logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
56m 34s

The Mississippi Was First Mapped by a Po...

History Unplugged
About this episode
Perhaps the most consequential expedition in North American history wasn’t the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was one that happened 130 years earlier and undertaken by a Catholic priest fluent in multiple Indian languages and a... 
Up next
Today
Japan's Military Refused to Surrender Even After Two Atomic Bombs and a Coup Nearly Succeeded
At 1:15 p.m. on April 12, 1945, Franklin Roosevelt was sitting for a portrait at his cottage in Warm Springs, Georgia, when his face suddenly fell forward. He raised his left hand to his temple and whispered to his cousin Daisy: "I have a terrific pain in the back of my head." He ... Show More
45m 32s
Sep 1
Is Patton America’s Most Overrated General?
George S. Patton is considered one of America’s greatest generals for his blitzes across Europe in World War 2. He is celebrated for breaking out of Normandy because his Third Army push out of their holdings along the coast, unleashing a lightning-fast armored blitz across northe ... Show More
52m 11s
Aug 27
Stalin’s Ordered Killing of Trotsky Created the Playbook for Modern Political Assassination
Ramón Mercader expected to easily kill Leon Trotsky, silently and instantly. He had rehearsed the blow for months, practiced the angle, tailored a pocket into his raincoat to conceal the shortened ice axe. On August 20, 1940, he stood behind Trotsky -- who was the principle leade ... Show More
48m 10s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2025
Jacques Cartier and France’s Atlantic Horizons by Elvira Viktória Tamus
Explorer Jacques Cartier's voyages into the unknown mapped parts of the New World, but were also rooted in European geopolitics. Scholar Elvira Viktória Tamus explains Cartier's place in exploration, war and power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 
23m 52s
Apr 2022
Lewis and Clark | Into the Wild | 1
In 1803, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark began a westward journey that would transform America. Their mission was to head up the Missouri River and find a route through the uncharted west to the Pacific Ocean. The journey was full of risk. But no danger loomed larger ... Show More
39m 54s
May 2022
Lewis and Clark | The Journey and the Journals | 4
The Lewis and Clark expedition changed the course of American history. But after its bold, charismatic leader, Meriwether Lewis, ended his life in an apparent suicide, the expedition was largely forgotten. Not until the 20th century would the exploits of Lewis and Clark’s Corps o ... Show More
37m 42s
Oct 2017
Marco Polo
Much more than just a pool game, this Venetian merchant traveler adventured through China and the Mongolian Empire. Though his memoirs may have been heavily embellished, the book gave those who came after Marco Polo a broad picture of 13th century culture, led to advances in cart ... Show More
37m 11s
Jun 2025
The Northwest Passage: Doom of Arctic Explorers
<p><em>Assassin's Creed Rogue</em> and <em>Assassin's Creed III</em> let us sail through the frozen waters of the Northwest Passage at the most dangerous time in history.</p><br><p>From Hudson Bay to Hawaii, the coasts of Canada and the USA were mapped as an unintended consequenc ... Show More
39m 22s
Jan 2023
The First Indigenous Americans in Europe
<p>1492 marked the beginning of the Colombian Exchange - the transfer of people, goods, ideas and commodities across the Atlantic between Europe and the Americas. We hear a lot about the conquistadors, the settlers, Jesuit priests and colonisers from Spain, Portugal and Britain w ... Show More
24m 13s
Aug 2024
The Northwest Passage
For seafarers, merchants, travellers, and monarchs, the idea of the Northwest Passage from Europe to Asia was pursued as the holy grail of maritime exploration. Some of Europe’s finest explorers dedicated their lives to its discovery - braving uncharted waters, and freezing tempe ... Show More
57m 11s
Mar 2024
#99 The Journeys of Marco Polo
📖 Episode Transcripts in Link Below ⬇️ Today, we follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest explorers of all time: Marco Polo. Join us as we dive into the adventures of this brave traveler who enriched the world with his explorations and accounts of distant lands. https://pa ... Show More
4m 7s
Nov 2018
Sacagawea
Responsible for leading the first expedition across North America in 1804, Sacagawea was only 17 when she made the trek, while pregnant, across the continent. The daughter of a Native American chief, Sacagawea was captured and enslaved by an opposing tribe and then sold as a brid ... Show More
43m 9s