The Untold History

The Untold History episodes:

• 10.06.2018

  The Meteorite

  The first person to have been verified to have been struck by a meteorite was Ann Hodges, of Sylacauga, Alabama.  Today we tell her story. You can subscribe to the Untold History podcast at RadioPublic, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or on your...

  
• 09.29.2018

  The Raid on St. Albans

  Today we tell the story of a Confederate raid on the town of St. Albans, Vermont, the northernmost land military action undertaken by the South in the Civil War. You can subscribe to the Untold History podcast on RadioPublic, Apple Podcasts,...

  
• 09.16.2018

  Walter Ashby Plecker

  Prior to World War II several states enacted eugenics laws.  One of these was Virginia, whose Racial Integrity and Sterilization Acts served as a model for laws passed in Nazi Germany.  Today we tell the story of the man mainly...

  
• 09.08.2018

  The Esau System

  The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer in America today.  There's talk about oligarchs taking over the country like they have in Russia.  But, folks, no matter how bad it seems now, it can always get...

  
• 09.01.2018

  Albert

  Today we tell the story of a man who spent World War II saving as many people as he could from Nazi oppression and extermination, all under the watchful eye of Nazi officials. It was this man's surprising connection to...

  
• 08.18.2018

  The Clay County Wildman

  Today we tell the story of Orval Brown, who decided to get back to nature by imitating his literary hero, Tarzan.  So, in the midst of the Depression, West Virginia became the home of its own homegrown Tarzan, loincloth and...

  
• 08.11.2018

  The First Flight?

  Everybody knows that the Wright brothers flew the first airplane, right?  What if that wasn't true? Today we tell the untold history of Clark Dyer of Georgia, who patented a steerable aircraft back in 1874 and is reported to have actually...

  
• 07.08.2018

  John W. Powell, Journalist And Enemy Of The People

  In the Age of Trump, we in the United States have become used to tweets calling the press "the enemy of the people."  So far it's just bombastic rhetoric.  But what could happen?  Today we tell you. Back in the 1950's,...

  
• 04.07.2018

  William Henry Ellis

  Born the son of Texas slaves, William Henry Ellis was the epitome of the self-made man.  So self-made in fact that he even changed his name to Guillermo Enrique Eliseo and his ancestry to Mexican.  He built up a financial...

  
• 03.24.2018

  Henry Box Brown

  Today we tell the story of a slave who managed to gain his freedom in a most unusual way, then went on to live a full, interesting, free life. You can subscribe to the Untold History podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher,...

  
• 03.17.2018

  Junius Wilson

  In 1925 a young African American man was arrested, charged and convicted of the crime of attempted rape.  He was then found by the court to be insane, mainly because he spent the trial grunting and waving his arms around...

  
• 03.10.2018

  The Inventor

  America has been the home of many inventors and innovators, including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Nikola Tesla, and Walter Hunt.  Walter Hunt? Today we tell the story of a man who tinkered and tinkered and tinkered and came up with such...

  
• 03.04.2018

  The Day They Hanged The Elephant

  In the South in 1916, justice was swift, if not always by the book.  And on September 13, 1916, rough justice was done in the form of a hanging for a murder that happened two days earlier.  Now, to be...

  
• 02.25.2018

  The Curse

  In 1941, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin ordered a group of scientists to open the tomb of Tamerlane, who had swept out of Central Asia in the late Middle Ages to create a vast empire.  This turned out to be a...

  
• 02.18.2018

  The Boogeyman

  WARNING: THIS EPISODE IS NSFW!  During the early 20th century a monster roamed the streets of New York City.  This man lured young children to molestation, mutilation and murder.  He also claimed to have dined on his victims, too. Today we tell...

  
• 02.11.2018

  The Holy Roller Divorce

  In 1915, divorce was rare, at least compared to today.  And the grounds for divorce were pretty serious, like adultery or abandonment.  But that year a man in Washington State got a divorce from his wife over her church friends...

  
• 02.04.2018

  Hitler's American Saboteur

  In 1941, two young men from Chicago decided that they wanted to see the world, so they set out, first for Mexico, then on to Asia and finally to a Europe then in the midst of the Second World War. ...

  
• 02.04.2018

  Hitler’s American Saboteur

  In 1941, two young men from Chicago decided that they wanted to see the world, so they set out, first for Mexico, then on to Asia and finally to a Europe then in the midst of the Second World War. ...

  
• 01.28.2018

  The Canadian Ironman

  Hello folks! Today we tell the story of a French-Canadian soldier who willingly faced death again and again in World War II and in Korea, singlehandedly accomplishing feats you'd expect from entire platoons of soldiers.  And when he was badly injured...

  
• 01.21.2018

  The First Woman Convicted of Bank Robbery in Kentucky

  Lillian Grace Browder and her husband, Carl, were involved in a daring bank robbery in West Louisville, Kentucky, in 1929, leading to Grace's arrest and conviction of the crime, the first woman thus convicted in the state.  Today we tell...

  
• 01.14.2018

  George Washington, Landlord in Chief

  We've all heard of George Washington's story: Virginia plantation owner, British office in the French and Indian War, commander of American forces in the Revolution, and the first President of the United States.  Did you know that he was a...

