Episodes
![Sowing History: The Judean Date Palm’s 2,000 Year Old Comeback](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
Sowing History: The Judean Date Palm’s 2,000 Year Old Comeback
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
For 1,000 years the Judean Date Palm has been extinct, likely wiped out due to human warfare which took a toll on the palm plantations that required copious amount of water and care in the harsh desert environment.
The fruit from this particular species was said to be unusually sweet and was valued for its medicinal properties. Appearing on ancient coins and in ancient texts and given as gifts to Roman emperors, these dates were a symbol of property, beauty, and abundance.
This treasured fruit was lost to history—until two scientists dared to try the ‘impossible.’
In the 1960’s archaeologists excavating at Masada, a fortress built near the Dead Sea by King Herod the Great and used as the last stronghold for Jewish rebels between 70 and 73CE at the end of the first Jewish-Roman war, turned up something surprising—a 2,000-year-old jar of Judean Date Palm seeds.
For 15 years Dr. Elaine Solowey and Dr. Sarah Salon painstakingly germinated and cultivated this species back to life, and in 2020, the ancients world’s favorite date was brought back to life. Join me as we explore one of history’s most incredible comebacks 2,000 years in the making.
![From the Cache: History’s Happy Little Accidents](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Aug 02, 2023
From the Cache: History’s Happy Little Accidents
Wednesday Aug 02, 2023
Wednesday Aug 02, 2023
From the cache! Until an all-new episode premiers this October, please enjoy this recast. Bob Ross, American painter and iconic TV host of the 80s and 90s, famously told us that there are no mistakes, only “happy little accidents.” There are numerous examples of history happening by accident--archaeologists accidentally stumbling upon a find, scientists accidentally discovering a breakthrough--and today we explore four such stories.
First, we travel to 1856 when a teenager accidentally discovered mauve and synthetic dye while he was on vacation, which led to the pioneering of immunology and a Nobel prize. Then we head to 1940s France, when a group of teenagers chasing after a dog accidentally stumbled upon Lascaux cave, one of the greatest prehistoric finds of all time. Then we travel to 1767 to visit the Ayutthaya kingdom just before it was invaded by Burma. Almost 200 years later, a seemingly unremarkable statue pulled from its ruins finally tells its secrets: the Golden Buddha or, Phra Phuttha Maha Suwana Patimakon, is now one of the world’s most famous statues, and if it hadn’t been for an accident in the 1950s, we would all still believe it was made of nothing more than plaster and colored glass. Finally, we skip ahead all the way into the 2000s for a look at some accidental breakthrough MS research.
Come join me as we uncover some of history’s most incredible happy little accidents.
![The Lady Franklin Bay Expedition Part 1: No Way Home](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Apr 19, 2023
The Lady Franklin Bay Expedition Part 1: No Way Home
Wednesday Apr 19, 2023
Wednesday Apr 19, 2023
In 1881 an expedition to the Arctic led by Lieutenant Adolphus Greely and organized by the US Army set off for Lady Franklin Bay, Canada, well above the Arctic circle. The plan was to establish a temporary meteorological-observation station as part of the First International Polar Year, a worldwide effort to better understand Earth’s climate by collecting astronomical and magnetic data.
Most of the data was collected by astronomer Edward Israel, a young University of Michigan graduate from Kalamazoo.
Though their mission of data collection was successful, and they would set a record for traveling further north than anyone at the time ever had, this expedition would go down in history as one of the most tragic polar expeditions of all time.
Join me for a true Arctic tale like no other.
![The Great 1908 New York to Paris Auto Race: The Finale](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Jan 25, 2023
The Great 1908 New York to Paris Auto Race: The Finale
Wednesday Jan 25, 2023
Wednesday Jan 25, 2023
The finale is here! After nearly 22,000 miles, or over 35,000 kilometers, we finish the Great 1908 New York to Paris Auto Race. This episode covers the entire trek through Siberia and Europe.
