American Esoterica: Recent Episodes
Brian Powers
American history, bite-sized.
These are the stories that may have slipped through the cracks - the odd detours that have shaped our history and culture in small, but sometimes significant, ways.
It's the SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL - let's celebrate our 100th episode with a giant fireworks finale of history.
Sometimes, you have to strike the empire back, especially if you're a coal miner in 1921.
History isn't a series of boxes with defined edges - it's a continuum, and our connections to the past are deeper than we think.
A bizarre conspiracy to cover up the time a robot from the future attacked the First Lady with a sled.
The world got a glimpse of the future in Chicago in 1893. Your breakfast would never be the same.
A story about gang warfare, piracy, sharks, death by ammonia suffocation, and the people who killed the geese that laid the golden eggs, pretty much literally.
State of the art technology shows weakness against cheap drone. Difficulty: 70 years ago.
She was the inspiration for the Pinkerton Detective Agency's famous slogan, and all it took was stopping the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Meet the first female private detective in the United States, Kate Warne.
Our scientists determined that racism was stupid at least as far back as 1896. Here's the story of the test case that became the ultimate stain on the Supreme Court and the country.
WE FEEL THE NEED... Look, this is a self-indulgent mess of an episode that exists solely to talk about how cool planes are. You in, or not?
We learn about history in black and white terms, but the most pivotal moments emerge from the gray. Introducing Arrrbraham Lincoln, almost-pirate.
A pig, Robert's Rules of Order, Vancouver, and George Pickett. And the dumbest pseudo-war until the next one in this series.
There is still YET ANOTHER killing in Lafayette Square to discuss, but this story could've gone in a far worse direction. Come for the oddly pleasant death-dealing, stay for the host yelling at his dog for chewing on the studio acoustic panels.
The real story that likely inspired a fake story, and it's way more heartbreaking. This one is a three-hankie episode.
We actually had genuine royalty in this country once, and no, I don't mean Beyoncé (or Queen Bey, as those of us who are true fans call her). And in New Jersey, of all places.
A baker's dozen colonies? A regular dozen? Fourteen? Fifteen? Twenty-six? HOW MANY COLONIES WERE THERE?
Here's another round of lightning-fast-ish presidential trivia, from the devil to the Beast and everything in-between.
The tip of Lake Michigan is just the tip of the iceberg that spins out into a war between the states. Two states, that is.
THIS ONE'S GOT IT ALL, FOLKS - hucksters, country music, goat testicles, pirate radio, patent medicines, wire fraud, William Jennings Bryan...you name it! This is the bizarre story of how rural America fell in love with country music.
Meet Herman Hollerith - the founder of your digital world and archnemesis to The Count on Sesame Street.
We all know that THE story about George Washington isn't true, but what if what we've been wrong about all this time is that the story is KINDA true-ish?
"Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again..." - George W. Bush.
There's one order that holds the record for maybe the most antisemitic government act in American history, and it both complicates and haunts the legacy of someone otherwise perceived as a hero.
Attacking the Union from the south just wasn't cutting it. So why not attack from the north instead? GENIUS.
Lincoln loved the theater, although he might have a different opinion in retrospect. Yes, we're doing another Lincoln one. Yes, it includes some startling coincidences.
This one is about Beyoncé’s stepfather’s ex-wife’s uncle. (It's also the incredible story of a family that lifted each other to unheard-of heights.)
She broke the invisible barriers in early American aviation with little more than a wing and a prayer.
These are the losers of the losers - the ones who tried to do something stupid and failed in the attempt. Look at them - look at them and laugh. Also, it's a very serious subject, and your laughter is highly inappropriate. Grow up.
It was a dramatic and chaotic campaign for the presidency, dominated by fake news, procedural problems, and a particularly problematic pundit. That doesn't narrow it down at all, either, does it? Ahh, America...
There are famous ghosts and ghosts of famous people, but rarely do you find a ghost famous for being non-famous, as our subject today is. Be ready for the tragic theories behind the ghost known only as "The Thing."
It was a quick sales call that would go on to change everything and shape the world to come, until it all came to a fiery halt.
