Retropod
451 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago - ★★★★ - 657 ratingsRetropod is a show for history-lovers, featuring stories about the past, rediscovered. Host Mike Rosenwald introduces you to history’s most colorful characters - forgotten heroes, overlooked villains, dreamers, explorers, world changers.
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Episodes
Earthrise
December 31, 2019 08:00 - 4.88 MBOn Christmas Eve in 1968, the Apollo 8 astronauts captured an image that symbolizes hope and inspired environmentalism.
Hair peace. Bed peace.
December 30, 2019 08:00 - 5.4 MBOn March 25, 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono were a few days into their marriage when they invited the press to join them at their honeymoon suite at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel.
The jazz queen who chose home over fame
December 27, 2019 08:00 - 6.01 MBJazz singer Ethel Ennis’s voice wowed audiences and won praise from critics. But when she was faced with the opportunity to become a superstar, Ennis chose a different path.
Clara Barton, America's most famous nurse, broke boundaries to treat Civil War victims
December 26, 2019 08:00 - 6.52 MBThe nurse who founded the American Red Cross had no formal training in medicine. She tended to countless wounded soldiers.
The military's famous Santa Tracker began with a wrong number
December 25, 2019 08:00 - 5.9 MBIn the 1950s, a child trying to call Santa Claus accidentally called NORAD and changed Christmas Eve forever.
The 'Toy King' who never aspired to the throne.
December 23, 2019 08:00 - 5.81 MBToys R Us founder Charles Lazarus had no idea how big the toy industry would become.
Last Seen Ads
December 20, 2019 08:00 - 6.3 MBAfter the Civil War, formerly enslaved people placed notices in black-owned newspapers across the country to find their loved ones.
How 'Broadway Joe' redefined the NFL
December 19, 2019 08:00 - 5.98 MBA few days before his team took the field as huge underdogs in Super Bowl III, New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath made what was seen as an insane prediction at the time: "The Jets will win Sunday," he said. "I guarantee it."
The game show contestant who cheated his way to fame
December 18, 2019 08:00 - 6.22 MBIn the 1950s, Charles Van Doren, a quiet professor in New York City, became wrapped up in one of the biggest television quiz show scandals in history.
How food found its way into the freezer
December 17, 2019 08:00 - 5.81 MBWhile on a research trip to the Arctic in the early 20th century, scientist Clarence Birdseye — a name you might recognize from the frozen food aisle — made an observation that would go on to change the way we eat.
The day before the Chernobyl disaster
December 16, 2019 08:00 - 6.74 MBDisasters don’t just happen. Like anything in life, there’s usually a buildup. In the case of the Chernobyl disaster, the series of failures stretched back more than a decade. But what happened the day before the explosion?
The most difficult job Robert Mueller ever had
December 13, 2019 08:00 - 5.67 MBServing as special counsel is probably only the third hardest job Robert Mueller has held. His life in public service started when he just 23 years old, as a Marine lieutenant in the Vietnam War.
Queen Arawelo
December 12, 2019 08:00 - 6.57 MBGrowing up in Somalia, a country where stories are handed down through generations, one of the first tales that children are told is about an ancient queen who fought to give women power by castrating men.
The nurse who picked up a rifle
December 11, 2019 08:00 - 3.89 MBDuring World War I, British nurse Flora Sandes put down her nurses bag to fight with the Serbian Army.
George Taliaferro, the first black player drafted to the NFL
December 10, 2019 08:00 - 5.76 MBHe thought being drafted into the National Football League was so unlikely that he signed with an African American league team. Then, the NFL called.
The summer men rebelled against their shirts
December 09, 2019 08:00 - 5.02 MBIt doesn't seem like a big deal today, but 1930s America lived in fear of the male nipple.
America’s forgotten Iranian hostage
December 06, 2019 08:00 - 4.83 MBNine months before the Iran hostage crisis, Kenneth Kraus was held hostage in Iran for eight days.
A bridge of ice at Niagara Falls
December 05, 2019 08:00 - 4.97 MBOnce upon a time, people walked between the U.S. and Canada over a frozen Niagara Falls. But one day, that all changed forever.
The Soviet officer who stopped World War III
December 04, 2019 08:00 - 4.82 MBIn 1983, Stanislav Petrov, a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Union’s Air Defense Forces, trusted his gut and averted a global nuclear catastrophe.
Why isn’t lynching illegal?
December 03, 2019 08:00 - 6.02 MBIt is one of the worst expressions of racism in American history. And there’s no federal law to prevent it.
A letter from home
December 02, 2019 08:00 - 3.21 MBA German woman discovered that her childhood home was stolen from a Jewish family who fled Nazi Germany. Last year, she tracked down the address of one of the children, and wrote him a letter.
The test that changed childbirth
November 29, 2019 08:00 - 6.12 MBIn the 1950s, Dr. Virginia Apgar created a quick test that nurses have since performed on millions of babies just after birth. She is considered one of the most important figures in modern medicine — a world that almost pushed her away.
A debate that went into extra innings: Can baseballs curve?
November 28, 2019 08:00 - 6.62 MBBeginning in the earliest days of baseball, fans, journalists and even physicists disputed whether or not pitchers could make a ball curve.
