American History Tellers

The Ice King | Indian Summer | 4

07 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After two turbulent decades in the ice trade, Frederic Tudor had finally made it. Expanding into the American South had paid off, with cities like New...

Conquering Polio | The March of Dimes | 1

07 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the summer of 1921, 39-year-old Franklin Delano Roosevelt was on vacation with his family when he developed a fever, muscle aches, and chills. Pain...

The Ice King | Slippery Business | 3

24 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

By 1816, Frederic Tudor had spent a decade shipping New England ice to Cuba—with little to show for it. Setbacks and vanished profits nearly ruined ...

The Ice King | Frozen Assets | 2

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1806, Frederic Tudor set out to build a fortune by shipping ice from his family’s pond near Boston to the tropical Caribbean—an audacious idea ...

The Ice King | Frozen Assets | 1

10 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1806, Frederic Tudor set out to build a fortune by shipping ice from his family’s pond near Boston to the tropical Caribbean—an audacious idea ...

The Mayflower | The Thanksgiving Myth | 5

03 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1620 the Pilgrims arrived in a land already shaped by centuries of Native history. For the people who lived there, the Wampanoag, it was Patuxet—...

History Daily: The Assassination of Sergei Kirov

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

December 1, 1934. Leningrad mayor Sergei Kirov is assassinated by a lone gunman, giving Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin the justification to purge the Co...

The Mayflower | Cutthroats | 4

26 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In May 1622, the Pilgrims were still reeling from Squanto’s betrayal when a ship appeared in Plymouth Harbor, carrying an advance party for a rival ...

Listen Now: American Scandal | The West Memphis Three

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On May 5, 1993, three 8-year-old boys were brutally murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas. The tiny local police department launches an investigation but...

History Daily: Darwin’s Origin of Species

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

November 24, 1859. Charles Darwin sparks a scientific revolution by introducing the theory of evolution in his book On the Origin of Species.You can l...

The Mayflower | The First Thanksgiving | 3

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The winter of 1620-21 took a deadly toll on Plymouth Colony. The Pilgrims had only just begun to construct their homes when illness began spreading t...

The Mayflower | A Sea of Troubles | 2

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"In the fall of 1620, the Mayflower embarked on a 3,000-mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean. Over the next nine weeks, its passengers and crew batt...

The Mayflower | Saints and Strangers | 1

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 1600s, an orphaned teenager named William Bradford joined a clandestine congregation of passionate Puritan worshipers in the village of S...

Listen Now: Against The Odds | Tsunami In Thailand

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Humans are resilient. In our toughest moments, we will fight, we will struggle, and we will triumph...often against the odds. In this immersive s...

Shootout at the O.K. Corral | Vendetta | 4

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the aftermath of the deadly shootout at the OK Corral, the residents of Tombstone are sharply divided over whether to indict the Earp brothers and ...

Shootout at the O.K. Corral | Thirty Seconds | 3

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tensions boil over in Tombstone, Arizona as the Earp brothers confront the Clanton and McLaury outlaw gang, resulting in a 30-second shootout that lea...

Shootout at the O.K. Corral | Law and Disorder | 2

15 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After several months of anxiety, the tensions in Tombstone finally explode into violence as Ike Clanton and his friends provoke the Earp brothers and ...

Shootout at the O.K. Corral | The Road to Tombstone | 1

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1880s the booming silver mining town of Tombstone, Arizona was home to one of the most famous gunfights in American history. Wyatt Earp, Doc Ho...

Daring Prison Escapes | Escape from Libby Prison | 5

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In early 1864, a group of Union prisoners made a daring escape from Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia - the capital of the Confederacy. Known for its...

Daring Prison Escapes | Nazis in the Arizona Desert | 4

24 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

During World War II, the United States housed hundreds of thousands of enemy soldiers who had been captured as prisoners of war. Camp Papago Park, loc...

Daring Prison Escapes | Escape from Leavenworth | 3

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1909, a young convicted train robber named Frank Grigware began a life sentence at the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. Leavenwor...

Daring Prison Escapes | Fleeing the Rock | 2

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Located amid the treacherous waters of the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was designed to hold the most-wanted prisoners in America,...

Daring Prison Escapes | Bastille of the Confederacy | 1

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In February 1864, more than 100 Union Army officers broke out of Libby Prison, an infamous Confederate prisoner of war compound in Richmond, Virginia....

FAN FAVORITE: California Gold Rush | Digging Deeper | 4

29 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 1850s, as people continued to flood West, California’s booming cities experienced rapid growth, but also turmoil. Fires regularly swept...

FAN FAVORITE: California Gold Rush | Battlelines | 3

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For white settlers, the Gold Rush offered a chance for fortune, but for California’s Native inhabitants, the sudden hunger for gold spelled disaster...

