We’ve gotten requests to talk about the balloon bombs that Japan used to target North America during World War II. But these were not the only balloons in use during the war, or the first balloons used for military purposes.
Yesterday
Charles Sumner, Revisited (part 1)
<p>The first installment of the deeper examination of Charles Sumner's life begins with his early years, including his close relationships with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Samuel Gridley Howe.</p> <p><strong>Research:</strong></p> <ul> <li>"Sumner, Charles (1811-1874)." Encycl ... Show More
35m 52s
May 2019
The Attack of the Japanese Balloon Bombs
Picture this: It's late 1944, and you, like thousands of other people on the west coast of North America, have noticed bizarre, jellyfish-like objects floating through the sky. You call the local authorities, maybe even the Air Force, only to be ignored. You don't see anything ab ... Show More
34m 8s
Nov 2021
Defying Gravity and Monarchy
November 21, 1783. The garden at the Chateau de la Muette is full of expectant Parisians, looking up at the sky. They’re waiting to watch the first two human beings ever take free, untethered flight. After a gust of wind nearly derails the entire operation, some volunteer seamstr ... Show More
30m 34s
Feb 2023
WW2 Bombing Raids on Germany Were Bloodbaths for the Allies Until a Futurist Fighter Plane (the P-51) Was Developed
One of the lowest points of World War 2 for the Allies was autumn 1943, when bombing runs from England to Germany were ramping up. Hundreds of B-17s flew out to strike military targets, but they flew unescorted due to being the only planes with enough range (fighters could only m ... Show More
35m 16s
Feb 2023
Up And Away In My Beautiful Spy Balloon
In early February, 2023, the US shot down a Chinese balloon. The US says the balloon was gathering intelligence while the Chinese claimed it was a weather balloon. We look at the history of spy balloons and how they've evolved over time, as well as the dilemma these balloons put ... Show More
49m 25s
Oct 2021
EP89: The History of Pinball, The Day a Soviet Nuclear Attack Submarine Rammed an American Aircraft Carrier and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
On this episode of Our American Stories, Jeremy Saucier of the Strong Museum of Play shares the long, and surprising, history of pinball--from its origins in French parlor games, to its prohibition, and then to its emergence as the immersive and popular game that it is today; The ... Show More
38m 12s