History Author Show
351 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 89 ratingsWe’ve all been transported into the past by a special book, place or person. On the History Author Show, host Dean Karayanis and a team of correspondents bring you the people who build the time machines.
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Episodes
Candice Millard – Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
September 26, 2016 04:01 - 55 minutes - 50.7 MBSeptember 26, 2016 - This week, our time machine spins us back to Boer War in the twilight of the 19th Century, when the republics that preceded today's South Africa fought the British Empire over gold and diamonds. While there, we'll see a familiar face from World War Two forty years later. The name Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill invokes the balding, cigar-chomping, British bulldog who stared down Hitler across the English Channel. So it's easy to forget that he was a soldier once, an...
Sheila Myers – Castles in the Air: Book 2 of the Durant Family Trilogy
September 19, 2016 04:01 - 47 minutes - 43.9 MBSeptember 19, 2016 - This week, our time machine makes a return visit to 1870s, to check back in on Union Pacific Railroad tycoon Dr. Thomas C. Durant, and his children, William and Ella. We first met the Durants when we chatted about Sheila Myers' novel, Imaginary Brightness, as they had their comfortable lives in London shattered by a Gilded Age economic panic. Book 2, Castles in the Air, finds William Durant as the uneasy head of the diminished family fortune. As he struggles to restore i...
Jim Christ – Paoli Battlefield, Site of the 1777 Paoli Massacre
September 12, 2016 04:01 - 48 minutes - 44.1 MBSeptember 12, 2016 - It's important to actually walk the earth where a given historical event occurred. This week, we'll do just that at the Paoli Battlefield Historical Park & Paoli Memorial Grounds, just under an hour west of Philadelphia. Our guide is Jim Christ, vice president of the Paoli Battlefield Preservation Fund. The Battle of Paoli, also called "The Paoli Massacre," unfolded at midnight on September 20 to 21, 1777. After General George Washington's defeat at Brandywine on Septemb...
S.C. Gwynne – The Perfect Pass: American Genius and the Reinvention of Football
September 05, 2016 04:01 - 56 minutes - 51.3 MBSeptember 5, 2016 - This week, our time machine turns team bus, as we head back not so far into history, to the late '80s and early '90s, when your humble host was on the football field -- at least at pregame and halftime -- for the Cresskill High School marching band, and as a member of Rutgers University's Marching Scarlet Knights: The Pride of New Jersey. Rutgers won the very first football game in 1869, but as you know from my chat with John J. Miller, author of The Big Scrum: How Teddy ...
Peggy Reiff Miller – The Seagoing Cowboy
August 29, 2016 04:01 - 41 minutes - 37.9 MBAugust 29, 2016 - In this episode, our time machine sets sail in the aftermath of World War Two, on a mission to feed the hungry that endures to this day, through Heifer International -- those folks who help you give the gift of livestock. It's a storybook for kids called The Seagoing Cowboy, and it tells the story of the ships that once carried weapons and soldiers, turning to humanitarian cargo: Livestock, farmers, teachers and others, who answered the call to rebuild the devastation. Our ...
Lou Ureneck – Smyrna, September 1922 – The American Mission to Rescue Victims of the 20th Century’s First Genocide
August 22, 2016 04:01 - 1 hour - 61.6 MBAug 22, 2016 - For this episode, our time machine takes us back to the aftermath of the First World War, where we'll visit a defeated member of the Central Powers that targets ethnic minorities for wholesale slaughter. It's not Nazi Germany, but Ottoman Turkey -- in the final chapter of their genocide against Greeks, Armenians and other Christians, that the nation denies to this day. Our guest, Lou Ureneck, is a professor at Boston University, and author of Smyrna, September 1922 - The Ameri...
Andrew Nagorski – The Nazi Hunters
August 15, 2016 04:01 - 48 minutes - 44 MBAugust 15, 2016 - This week, we follow the journey of the men and women who -- in the aftermath of World War Two in Europe -- dedicated themselves to visiting justice upon Hitler's Henchmen. Veteran author and foreign correspondent Andrew Nagorski brings us these stories in The Nazi Hunters, stripping away the myths and caricatures of popular fiction. The book is also an implicit call to action, breathing life into the phrase "Never Again," as the last cogs of the National Socialist Party's b...