FAN FAVORITE: The Insurrection of Aaron Burr | Treason on Trial | 4

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the summer of 1807, Richmond, Virginia hosted the most sensational trial in the young nation’s history. At stake was the life of Aaron Burr, who ...

FAN FAVORITE: California Gold Rush | The Forty Niners | 2

22 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In early 1849, thousands of gold-hungry Americans began pouring into California from the eastern United States. But most of the so-called 49ers were w...

FAN FAVORITE: The Insurrection of Aaron Burr | The Severance of the Union | 3

20 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In August 1806, Aaron Burr began the final preparations for his mysterious expedition to the western frontier. As he traveled, rumors that he was plot...

FAN FAVORITE: California Gold Rush | The First Strike | 1

20 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848, hundreds of thousands of prospectors poured into California, hoping to strike it rich. In the ...

FAN FAVORITE: The Insurrection of Aaron Burr | Gathering Forces | 2

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the summer of 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr was wanted for the murder of Alexander Hamilton. The fatal duel made him a political pariah and the t...

FAN FAVORITE: The Insurrection of Aaron Burr | An Affair of Honor | 1

06 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In July 1804, Aaron Burr faced political rival Alexander Hamilton on the cliffs of Weehawken, New Jersey, in a legendary duel that would change Burr’...

Evolution on Trial | Live and Let Live | 4

30 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Scopes ""Monkey"" Trial was set against the backdrop of the roaring twenties, a time of both cultural upheaval and deep social tensions. While ost...

Listen Now: Lawless Planet

28 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s not that hard to kill a planet. All it takes is a little drilling, some mining, a generous helping of pollution and voila! Earth over. When you...

History Daily: Henry VIII’s Fifth Wedding

28 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

July 28, 1540. King Henry VIII of England marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, 32 years his junior.You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazo...

Evolution on Trial | Duel to the Death | 3

23 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On July 20, 1925, the trial of John Scopes continued in the stifling heat of the overcrowded county courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee. Tempers flared as...

Evolution on Trial | Monkeytown | 2

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On the sweltering morning of July 10, 1925, 200 newspaper reporters, newsreel film producers, and radio broadcasters flooded the county courthouse in ...

Listen Now: Flesh and Code

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Travis never thought he’d meet someone like Lily Rose. She was kind, passionate, beautiful. The woman of his dreams. There was just one small detail...

History Daily: The Lincoln Hospital Takeover

14 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

July 14, 1970. A group of Puerto Rican activists stage an occupation demanding better health care at the Lincoln Hospital in South Bronx, New York Cit...

Evolution on Trial | A Clash of Giants | 1

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1925, the famous politician and presidential contender William Jennings Bryan returned to the limelight to lead a new crusade against the teaching ...

Typhoid Mary | Cook, Carrier, Captive | 3

02 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1906, a New York health department investigation into an outbreak of typhoid fever led to the discovery that a cook, Mary Mallon, was an unsuspecti...

Typhoid Mary | Destroying Angel | 2

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After spending two years in forced isolation on a remote island in the East River, Mary Mallon fought back, insisting that she posed no danger to the ...

Listen Now: Liberty Lost

24 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Evangelical homes across the United States, sex outside of marriage is a sin against God. So, when Abbi becomes pregnant at 16, her devout parents ...

Typhoid Mary | An Invisible Menace | 1

18 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the fall of 1906, a mysterious outbreak of typhoid fever struck a wealthy New York family vacationing in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Suspicion soon fe...

History Daily: The First Woman In Space

16 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

June 16, 1963. After months of rigorous training, Soviet Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space, orbiting the Earth for just ...

The Progressive Era | In the Arena | 6

11 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As president, Theodore Roosevelt pursued a progressive agenda. He worked to break up the monopolies of the Gilded Age, created a federal agency to ins...

The Progressive Era | Wilson's War on Tariffs | 5

04 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1913, Woodrow Wilson entered the White House, ready to fulfill his promise of a “New Freedom.” It was a vision of domestic reform that aimed to...

Wondery Presents: How to Survive Against the Odds

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Inspired by Wondery’s hit podcast Against the Odds—learn how to survive whatever nature can throw at you through gut-twisting true stories of surv...

History Daily: The Killing of Benno Ohnesorg

02 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

June 2, 1967. Benno Ohnesorg, a West German student, is killed by a police officer while attending a protest in West Berlin.You can listen ad-free in ...

The Progressive Era | A Bruising Fight | 4

28 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1909, William Howard Taft entered the White House, pledging to preserve and expand the Progressive policies of his predecessor Theodore Roosevelt. ...

The Progressive Era | The Crisis | 3

21 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt discharged 167 soldiers of the all-Black 25th Infantry stationed in Brownsville, Texas. The men were accused of ...