After nearly six months of a grueling auto race before gas stations, highways, asphalt, road maps, or power steering, our remaining competitors in the American Thomas Flyer, the Italian Zust, and the German Protos brave the huge expanse of Russia, something no one else had ever done in an automobile. They face floods, bandits, malaria, hail, freezing rain, bogs, and, as always, a string of mechanical mishaps all coming together to bring you the most exciting episode in this series.
Six cars began this journey, only three remain. Come discover the historic ending of what just may be the greatest race of all time.
Adventure awaits. Let’s go for a drive.
![From the Cache: A Strange Experiment on Mackinac Island](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
From the Cache: A Strange Experiment on Mackinac Island
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
From the cache! Until an all-new episode this October, please enjoy this recast on Dr. Beaumont's strange experiment on Mackinac Island.
In 1822 French Canadian Fur Trader Alexis St Martin was shot in the side at a distance of less than one meter. The experiments following his miraculous survival just may be the weirdest piece of history ever seen in the Straits of Mackinac.
The bullet wound left a hole in St Martin’s side giving Dr. William Beaumont the first ever access to a living human stomach. The doctor would tie pieces of food to a silk string and dangle them down into St Martin’s stomach in order to better understand the process of digestion. Nearly 250 experiments were performed over a decade.
Dr. Beaumont’s book on his experiments the paved the way for our understanding of the human gastric system and earned Beaumont the title as the "Father of Gastric Physiology."
St Martin lived his entire life with a bullet hole his side. He was buried in a secret location eight feet below ground with two feet of rocks on his coffin to deter grave robbers from stealing his corpse or his stomach, which was highly sought after when he died.
Come hear the true story of Dr. William Beaumont and Alexis St Martin in this extra strange episode of the History Cache Podcast.
![Joe Carstairs Part 3: The Kingdom of Whale Cay](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Jul 20, 2022
Joe Carstairs Part 3: The Kingdom of Whale Cay
Wednesday Jul 20, 2022
Wednesday Jul 20, 2022
In this finale episode on the incredible life of Joe Carstairs we examine Joe’s life after she earned her place in history as the fastest woman on water. In 1934 Joe purchased Whale Cay, an island in the Bahamas, then known as the British West Indies. Here she built a life in exile, and integrated herself into the economic and social history of the Bahamas.
We cover her experiences on the island, her attempts to aid both British and American forces during WW2, her meeting with the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson, the complicated impact she had as a colonist, the death of Ruth Baldwin, the love of her life, her eventual move to Naples, Florida, and the last years of her life.
Join me as we conclude our series on the relentlessly interesting life of Joe Carstairs.
![Joe Carstairs Part 2: The Fastest Woman on Water](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Jul 13, 2022
Joe Carstairs Part 2: The Fastest Woman on Water
Wednesday Jul 13, 2022
Wednesday Jul 13, 2022
In Part 2 we continue to explore the relentlessly interesting life of Joe Carstairs, known as the fastest woman on water. We cover her impressive series of wins, the records she broke, and her years long pursuit of the famed Harmsworth Trophy against Gar Wood, the cup’s all time most successful competitor.
In this episode we meet both Ruth Baldwin, the love of Joe’s life, and Lord Tod Wadley, a doll that would become increasingly important to Joe, adding another layer to her reputation as an eccentric. We cover her life after she retires from racing and her purchase of Whale Cay, an island in the British West Indies, now the Bahamas, where she would spend the next four decades.
Join me as we journey back in time and continue to uncover the fascinating life of Joe Carstairs.
![Joe Carstairs: The Fastest Woman on Water Part 1](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Jun 22, 2022
Joe Carstairs: The Fastest Woman on Water Part 1
Wednesday Jun 22, 2022
Wednesday Jun 22, 2022
Joe Carstairs is remembered for being the fastest woman on water in the 1920s. She raced power boats, won trophies, and loved adventure and speed. But her life was so much more than races and fast machines. Born in 1900, Joe was a British eccentric, an heiress, openly a lesbian, and shed many gender conformities of her day.