Miles J. Unger – Michelangelo
August 08, 2016 04:01 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MBAugust 8, 2016 - This week, our time machine whisks us back to meet the great master, Michelangelo: Sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer. He was also the original brooding artist, who for the first time connected the artist to the work, a link we consider essential today. Our guide is Miles J. Unger, here to explore what the great artist is whispering to us across the centuries with his new book, Michelangelo: A Life in Six Masterpieces. The title calls this great master down fro...
H5F: Denise Kiernan – The Girls of Atomic City
August 05, 2016 04:01 - 8 minutes - 7.39 MBAugust 5, 2016 – Today, we’re going to hear from author, journalist and producer Denise Kiernan. Her latest book is, The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II. Kiernan is the author of several history books, including Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence, and Signing Their Rights Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the United States Constitution. You can follow today's...
CWW: Aristotle and the Case for Hate
August 03, 2016 04:01 - 6 minutes - 6.4 MBAugust 3, 2016 - It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly. For almost a year now, we've brought you ancient wisdom for modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee. But today -- the History Author Show's 1st Anniversary, August 3, 2016 -- represents our last midweek installment. While Van Bryan will lend his voice to future episodes, he's focusing on all the great new content at ClassicalWisdom.com. To keep up to date on the changes there...
Geoff Griffin – Brooklyn Bat Boy: A Story of the 1947 Season that Changed Baseball Forever
August 01, 2016 04:01 - 31 minutes - 28.5 MBAugust 1, 2016 - In this episode, our time machine takes us out to the ballgame, where we'll root, root, root for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The year is 1947, and Dem Bums just signed Jackie Robinson, the first African-American player in Major League History. Sitting next to us in the 50¢ grandstand seats, is Geoff Griffin, author of the children's book, Brooklyn Bat Boy: A Story of the 1947 Season that Changed Baseball Forever. In it, young readers will witness the challenges Robinson faced thro...
H5F: Doris Kearns Goodwin – The Bully Pulpit
July 29, 2016 04:01 - 6 minutes - 5.79 MBJuly 29, 2016 - Today we’re going to hear from popular historian and frequent TV news guest, Doris Kearns Goodwin. Her latest book is, The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism. She previously touched on the extended Roosevelt family twenty years ago, writing No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front During World War II, for which she was awarded the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for History. The New York Times, Washington Post, ...
CWW: Death Does Not Concern Us
July 27, 2016 07:40 - 8 minutes - 7.52 MBJuly 27, 2016 - It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly- bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee. The subject of death has been a source of fascination, and unease, for philosophers and religious seekers for centuries. How exactly should we feel about our deaths? Should it be a source of concern? Should we fear it? If you were to ask the ancient Roman, Lucretius, his answer would probably be a resounding…...
Hildegarde Mahoney – Journey Interrupted: A Family Without a Country in a World at War
July 25, 2016 04:01 - 39 minutes - 36.6 MBJuly 25, 1016 - This week, Hildegarde Mahoney shares her memoir, Journey Interrupted: A Family Without a Country in a World at War. In 1941, seven-year-old Hillie and her family left home in New York City and set off for their native Germany. They planned to take the safe and scenic route: Across the U.S., the Pacific, and Eurasia via the Trans-Siberian Railway. But then Hitler betrayed his alliance with Stalin, the family found themselves stranded in Yokohama, Japan -- and when the empire a...
H5F: James Shapiro – Henry Clay Folger: History’s Biggest Shakespeare Fan
July 22, 2016 04:01 - 2 minutes - 1.95 MBJuly 22, 2016 - It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster — kicking off your modern weekend, with people from the past. Today, we meet lifelong Shakespeare fan, industrialist Henry Clay Folger, who founded the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. to serve as the leading western research and education center on the famous playwright. We have a familiar passenger in our time machine: James Shapiro, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University...
CWW: Roman Concrete: a Forgotten Stroke of Genius
July 20, 2016 04:01 - 7 minutes - 6.54 MBIt’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly- bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee. Have you ever wondered just how all those ancient Roman buildings are still standing even after thousands of years of wars, earthquakes, erosion, and encroaching modernity? Well, the secret to the durability of ancient Roman architecture is now out, and you won’t believe the findings. Your guide through the classical landsca...
