December 1, 1564. Spanish vessels left a secret port in Mexico about two weeks ago. Their goal: to sail across the Pacific and back, charting a new route for international trade, and giving Spain an edge against its chief colonial rival, Portugal. But today, when a storm hits, the smallest ship is separated from the rest of the fleet. Now, that ship, the San ... Show More
Oct 30
Salem’s First Witch Trial
Happy Halloween! Today, we're bringing back a particularly spooky episode from the archives...June 10, 1692. Bridget Bishop is loaded into a two-wheeled cart and brought from her Salem jail cell to a pasture on a hill, where a rope is hanging from freshly-installed gallows. A cro ... Show More
28m 48s
Oct 26
1066: The Brother Who Broke England (w/ Greg Jenner)
October 28, 1065. The king’s council meets in Oxford and throws a man out of England. His name is Tostig Godwinson, and the north of England already hates him. His own brother Harold, the most powerful earl in the realm and the likely next king, refuses to save him.Tostig does no ... Show More
29m 22s
Jan 2024
The case of the serial sinking Spanish ships
Picture the Pacific Ocean of the 16th century. Spanish Galleons sail the wide open seas, carrying precious cargo like silver, porcelain, and textiles. The waters are dangerous; ship logs show concerns over pirates. But pirates are not to blame for a mysterious event that keeps ha ... Show More
26m 13s
Apr 2024
Andrés Reséndez, "Conquering the Pacific: An Unknown Mariner and the Final Great Voyage of the Age of Discovery" (Mariner Books, 2022)
The Pacific Ocean is twice the size of the Atlantic, and while humans have been traversing its current-driven maritime highways for thousands of years, its sheer scale proved an obstacle to early European imperial powers. Enter Lope Martin, a forgotten Afro-Portuguese ship pilot ... Show More
1h 5m
Feb 2023
The Mystery of the Itata - La búsqueda (The Search)
Carlos and Ricardo set out on a journey to find the remains of the Vapor Itata, a century after it sank. They receive an important tip about its location, which sends them to the high seas, where a storm gets in their way… A transcript of this episode is available at podcast.duol ... Show More
16m 22s
Feb 2023
307: Columbus: A New World? (Part 2)
Having convinced the Catholic Monarchs to fund his journey across the Atlantic, Columbus sets sail with three ships, a crew with dubious loyalties, and a mission to find China or Japan by heading west.
A voyage spanning the Canary Islands, Cuba and Hispaniola, he will encounter ... Show More
49m 46s
Jan 2023
The Mystery of the Itata - El engaño (The Deception)
In this episode we’ll travel back to Chile in 1922 to witness the Vapor Itata’s last voyage. There, we’ll follow Jorge X, a journalist who was heading north to cover a story that would expose the injustices in his country. But all the while, a bigger story was unfolding…right abo ... Show More
25m 5s