logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2023
38m 8s

History’s Undelivered Speeches

The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios
About this episode
August 8, 1974. President Richard Nixon sits in the Oval Office, addressing the American people. He tells them: I’m going to resign. The news is shocking, but not unexpected. Today, it might even seem inevitable. But in the days leading up to the big decision, Nixon himself didn’t know what he would do. At night he roamed the halls of the White House, tortur ... Show More
Up next
Jan 19
Houdini Defies Death
January 25, 1908. Harry Houdini is the most famous magician in America. He’s known for his escapes – from handcuffs, boxes, jail cells, even a giant football. But the escape act is getting old, and ticket sales aren’t what they used to be. And on this day, an under-capacity audie ... Show More
28m 54s
Jan 12
The Great Boston Molasses Flood
January 15, 1919. Boston PD receives a call: “Send all available rescue personnel...there's a wave of molasses coming down Commercial Street." The bizarre flood decimated Boston's North End. How did it happen? And why does it still affect us all today? Special thanks to our guest ... Show More
19m 57s
Jan 5
Tuskegee Top Gun
Editor’s note: This episode originally aired January 9, 2023. Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr. passed away in February 2025 at the age of 100. Lt. Col. James Harvey III still resides in New Jersey, now 102 years old. -- January 11, 2022. Lt. Col. James Harvey arrives at Nellis Air Forc ... Show More
30m 40s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2014
The Resignation of President Nixon
On 8 August 1974 Richard Nixon became the first US president in history to resign from office, following the Watergate scandal. Witness has been speaking to journalist Tom DeFrank, who watched the drama unfold minute by minute.Photo: Nixon announces his resignation on national te ... Show More
8m 56s
Aug 2022
The resignation of President Nixon
On 8 August 1974 Richard Nixon became the first US president in history to resign from office, following the Watergate scandal. In 2014, Farhana Haider spoke to journalist Tom DeFrank, who watched the drama unfold minute by minute.(Photo: Nixon announces his resignation on nation ... Show More
8m 56s
Jul 2021
Watergate in 100 days: how President Nixon fell
Author and former Washington Post journalist Michael Dobbs talks about his new book King Richard, which charts 100 pivotal days as the Watergate scandal gained a grip on Richard Nixon’s presidency, eventually leading to his infamous downfall.   (Ad) Michael Dobbs is the author of ... Show More
26m 29s
Jan 2023
Richard Nixon Back Again
Tricky Dicky’s back! He quite the comeback kid…It’s 1969, a slew of assassinations have recently hit the country, anti-war protests are taking over college campuses, and Nixon’s finally won the presidency for the Republicans. But how did it all happen, why was Nixon so damn awkwa ... Show More
53m 56s
Aug 2021
Martin Luther King Jr
On 28 August 1963 Martin Luther King Jr delivered his 'I have a dream' speech stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. to an audience of hundreds of thousands of people. The speech and King's life have been an inspiration to millions of people both in the United ... Show More
34m 27s
Sep 2023
History of Ideas: David Foster Wallace
This week’s episode in our series on the great political essays is about David Foster Wallace’s ‘Up, Simba!’, which describes his experiences following the doomed campaign of John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000. Wallace believed that McCain’s distinctiv ... Show More
55m 57s
Feb 2021
The Presidency and the People: How to Form a More Perfect Union
In commemoration of Presidents Day, President Bill Clinton traces the evolution of the presidency from America’s founding through modern history and explores how the best presidents used the office to build an America that more closely resembled our highest ideals and aspirations ... Show More
59m 20s
Dec 2022
Finding the Man Within the Myth with Alexis Coe
On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon speaks with presidential historian Alexis Coe, who talks about her goal as a historian to tell the whole story. We have a tendency to regard many of our U.S. Presidents as heroes, illuminating the ways in which they s ... Show More
42m 8s
Sep 2023
President Thomas Jefferson
<p>Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, so how did it work out when he became the leader of this nation that he was so instrumental in founding?</p><br><p>For the third episode in American History Hit's special series about the Presidents, ... Show More
42m 7s