The 'Mysterious' Birthplace of Chester A...

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. 

One of the most enduring stories about the founding of the United States of America is that before George Washington accepted the position as President, he declined the position as King. But "enduring" doesn't necessarily mean true. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www ... Show More

It's no secret that people in the US often tend to mythologize the Founding Fathers -- so it shouldn't come as a surprise that people also, often, claim George Washington wasn't actually the first US president. What gives? Tune in to learn more. Learn more about your ad-choices a ... Show More

When life got tough, Kate Warn got tougher. She became a spy and agent at 23. And in 1861, her boss tasked her with saving the president elect's life.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

The match-up between sitting president John Adams, and his own vice president, Thomas Jefferson—an election so rife with backstabbing, mudslinging, and constitutional controversy that it nearly led to a civil war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoic ... Show More

Abraham Lincoln contemplated suicide more than once in his life, he knew suffering and yet he is perhaps histories' greatest leader through a period of time where the nation also wept, the American Civil War.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.c ... Show More

Presidential elections have taken place in America every four years since 1788, but the 2020 election was unlike anything we had experienced before. Amid a pandemic, an economic crisis, and a long overdue reckoning with systemic racism, Americans made their votes and voices heard ... Show More

Acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns tells Elinor Evans about the life and accomplishments of Benjamin Franklin – a man who both loved Britain but became a key figure in American independence, and who was a slave-owner yet later campaigned for abolition. Burns also talks about the chall ... Show More

Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro talks about Ben Carson's performance in his old position, his book "An Unlikely Journey" and his potential 2020 presidential run. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf ... Show More