Rerun. ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is now well-known as the USA’s national anthem - but when Francis Scott Key wrote the words on 14th September, 1814, it was merely the latest in a series of patriotic poems he’d penned; this one concerning the British assault on the coastal fortification of Fort McHenry.It was only when - bizarrely - it was set to the tune o ... Show More
Jul 28
When Zombies Came To Hollywood
Independent horror film ‘White Zombie’, starring Bela Lugosi, premiered in New York City’s Rivoli Theatre on July 28th, 1932. It marked the first time that zombies had featured in a Hollywood picture - albeit as the result of an evil voodoo master in Haiti rather than a condition ... Show More
12m 26s
Jul 27
Meet Bugs Bunny 🥕
Warner Brothers’ biggest animated star, Bugs Bunny, made his cartoon debut on July 27th, 1940, in A Wild Hare - though, at the time, he didn’t officially have a name… Though previous versions of the ‘wabbit had appeared in earlier Looney Tunes shorts, this incarnation - directed ... Show More
12m 50s
Dec 2021
EP136: Winston Churchill and the Iron Curtain and The Tone Deaf, Bad Poet Who Wrote The National Anthem
On this episode of Our American Stories, Dr. Larry Arnn, President of Hillsdale College and Churchill scholar, tells the story of Winston Churchill being at a low point in his career when he delivered his famous 'Iron Curtain' speech in Fulton, Missouri; Marc Leepson, author of W ... Show More
38m 16s