Tracing The Path: Recent Episodes

Dan R Morris

Let us tell you the story of the 20th Century, by tracing each event back to the original decisions that shaped it. You'll quickly find out that everybody and everything is connected. If you thought you understood the 20th Century, you're in for a treat. Tracing the Path is inspired by storytellers like Paul Harvey, Charles Kuralt, and Andy Rooney.

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The Chinese Exclusion Act is one of our most undiscussed tragedies. Despite the bad, Chinese immigrants pushed through to help shapes these United States. Today's episode crosses paths with Bruce Lee, Teddy Roosevelt, Chester A. Arthur, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Bing Cherry, the Valencia Orange, the Citizenship Clause and Equal Protection Clauses of the 14th Amendment, Oldsmobile, the TaiPing Revolution, the Gold Rush, the Transcontinental Railroad, Wong Kim Ark, Grover Cleveland, the NY Sun and the Statue of Liberty.

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To get a button on the microwave for popcorn, it first had to touch the hands of Winston Churchill, Cracker Jacks, the 1893 World's Fair, Major League Baseball, a #1 hit song, Superman, Betty Boop, Raytheon, McCann Erickson, and popcorn balls at the North Pole. Sit back and hear a tale you've not heard before. 

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Today we honor Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story" with this unbelievable tale. You'll never guess who it is about, but along the way the story touches Martin Luther King, Jr, Mbutu Sese Seko, Pearl Harbor, Goucher College, Rudolf Hess, Erwin Rommel, Apollo 13, the Israeli Air Force, Isaroku Yamamoto, and the Ebola Epidemic. All connected with one amazing revelation. 

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Imagine if every story you've ever known about Santa was put together into one story. In Chapter 2 we encounter facts from Elf, the reformer Martin Luther, L. Frank Baum, Frosty the Snowman, Lion King Moonracer, the Winter Warlock, Tim Allen, Ogden Nash and the history of Riga, Latvia. Welcome to the complete Canon of Santa Claus.

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Imagine if every story you've ever known about Santa was put together into one story. Rudolph and Elf and St. Nick and The Polar Express and Frosty the Snowman.  And even stories about Santa you probably don't know, stories written by people like C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein,  Well this is that. Chapter 1. 

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Charles Lindbergh is the connecting rod between Delta Air Lines and Pan Am. But how they came to be involves a military plot, some crop dusters, the Skull & Bones society, the Lusitania, a name change and a boll weevil. It's an amazing story when you hear it all together.

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Charles Lindbergh is the connecting rod between Delta Air Lines and Pan Am. But how they came to be involves a military plot, some crop dusters, the Skull & Bones society, the Lusitania, a name change and a boll weevil. It's an amazing story when you hear it all together.

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While many think The Beatles took the world by storm, in reality the world was patiently waiting for them. In this episode we explore Brylcreem, Marlon Brando, the Queen of England, Brian Epstein, Elvis Presley, World War II, JFK, Martin Guitars, the Ed Sullivan Show, the British class system, Liverpool England, Disney, Davy Jones, Hamburg Germany, John, Paul, George and Ringo. 

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Were you ever taught in school the impact the clock has made on the world?  Did you know it pretty much changed everything. So much so a Norwegian town tried to abolish time. In today's episode we connect Rolex, Galileo, Christiaan Huygens, The Golden Spike, Benedictine Monks, the US Naval Observatory, John Harrison and the Boer War in tracing the path of the clock. 

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The Story of Sixto Rodriguez doesn't start in 1971, it starts with Ghandi and apartheid. In today's episode we look at Paul Simon, Harry Belafonte, The Beatles, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Bob Dylan, the United Nations, Coca-Cola, Ghandi, The Sugarman Sixto Rodriquez and even Rosa Parks. 

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In today's episode we look at how it all started.  George Lucas, Thor Heyerdahl, Warren Buffet, James Marshall, Roger Cook, Mt. St. Helens, John Houseman, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Michael Jackson, and Wynton Marsalis all come together for one purpose.  Grab the Star Wars Radio Drama here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kkl2tsaf7tskc2m/AABr6AFIukEYAq7kZitrQERHa?dl=0

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Blue is not an easy color to come by in nature. The path to making blue jeans; therefore is an interesting one. In today's episode we reach Levi Strauss, John Hershel, Charles Darwin, the American Revolution, Eli Whitney, the California Gold Rush and ultimately the company whose experiments with Prussian Blue led to murder. 

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Is PEACE just a political campaign? How did the Peace sign come to be? In today's episode learn the stance Russia has had on peace. Meet Marie Curie, Pablo Picasso, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the situation with Ukraine's Crimean Coast, the Manhattan Project and hear the words of Russian Premiere Yuri Andropov himself and 11 year old Samantha Smith.

