In 1989, Boris Yeltsin walked into a Houston supermarket, and walked out ready to end an empire. What he saw in Texas that day would shake the foundations of the Soviet Union.

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On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday. 

Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Dave Roos
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher
Research and Fact-Checking by Dave Roos and Austin Thompson
Voice Actor is Tom Antonellis
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Social Clips by Yarberry Media
Executive Producer is Jason English

Special thanks to composer Evan Mack for letting us play a clip of “Make Your Move,” from his original opera Yeltsin in Texas. Learn more at evanmack.com. 

And thanks to Yelena Biberman for sharing her story. Check out her excellent podcast How to Kill a Superpower. 

We've got a mailbag episode coming later this month. Got a question for Dana, Zaron, or Jason? Email us at [email protected]. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1897, a Swedish engineer set out to reach the North Pole ... by balloon. With two companions, a crate of champagne, and the faith of a nation, he rose into the Arctic fog — and vanished. Decades later, their frozen journals and undeveloped film emerged from the ice, revealing the haunting truth behind one of exploration’s great mysteries.

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Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Marisa Brown and Mac Montandon
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Story Editor is Marisa Brown
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Research and Fact-Checking by Marisa Brown and Austin Thompson
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Social Clips by Yarberry Media
Special thanks to our voice actors Tom Antonellis, Chris Childs, and Josh Fisher
Executive Producer is Jason English

You can email the show at [email protected].   

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the golden age of 1980s television, few faces were more familiar — or more dishonest — than Joe Isuzu’s. Actor David Leisure brought the fast-talking car salesman to life, turning a parody of advertising into one of its greatest icons. In this Very Special Interview, the man behind America’s favorite liar revisits the campaign that changed commercials forever.

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Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason English
Written by Zaron Burnett
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

Question? Comment? Idea for which advertising icon we should try to interview next? Email us at [email protected].   

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 1960s, there were 36,000 Americans living in the Canal Zone. They had Friday night high school football games, sock hops, and Hollywood movies at the local theater. It looked like a mid-century American town had been dropped into the Panamanian jungle — because that’s exactly what it was. But many Panamanians weren’t happy with this “country-in-a-country” arrangement. What would it take to get the Americans to leave? The answer, it turns out, was a bunch of teenagers.

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Check out Marixa Lasso's Erased: The Untold Story of the Panama Canal and Wendy Tribaldos' books about the history of Panama and the Canal Zone.

Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Dave Roos
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Research and Fact-Checking by Dave Roos and Austin Thompson
Special thanks to our voice actors Chris Childs and Josh Fisher
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi, Very Special Episodes listeners! We're hard at work on the next season of VSE, which lands October 22nd. In the meantime, did you know our own Dana Schwartz has a new podcast? Give it a listen!

Hoax!: Why do so many people believe things that aren’t true? In an era when claims of “fake news” come as naturally as breathing, and social media allows lies to spread and multiply like viruses, the question feels more relevant than ever. From the teenage girls who convinced Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that fairies were real in the 19th century to “Balloon boy” in 2009, Hoax! will explore the most audacious and ambitious tricks in history. Along the way, we’ll uncover the reasons people let themselves be fooled and how we can live our lives and engage with the media with a more critical eye. Co-hosted by Noble Blood’s Dana Schwartz and pop culture writer Lizzie Logan, we’ll bring you stories of pranks and grifts throughout history so big and bold they make us question why we believe what we believe in the first place.

Listen to Hoax! on the iHeartRadio App or wherever you get your podcasts!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi, Very Special Episodes listeners! We're excited to share with you a sneak peek at iHeartPodcasts' latest release, American History Hotline.

American History Hotline: Bob Crawford searches for the best historians and experts to answer listener questions about American history — from the Revolutionary War to rock & roll feuds. Got a question? Send it to [email protected].

 

Listen to American History Hotline on the iHeartRadio App or wherever you get your podcasts!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Superman is everywhere this summer, but today's bonus episode has nothing to do with James Gunn or David Corenswet. Let's go back to the beginning, when young Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster first conjured up the character. Superman may have never seen the light of day if not for a real crime that changed the duo’s lives forever.

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This bonus episode was written by Jake Rossen and originally appeared as part of the Stealing Superman podcast. Go listen to that show and help us find Nic Cage's stolen comics!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon is considered a classic. The deceptively complex children’s book has been passed down for generations. But if the New York Public Library had gotten its way, you’d have never even heard of it. 

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Thanks to our Very Special guests Amy Gary, author of In the Great Green Room; and writer, children's book author, and podcaster Betsy Bird.  

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Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason English
Written by Carmen Borca-Carrillo and edited by Emily Rudder at Wonder Media Network
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Mixing and Mastering by Chris Childs
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Fact-Checking by Maya Shoukri
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Voice Actors: Katie Mattie, Chris Childs, Josh Fisher, Jonathan Washington, Juliet English, and Charlotte English
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Although American schoolchildren still recite The Pledge every morning in nearly every classroom, we still aren't sure who actually wrote it. And all these years later, the long-accepted story is showing some cracks.

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Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason English
Written by Dave Roos
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Story Editor is Aaron Edwards
Research and Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson and Dave Roos
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

We'll be back with a new episode next Wednesday! 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eighty years ago this summer, a young John F. Kennedy took a job as a journalist for Hearst newspapers, filing dispatches in the final days of World War II. His columns capture the mood of a changing world.

Even the most seasoned JFK scholars often overlook this chapter. In today's extra special Very Special Episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Fred Logevall and legendary director Rob Reiner join us to explore the forgotten summer that helped shape Kennedy's worldview. 

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Check out Fred Logevall's excellent book: JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century.

Listen to Who Killed JFK? from Rob Reiner and Soledad O'Brien wherever you get your podcasts. And go see Spinal Tap II: The End Continues in theaters this September!

And thanks to our JFK voice actor, Tom Antonellis, for nailing another role. 

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Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Joe Pompeo
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington and Josh Fisher
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher
Research and Fact-Checking by Joe Pompeo and Austin Thompson
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.