The Past and The Curious: A History Podcast for Kids and Families

Our 99th Episode!

This episode features the narration talents of musician Will Oldham, also known as Bonnie Prince Billy. Will tells the story of Rhyolite, a town once founded in Death Valley after the discovery of gold by Frank "Shorty" Harris. Today it is a ghost town.

But first, Mick tells the story of the Bone Wars, when Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope should have gotten along, but didn't. Still, they made some major paleontology and dinosaur discoveries.

Stories written by Mick Sullivan, with editorial help from Will Oldham. Music arranged and performed by Mick Sullivan.

The Resolute Desk is a fixture in the Oval Office. American Presidents have used it during some of the country's most pivotal moments. But what does the Resolute Desk have to do with England's dangerous expeditions into the Arctic in the 1800s? Find out on this episode - and learn about ghost ships, the search for the Northwest Passage, and a gift in honor of international friendship and diplomacy.

This episode is sponsored by/brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/PCPOD and get on your way to being your best self.

Episode 98 goes to the Netherlands. There is something remarkable about the Dutch when it comes to glass lenses and scientific tools. Maybe Hans Lippershay invented the telescope. Maybe it was some kids in his town. Or maybe it was one of two other guys who seem to have come up with the idea at the same time and place.

And as far as microscopes go, a dutch man named Antonie von Leeuwenhoek got obsessed with microscopes. He is remembered as the father of microbiology.

Episode 97 is all about ice cream. Eat it anytime of year - it's a treat that we might take for granted today. It used to be expensive, impossible, or potentially dangerous. From George Washington to Edmund Albius to Nancy Johnson to the Hokey Pokey Man, the stories around ice cream are richer than double chocolate chunk.

Episode 96 is all about Ice - in preparation for our following episode about Ice Cream.

Boston's Frederic Tudor became the "Ice King" by taking ice to places in the world where it had never been before. But it wasn't easy

Dr. John Gorrie was looking for ways to care for the sick and became one of the first humans to make ice himself. It sparked a cool revolution.

Episode 95 covers two great stories of international competition. First, The Field of Cloth and Gold was a historic summit that brought together Henry VIII and Francis I with the hopes of peace, competition, and maybe a bit of wrestling.

Second, the 1904 Olympics put a Cuban runner named Felix Carvajal on the map. He didn't win the Olympic marathon, but his spirit made him the winner among the crowds who saw him.

Minerva Hoyt was a wealthy socialite who loved to escape to the desert of California and sleep in the sand. Her hard work and dedication in convincing people about the value of the desert led to preservation of today's Joshua Tree National Park.

Col. Charles Young was born before the end of the Civil War and he would go on to be the third Black graduate from West Point Military Academy. When the Buffalo Soldiers under his command were put in charge of Sequoia National Park he became the first Black superintendent of a National Park.

Episode 93: Milk has been a lot of things through the years, but it was often poisonous, spoiled or both. Learn about how far we've come in making milk safe, and who may or may not have helped us get to the root cause of what was making milk dangerous. 

From Dr. Anna Bixby and the mystery of Milk Sickness to Gail Borden who invented condensed milk, it's been a long road to your grocery store. 

Did Captain Hanson Gregory invent the donut? Did the Lord Mayor of Nottingham get trucked by a truckle of cheese during the Nottingham Cheese Riots of 1766? Find out in this very special episode.

Episode 91 is about Anne Carrol Moore and The Western Library!

Anne Carroll Moore is one of history's most important children's librarians, but not everyone is in love with her legacy. She still changed the world, and mostly for the better.

And Louisville, Kentucky's Western Library is the first library in America built for, and staffed by African-Americans and it became a training ground for many librarians around the country.