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

By Mick Sullivan

Kids & Family

What's The Past and The Curious: A History Podcast for Kids and Families about?

A History Podcast for Kids! Parents love us, Teachers love us, and most importantly, kids do too!
History can be amazing, inspiring and relevant to anyone. We love to share the stories of Spies, funny foods, George Washington's foibles, early advancements in cartooning and ballooning and much more! A professional music score and important songs accompany nearly every themed episode. Proud Kids Listen Member @pastandcurious

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Underwear Chronicles Three:...

01.18.2022

Buster Keaton could take a fall like no one else, and that skill carried him from the Vaudeville stages to the movie screen. He made people laugh, dazzled them with stunts, and fought a fire in his undies.

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

01.18.2022 Underwear Chronicles Three: Buster Keaton Buster Keaton could take a fall like no one else, and that skill carried him from the Vaudeville stages to the movie screen. He made people laugh, dazzled them with stunts, and fought a fire in his undies.
12.29.2021 Episode 63: More Accidents, More Toys Chance has given us some great toys. Explore the accident that led to Silly Putty, the chance repurposing that led to Silly Putty, a few men who stumbled upon them, and two women who figured out what the substances should ...
12.15.2021 Underwear Chronicles Two: Marie Antoinette The famed Queen of France had several run-ins with underwear. She also had run-ins with smallpox, ladies-in-waiting, an awkward young prince, catty couriers, and ultimately, the guillotine. If nothing else, this episode will help you appreciate your privacy.
11.27.2021 Episode 62: Chance Encounters Train stations are busy places and two notable men had very remarkable (and dramatic)encounters in stations during the 1860s. Thomas Edison met a mentor, and Robert Lincoln met a Shakespearean actor named Booth. Also features a You Have 30 Seconds ...
11.15.2021 Underwear Chronicles 1: Up, Up, and Away With Their Clothes Jean-Pierre Blanchard (1753-1809) and John Jeffries (1744-1819) Aeronauts, International Record Setters, Nearly Naked Travelers In the first release from our monthly true tale of underwear history, we meet two early aeronauts who became the first to fly internationally. And the ...
10.28.2021 Episode 61: A Queen and Some Witches Marina Raskova set world flying records, survived an epic plane crash, and was a trailblazer for generations of female pilots in Russia. With her help, The Night Witches became the most feared fliers of World War 2. Adelaide Herrmann was ...
09.29.2021 Episode 60 Big Ideas: Professor TSC Lowe and John Cleves Symmes Jr Professor TSC Lowe (who was not a professor at all) had visions for a transatlantic balloon flight. He never succeeded in that but he did wind up as the Chief Aeronaut of the Balloon Corps during the American Civil War. ...
08.30.2021 Episode 59: Safety with Books The 1939 World's Fair brought a special visitor from England: an original copy of Magna Carta, but with World War II in full swing, America couldn't send it back. So the had to babysit the priceless document, which got more ...
07.29.2021 Episode 58 Origin Stories And Gold Medals Origin stories, comic mis-starts, and medal-winning moments are highlighted in this episode featuring two unlikely international star athletes. Canada's Bobbie Rosenfeld overcame, among other things, small pox and very large pants to run her way into history - not just ...
07.03.2021 Bonus Episode! Knox Says Yes Henry Knox is a name not many people know, but he was a pretty amazing bookseller turned soldier during the Revolutionary War. Released in honor of July 4th - but you can listen anywhere and anytime - still a good ...
06.28.2021 Episode 57: On Horseback! This episode tells the stories of Sibyl Ludington and Charley Willis. Sybil's well-known story is amazing, yet it lacks a lot of primary sources, and we use that as a way to introduce thinking about the past with a critical ...
05.26.2021 Episode 56 Eugene And Django in Paris Django Reinhardt was a Romani musician who, despite losing the use of two of his fingers was one of the most important musicians of his time. His contemporary and fellow Parisian was a man named Eugene Bullard. This American-born man ...
04.27.2021 Episode 55 Telescopes And Stars Edwin Hubble changed our view of the Solar System, but he was also a collegiate National Champion basketball player and high school coach. He also dealt with the struggles of freezing his face to a telescope. Anything for Science! George ...
03.26.2021 Episode 54: Gold! Levi Strauss left his native Germany to escape discrimination, and then left New York for the opportunities of the American West. He lost some gold, but changed the world with his pants partnership. Ferminia Sarras was a miner from Nicaragua ...