History Daily: England Becomes a Republic

19 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

May 19, 1649. After the English Civil War, an Act of Parliament makes England a Republic.You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Music app. Or...

The Progressive Era | The Shame of Cities | 2

14 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 1900s, a new generation of crusading writers and journalists captured the nation’s attention by digging up dirt on big business and gov...

Listen Now: Oh What A Time...

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s time to embark on a journey through history with "Oh What A Time…" a comedy history podcast hosted by renowned comedians Elis James and Tom C...

The Progressive Era | Power to the People | 1

07 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the late 1890s, Theodore Roosevelt emerged as a hero of the Spanish-American War and embarked on a meteoric rise through the political ranks. His b...

History Daily: The Battle of Puebla on Cinco de Mayo

05 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

May 5, 1862. Following the French invasion of Mexico, Mexican soldiers succeed in defending the town of Puebla, sealing a victory that will be commemo...

The Carter Years | 444 Days | 4

30 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On November 4th, 1979, Iranian students overran the U.S. embassy in Tehran intending to stage a short sit-in protest. But after they detained embassy ...

Listen Now: Death County, PA

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lamont Jones leaves Dauphin County Prison for the last time, a free man ready to move on with his life. But when his young cousin dies in that same ja...

The Carter Years | Homecoming | 3

23 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In his final year in office, President Jimmy Carter was forced to navigate crisis after crisis, as American hostages remained captive in Iran and news...

History Daily: The Loch Ness Photograph

21 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

April 21, 1934. The Daily Mail publishes an alleged photo of the Loch Ness Monster, sparking an international sensation around one of the world’s mo...

The Carter Years | Crisis of Confidence | 2

16 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1979, after two years in office, President Jimmy Carter faced a series of crushing challenges: a deepening energy crisis, soaring inflation, rising...

Introducing: Law & Crime’s LUIGI

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Luigi Mangione allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, the media called it a senseless crime. But online, a different story emerged—one...

The Carter Years | "Jimmy Who?" | 1

09 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1976, as America struggled to recover from the twin traumas of the Watergate scandal and the war in Vietnam, an unlikely figure emerged from the Ge...

History Daily: The Execution of Dick Turpin

07 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

April 7, 1739. In York, England, the notorious highwayman Dick Turpin is hanged for stealing horses.You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Mu...

ENCORE: The Fight for Women's Suffrage | The 19th Amendment | 5

02 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As America entered World War I, the suffrage movement split into a two-pronged attack. Alice Paul and her National Woman’s Party took their protests...

Listen Now: Don’t Cross Kat

01 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Kat Torres has the insta-perfect life. She is rich, gorgeous and not ashamed to share it. Her posts about witchcraft and “alien baths” drew in ove...

ENCORE: The Fight for Women's Suffrage | Silent Sentinels | 4

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In March 1913, thousands of suffrage activists converged on Washington, D.C. for a new form of protest. They were going to march down Pennsylvania Ave...

History Daily: The Death of Queen Elizabeth I

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

March 24, 1603. After a reign of 44 years, Queen Elizabeth I of England dies, bringing the Tudor dynasty to an end.You can listen ad-free in the Wonde...

ENCORE: The Fight for Women's Suffrage | Passing the Torch | 3

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As the 20th century dawned, a new generation of women rose to take control of the suffrage cause. These young activists were going to college, delayin...

ENCORE: The Fight for Women's Suffrage | The Trial of Susan B. Anthony | 2

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Election Day 1872, Susan B. Anthony walked into a polling place in Rochester, New York and boldly cast her ballot. Her action was an escalation in ...

Listen Now: Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Monica Lewinsky has been a major reference in pop culture since she was 24 years old when a scandal made her a household name overnight. Since then, s...

History Daily: Alexander Graham Bell Makes the First Telephone Call

10 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

March 10, 1876. Inventor Alexander Graham Bell makes the first successful telephone call in history, revolutionizing human communication.You can liste...

ENCORE: The Fight for Women's Suffrage | Created Equal | 1

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On July 19th, 1848, 300 female and male delegates gathered in a church in Seneca Falls, New York for America’s first women’s rights convention. Af...

Buffalo Soldiers | Suffering in Silence | 4

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Between 1870 and 1899, only twelve Black cadets were admitted to the US military academy at West Point, and of those twelve, only three went on to gra...

Listen Now: Scam Factory

25 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You know those messages that you get all the time, the ones that pop up out of nowhere? They could be real, but something about them seems fishy. You ...

History Daily: The Battle of Karnal

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

February 24, 1739. The Persian leader Nader Shah wins a decisive victory in India at the Battle of Karnal. The fallout from the battle shatters the Mu...

