The story of how two very big cities (New York and Brooklyn) and a whole bunch of small towns and villages — completely different in nature, from farmland to skyscraper — became the second largest city in the world on January 1, 1898.

Rewind: Birth of the Five Boroughs

The tides of American history lead through the streets of New York City — from the huddled masses on Ellis Island to the sleazy theaters of 1970s Times Square. The elevated railroad to the Underground Railroad. Hamilton to Hammerstein! Greg and Tom explore more than 400 years of action-packed stories, featuring both classic and forgotten figures who have shaped the world.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Documentary

The story of a filthy and dangerous train ditch that became one of the swankiest addresses in the world -- Park Avenue.

#431 Up and Down Park Avenue: History with a Penthouse View

Few areas of the United States have as endured as long as Flushing, Queens, a neighborhood with almost over 375 years of history and an evolving cultural landscape that includes Quakers, trees, Hollywood films, world fairs, and new Asian immigration.

#430 The Story of Flushing: Queens History, Old and New

Tom visits the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side to walk through the reconstructed two-room apartment of an African-American couple who lived in 1870 on Laurens Street in today’s Soho neighborhood.

#429 The Moores: A Black Family in 1860s New York

The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton’s most famous novel, an enduring classic of Old New York that has been rediscovered by a new generation. What is it about this story of Newland Archer, May Welland and Countess Olenska that readers respond to today?

The Age of Innocence: Inside Edith Wharton's Classic Novel

Tom and Greg are joined by Kevin Baker, author of The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City, to discuss the early history of the sport and its unique connections to New York City.

Rewind: Birth of the Five Boroughs

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