century later, the Army acknowledged those injustices by overturning every conviction and granting the men honorable discharges.

In this episode of History Shorts, we explore the events that led to the Houston Riot, the flawed military trials that followed, and the long road to justice for the Buffalo Soldiers.

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Join me for an epic conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eric Moskowitz about his gripping new book The Hardest, Longest Race: Henry Ford and the Cross-Country Contest That Changed America.

In 1909, a handful of fearless drivers tackled the first true transcontinental automobile race — 4,106 miles from New York to Seattle over terrible roads, mountains, mud bogs, and sabotage. At the center was Henry Ford and his underdog Model T in a story filled with grit, mechanical genius, ambition, deception, and high-stakes drama.

We explore how this wild endurance contest helped launch the automobile age, transformed American life, and revealed the cutthroat origins of the auto industry.

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The word "assassination" is spoken around the world, but its origins are rooted in one of history's most misunderstood groups. The medieval Nizari Ismailis have long been portrayed as a secretive cult of drug-fueled killers, a reputation shaped by hostile chroniclers and popularized centuries later by Marco Polo. Modern historians, however, find little evidence that the famous hashish story was ever true.

Instead, the Nizari Ismailis were a small Shia Muslim community surrounded by powerful enemies. Unable to compete with large armies, they relied on patience, intelligence, and carefully planned targeted killings to ensure their survival. Their mountain fortress at Alamut was also a renowned center of learning before its destruction by the Mongols.

In this episode of History Shorts, we separate myth from history, uncover the real origins of the word "assassin," and explore how centuries of legend transformed a persecuted religious minority into one of history's most enduring myths.

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While the Civil War raged on the battlefield, one of the Union's greatest victories came through espionage. In the heart of the Confederate capital, Elizabeth Van Lew quietly built a sophisticated spy network that reached into prisons, government offices—and even the Confederate White House itself.

To avoid suspicion, Van Lew deliberately cultivated a reputation as "Crazy Bet," convincing her neighbors she was harmless while secretly directing one of the most effective intelligence operations of the war. At the center of her network was Mary Bowser, a formerly enslaved woman with an extraordinary memory who gained access to Jefferson Davis's household and passed invaluable information to Union forces.

In this episode of History Shorts, discover the remarkable true story of two women whose courage, ingenuity, and sacrifice helped shape the outcome of the Civil War—and why their contributions were overlooked for generations.

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On March 25, 1911, flames tore through the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City, claiming the lives of 146 workers in just eighteen minutes. Most were young immigrant women trapped behind locked exit doors, with no safe escape. As horrified crowds watched from below, many made the impossible choice to jump.

The tragedy shocked the nation. Although the factory owners were acquitted of manslaughter, public outrage transformed grief into action. Sweeping labor reforms followed, establishing new standards for fire safety, working conditions, and worker protections. Among those forever changed was Frances Perkins, who witnessed the disaster firsthand and later became Franklin D. Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor, helping shape many of the workplace safeguards Americans still rely on today.

In this episode of History Shorts, we tell the heartbreaking story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire—and how one of America's greatest industrial tragedies changed the workplace forever.

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