Buffalo Soldiers | The Last to Leave | 3

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On an April morning in 1880, West Point cadet Johnson Chestnut Whittaker failed to appear at 6 a.m. roll call. He had endured continuous abuse from hi...

Introducing: Blood Vines

13 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Get ready for a whole new vintage of true crime podcast with Blood Vines, available exclusively on Wondery+.Hosted by Chris Walker, this full-bodied s...

Buffalo Soldiers | Cadets of Courage | 2

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In May 1870, James Webster Smith arrived in West Point, New York, in the hopes of becoming the first Black cadet to attend the U.S. Military Academy. ...

History Daily: David Bowie Becomes Ziggy Stardust

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

February 10, 1972. When his music career begins to stagnate, David Bowie reinvents himself with an alien alter-ego he names Ziggy Stardust.You can lis...

Buffalo Soldiers | The Brass Letters | 1

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the spring of 1865, with the Civil War finally over, American lawmakers began to debate whether Black soldiers would have a permanent place in the ...

The Irish Famine Relief Mission | Ship of Hope | 1

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the winter of 1846, Irish immigrants in America began to hear troubling news from their home country: a potato famine was ravaging the countryside ...

Listen Now: We Came to the Forest

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Vienna is working a delivery job when she hears about Cop City, a massive police training facility planned for Atlanta. She decides to join the activi...

History Daily: The End of the Siege of Leningrad

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

January 27, 1944. Soviet forces defeat the German army outside Leningrad, ending an 872-day siege.You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Musi...

The Wright Brothers | Controlling the Skies | 4

22 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Before the Wright Brothers made their historic flight at Kitty Hawk in December 1903, other air enthusiasts had tried to find the answer to powered, c...

The Wright Brothers | Coming Down to Earth | 3

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the summer of 1908, Wilbur Wright amazed crowds in France with his aerobatic flying demonstrations, and Orville made daring flights at a U.S. Army ...

History Daily: The Sole Survivor of the Retreat from Kabul

13 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

January 13, 1842. William Brydon is the last man standing after a disastrous British army retreat during the First Anglo-Afghan War.You can listen ad-...

The Wright Brothers | Fliers or Liars | 2

08 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

By 1903, inventors and adventurers in Britain and France were launching their own experimental aircraft skyward. In the U.S., crowds gathered outside ...

The Wright Brothers | The Art of the Bird | 1

01 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the late-1890s, two brothers from Ohio, Wilbur and Orville Wright, became obsessed with what Wilbur described as “the problem of flight.” With ...

History Daily: Winston Churchill’s Famous “Some Chicken” Speech

30 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

December 30, 1941. In a rousing speech to the Canadian Parliament, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill celebrates his success in holding off Nazi...

Listen Now - History That Doesn't Suck: America Enters WWI

26 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

History That Doesn't' Suck is a seriously researched survey of American history told through entertaining stories, decade by decade from its 1776 revo...

Encore: Boston Molasses Disaster | A Deadly Deluge | 1

25 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On January 15, 1919 a giant storage tank holding more than two million gallons of molasses collapsed, sending a deadly wave crashing into the streets ...

Transcontinental Railroad | The Iron Road | 5

18 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Chinese laborers did much of the toughest work building the Central Pacific Railroad. That included blasting tunnels through the granite of the Sierra...

History Daily: Rugby Union’s “Match of the Century”

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

December 16, 1905. Rugby Union’s "Match of the Century" is played between Wales and the undefeated New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park.You can listen a...

FDR & Churchill: A Friendship For the Ages with History Hit's Dan Snow | 1

11 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Great Britain and the United States have always enjoyed a special bond, and nowhere has that been more evident than in the friendship between Presiden...

Listen Now - Hollywood & Crime: The Cotton Club Murder

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On June 10th, 1983, the decomposing body of a well-dressed man was found in a desolate canyon near Los Angeles. John Doe #94 would soon be identified ...

Transcontinental Railroad | The Golden Spike | 4

04 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In January 1869, leaders of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific met in Washington, D.C. to discuss the final stretch of construction. For years, the...

Transcontinental Railroad | Hell on Wheels | 3

27 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In early 1866, Central Pacific workers were stalled in California, facing the monumental task of blasting 15 tunnels through solid granite in the Sier...

Listen Now - REDACTED: Declassified Mysteries with Luke Lamana

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Behind the closed doors of government offices and military compounds, are hidden stories and buried secrets from the darkest corners of history. Each ...

Transcontinental Railroad | Dancing with a Whirlwind | 2

20 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the summer of 1863, an unscrupulous businessman named Thomas Durant gained control of the Union Pacific Railroad, the company chartered by Congress...

History Daily: Introducing Mickey Mouse

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

November 18, 1928. Mickey Mouse makes his big screen debut in Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie.You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Music a...