She served with the American Red Cross in France during WW1, established the X Garage, a chauffeuring business employing a staff of all female drivers and mechanics who had learned their skills while serving during the war, and after receiving some notoriety from racing, Joe bought Whale Cay, an Island in the Bahamas, which she ran almost as if it were her own country.
Her life was so full and colorful it became clear early on that this would have to be a two-part series. This is part one of a deep dive into the relentlessly fascinating life of Joe Carstairs, the fastest woman on water.
![Historic Pranks](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday May 11, 2022
Historic Pranks
Wednesday May 11, 2022
Wednesday May 11, 2022
Laughter is a universal language and today we celebrate humor through the ages by exploring three historic pranks. The first involves Anthemius of Tralles, one of the main architects involved in building the Hagia Sophia and a genius who really knew how to hold a grudge. Then we skip ahead several handfuls of centuries to uncover the Great Moon Hoax of 1835 when a newspaper editor for The Sun ignited a hoax that had everyone looking to the moon for bipedal beavers, bat-like humanoids, and even a unicorn. After that we head to the 1950s near Atlanta, Georgia where three guys, a $10 bet, a fake UFO sighting, and one unfortunate "Monkey from Mars" show us just how quickly a prank can go too far.
![A Heist at Lincoln’s Tomb and the Snarky Farewell of Mr. Accordion](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Feb 16, 2022
A Heist at Lincoln’s Tomb and the Snarky Farewell of Mr. Accordion
Wednesday Feb 16, 2022
Wednesday Feb 16, 2022
In 1876 a bumbling group of Chicago counterfeiters broke into Abraham Lincoln’s tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Illinois, after formulating a plot to steal the president’s body and use it as leverage to get counterfeiter Benjamin Boyd released from prison. Boyd worked for small-time crime boss Big Jim Kinealy, and Big Jim’s attempted heist would, with the help of a secret service informant, go down in history as an utterly bad idea.
Then we jump ahead a century to explore the snarkiest tomb in history. Roy Bertelli, known as Mr. Accordion, regularly stood atop his own grave, which is a stone’s throw from Lincoln’s, to loudly play his accordion for the sole purpose of being as annoying as possible. After a row with the cemetery management over their attempt to seize his grave plot, Roy spent the rest of his life letting them know they wouldn’t be getting it back, even over his dead body. Come hear why his delightfully cantankerous story earns Mr. Accordion the gold in posthumous snark.
![Stagecoach Mary](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Jan 05, 2022
Stagecoach Mary
Wednesday Jan 05, 2022
Wednesday Jan 05, 2022
There are many legendary figures who emerged from the American Wild West. In this all new episode we explore the life of the lesser known, though no less incredible, Mary Fields, who has come to be known as Stagecoach Mary.
Born enslaved, Mary was emancipated around the age of 33 after the American Civil War. Eventually she moved west to the Montana Territory. There she worked alongside the Ursuline nuns and Jesuits at St. Peter’s mission until she was dismissed for an incident involving drawn firearms.
Mary was a mold breaker and was unafraid to push against the expectations of others. She drank, smoke cigars, carried firearms, and sometimes wore men’s clothing. She was also someone of great generosity and won the admiration of many people in Cascade, Montana.
She was an unstoppable force, and at the age of 63, became history’s first African American Star Route Carrier for the US Postal Service. This was a dangerous job, but despite the threat of predators, bandits, rugged terrain, and harsh winters, Mary and her mule Moses never missed a day in her eight year tenure as a Star Route Carrier. If the whether became impassable for her stagecoach, Mary would deliver the mail by snowshoe, carrying the sacks over her shoulders.
Mary became a legend in her own time as stories of this gun carrying, cigar smoking, hard liquor drinking woman who seemed to break down every barrier thrown her way, earned Mary her place in history.
Come hear how the life of Mary Fields become the legend of Stagecoach Mary.