Is something setting off my Geiger counter, or are you just happy to see me? Sometimes, our usual methods of measurement just won't do.
You got your prehistoric beach in my voting patterns! No, you got your voting patterns in my prehistoric beach! Hmm...maybe these are two great tastes that taste great together!
It's not just A national anthem. It's THE national anthem of all national anthems. But it isn't ours. At least, not anymore. But it kind of was. Twice. In different ways.
Look, getting it right is hard. Sometimes we have to settle for "close to right" or "sort of right" or even "not remotely right, but a good story nonetheless." This one features an interview with a special guest, Stuart Fisk Johnson, Esq., of the Aaron Burr Association, who has some things to say about we've treated Mr. Burr.
In which men once again learn which is the superior sex. You may have never heard of the Smith sisters, but after this, you won't forget them. Or their cows.
An inquisition that everybody expects uses its greatest weapon - surprise - against its worst enemy - itself. It begins with a reign of terror but ends in a very different place.
The intersection of the National Mall's biggest eyesore and its ultimate revenge on its most consequential critic.
In the fourth of four episodes on our nation's capital, new heroes emerge to drag Washington, D.C., kicking and screaming into the 20th century via a plan from the 18th century. In other words, the D.C. you know is a lot younger than you think.
In the third of four episodes on our nation's capital, it takes a century for the nation's capital to become...the national toilet. Follow the federal city as it grows and decays simultaneously.
In the second of four episodes on our nation's capital, one man's ego gave us a grand plan for our capital city, but it also led to his downfall. Come for the French fuss, stay for George Washington micromanaging real estate negotiations instead of presidenting.
Hey, just because something isn't true doesn't mean we should just ignore its historical importance, right? Also, contains vague discussions of prior episodes and one use of the world's mildest profanity. Your great-grandma has been warned.
What could possibly overshadow a tragic and eerie event that would cost the lives of 22 people in a government office building?
In this mini-sode of what were already short episodes, learn the origins of how Chicago learned how to turn brown into green.
The duel may have been the end of Alexander Hamilton's story, but it was only the beginning of Aaron Burr's descent into treasonous lunacy and at least a little karma.
Get ready to build your multimillion-dollar international business empire - here's a dollar and fifteen years. Can't do it? Sarah Breedlove did - this is her story.
A fierce love, a bold plan, and a desperate need - but will it be enough for Robert Smalls to rescue his family and escape the Confederacy?
They tried to keep her silent, but instead gave her something to sing about, along with the most incredible stage in the world from which to sing it.
If it were a work of fiction, you wouldn't believe it. This is the story of an epic feat of strength, bravery, and compassion.
Our First was their third - the Bill of Rights that Congress sent to the states for ratification had twelve amendments, not ten, so what happened to those extra two?
The story of how one man during the Cold War accidentally wound up tracking the wrong kind of red airspace invader. And if you've heard the story before, you probably heard it wrong.
A beloved Christmas classic may not have always been so beloved, which is what directly led to it becoming beloved. Beloved.
Our national obsession with a cheezy pasta dish began in the kitchens of Monticello, but it isn't Jefferson to whom we owe the credit.
This is the story of the world's greatest heist - the time the CIA stole a Soviet submarine in full view of the entire world with the help of an eccentric billionaire.
Look, we don't know why we keep coming back to Lincoln, either. But this one has a ghost train, so there's that.
On a Saturday morning in 1971, it took one word to bring many across the nation to the brink of utter panic. Blame Wayland Eberhardt.
Thirteen original colonies smiling and holding hands? Nope. Twelve colonies and one knock-down, drag-out fight with one stubborn holdout.
All it takes is one idiot to make your local street corner a radioactive hot zone. Note: this one is both gross and cruel towards dogs; we're less concerned with the people.
This is the story of a nation scorned taking delicious - and extraordinarily petty - revenge.
This is a story about the worst of intentions, and it is 100% about sex. Just not THAT kind.
Eight days, 11 states, 36 minutes of ill-advised anecdotes, two people on a mission to see, hear, touch, smell, and taste all the America. This one's a three-hander, giving you more America than you ever knew you wanted.
