Campfire Stories: Astonishing History
19 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 3 years ago -Gather round, campers, and let me tell you a story! We'll cover the best true tales of mysteries, histories, true crime, and real heroes from all over the world. We'd love to have you pull up a seat to the campfire and give us a listen.
Homepage Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Episode 13: The Assassination of Harvey Milk and George Moscone
July 24, 2021 02:00 - 1 hour - 51.4 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me tell you about the assassination of LGBT+ Icon Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. Milk and Moscone were both San Francisco politicians and civil rights leaders whose lives were cut short by their former colleague. Milk was a veteran, Wall Street statistician, and hippie who became one of the first openly gay elected official in America. Both men were dealing with a city and country that was bursting with political tension, clashes between the ga...
Episode 12: The Crazy Fan Murder of Selena
June 09, 2021 03:00 - 46 minutes - 32.2 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me tell you about the crazy fan murder of Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. **This episode includes sensitive content (CW: death, murder, sexual violence, suicide). Listener discretion is advised.** Selena Quintanilla-Pérez has gone by many titles: the Queen of Tejano music, the Queen of Latin Music, the Queen of Tex-Mex, the Mexican Madonna, the Chicana Elvis, the Hispanic Marilyn Monroe, and the Queen of Corpus Christi. But to her family, her friends, an...
Episode 12: The Crazy Fan Murder of Selena
June 09, 2021 03:00 - 46 minutes - 32.2 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me tell you about the crazy fan murder of Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. **This episode includes sensitive content (CW: death, murder, sexual violence, suicide). Listener discretion is advised.** Selena Quintanilla-Pérez has gone by many titles: the Queen of Tejano music, the Queen of Latin Music, the Queen of Tex-Mex, the Mexican Madonna, the Chicana Elvis, the Hispanic Marilyn Monroe, and the Queen of Corpus Christi. But to her family, her friends, an...
Episode 11: The Perilous Fate of the American Space Pioneers
April 22, 2021 23:00 - 1 hour - 47.6 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me tell you about the Perilous Fate of the American Space Pioneers. Last episode covered the accidents and tragedies of the early Soviet space program, our rivals in the space race and partners in space exploration today. This episode is going to cover the disasters of the American Space program. What would have happened if Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin got stuck on the moon? How did the Apollo 1 fire start? Who was the first American casualty of the...
Episode 10: The Terrible Fate of Vladimir Komarov and the Lost Cosmonauts
April 01, 2021 19:00 - 59 minutes - 40.8 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me tell you about the fate of some of the early Soviet space pioneers, including the first death in any space program, Valentin Bondarenko, the failed mission of Soyuz 1, the amazing achievement of Yuri Gagarin, the chilling death of Vladimir Komarov, and the conspiracy theory about the lost cosmonauts. The space race was full of incredible milestones in human history, but it also came with intense danger. Next episode we'll cover the sacrifices of th...
Episode 9: The Elite Disappearance of Dorothy Arnold
March 11, 2021 19:00 - 33 minutes - 22.9 MBCome gather around the campfire and hear about one of the most puzzling missing person's cases in U.S. history. It seemed to be a regular winter day when heiress Dorothy Arnold left home for a shopping trip. She was just going to buy a new dress. She was well-known, walking on packed New York City streets, wearing especially eye-catching clothing. Nothing seemed to be dangerous about it, and she assured her family she would be back in time for dinner. And then Dorothy vanished. What happene...
Episode 9: The Elite Disappearance of Dorothy Arnold
March 11, 2021 19:00 - 33 minutes - 22.9 MBCome gather around the campfire and hear about one of the most puzzling missing person's cases in U.S. history. It seemed to be a regular winter day when heiress Dorothy Arnold left home for a shopping trip. She was just going to buy a new dress. She was well-known, walking on packed New York City streets, wearing especially eye-catching clothing. Nothing seemed to be dangerous about it, and she assured her family she would be back in time for dinner. And then Dorothy vanished. What happene...
Episode 8 (Part 2): The Classified Code-Breakers of World War II
February 12, 2021 03:00 - 39 minutes - 27 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me tell you a story about some of the smartest military teams you've never heard of. Today we’re going to be talking about the code-breakers of World War II. Part 1 discussed Native American code-talkers. Part 2 will discuss Allied code-cracking teams including the stories of the Enigma, Alan Turing, Marian Rejewski, Elizabeth Friedman, and the Venona project. Most code-breaking departments of the time started with a few civilian staff members, inclu...
Episode 8 (Part 1): The Secret Code-Talkers of World War II
January 13, 2021 01:00 - 37 minutes - 25.6 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me tell you a story about the American heroes you may not have heard about. Today we’re going to be talking about the code-breakers and code-talkers of World War II. This episode actually turned out longer than I thought, so I’m going to be splitting it into two parts. Today, we'll discuss the Native American code-talkers, including the Navajo and Comanche who used their language skills to help the U.S. to victory. It also includes a special side st...