02.24.2021 Episode 53: Sophie And Willa No one could have predicted that Sophie Blanchard would become France's leading aeronaut, but she flew higher than any woman before her. Willa Brown was the first Black woman to earn a pilot's license in America, but her accomplishments didn't ...
01.26.2021 Episode 52 Food Fight The Oyster Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay contend with the Toe Nail Governor and his mission to protect the oysters from extinction. A few years later, a new Food Fight erupts in middle America. This one is about Limburger Cheese ...
12.22.2020 Episode 51: Roller Skates And Atomic Power John Joseph Merlin created automata, musical instruments, clocks, and one of the first pairs of roller skates. His roller skate debut was pretty tragic (and hilarious). A.C. Gilbert was a magician turned toymaker who created some important and lasting toys, ...
11.29.2020 Episode 50: Let's Dance! Maria Tallchief was a member of the Osage nation who happened to become the first major American ballet dancer. Her story is read by Ashley Thursby, a dancer with The Louisville Ballet. The Dancing Plague of 1518 began when Frau ...
10.28.2020 Episode 49: Under Your Feet This episode is about places that used to be and which are now covered up by something new. Yarrow Mamout was an unusual man in early America, but the black business leader's story was literally buried by buildings near Washington ...
09.29.2020 Episode 48: Great Moments in Communication! The Transatlantic Cable connected North America and Europe, allowing for communication like never before (at least for a few weeks). It sure wasn't easy - told by Greg and Abigail Maupin. Likewise, Alexander Graham Bell's invention changed the world of ...
08.28.2020 Episode 47 Leonardo! Leonardo da Vinci had some wins and some losses, but his impact was enormous. He kinda sorta finished a painting of a lady named Lisa that wound up in the King of France's bathroom. Centuries later a man named Vincenzo ...
07.28.2020 Episode 46 Deliveries! Mary Fields was known as Stagecoach Mary, and her story is one of the great tales of the West. Likewise, Owney the dog, always captures the imagination. Michael Fleming, reads the story of Owney, and Melly Victor of Stoopkids Stories ...
06.29.2020 Episode 45: Parents! Parents can be pretty amazing sometimes - these two stories feature parents who went above and beyond for their kids and their community. Ada Blackjack was an Inupiat woman who was the only survivor of an extreme Arctic expedition, and ...
05.29.2020 Episode 44: Freight Train Elizabeth Cotten became a music star pretty late in her life. In fact, she was a grandmother. But when she was 11 she wrote a song that made it's way across the ocean and was learned by a band called ...
04.22.2020 Episode 43: Hands! A Special Episode for April of 2020. Join us as we meet Ignaz Semmelweis, Florence Nightingale, John Snow, and also a woman named Mary Mallon, who - for better or for worse - is now remembered as "Typhoid Mary."
04.15.2020 Episode 42: Bears! Join Mick Sullivan for a story about the first bear in Theodore Roosevelt's life, a bear named Jonathan Edwards, and then the second bear in his life - one which gave rise to a cuddly creature in your bedroom. Then ...
03.10.2020 Episode 41: OK BLOOMER! Amelia Bloomer helped change the world with a pair of underpants (which she didn't even invent). Among other things, it helped women ride bikes, and this led to a new independence in the late 1800's. Many women (even Susan B. ...
02.20.2020 Episode 40 Robert Smalls And Basketballs The Harlem Globetrotters were more than a show. They were an incredible barnstorming team who helped integrate the NBA. Told by Mick Sullivan with help from Dustin Baron Robert Smalls was responsible for one of the most daring escapes during ...
01.25.2020 Episode 39 The Astronomer and the Photographer Eadweard Muybridge made history with his photos, including one of a running horse. It's more interesting than it sounds. Tycho Brahe lost his nose, but made some wild discoveries about our solar system - before he could even get a ...
12.19.2019 Episode 38 Store Windows and Old Underwear L. Frank Baum, an author of a classic book (which became a classic movie) was also partially responsible for our love of fancy holiday shop windows. Also, Meriwether Lewis gives his pal William Clark a re-gift he probably could've done ...
11.30.2019 Episode 37 Sewer Water and Water Water John Wesley Powell is the first American of European descent to conquer the Grand Canyon, and he did it with one arm! Also, Paris was a pretty stinky place until they upgraded the sewers. Learn about poop, nightmen, and a ...
10.29.2019 Episode 36 Mechanical Monsters! Mary Shelley didn't just create one of the most memorable characters and important books in history, she also pretty-much invented science fiction. Heather Gotlib tells her original story on the author of Frankenstein. Have you ever heard about the chess ...
09.26.2019 Episode 35: Polymaths! A polymath is a person of wide ranging knowledge or ability, and in this episode we're telling the stories of two unsung polymaths. Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de St. Georges, was a world class fencer, composer, conductor and musician who spent ...