Benjamin Franklin's complicated relationship with turkeys
November 27, 2019 08:00 - 5.42 MBBenjamin Franklin, the most colorful of America's Founding Fathers, had a misunderstood, electrical and ultimately homicidal relationship with turkeys.
The cranberry crisis that changed how we see our food
November 26, 2019 08:00 - 5.42 MBWeeks before Thanksgiving, 1959, cranberries were declared unsafe to eat. The race was on to save America’s favorite holiday side dish.
How Anita Hill’s testimony led to the "Year of the Woman"
November 25, 2019 08:00 - 5.86 MBNo women served on the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991. The ugly Anita Hill hearings changed that.
The man who filmed JFK's assassination
November 22, 2019 08:00 - 3.47 MBFor many, memories of that devastating day quickly revert to that silent, flickering sequence captured by Abraham Zapruder. It is as chilling as it is familiar: the approaching convertible, the waves of a crowd about to lose its innocence.
The 'Night Witches'
November 21, 2019 08:00 - 4.5 MBDuring World War II, around 80 Russian women took to the skies and risked their lives to fight against the Germans.
Robert Morris, the creator of the subpoena
November 20, 2019 08:00 - 5.56 MBThe history of subpoenas, and the fiery congressional hearings that have captivated Americans for centuries began with a Founding Father raising his hand to say, “Investigate me!”
Lee Harvey Oswald's final hours before killing Kennedy
November 19, 2019 08:00 - 3.56 MBThe assassination of President John F. Kennedy devastated the nation. But the day before the shooting was just a normal day. It was particularly calm and uneventful for the gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald.
Ketamine in the mainstream
November 18, 2019 08:00 - 5.39 MBOnce a party drug, ketamine has found its way into modern medicine.
The first 'Queen of the Air'
November 14, 2019 08:00 - 6.06 MBFour years before Amelia Earhart ever got into a plane, Ruth Law was already making a name for herself in the skies.
Judy Garland and the long history of 'Me Too' in Hollywood
November 13, 2019 08:00 - 5.68 MBSexual harassment has been existed in showbiz as long as there have been bright lights.
Jim Crow and the rise of blackface
November 12, 2019 07:59 - 5.68 MBBack in the 1830s, Jim Crow wasn't yet a symbol of inequality. He was a fictional character in minstrel shows who, to entertain his audiences, performed in blackface.
The policeman who arrested a president
November 11, 2019 08:00 - 5.5 MBAfter receiving complaints about carriages driving too fast, Washington D.C. policeman William H. West arrested a presidential speed demon.
A history of the U.S.-Mexico border
November 08, 2019 08:00 - 7.04 MBFor decades, the boundary between Mexico and the United States was little more than an imaginary line in the sand.
The godmother of the open office
November 07, 2019 08:00 - 6.28 MBIf you work in an office without offices, with just about everyone working in a large spare space full of stylish desks, straight lines and papers stored in a credenza, then you have met Florence Knoll Bassett.
The Wicked Bible
November 06, 2019 08:00 - 5.17 MBA full year after the King James Bible was printed in 1631, people discovered an error.
The Confederate spy who evaded capture
November 05, 2019 08:00 - 7.32 MBAfter the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, John Surratt traveled across three continents, wore disguises and used fake names for nearly two years to escape authorities.
Pinball’s sordid past
November 04, 2019 08:00 - 6.18 MBPinball was once so vilified that it was banned in cities across the United States.
The last person to step foot on the moon
November 01, 2019 07:00 - 5.15 MBWhen Eugene Cernan walked on the moon, he didn’t know he’d be the last astronaut to make the journey.
A history of hats in the House
October 31, 2019 07:00 - 6.35 MBIn the early days of the House, some congresspeople thought hats had no place atop the heads of representatives debating the great issues of the day. Hats, they argued, weren’t dignified.
Tenure for life
October 30, 2019 07:00When Alexander Hamilton argued in favor of lifetime tenures for Supreme Court justices, he probably didn’t foresee them living past their prime.
Tenure for life
October 30, 2019 07:00 - 7.17 MBWhen Alexander Hamilton argued in favor of lifetime tenures for Supreme Court justices, he probably didn’t foresee them living past their prime.
How Lego took over the toy world
October 29, 2019 07:00 - 6.56 MBLego started as a company that made wooden toys, and grew into an empire of plastic building blocks.
The researcher whose rats predicted the Internet
October 28, 2019 07:00 - 6.82 MBJohn Calhoun’s rodent experiments revolutionized the way we think about social behavior and the impact of growing populations.
A brief history of presidents visiting troops in combat
October 25, 2019 07:00 - 6.26 MBPresidents throughout history have visited battlefields to better grasp conditions, reverse public doubt and signal that the country took war efforts seriously.
William Howard Taft's housekeeper kept track of his weight
October 24, 2019 07:00 - 4.25 MBWhite House maid Elizabeth Jaffray not only cleaned up after presidents, she had an amazing insight into their appetites.
In 1939, the 'American Hitler' took the stage at Madison Square Garden
October 23, 2019 07:00 - 5.16 MBFritz Kuhn was the leader of the pro-Nazi group known as the German American Bund. He was a hero to his audience, and a scourge on the world to most others.
In 1939, the 'American Hitler' took the stage at Madison Square Garden
October 23, 2019 07:00Fritz Kuhn was the leader of the pro-Nazi group known as the German American Bund. He was a hero to his audience, and a scourge on the world to most others.