Episode 7: The Mysterious Ghost Ships Flying Dutchman, Mary Celeste, and Carroll A. Deering
November 21, 2020 04:00 - 45 minutes - 31.5 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me tell you about the great mystery of the high-seas: ghost ships. Hear about the history of the legend of these mysterious vessels, some legendary and some true stories that have puzzled sailors, scholars, and scientists for centuries. The Flying Dutchman is one of the most infamous ships that's ever been said to set sail, captained by a man destined never to step foot on land. The Mary Celeste was found adrift with no crew, little damage, and a mi...
Episode 6: The Creepy Urban Legend of Poisoned Halloween Candy
October 31, 2020 05:00 - 33 minutes - 22.7 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me tell you about the creepy urban legend that has held fast throughout history. Is there any truth to the idea of strangers slipping poison or sharp objects to unsuspecting trick-or-treaters? Where did this idea come from? Why did your parents make you dump out your pillowcases and sort your candy haul every year? Let me walk you through the history of this idea and a few important cases related to it: an 1858 mix-up with deadly consequences, a Long I...
Episode 5: Two Incredible Stories of Sole Survivors Juliane Koepcke and Ada Blackjack Johnson
October 07, 2020 17:00 - 44 minutes - 30.6 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me tell you about two incredible stories of survival. Juliane Koepcke and Ada Blackjack Johnson lived 50 years and 7,000 miles apart. One of them fell two miles into the Amazon rainforest after her plane was struck by lighting. The other survived multiple years in the remote icy tundra of an uninhabited Siberian island as part of an ill-fated Canadian expedition. Both were driven to survive by their deep love for their families. And both of them used e...
Episode 5: Two Incredible Stories of Sole Survivors
October 07, 2020 17:00 - 43 minutes - 30.1 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me tell you about two incredible stories of survival. Juliane Koepcke and Ada Blackjack Johnson lived 50 years and 7,000 miles apart. One of them fell two miles into the Amazon rainforest after her plane was struck by lighting. The other survived multiple years in the remote icy tundra of an uninhabited Siberian island as part of an ill-fated Canadian expedition. Both were driven to survive by their deep love for their families. And both of them used e...
Episode 4: The Heroic Story of Nikolai Vavilov and the Saviors of the Seeds
September 09, 2020 01:00 - 30 minutes - 21.2 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me tell you about a small group of Russian scientists who gave everything to protect the future of humanity's food supply during the brutal 900-day Siege of Leningrad. Hear about the life of their fearless leader, world-famous botanist and geneticist Nikolai Vavilov who established the first seed bank in history and dedicated his life to ending famine. It took the fall of Imperial Russia, the rise of Stalin and the Soviet Union, and two world wars to f...
Episode 3: The Doomed Terra Nova Antarctic Expedition of Robert Falcon Scott
July 30, 2020 00:00 - 42 minutes - 28.9 MBCome gather around the campfire and hear about the freezing race to the South Pole. The Heroic Age of Arctic Exploration was in full swing, and British explorer Robert Falcon Scott led two voyages to the largely unexplored continent of Antarctica with the Royal Geographical Society. His first expedition was called the Discovery, but it was his second expedition, the Terra Nova, that would become infamous for its achievement, its intense competition with the Norwegian team led by Roald Amund...
Episode 3: The Doomed Terra Nova Antarctic Expedition of Robert Falcon Scott
July 30, 2020 00:00 - 42 minutes - 28.9 MBCome gather around the campfire and hear about the freezing race to the South Pole. The Heroic Age of Arctic Exploration was in full swing, and British explorer Robert Falcon Scott led two voyages to the largely unexplored continent of Antarctica with the Royal Geographical Society. His first expedition was called the Discovery, but it was his second expedition, the Terra Nova, that would become infamous for its achievement, its intense competition with the Norwegian team led by Roald Amund...
Episode 2: Rasputin and the Fall of the Romanovs
July 01, 2020 21:00 - 30 minutes - 20.8 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me take you to the tragic and brutal end of the Russian Empire. Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, and their children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei had no idea that they would be the last royal family before the brutal civil war led by Lenin and the Bolshevik revolutionaries that would lead to the formation of the first communist state, the Soviet Union. Learn about their lives, the influence of mystical faith-healer Rasputin...
Episode 2: The Haunting Story of Rasputin and the Fall of the Romanovs
July 01, 2020 21:00 - 30 minutes - 21.3 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me take you to the tragic and brutal end of the Russian Empire. Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, and their children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei had no idea that they would be the last royal family before the brutal civil war led by Lenin and the Bolshevik revolutionaries that would lead to the formation of the first communist state, the Soviet Union. Learn about their lives, the influence of mystical faith-healer Rasputin...
Episode 1: The Radioactive Story of Louis Slotin, Harry Daghlian, and the Demon Core of Los Alamos
June 19, 2020 03:00 - 25 minutes - 17.2 MBCome gather around the campfire and let me tell you about the radioactive secrets of Los Alamos and the town's shocking accidents. During and directly after World War II, scientists worked on secret nuclear projects across the United States as part of the Manhattan Project. Dr. Louis Slotin and Harry Daghlian were two such nuclear scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory on atomic experiments. Both of them would suffer terrifying radioactive accidents while using the same core of...