Children say it every day in school, but have you ever wondered why we recite the pledge of allegiance? We journey back to the late 1800s to understand how a massive wave of immigration and sagging magazine subscriptions gave rise to this vow of patriotism. From the Civil War to anti-immigrant nativism and Cold War politics, this one pledge tells many storie ... Show More
Mar 4
Dark Matter, Bright Mind: How Vera Rubin Saw the Unseen
Something dark and invisible makes up as much as 90 to 95 percent of the universe—and it took a little girl staring out a bedroom window at the night sky to bring it to light. As a child, Vera Rubin built her own telescope. As an adult, she uncovered a problem no telescope could ... Show More
34m 1s
Jul 2025
The History of America’s Independence Day!
We have a very important and interesting topic, especially these days. We will talk about the history of America, how this country was born, and why they celebrate Independence Day every year on July 4th. We will go back a little in history to talk about the land before it was ca ... Show More
10m 4s
Jul 2025
How Country Music Became the Sound of U.S. Patriotism
<p>Today's country music industry is deeply associated with a certain jingoistic ‘rally around the flag,' ‘support the troops’ spirit. In this week’s podcast, we're re-airing a conversation with <a href="https://www.josephmthompson.com/about">Joseph M. Thompson,</a> author of <a ... Show More
30m 45s
Sep 2025
CLASSIC: The Forced Assimilation of Native People
For centuries the U.S. government conspired to persecute, attack and marginalize the native population. When open warfare became too expensive, some factions of the government proposed a different approach -- what if, they wondered, we erase native culture? This inspired a massiv ... Show More
56m 21s
Jul 2024
Listen Now: American History Tellers, First Ladies
The Cold War, Prohibition, the Gold Rush, the Space Race. Every part of your life - the words you speak, the ideas you share - can be traced to our history, but how well do you really know the stories that made America? We'll take you to the events, the times and the people that ... Show More
7m 55s