The Whaleship Essex: Real-life Moby Dick...

Edwin Howard Armstrong isn’t exactly a well-known inventor, but his work in radio literally changed communications around the globe. But his most famous invention – FM radio – became a source of constant frustration after he developed it. Research: Armstrong, Edwin H. “Frequency ... Show More

Before the ballpoint pen, people used their hands, reeds, bamboo, brushes, quills, and eventually nibs to write or draw. But how did things evolve from there to get to things like the fountain pen, and eventually, a ballpoint? Research: "pen." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Bri ... Show More

This 2022 episode starts with the story of John Bibb, credited with cultivating Bibb lettuce. But his family’s legacy, good and bad, is all tied to having enslaved people build their familial wealth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Today, Herman Melville's magnum opus Moby Dick is lauded as a classic of American literature -- but it turns out Melville didn't invent the whole thing on his own. In the first part of this special two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the story of a real-life white whale ... Show More

Captain George Pollard Jr. was just 29 years old when his whaling vessel, the Essex, met with disaster. As the hapless crew struggled (and largely failed) to survive their horrific time at sea, they encountered starvation, madness, exposure and some fates arguably worse than deat ... Show More

The ill-fated whale-ship The Essex, was rammed by an 85-foot sperm whale on 20th November, 1820. The incident inspired Herman Melville’s sea-faring novel, Moby Dick. Left to fend for themselves in tiny whaling boats, the young crew had to make terrible choices in order to preserv ... Show More

Kate Summerscale, author of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, tells us about her new book, which investigates another shocking 19th-century crime. Meanwhile, Andrew Lambert guides us around the famous clipper Cutty Sark, a ship that raced around the world as part of the lucrative Vic ... Show More

The Marquise de Brinvilliers is a subject of operas and stories, a larger-than-life villainess who murdered her family with poison and almost got away with it. Almost. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ... Show More

Phoebe reads a chapter a day of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Read along. Our other shows are Criminal and This is Love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 

Mobsters are often romanticized in film and fiction -- but that doesn't mean they're always geniuses. In the first part of this series, Ben and Noel are joined by Matt Lieb and Vince Mancini, the hosts of Pod Yourself A Gun, to explore some of history's dumbest mobsters. Learn mo ... Show More

On this episode of Our American Stories, former marine, Jason Porter, tells the story of meeting his best friend Forrest Johnson and how serving in WWII impacted him; and Richard Gary tells the origin story of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (aka Mark Twain) and the racial history of Ha ... Show More

From Hitler’s love of young adult fiction to Saddam Hussein's shameful romance novels, this podcast sheds new, weird light on history's monsters.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

National Geographic Explorer Tara Roberts is inspired by the stories of the Clotilda, a ship that illegally arrived in Mobile, Alabama, in 1860, and of Africatown, created by those on the vessel—a community that still exists today. The archaeologists and divers leading the search ... Show More