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There was a time when a plan was hatched to bomb Woodrow Wilson, but not the way you'd ever think. Today's story involves L. Frank Baum, Edith Wilson, the Statue of Liberty, Wilbur Wright, Oberlin College, Ruth Law, Matilda Jocelyn Gage, the State of Tennessee, and William Boeing. Sit back and enjoy as we celebrate the 19th Amendment. 

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W.E.B. Dubois, Abraham Lincoln, A. Philip Randolph, Langston Hughes, Mahalia Jackson, Thomas Dorsey, Harry Belafonte, John D. Rockefeller, and so many others have been fighting for the Dream since 1776. When Martin Luther King gave his speech in Washington, he made sure their voices were heard. 

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United States Copyright laws have changed from the beginning, making public domain dates a moving target. This is the story of how Disney built its empire using the public domain as a tool. Disney, A.A. Milne, Mickey Mouse, Jimmy Stewart, and the U.S. Congress.

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Much of what you know from the 20th Century can be traced back to McCann Erickson. Everything that seemingly unites those of us with a common 20th Century History can be linked to them . . . even the toppling of a government. If you've seen Mad Men, you've heard them mentioned. But what you didn't learn was the truth about their role and impact on your life. 

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Thinking of watching A Charlie Brown Christmas this year? What would be better than a full understanding of how it came to be, starting way back in the 1400s. Learn about Charles Schulz, Lee Mendelson, Bill Melendez, Vince Guaraldi, Hans Christian Andersen, Felix Mendelssohn, Saul Zaentz, NASA, Coca-Cola and more. 

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Would you ever think Thomas Edison, George Easton, Ian Fleming and Bill Blass all took part in deception? In the World's Greatest Con?  It's the story of James Bond, Inflatable Tanks, Celluloid Film and a WW2 Ghost Army. Sit back and be amazed at this story of America's most respected names.

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Would you ever think Thomas Edison, George Easton, Ian Fleming and Bill Blass all took part in deception? In the World's Greatest Con?  It's the story of James Bond, Inflatable Tanks, Celluloid Film and a WW2 Ghost Army. Sit back and be amazed at this story of America's most respected names.

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The history of pizza is more than its Naples Origin. You'll be amazed how Mario Puzo, Queen Margherita, Pinocchio, Yogi Berra, Al Capone, The Supreme Court and Sophia Loren all play a part. Today we look at the interconnected history of the world's greatest food (and maybe the Mob). 

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The history of pizza is more than its Naples Origin. You'll be amazed how Mario Puzo, Queen Margherita, Pinocchio, Yogi Berra, Al Capone, The Supreme Court and Sophia Loren all play a part. Today we look at the interconnected history of the world's greatest food (and maybe the Mob). 

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Could the post office be the single largest cause of America's expansion to Westward?  When you look at it through Maslow's lens, it just may be. Sears, Greeting Cards, Charles Lindbergh, Benjamin Franklin, King William III, the California Gold Rush, the Boston Tea Party . . . and Addressing the Unaddressed in Calcutta. Let's talk about the 7 most important words in the U.S. Constitution. 

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People like Walt Disney, Walter Murisch, Blake Edwards, Friz Freleng and Henry Mancini paved the way for Independent Film Makers today. .  . but they had help with the Paramount Decrees of 1948. Now that those are over, has the window closed?

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HG Wells motivated authors, inventors, scientists, politicians and the every day man. Specifically Orson Welles, Leo Szilard, Robert Goddard and George Lucas were inspired by Wells to change the world. And from his words we put astronauts on the moon, created NASA and now rovers on Mars. Get ready to hear the story of how one man shaped science. 

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The Six Degrees of Separation Game originated in 1909 with a Novel Prize winners speech. From there it has grown in reach and truth. What if we connect the most amazing things that could never truly have something in common. We do and it's amazing! 

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Which 2 wars played a role in the history of M&M Chocolate Candy? And the Nutcracker? How did the Mars Bar, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way and Cadbury Easter Eggs come to be? And learn how 2 wars combined to make the most popular candy in the world.

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Baseball created strong ties between the U.S. and Cuba, specifically the negro leagues and the Cuban league. For both countries baseball had become the national past time  . . . until Fidel Castro stepped in. Today we look at the how baseball impacted the Cuban Missile Crisis along with some of the major traditions surrounding it. 