Think you've had a rocky relationship with your parents? You've got nothing on William Franklin, who loses everything for the cause of American... Dependence. This one gets dark. Part II of II (That's Roman-speak for 2!).
Benjamin Franklin may have been a beloved Founding Father, but not so much when you take the word "founding" out of it. In this first of two episodes, learn how a nearly inseparable relationship between father and son turned into a feud with historic consequences.
It's pop quiz time, and the subjects are "The Address of the Address," "Counting Commanders-in-Chief," "The War of Whenever," and "A King for a President." Good luck.
The vote for millions came down to the vote of just one, and a short, sublime campaign of influence by a powerful figure.
The weird story behind an iconic American brand, featuring old-time religion, free love, presidential assassination, and lots of silverware.
Spy, saboteur, and financier of the Continental Army... Meet Haym Salomon, superhero of the Revolution.
In 1982, one man conned his way into one of the biggest races in NASCAR, then disappeared without a trace for over forty years. Get ready for a hard left turn.
No time - just listen, before it's too late. (Also, the story of the results of John Tyler's procreative history.)
About the tension between Freedom of Speech and human decency, and how one canny Police Commissioner tried to protect both at once. Come laugh at the bigots with us.
An epic tale of an indomitable spirit and the small world of the Civil War-era United States. Meet Elizabeth Keckley.
If you think a raid into enemy territory that rescued over 750 enslaved people and destroyed millions of dollars of Confederate property sounds impressive, you should hear about the woman who led it
On the night that shattered the nation, a dark conspiracy would also devastate a family. At the same time, as assassination attempts go, this assassin went 0 for 5.
A cold-blooded murder in broad daylight. A cover-up that starts at the White House. A scandal that rocks the entire country. You won't believe how this one ends. Or you probably will now, now that I've hinted that it's different than the way you thought it would go. Just listen to it, okay? It's got an action sequence and everything!
Lincoln grows a beard and forces a young lithographer to find a new way to make a lasting impact on American culture. NOTE: this episode comes in an alternate form - this is the main version.
Lincoln grows a beard and forces a young lithographer to find a new way to make a lasting impact on American culture. NOTE: this episode comes in two forms, and this version is an alternate version featuring a few contributions from my two-year-old son. Enjoy!
Founding Father Gouverneur Morris produced some of the lofty language that underpins our most sacred governing document, but we don't talk about him much, maybe because of his...unorthodox self-care methods. NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH.
He fled the Bolsheviks and the Nazis. He married a Russian aristocrat. And he won the Kentucky Derby. Twice in a row. Why isn't there a biopic in the works?
You may be unlucky, but have you ever been "accidentally started two major wars" unlucky? Some origin stories are downright embarrassing.
Everybody dreams of being President for a day. Turns out, there's a chance one man actually may have been just that.
There's a kind of tragic poetry in the history and creation of the Secret Service, but protecting important politicians wasn't their first line of work. And that's a real shame for a few presidents.
No foreign enemy has ever dropped a nuclear weapon on American soil. But we have, several times. At least they're all accounted for, right?
A young scofflaw named Abraham Lincoln has his first brush with the long arm of the law - and he likes it.
John Adams's Secretary of State had ONE JOB to do at the end of his term. And if he had done it, the entire system of checks and balances in American government may have turned out completely different. Come for the first real display of genuine partisan shenanigans, stay for the Supreme Court completing a journey of self-discovery just like in "Eat, Pray, Love."
Sometimes history has a sense of poetic irony. Other times it just wants to mess with people. One such person found himself in the middle of not just one, but two major historical events, and it's a story that has to be heard to be believed.
It's the mid-twentieth century, and technology is producing new kinds of content that tests the bounds of the First Amendment. That's where our brave heroes join the fray, giving their all in the fight against obscenity. Grab some popcorn - it's movie time.
This is the story of a territory, a con man, and the indelible tie that exists between them to this day. Get ready for a twist, and then some. And if you live in Idaho? Sorry.
If you were running the country between 1865 and 1901, there was one man you probably should've avoided.
There are a few names you don't know in the American origin story - this is one of them, and his title sounds very familiar...