Nebraska History Podcast

Explorers and fur traders occasionally tested the shallow Platte's navigability in the nineteenth century. How many succeeded? What did they carry? Why did they stop? Railroads eventually made most river traffic obsolete, and the Platte served primarily as a source of irrigation water for crops. But there's more to the story.

This episode is from Lawrence Allin's 1982 Nebraska History Magazine article "'A ⁠Mile Wide and an Inch Deep': Attempts to Navigate the Platte River."

Hastings, which had welcomed 20,000 people in a peaceful celebration of its history in 1939, had become a community in which residents called one another names in the local newspaper in 1942.

The Naval Ammunition Depot built during the ensuing years caused the relatively insular community to suddenly accommodate a huge increase in population, which brought with it diverse social and ethnic groups for which it was unprepared.

This episode is from Beverly Russell's 1995 Nebraska History Magazine article "World War II Boomtown: Hastings and the Naval Ammunition Depot."

The dream was of a great city in Nebraska—the future gateway to the entire American West. It would be the largest, most important urban center between Chicago and San Francisco.

The dreamer was Dr. John Evans, a Chicago real estate tycoon and the namesake of Evanston, Illinois. Evans believed he had the vision and experience to make Oreapolis succeed. He failed.

This episode is from the article "Oreapolis, Nebraska's Ghost City" by John Irwin, published in the 2020 Fall issue of Nebraska History Magazine.

In 1930, a daring heist rocked the heart of Lincoln, Nebraska, and became the biggest bank heist in U.S. history for over two decades. Six unmasked robbers, taking advantage of an unguarded bank, walked away with a staggering two and a half million dollars. The audacious crime sent shockwaves through the community and law enforcement agencies alike. Despite arrests and the recovery of some stolen securities, the case was never fully solved.

As the US Army moved westward, military forts had to find ways to be more self-sufficient. This was the case at Fort Atkinson, Nebraska, among other locations nationwide. Their success varied, however, and officials expressed conflicting opinions about the appropriateness of soldiers spending their time farming.

This episode is from the article, "To Plow, To Sow, To Reap, to Mow: The US Army Agriculture Program," written by Miller J Stewart and published in the Summer 1982 issue of Nebraska History Magazine.

In 2009, Michael Oriard’s book, “Bowled Over,” examined the effects of politics and social change on big-time college football during the past fifty years. The author of this episode’s 2010 article, Russ Crawford, investigates the issues of race, power, and money in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s storied football program.

This episode features the 2010 Nebraska History Magazine article, "Nebraska Football and Michael Oriard's Bowled Over: A Review Essay," by Russ Crawford.

Lured by Marlon Brando's mother, actor Henry Fonda got his start at the Omaha Community Playhouse in 1925. Fonda maintained close ties with the Playhouse after his rise to stardom, and in time, his children Jane and Peter made their theatrical debuts there, too.

Author Leo Adam Biga joins Chris Goforth to discuss his article and the significant relationship between the Fondas and their home state.

The article was published in the Summer 2024 issue of Nebraska History Magazine.

Omaha radio station owner Todd Storz played a key role in pioneering the Top 40 format in the 1950s. He was a figure of national significance, permanently changing radio programming with an approach that was “vibrantly populist, crassly commercial, and undeniably young.”

This episode is from the 2012 Nebraska History Magazine article, "Vox Populi of Omaha: Todd Storz and the Top 40 Radio Format in American Culture," written by Chris Rasmussen.

At Peru State College, on Tuesday morning, April 25, 1950, Professor Barney K Baker shot to death the college president, Dr William L Nicholas, and the head of the education division, Dr Paul Ammon Maxwell. He then went home and killed himself. The tragedy followed Dr Baker's being notified of his future dismissal from the college. This article investigates the circumstances surrounding his dismissal.

The episode is from Nancy Handy Moran's 1988 Nebraska History Magazine article, "Tragedy at Peru State College: The Murders of William Nicholas and Paul Maxwell."

Ten of the twenty-three buffalo soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for actions in frontier conflicts or the Cuban Campaign of 1898 served at Fort Robinson. This episode introduces you to some of these heroes and how they earned the Medal of Honor.

This episode is from the 1997 Nebraska History Magazine article, "Ten Troopers: Buffalo Soldier Medal of Honor Men Who Served at Fort Robinson" by Frank Schubert.