Operation Midnight Climax

A secret night on the Mekong offers Joseph and Lan a glimpse of the life they want — just as Saigon is shaken by assassination and political terror. As alliances harden and the city tightens around them, survival begins to take precedence over love.

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One city, a divided country, and the war that tore America apart… Saigon is an epic saga of love, blood and revolution starring Kelly Marie Tran and Rob Benedict.

Listen to all episodes of Saigon on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A championship tennis match becomes a flashpoint between French colonial power and Vietnamese resistance. Newly returned American Joseph Sherman is drawn into a world of old friendships, dangerous loyalties and sudden desire — and by nightfall, one family is shattered.

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One city, a divided country, and the war that tore America apart… Saigon is an epic saga of love, blood and revolution starring Kelly Marie Tran and Rob Benedict.

Listen to all episodes of Saigon on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gene Fleming and his pet goose Andy made headlines around the world. They brought out the best in the people of Hastings, Nebraska. But amid all this attention, Andy also brought out the worst. And three decades later, Andy's legacy is still reverberating around their hometown.

Note: This episode includes the murder of a beloved goose. And don't forget to check out Dana's new book, The Arcane Arts. Out this week in bookstores everywhere!

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Very Special Thanks to Jessica Korgie for sharing her family's story with us.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In June 1970, Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates somehow tossed a no-hitter while tripping on acid. The LSD stunt made him a legend, but it overshadowed a much deeper story: a man who spent the second half of his life searching for redemption, purpose, and a way to help others escape the same darkness that once enveloped him.

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Today's episode was produced in partnership with School of Humans. For School of Humans, Producers are Emilia Brock and Edeliz Perez. Executive Producer is Virginia Prescott.

Special thanks to American Public Media’s Weekend America, and to Todd Snider.

- “Dock Ellis: An LSD No-No” from American Public Media  
- “America’s Favorite Pastime” by Todd Snider

Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason English
Written by Zaron Burnett
Story Editor is Virginia Prescott
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Jesse Nighswonger
Mixing and Mastering by Jesse Nighswonger
Research and Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson and Zaron Burnett
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Good artists borrow, great artists steal. Apparently, Thomas Jefferson got the memo. It turns out some North Carolinians penned their own Declaration of Independence nearly a year before TJ scribed his. 

So, if Thomas Jefferson stole (borrowed/homaged) the language for the Declaration of Independence, why have we never talked about this? Well, there was one heck of cover up! 

To get the full story, we call up David Fleming, author of Who's Your Founding Father?: One Man’s Epic Quest to Uncover the First, True Declaration of Independence. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1978, Soviet geologists flying over Siberia spotted something impossible: a family living in total isolation, untouched for decades by the modern world. But when outsiders finally reached their remote cabin, the family’s hidden world began to change forever.

Special thanks to Rebecca E. Marshall for letting us share clips from her documentary, The Forest in Me. We also want to shout out the film's composer, Xylouris White. You can stream The Forest in Me right now on MUBI.

Listen to Very Special Episodes wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for another mailbag episode! This week Dana, Zaron, and Jason answer pressing listener questions on yearbook quotes, hidden talents, and ads they'd read for free. Plus they plan a Very Special Festival (and/or Cruise). 

We'll be back with a new episode next Wednesday. Got a question for a future mailbag? Send it to [email protected]. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's episode is a tour of New York’s secret history with a very special guest!

Greg Young of the beloved Bowery Boys podcast joins us to prove the world is a very interesting place, if you just know where to look. There's hidden history in subway grates, SoHo stores, Central Park statues, and Hamilton lyrics. 

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Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Dana Schwartz
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Social Clips by Yarberry Media
Executive Producer is Jason English

In an upcoming episode, Zaron will be giving the Very Special Places treatment to San Francisco. If there's a city or town you'd like us to visit, email [email protected]. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Quincy Adams may have been a failed one-term president, but he had one of the most amazing second acts in American political history. From the House of Representatives, he steered our new nation through one of its most tumultuous eras ... carrying the torch of American democracy from the Founding Fathers to Abraham Lincoln. 

In this special episode of American History Hotline, Robert Costa interviews Bob about his new book: America’s Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick. It's an amazing conversation recorded live in D.C. at Politics and Prose. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we're sharing an excerpt from a new soccer podcast, The Away End with John Green and Daniel Alarcón. In a recent episode they covered the 1994 Caribbean Cup, which felt very Very Special Episodes-y. If you like soccer or enjoy listening to smart friends chat, check out their show! Dana, Zaron + Jason will be back with a new episode next Wednesday.  

About The Away End

Two novelists, Daniel Alarcón and John Green, friends since they were teenagers, tackle questions big and small around the World Cup and international football more generally. The only soccer podcast that regularly name checks Toni Morrison, The Away End is about much more than sport: it's about politics, literature and culture, with an eye toward those moments and spaces where our collective love of soccer reveals something unexpected about who we are.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.