![The Raven](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Sunday Oct 31, 2021
![Hulda of Bohemia: The ”Witch‘” of Sleepy Hollow](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Oct 13, 2021
Hulda of Bohemia: The ”Witch‘” of Sleepy Hollow
Wednesday Oct 13, 2021
Wednesday Oct 13, 2021
About 30 miles north of Manhattan lies the town of Sleepy Hollow. Made famous by Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, this nook in the Hudson Valley is home to legends and history alike. A real, lesser known figure in the history of this region is a woman the townsfolk called Hulda of Bohemia.
Ostracized by the larger community, the elderly Hulda crafted herbal medicines for the town, leaving them anonymously on people’s doorsteps and windowsills. Though her gifts were appreciated in secret, Hula was shunned and labeled as a witch.
When the American Revolution came, bringing war to the countryside, Hulda wanted to join the local militia. She was refused. One day in 1777 British Troops began marching towards Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. Not to be turned away this time, Hulda grabbed her musket and joined the fight.
Her acts on the battlefield were so impactful, that she’s still remembered today. Find out what happened, and discover the woman who is known, for better or worse, as the witch of Sleepy Hollow.
![Stealing the Mona Lisa](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Apr 07, 2021
Stealing the Mona Lisa
Wednesday Apr 07, 2021
Wednesday Apr 07, 2021
She has one of the most recognizable smiles in the world, but why is the Mona Lisa so famous? She is undoubtedly a masterpiece, but didn’t become a worldwide sensation until 1911 when Vincenzo Peruggia stole her from the Louvre museum in Paris. It has been dubbed by some as the greatest art theft of the 20th century. Find out how he pulled it off and how the Mona Lisa, known as La Joconde in France and La Gioconda in Italy, made her way back to France to become the world’s most visited painting.
![Stealing and Stealing Back the Stone of Destiny](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Dec 02, 2020
Stealing and Stealing Back the Stone of Destiny
Wednesday Dec 02, 2020
Wednesday Dec 02, 2020
It’s a stone with many names--the Stone of Destiny, the Stone of Scone, the Coronation Stone, Lia Fáil-- and there are numerous legends and myths about its origins. For centuries it was used in the coronations of Scottish kings, that is, until it was taken to England by Edward 1st in 1296. From then on it was used in the coronations of English and subsequent British monarchs, symbolizing their rule over Scotland and its incorporation into the United Kingdom. For 700 years after it was taken by the English king, it remained in Westminster Abby under the Coronation Chair, until Christmas day, 1950, when four students from the University of Glasgow--Kay Matheson, Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon, and Alan Stuart--decided it was time for Scotland to take it back. This is the true story of one of the most famous and unlikely heists in history. The most remarkable part of this incredible true story isn't that these four students planned on breaking into Westminster Abby to steal back a symbol of Scottish nationalism…it's that they were going to get away with it.
![Once Dead, Twice Buried Part 1: A History of Death Tests and Safety Coffins](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Once Dead, Twice Buried Part 1: A History of Death Tests and Safety Coffins
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
It’s Halloween season, and that means it’s time for some spooky history. And what is spookier than being buried alive? Nothing really, and that’s where this two-part miniseries is headed. Today in Part 1 we cover taphophobia-the fear of being buried alive-and examine some of the ways we’ve dealt with this fear throughout history. Safety coffins, devices built to save the prematurely buried, and the death tests we used to determine if a person was really, completely dead, are showcased. Edgar Allen Poe, Houdini, and some ill-fated escape artists even make an appearance. If you love the macabre, you don’t want to miss this one. Come get your spook on.
![Irena Sendler, the Titanic Engineers, Invisible Hands, and Stubby the War Dog](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday May 27, 2020
Irena Sendler, the Titanic Engineers, Invisible Hands, and Stubby the War Dog
Wednesday May 27, 2020
Wednesday May 27, 2020
This week the Compassion Series comes to a close as we explore four new stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in times of crises. First, we travel back in time to the sinking of the Titanic, and learn the rarely told story of the Titanic’s heroic engineers. Then we meet Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker who smuggled over 2,500 children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during WW2. After that we meet Stubby the war dog, the most decorated dog in American history, and for good reason. Lastly, we travel to New York City and meet the three twenty-somethings of Invisible Hands who have organized over 10,000 volunteers to aid those most at risk during the Covid pandemic.