  
• 01.08.2018

  The Prophetess

  In 1814, 64 year old religious prophetess Joanna Southcott declared that she was pregnant with the second coming of Jesus Christ.  Today on the Untold History we tell you her story. You can subscribe to The Untold History at Apple Podcasts,...

  
• 01.01.2018

  The Straw Hat Riots of 1922

  Men used to wear straw hats during the summer.  It was a fashion faux pas not to replace those hats with felt ones after the 15th of September, at the risk of humiliation or worse. And worse arrived in 1922...

  
• 12.25.2017

  The Carnegie Con

  Poor Cassie Chadwick.  All she ever wanted was to be accepted by Cleveland high society.  And she was, after all that lavish spending on parties and events and such.  Oh, and that two million dollar promissory note from daddy, who...

  
• 12.18.2017

  Lincoln's Body

  After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, he was laid to rest at the Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.  And there Lincoln remained, undisturbed, until 1876. That year a group of men decided to kidnap Lincoln's body.  Today...

  
• 12.18.2017

  Lincoln’s Body

  After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, he was laid to rest at the Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.  And there Lincoln remained, undisturbed, until 1876. That year a group of men decided to kidnap Lincoln's body.  Today...

  
• 12.12.2017

  The HMS Dreadnought Hoax

  The British Empire was at its height in 1910, powerful, haughty, and proud.  The HMS Dreadnought was the flagship battleship of the British Navy, and in February of that year a group of young artists managed to do what many...

  
• 12.05.2017

  Memmie

  Of all the things one might find in the French countryside in the 18th century, the last thing you'd expect would be a feral Native American child.  But that's exactly what the villagers of Songy discovered in 1731.  Today we...

  
• 11.17.2017

  Chang and Eng

  On today's episode of the Untold History, Steve and Gena tell the story of Chang and Eng Bunker, the original Siamese twins.  The brothers are world famous, having traveled the world as an exhibition and appearing at P.T. Barnum's American...

  
• 11.10.2017

  The Kentucky Meat Shower

  Today on the Untold History, Gena and Steve tell the story of the time flesh rained out of the clear, blue Kentucky sky onto a farm.  It was, and still is a mystery as to what this substance was and...

  
• 11.03.2017

  The Great Catnip Riot of 1909

  Cats on catnip can be kind of cute, like playful kitties.  Hundreds of cats on catnip can be terrifying!  One enterprising young man found that out in 1909 in New York City, and today we tell you that story. You can...

  
• 10.31.2017

  Jack O' Lanterns

  It's Halloween, so today we tell the story of how the holiday came to be, as well as the origin of the jack o'lantern.   We're on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play or on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening, and have...

  
• 10.31.2017

  Jack O’ Lanterns

  It's Halloween, so today we tell the story of how the holiday came to be, as well as the origin of the jack o'lantern.   We're on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play or on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening, and have...

  
• 10.27.2017

  Robert Smalls: Confederate Sailor, South Carolina Senator, U.S. Representative, Escaped Slave

  Robert Smalls was born in South Carolina, near Beaufort, to a Gullah-speaking slave mother.  Smalls was a hard worker, and was ambitious, too, and soon mastered many trades, including that of a wheelman on a ship.  And it was that...

  
• 10.22.2017

  Russ Columbo

  There was once an entertainer who was handsome, charming, a talented singer who had his own radio show.  In fact, his show was a direct competitor to Bing Crosby's own show, and the radio networks actively promoted a rivalry between...

  
• 10.15.2017

  The Man Who Changed The World

  Ever hear of the Butterfly Effect?  That's a popular science fiction device, in which someone travels into the past and makes one minor change in history, like stepping on a small insect, then returns to the future to find that...

  
• 10.08.2017

  The Greatest Fire On Earth!

  Prior to the Civil War, showman P. T. Barnum was best known not as a circus owner/operator but as the proprietor of Barnum's American Museum in New York City.  The museum housed natural oddities and curiosities, a sideshow with such...

  
• 10.03.2017

  Independence!

  You've heard about the Southern states seceding from the Union to form the Confederacy, leading to the American Civil War. But it wasn't only states declaring their independence, for in some cases, counties also sought their freedom and established themselves...

  
• 09.29.2017

  The Shoe-Fitting Flouoroscope

  Nowadays many of you probably order your shoes online, or you take the kids into Walmart or the shoe store and have them try on shoes while you check them for size with your fingers.  Did you know that at...

  
• 09.22.2017

  Boston Corbett

  History records that Sergeant Boston Corbett of the U.S. Army was the man who shot John Wilkes Booth as the barn he was holding out in was burning to the ground.  But Sergeant Corbett's story was much more than that....

  
• 09.17.2017

  Gloria City

  Right after the Spanish-American War, the newly formed Cuban Land and Steamship Company began selling lots to Americans, Canadians and Europeans interested in settling in the island of Cuba.  With a lot of hard work, this settlement started to prosper...

  
• 09.15.2017

  The Rabbit Battle

  On our first podcast, we tell the untold history of the Rabbit Battle.  Enjoy! You can subscribe to the podcast here on Podbean, on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening. (Music by: https://www.bensound.com)