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American History Tellers

Wonderywondery.com

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 shaped our nation. And we'll show you how our history affected them, their families and affects you today. Hosted by Lindsay Graham (not the Senator). From Wondery, the network behind American Scandal, Tides of History, American Innovations and more.

Listen to American History Tellers on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting wondery.com/links/american-history-tellers/ now.

Episodes

The Carter Years | "Jimmy Who?" | 1

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 Georgia countryside promising to bring integrity back to the White House. Jimmy Carter was a drawling peanut farmer and former Navy man, whose plain-spoken message resonated with American voters. His election win marked a seismic shift in American politics.  Carter became the first Deep South president since the Civil War, and he quickly pursued...

Apr 09, 202542 minSeason 82Ep. 1

History Daily: The Execution of Dick Turpin

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 Music app. Or for all that and more, go to IntoHistory.com History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser. Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....

Apr 07, 202516 min

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

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 to the White House gates. Meanwhile, Carrie Chapman Catt and her group, the National American Woman Suffrage Association, lobbied to prove the loyalty and patriotism of American women, hoping they would be rewarded with the ballot. Together, these two groups would finally succeed in pushing a new amendment through Congress, granting women the right ...

Apr 02, 202542 minSeason 81Ep. 5

Listen Now: Don’t Cross Kat

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 over a million followers, all chasing the dream of a lifestyle like hers. But as she gathers more followers around her, the secrets beneath her fame grow darker and more dangerous.    One woman sets out to bring back her best friend who has fallen under the spell of this modern-day guru.   And what begins as a search for a missing frie...

Apr 01, 20256 min

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

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 Avenue to demand an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote. Their leader, Alice Paul, was a young rising star in the movement. Her dramatic protests outside the White House would grab headlines across America. But they would also spark fierce and sometimes violent resistance. Be the first to know about Wondery’s newes...

Mar 26, 202541 minSeason 81Ep. 4

History Daily: The Death of Queen Elizabeth I

This episode discusses the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603 and the events surrounding the succession to the English throne. It covers Elizabeth's reign, her challenges including religious conflicts and the Spanish Armada, her refusal to name an heir, and the scramble for power among her advisors after her death. The episode highlights Robert Carey's journey to inform James VI of Scotland of his succession.

Mar 24, 202518 min

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

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, delaying marriage, and pursuing careers. Their political savvy helped the movement win victories at the state level in the West. But new leaders like Carrie Chapman Catt also shunned Black activists. Facing discrimination within their own movement, Black suffrage leaders like Ida B. Wells forged their own path, fighting racism and sexism on their own term...

Mar 19, 202541 minSeason 81Ep. 3

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

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 women’s fight for the vote. Days later, she was arrested for voting illegally. It was all part of a daring new strategy for suffrage called the “New Departure.” At first, the strategy found a charismatic champion in a new women’s rights advocate, Victoria Woodhull. But Woodhull’s penchant for controversy would soon jeopardize the entire suffrage ca...

Mar 12, 202539 minSeason 81Ep. 2

Listen Now: Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky

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, she’s fought to redefine her reputation - and now, she's ready to encourage others to take back their power, too. On her new podcast "Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky," Monica leads honest and wide-ranging conversations about what it means to write your own narrative. Each week, guests share how they've rediscovered purpose, rebuilt relationships, an...

Mar 11, 20257 min

History Daily: Alexander Graham Bell Makes the First Telephone Call

March 10, 1876. Inventor Alexander Graham Bell makes the first successful telephone call in history, revolutionizing human communication. You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Music app. Or for all that and more, go to IntoHistory.com History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser. Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....

Mar 10, 202517 min

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

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. After two days, 100 of the attendees signed the Declaration of Sentiments, a radical manifesto affirming the equality of men and women. It was the start of the women’s rights revolution. Over the next two decades, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony built a movement to push for women’s suffrage. They worked side by side with abolitionists, certai...

Mar 05, 202542 minSeason 81Ep. 1

Buffalo Soldiers | Suffering in Silence | 4

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 graduate. Of the Black cadets who persevered, all faced relentless racial prejudice, hazing, ostracism, and silent treatment from their white peers. Today, Lindsay is joined by Lieutenant Colonel Rory McGovern to share stories of the early Black cadets who went through hell to try and obtain the prize of becoming an officer in the United States A...

Feb 26, 202538 minSeason 80Ep. 4

History Daily: The Battle of Karnal

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 Mughal Empire, leaving the sub-continent vulnerable to later domination by colonial powers. You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Music app. Or for all that and more, go to IntoHistory.com History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser. Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy a...