Jack Kelly – Heaven’s Ditch: God, Gold, and Murder on the Erie Canal
July 18, 2016 04:01 - 39 minutes - 36.1 MBJuly 18, 2016 - This week, we strapping our time machine to a canal boat, and sail down the modern marvel of early American commerce: The Erie Canal. The 360-mile slash between Lake Erie to Albany, and down the Hudson River to New York Harbor isn't just one of engineers and back-breaking, dangerous manual labor, but of fascinating human drama and America itself. The book is Heaven's Ditch: God, Gold, and Murder on the Erie Canal. By the time the canal opened 1825, the nation had fallen in lov...
H5F: T.H. Breen – George Washington’s Journey
July 15, 2016 04:01 - 3 minutes - 3.27 MBJuly 15, 2016 - It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster. Check them out at Facebook.com/HistoryInFive. Today, author Timothy H. Breen hits the road to trace the route of our first president. His book is George Washington’s Journey: The President Forges a New Nation. Aware of the fragile and fractured nature of the new republic after independence, Washington resolves — in a day without maps or roads worthy of the name — to take the federal government to the people. And he s...
David Beardsley – The Journey Back To Where You Are: Homer’s Odyssey as a Spiritual Quest
July 13, 2016 04:01 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBJuly 13, 2016 - Classical Wisdom Weekly -- bringing you ancient wisdom for modern minds -- joins us for this special episode. Van Bryan, Associate Editor of CWW, sits down with David Beardsley, author of The Journey Back To Where You Are: Homer’s Odyssey as a Spiritual Quest. It’s a unique book that seeks to reclaim the allegorical power of Homer’s masterpiece that was so important to the Classical Age.
Roger Boas – Battle Rattle: A Last Memoir of World War Two
July 11, 2016 04:01 - 44 minutes - 40.8 MBJuly 11, 2016 - Today, we travel back in time to World War Two, and hear from a veteran who served on the front lines. Our guest is Roger Boas, and his book is Battle Rattle: A Last Memoir of World War II. It focuses not only on the fighting, but the scars it left on the inside. Roger Boas was born in San Francisco, 1921, so he's just five years from celebrating his centennial. That long life -- denied so many of his generation -- has given him time to reflect on the meaning of his four year...
David O. Stewart on American Emperor – Aaron Burr: The Man Who Shot Alexander Hamilton
July 08, 2016 04:01 - 49 minutes - 45.8 MBJuly 8, 2016 - On Monday, July 11, 2016, we'll commemorate the tragic death of one Founding Father -- Alexander Hamilton -- at the hands of another, Vice President Aaron Burr. With "Hamilton: An American Musical" racking up Tonys on Broadway, the face on the $10 bill is more popular than he has been in 200 years. But in this episode, David O. Stewart introduces us to the man who pulled the trigger. Mr. Stewart is president of the Washington Independent Review of Books and author of American ...
CWW: American Founding Fathers and the Classics
July 06, 2016 04:01 - 7 minutes - 7.11 MBJuly 6, 2016 - It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly — bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee. You might not believe it, but if it weren’t for Cicero, the United States might never have broken away from England. And if it weren’t for the philosopher, Epicurus, it is possible that Thomas Jefferson might never have put ink to parchment and penned the words, “…that all men are created equal.” That's right...
Jim Leeke – Nine Innings for the King: The Day Wartime London Stopped for Baseball – July 4, 1918
July 04, 2016 04:01 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MBJuly 4, 2016 - On this Independence Day, our time machine takes us out to the ball game, on a July 4th neither side of the Revolutionary War could possibly have envisioned during the conflict. The place is Chelsea, England. The time: The Great War. The book is titled, Nine Innings for the King: The Day Wartime London Stopped for Baseball, July 4, 1918. We've chatted previously with today's author, Jim Leeke, about his Civil War novel for young adults: Matty Boy. Jim is a contributor to the S...
H5F: Stephen Coss – Smallpox: The Deadliest Disease
July 01, 2016 04:01 - 5 minutes - 4.61 MBJuly 1, 2016 - It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster. Check them out at Facebook.com/HistoryInFive. Today, author Stephen Coss discusses the first disease mankind wiped off the face of the earth: The scourge of Smallpox. Stephen’s debut book is The Fever of 1721: The Epidemic that Revolutionized Medicine and American Politics. In it, we meet historical figures including the young Franklin laboring at his brother’s newspaper, and the Reverend Cotton Mather, seeking redemp...