09.06.2019 Special Episode Otzi and Tumble! We’re sharing this special episode with our friends from Tumble, A Science Podcast for Kids. First you’ll hear Mick’s telling of the discovery and disagreement about Otzi the Iceman. Then we turn it over to Lindsay and Marshall from Tumble ...
08.14.2019 Episode 34: Museum Tales! Isabella Stewart Gardner was a very unusual lady who created an incredible museum in Boston. Unfortunately some of her paintings have gone missing. Charles Wilson Peale painted people, but he also created America's first museum - right upstairs from where ...
06.20.2019 Episode 33: Prairie Dogs and Animal Bands Mick Sullivan tells a story of the Prairie Dog who wound up on the Lewis and Clark Journey and had one of the most eventful lives imaginable. Heather Funk tells her story about the popular cartoon "Bremenskie Muzykanty" which infuriated ...
05.16.2019 Episode 32: Strange Things The long awaited episode to coincide with the release of our book "The Meatshower!" Mr. Eric from What If World tells he's tory of Boston's Great Molasses Disaster and Mick Sullivan tells the story of the Kentucky Meatshower of 1876. ...
04.09.2019 Ep. 31 April Fooling! It's Kids Listen Sweeps Month and we're joining the April Fool's fun (though pretty late). This episode features Heather Gotlib's original story of the real-life, classic prank called the Berner's Street Hoax, in which an unsuspecting family's home becomes the ...
03.19.2019 Ep. 30 Underwater! Celebrate the big 3-0 with us as we head underwater. Brian West tells the story of Garrett Morgan, an inventor and brave man who created some really important things which are still around today. Mick Sullivan tells the story of ...
02.14.2019 Ep. 29 Happy Birthday, Athena! Patty Hill (with the help of her sister Margaret) did much more than just write Happy Birthday, but that'd be achievement enough. Story by Heather Gotlib Their Friend Enid Yandell happened to be a world-class Sculptor. and in our telling ...
01.14.2019 Ep. 28: Trains And Movies! In this episode, Mr. Eric of What If World joins us to share the story of early moving pictures, including an often told (but probably untrue) story of the first train on film. The Lumiere Brothers revolutionized our world, find ...
12.05.2018 Ep. 27: Toys And Games We're digging through the inductees of the Toy Hall of Fame to find great stories that span Abraham Lincoln to Frank Lloyd Wright and beyond. Learn the stories of Milton Bradley's Game of Life (with a bit of Lincoln's beard, ...
11.07.2018 Ep. 26: Lily May, Clara, and Leon The people of the late 1930's saw some fun music made by some remarkable women. Lily May Ledford and her band from Pinchem Tight Holler, KY (YEOW!!) play for President Roosevelt, First Lady Eleanor and the King and Queen of ...
10.08.2018 Ep. 25: Fakes And Frauds! Some people just can't be honest, and some try to pass off something phony as something real. This episode is about a would-be Shakespeare named William Henry Ireland, and a gang of body snatchers who try to pilfer a president's ...
09.06.2018 Ep. 24: Shipwrecks! Ep. 24: Shipwrecks! Ida Lewis, Marquis de Lafayette, Sail Away Ladies Join host Mick Sullivan and friend Hanna Zimmerman of Locust Grove as we share the stories of Marquis de Lafayette's steamboat shipwreck, and Rhode Island lifesaver Ida Lewis. Also features a performance of the song "Sail Away Ladies," Quiztime and ...
07.17.2018 Ep. 23: Hot Dog! A Tale of Kings, Queens, Dead Whales, and Johnny Verbek's Machine From the electric bathers of Coney Island to the King of England, no food has been as satisfying as a hot dog. You won't believe it as we weave a tale of dead whales, muckrakers, publicity stunts, and President Roosevelt. ...
06.13.2018 Ep. 22: Play Ball! Jackie Mitchell, Moe Berg, Summertime and more You don't have to like baseball to like this episode! First, Kelly Moore shares the story of Jackie Mitchell, a young woman who struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Next, Bailey Mazik of the Louisville Slugger Museum and ...
05.21.2018 Ep. 21: Journeys! Horatio and Bud, John Ledyard and more! The history podcast for kids and adults joins the Kids Listen Sweeps party and tells two stories about two great adventures. Melinda Beck tells the tale of Horatio Jackson and the first drive across the country (and his dog Bud), ...
04.06.2018 Ep. 20: Bridges - Emily Roebling, Sonny Rollins and more! Join us for two tales connected by bridges. First, Emily Roebling winds up as a lead engineer in the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, the first American woman to find herself in such a position. Second, Sonny Rollins, one fo ...
03.07.2018 Ep.19 The Statue Of Liberty! The Statue of Liberty could have wound up in Egypt, Philadelphia, or the bottom of the ocean. Once she wound up in New York she had to wait for America to raise a lot of money - which they did ...

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