![A Heroic Goat, an Angry Cat, and a Graveyard Full of Daredevils](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Mar 18, 2020
A Heroic Goat, an Angry Cat, and a Graveyard Full of Daredevils
Wednesday Mar 18, 2020
Wednesday Mar 18, 2020
This week the unexpected meets the obscure as we uncover several stories of wartime and daredevil history. First, we meet Sergeant Bill, the heroic Canadian goat of WW1 who saved the lives of three soldiers during battle. He suffered from trench foot, shrapnel, shell shock, and was gassed with the allied soldiers fighting at Ypres. He survived four and a half years at war, returning to Canada a hero. Next, we head to Niagara Falls and meet Lagara the cat, the first creature to survive a barrel ride over Horseshoe Falls. Along the way we visit several famous daredevils, including Annie Edson Taylor, the first person over the falls. We meet Charles Blondin the famous French funambulist who braved the high wire over the Niagara River 300 times. We visit Charles Stevens, the demon barber of Bedminster, and Bobby Leech, famous English daredevil whose death was as strange as his life. Come meet some of history’s boldest animals and a group of wonderful weirdos who dared so much that we can’t stop talking about them a century and a half later.
![The Edmund Fitzgerald](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Mar 04, 2020
The Edmund Fitzgerald
Wednesday Mar 04, 2020
Wednesday Mar 04, 2020
In 1975 the gales of November billowed out a monster storm over the waters of Lake Superior, and the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald met it head on. By the time the sky cleared, the crew and their ship had become an inseparable part of the history and lore of the Great Lakes. In this very special episode of the History Cache, we uncover the history behind the shipwreck, try and understand what happened the night it disappeared, and hear some of the haunting audio of the search captured through Coat Guard transmissions on that fateful night. This is the story of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
![Olympias Part 2: Mother of Empire](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Jan 29, 2020
Olympias Part 2: Mother of Empire
Wednesday Jan 29, 2020
Wednesday Jan 29, 2020
In Part 2 we continue to uncover the hidden history of Olympias of Epirus. Assassination, murder, and the political intrigue of an ancient royal court all take center stage in this episode. Come discover the next chapters in the life of one of the most vilified women in history as we sift through the propaganda of two millennia to get a glimpse of the incredible life of the most powerful woman in ancient Greece. Find out what she did next, at the budding of one of history’s largest and most fascinating empires, as we see just how far she would go to ensure the success of her dynasty.
![Olympias Part 1: Witch of Epirus, Mother of Alexander the Great](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Wednesday Jan 15, 2020
Olympias Part 1: Witch of Epirus, Mother of Alexander the Great
Wednesday Jan 15, 2020
Wednesday Jan 15, 2020
The woman Olympias lived almost 2,400 years ago, around 373 BCE. Her legacy is one of controversy. For over two thousand years she has been represented as the vindictive, blood thirsty mother of Alexander the Great. But who was she really? What is the true story that unfolds when we peel away the layers of two millennia of propaganda? Was the most powerful woman in Greece, who believed she was descended from Achilles, really a monster? Or have we been missing the whole story? Come relive the epic life of Olympias and find out what happens when we breathe life back into the story of a woman that helped create an empire.
![History Byte: A Swearing Parrot Ruined Andrew Jackson's Funeral](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog5871086/AppleStandardLogo_300x300.png)
Friday Aug 30, 2019
History Byte: A Swearing Parrot Ruined Andrew Jackson's Funeral
Friday Aug 30, 2019
Friday Aug 30, 2019
Come and meet Poll, a presidential parrot so extra that his epic level of snark still lives on today.