CWW: The Ancient City of Palmyra
June 29, 2016 04:01 - 8 minutes - 7.52 MBJune 29, 2016 – It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly — bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee. Palmyra is an ancient city in the Syrian desert, about 100 miles north of Damascus, which was snatched up by ISIS in late 2015. On this episode, we look at the history of Palmyra. Palmyra was, in the words of the historian Edward Gibbon, “… a cultivated spot in the barren desert of Arabia that rose like an ...
Chris Stevenson – Drum of Destiny
June 27, 2016 04:01 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBJune 27, 2016 - Today, we jump through the Guardian of Forever and into New York City during the American Revolution -- just in time for Independence Day 2016. Once there, we meet twelve-year-old Gabriel Cooper, an orphaned patriot who sets out to join the Continental Army. Our guest is Chris Stevenson, and his book is The Drum of Destiny, historical fiction for readers 9-12 years of age. You can find a teacher's guide at ChrisStevensonAuthor.com, and also on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter...
H5F: Sidney Blumenthal – Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln
June 24, 2016 12:09 - 2 minutes - 2.29 MBJune 24, 2016 – It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster — check them out at Facebook.com/HistoryInFive. Today’s guest — journalist and political aide Sidney Blumenthal — casts a look back at the marriage of the Great Emancipator, and the woman who stood at his side. Through sickness, breakdowns, the Civil War, and loss, how did this couple endure? Blumenthal is the author of the book, A Self-Made Man: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1849. Simon & Schuster’s H...
CWW: Count No Man Happy Until the End is Known
June 22, 2016 04:01 - 8 minutes - 7.51 MBJune 22, 2016 - It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly — bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee. Let me ask you something. Are you happy? Do you feel happy? Is there a difference? Today we discuss some classical wisdom that gives us a rather unusual take on human happiness. You see, at least according to the Athenian Solon, nobody is happy until they die! Your guide through the classical landscape is Va...
H5F: Clint Hill – Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford
June 17, 2016 04:01 - 3 minutes - 3.3 MBJune 17, 2016 - It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster. Today, author Clint Hill shares his eyewitness accounts and recollections during his time on the Secret Service detail of our commanders-in-chief. The book is titled, Five Presidents My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford. Mr. Hill previously joined us to discuss his time as the Secret Service agent assigned to protect Mrs. Kennedy on the day JFK was shot. He's the man seen leapin...
CWW: What’s Greek for Realpolitik?
June 15, 2016 04:01 - 8 minutes - 7.52 MBJune 15, 2016 - It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly — bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee. What’s Greek for realpolitik? The best answer might be “Thucydides”. The man who has been given the title “Father of Political Realism” saw the greatest war of the classical age as a foregone conclusion, and endless cycle of violence and destruction. Your guide through the classical landscape is Van Bryan, A...
Neal Bascomb – The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler’s Atomic Bomb
June 14, 2016 16:32 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MBJune 20, 2016 - Our Monday, June 20th interview is with award-winning author Neal Bascomb. We're airing our conversation a few days early because his book -- The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler's Atomic Bomb -- is a perfect gift for Father's Day. If you think the book might be right for Dad, History Author Show listeners can enjoy a free sample chapter of The Winter Fortress right here. Meet the Norwegian patriots -- from schoolteachers to plumbers -- who dared defy the ...
Candice Shy Hooper – Lincoln’s Generals’ Wives
June 13, 2016 04:01 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBJune 13, 2016 - Today, we're spinning back in time to the days when America tore itself apart: The Civil War. But we'll be talking about a different sort of union, exploring the bond between the men who led the northern armies, and the women by their sides in Lincoln's Generals' Wives: Four Women Who Influenced the Civil War -- for Better and for Worse. With 70,000 books on the war produced since its end, it's incredible that Candice Shy Hooper is the first author to map the wartime travels ...
H5F: Andrew Nagorski – Hitlerland, The Nazi Hunters
June 10, 2016 04:01 - 4 minutes - 3.75 MBJune 10, 2016 - It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster. Check them out at Facebook.com/HistoryInFive. Today, award-winning journalist and author Andrew Nagorski casts a fresh look back at the great evil of Nazi Germany, in his critically acclaimed Hitlerland, and now on shelves: The Nazi Hunters. How do we deal with the legacy of everyday Germans, who turned to monstrous acts? What do we owe to the World War Two generation and Holocaust survivors as they pass away? And wh...