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Baseball created strong ties between the U.S. and Cuba, specifically the negro leagues and the Cuban league. For both countries baseball had become the national past time  . . . until Fidel Castro stepped in. Today we look at the how baseball impacted the Cuban Missile Crisis along with some of the major traditions surrounding it. 

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Let's unravel the mysteries of the Trial of the Century where Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan put evolution on trial. What was the long term significance? How did it end? And who got the final justice?

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Let's unravel the mysteries of the Trial of the Century where Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan put evolution on trial. What was the long term significance? How did it end? And who got the final justice?

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In today's story we explore the interconnected stories of Anacreon the Greek Poet, Francis Scott Key, Robert Ripley, John Philip Sousa and 7 US Presidents.  The Star Spangled Banner isn't just about a flag or the Battle of Fort McHenry. It involves slaves, Charles Schulz, Jack London, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and even Barry Goldwater. 

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In today's story we explore the interconnected stories of Anacreon the Greek Poet, Francis Scott Key, Robert Ripley, John Philip Sousa and 7 US Presidents.  The Star Spangled Banner isn't just about a flag or the Battle of Fort McHenry. It involves slaves, Charles Schulz, Jack London, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and even Barry Goldwater. 

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A lot happens in Santa's story since the 1950s. Not only does the NORAD Santa Tracker take hold, but a human baby makes it to Santa's Village and Santa finally puts the pieces together as to what role he plays in the world.

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Kris Kringle was Santa Claus for most of the 20th Century. He's the one most of us grew up under. During his time as Santa, he lived through the Spanish Flu, WWI, the Great Depression, WWII,  the Beatles and more. In today's episode we discuss the role of Santa over the last 120 years.

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Today's we explore the time that Christmas was banned in parts of the world and what Santa was doing to raise spirit, the invention of the candy cane and Santa's new idea - a train to bring kids to the North Pole.

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The middle centuries of Santa Claus's life are where derive most of our traditions and overall Christmas culture. It's also the time that St. Nicholas Day and the birth of Jesus Christ begin to converge.

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This is the official "Canon" of Santa Claus. The story of St. Nicholas begins in 343 a.d. but it includes all the stories, songs, movies and books that have been produced since then. We decided to put them in their historical order and made sure we explained all our Christmas traditions along the way.

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Rock N Roll wouldn't exist like it does without these three guys. Because while Chuck Berry and Elvis were ushering in a new age of music. They had a little help from a major invention. We go "Back to the Future" to find out how rock n roll came to be. 

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Rock N Roll wouldn't exist like it does without these three guys. Because while Chuck Berry and Elvis were ushering in a new age of music. They had a little help from a major invention. We go "Back to the Future" to find out how rock n roll came to be. 

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The most famous tune in the world has been around for 700 years as part of classical, folk, children's and pop music. It's been played by Mozart, Louis Armstrong, the Simpsons, and Lewis Carroll. In the 1800 it changed the American lexicon, and in the 1960s it became a pop song that was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. 

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Did you know Route 66 started in 1857, with Camels? Learn about the history of Route 66 intersects with the Indy 500, Charles Lindbergh, The Lincoln Highway, Rand McNally, L. Frank Baum, Dwight Eisenhower, Edward Fitzgerald Beale and more. 

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How did Frank Lloyd Wright, Susan B. Anthony, the Great Chicago Fire, L. Frank Baum and Judy Garland help create the 39 year Wizard of Oz Tradition?

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Did you know that the Williams family has its hands on Orson Wells, Gilligan's Island, Back to the Future, the Looney Tunes, the Simpsons, Saved By the Bell, the Olympics, Jaws, Star Wars and Tears for Fears?  No other family has reached so far.

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If you're going to the traveling exhibit of the Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey, this is a great companion podcast. Listen in as we connect the dots between Hans and Margret Rey, Chris Van Allsburg, H.G. Wells, Harry the Dirty Dog and Will Ferrel and more. 

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What path did Paul Harvey take to become the most influential man of the 20th century?  Let me just say that it involves Charles Lindbergh, Pearl Harbor, Joseph Kennedy . . . and you'll have to listen to get the rest of the story. 

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There's a Twinkie in Maine that's 30 years old. But the story of Twinkie has far outlasted that. How did a brand outlast it's owners and defy all odds to become a success?

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There's a Twinkie in Maine that's 30 years old. But the story of Twinkie has far outlasted that. How did a brand outlast it's owners and defy all odds to become a success?

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Minneapolis's tech community was far ahead of everyone else. And their state government's progressive attitude paved the way for great changes.  1,500 miles away Steve Jobs was building a computer company, but he knew something was missing, and the answer fell in his lap. Learn how Apple went from selling 300 computers, to millions because of a game.