CWW: The People vs. Socrates
June 08, 2016 04:01 - 9 minutes - 8.41 MBJune 8, 2016 - It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly — bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee. It’s the trial of the century, perhaps the millennium! Socrates is on trial for his life. His accusers would seem him dead, but the father of Western philosophy won’t go down without a fight. Your guide through the classical landscape is Van Bryan, Associate Editor of Classical Wisdom Weekly. You can catch Cl...
Rinker Buck – The Oregon Trail (Paperback Interview)
June 06, 2016 04:01 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MBJune 6, 2016 - Today, our time machine heads back to our show's past, serving up a special, all-new paperback interview with a familiar voice. Back in August of 2015, we kicked off the show with the words, "Three mules, two brothers, and a Jack Russell terrier named Olive Oyl." Our guest was Rinker Buck, and his book -- The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey -- recounted the trek he made with his brother Nick in a covered wagon, two thousand miles from Missouri to the great American Northwe...
H5F: Rick Perlstein – The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan
June 03, 2016 04:01 - 6 minutes - 5.63 MBJun 3, 2016 - It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster -- check them out at Facebook.com/HistoryInFive. ` This coming Sunday, June 5th, America will mark the anniversary of Ronald Reagan's death in 2004 at the age of 93. Rick Perlstein -- best-selling author of Nixonland -- looks at how the destruction of the Watergate scandal shook America to its foundations, and seemed to create a new paradigm of a smaller America -- only to see the Reagan Revolution's Morning in America ...
CWW: The Aeneid – The Story After Troy
June 01, 2016 04:01 - 6 minutes - 5.84 MBJune 1, 2016 - It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly — bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee. You might be familiar with the Trojan war and how the Trojan Horse swiftly put an end to the city of Troy. But what you might not know is what happened next. The Roman poet Virgil, picks up where Homer leaves off. And as we will see, he might not have had the purest intentions when putting pen to parchment to...
Harriet F. Senie – Memorials to Shattered Myths
May 30, 2016 04:01 - 39 minutes - 36 MBMay 30, 2016 - In this episode, we're going to cast our eyes back at how we memorialize those we lose in wars, tragedies, terrorist attacks and public outrages. It's a delicate topic, but we owe it to people who've lost their lives to get it right. Our guest is Harriet F. Senie, author of Memorials to Shattered Myths: Vietnam to 9/11. Professor Senie is Director of the M.A. Program in Art History and Art Museum Studies at City College of New York, as well as a professor at the CUNY Graduate ...
H5F: Sidney Blumenthal – A Self-Made Man: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln
May 27, 2016 04:01 - 2 minutes - 2.41 MBMay 27, 2016 - It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster -- check them out at Facebook.com/HistoryInFive. While it’s no secret that Abraham Lincoln didn’t have an idyllic childhood, today’s guest -- journalist and political aide Sidney Blumenthal -- noticed something in particular about young Lincoln’s experience that might have impacted the way he perceived and spoke about slavery. Blumenthal is the author of the book, A Self-Made Man: The Political Life of Abraham Lincol...
CWW: The Invention of Freedom
May 25, 2016 04:01 - 6 minutes - 6.28 MBMay 25, 2016 - It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly — bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee. We might take for granted our civil liberties. Those of us living in the modern age might think that the political freedoms that we enjoy are the norm, but history buffs know that this was not always the case. When we talk about political liberty (at least in the Western, European tradition) we often think of ...
Lynn Sherr – Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space
May 23, 2016 04:01 - 55 minutes - 51.1 MBMay 23, 2016 - Lynn Sherr's book is titled: Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space. It includes unique insights from her friendship with the astronaut, tennis player, astrophysicist, children's book author, and genuine American legend, as well as exclusives from Dr. Ride's family, partner, and countless friends and colleagues. You can enjoy more from our guest @LynnSherr on Twitter, or Facebook.com/SallyRideBio. And although Dr. Ride passed away in 2012, her mission to inspire young peop...
H5F: Lynn Sherr – Space Pioneer Sally Ride
May 20, 2016 04:01 - 8 minutes - 7.43 MBMay 20, 2016 – It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster. Today, journalist Lynn Sherr turns our time machine into a rocket ship to shatter the glass ceiling. Her new book is Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space. You can enjoy our full interview here. It's the remarkable story of humanity's first baby steps beyond earth with Sputnik, to the Space Shuttle and I.S.S. You can follow today's author on Twitter @LynnSherr. Triumph, tragedy, and the right stuff. It's all ...
CWW: Ancient Coinage – The Root of All Evil?
May 18, 2016 11:56 - 7 minutes - 7.27 MBMay 18, 2016 - It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly — bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee. Aristotle, Plato, the Greek drachma in 600 BC -- and spending sprees from Persia to Cathrage to Italy. How did the ancient world mint coins? What value did they put on their currency, and how did they confront the challenges of monetary policy? Your guide through the classical landscape is Van Bryan, Associat...
Betsy Harvey Kraft – The Fantastic Ferris Wheel
May 16, 2016 04:01 - 30 minutes - 28.4 MBMay 16, 2016 - Our time machine drops us off in December 1892, during the planning for Chicago's Columbian Exposition -- a forerunner of the 20th Century world's fairs -- with the perfect story for the boardwalks and carnivals of Summer 2016. At the ticket booth is Betsy Harvey Kraft, and she's sharing The Fantastic Ferris Wheel: The Story of Inventor George Ferris. You may have seen her several other nonfiction books for young readers, including Theodore Roosevelt: Champion of the American ...
H5F: Meet the Spymasters of the OSS
May 13, 2016 04:01 - 3 minutes - 3.51 MBIt’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster. Our guest is Douglas C. Waller, sharing some insight on several CIA Directors who had previously worked for William “Wild Bill” Donovan’s spy agency, Office of Strategic Services. Waller’s books related to this subject are Disciples: The World War II Missions of the CIA Directors Who Fought For Wild Bill Donovan and the New York Times bestselling biography Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created OSS and Modern American Espionag...
CWW: The Avenging Clytemnestra
May 11, 2016 04:01 - 7 minutes - 7.08 MBMay 11, 2016 - It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly — bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee. Lions, tigers, and bears- these are a few of the animals you might use to describe the devotion this one classical mother felt for her children. Clytemnestra is a controversial figure in the classical landscape. Was she an avenging mother? Or is it possible she is a crazed murderer? Your guide through the cla...
Feather Foster — Mary Lincoln’s Flannel Pajamas
May 09, 2016 04:01 - 50 minutes - 46 MBMay 9, 2016 - In this episode, our time machine door opens into the wardrobe of our First Ladies, that Narnia of fashion that trends back to the very first days of our republic, when the role of the president's wife had -- like the role of the president himself -- yet to be defined. Our valet is Feather Schwartz Foster, a presidential historian who focuses on our First Ladies from Martha Washington to Mamie Eisenhower. She's here to share fun and little known stories from her new book: Mary ...
H5F: Edward Brooke-Hitching – Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling and Other Forgotten Sports
May 06, 2016 04:01 - 4 minutes - 4.16 MBMay 6, 2016 - It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster. Our guest is Edward Brooke-Hitching, and his book is the quirky Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling and Other Forgotten Sports. From Flagpole Sitting (can't imagine why it ever fell out of fashion) to Hot Cockles, time-travel through the most curious, dangerous and downright bizarre sports and pastimes that mankind has ever devised, tried, and realized were quietly best forgotten. The son of an antiquarian book dealer, Edw...
CWW: How Athletics Saved Ancient Culture
May 04, 2016 04:01 - 6 minutes - 5.73 MBMay 4, 2016 - It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly — bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee. Today we are looking at ancient athletics. They were a cultural staple, but athletics might also have been responsible for handing down a comprehensive timeline of the classical world to us here in the modern age. Your guide through the classical landscape is Van Bryan, Associate Editor of Classical Wisdom Wee...
Michael J. Tougias – So Close to Home
May 02, 2016 04:01 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBMay 2, 2016 - In this episode, our time machine touches down during the months after Pearl Harbor, as Hitler's U-boats bring the Second World War to the Gulf of Mexico. On board the doomed steam merchant ship Heredia, we'll bear witness to disaster with the Downs family, through the eyes of eight-year-old Sonny. We'll also meet the commanders of two U-Boats, dispatched by Germany's Admiral Dönitz, and see how they combine their duty to the Reich with offering mercy to survivors of their atta...