Feb 24, 202514 min

Buffalo Soldiers | The Last to Leave | 3

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 his white classmates and was found unconscious and bloodied after a brutal beating. But as he recounted the story of his attack, he was met with suspicion from West Point officials. In West Texas, the Army’s first Black commissioned officer faced a court martial over his handling of commissary funds and the buffalo soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalr...

Feb 19, 202537 minSeason 80Ep. 3

Buffalo Soldiers | Cadets of Courage | 2

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. While facing West Point’s famously difficult curriculum, he was forced to endure an onslaught of racial prejudice from his white classmates. Hundreds of miles to the West, the buffalo soldiers of the 10th Cavalry struggled to keep the peace in Indian Territory, as white merchants and thieves preyed upon Indian tribes. And in the sun-drenched Staked...

Feb 12, 202538 minSeason 80Ep. 2

History Daily: David Bowie Becomes Ziggy Stardust

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 listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Music app. Or for all that and more, go to IntoHistory.com History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser. Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....

Feb 10, 202516 min

Buffalo Soldiers | The Brass Letters | 1

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 peacetime Army. Some 180,000 Black men had fought in the Union ranks, but never before in the nation’s history had they been allowed regular status in the armed forces.   In the West, white settlers were clashing with Indian tribes who were determined to protect their land and lives from aggression. Soon, Congress would authorize six new ...

Feb 05, 202539 minSeason 80Ep. 1

The Irish Famine Relief Mission | Ship of Hope | 1

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 and driving desperate farmers and families into the cities. Soon more than 1 million people would perish. Learning of the horror and despair, Americans became determined to respond to the crisis. In March 1847, a crucial relief mission departed from Boston, carrying hundreds of barrels of food and aid across the Atlantic Ocean directly to the shore...

Jan 29, 202539 minSeason 79Ep. 1

History Daily: The End of the Siege of Leningrad

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 Music app. Or for all that and more, go to IntoHistory.com History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser. Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....

Jan 27, 202516 min

The Wright Brothers | Controlling the Skies | 4

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, controlled human flight. And once Wilbur and Orville succeeded, many budding aviators flocked to the skies by building on their technology. Soon, despite their best efforts, the Wright Brothers would find it was nearly impossible to maintain a grip on the emerging aviation industry. Today, Lindsay is joined by historian and author Lawrence Goldstone...

Jan 22, 202541 minSeason 78Ep. 4

The Wright Brothers | Coming Down to Earth | 3

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 base in Virginia. The press in Europe and America raved and skeptics were silenced. But then, on September 17th, a horrific crash in Virginia left one man dead and Orville seriously wounded, threatening to destroy everything the Wright brothers had built. Order your copy of the new American History Tellers book, The Hidden History of the White Hous...

Jan 15, 202538 minSeason 78Ep. 3

History Daily: The Sole Survivor of the Retreat from Kabul

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-free in the Wondery or Amazon Music app. Or for all that and more, go to IntoHistory.com History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser. Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....

Jan 13, 202516 min

The Wright Brothers | Fliers or Liars | 2

By 1903, inventors and adventurers in Britain and France were launching their own experimental aircraft skyward. In the U.S., crowds gathered outside Washington, D.C. to see Samuel Langley of the Smithsonian Institution test his highly-anticipated “aerodrome”, only to watch the machine crash in the Potomac River. But on December 17th, 1903, on the sand dunes of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Wilbur Wright climbed onto the lower wing of his homemade “Flyer” to make history. Order your copy of the ...

Jan 08, 202540 minSeason 78Ep. 2

The Wright Brothers | The Art of the Bird | 1

In the late-1890s, two brothers from Ohio, Wilbur and Orville Wright, became obsessed with what Wilbur described as “the problem of flight.” With no formal training or funding, they threw themselves into studying the mechanics of birds, determined to design a new method of flying for humans. They soon began building a glider in the small workshop above their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. It wasn’t long before the Wright brothers would travel to North Carolina’s Outer Banks to test their glider. ...

Jan 01, 202540 minSeason 78Ep. 1

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

December 30, 1941. In a rousing speech to the Canadian Parliament, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill celebrates his success in holding off Nazi Germany in the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Music app. Or for all that and more, go to IntoHistory.com History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser. Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! S...

Dec 30, 202417 min

Encore: Boston Molasses Disaster | A Deadly Deluge | 1

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 of Boston’s busy North End. The flood was over in minutes, but it left death and destruction in its wake. Victims and their families demanded justice, initiating a long, and contentious court case that raised questions about a possible anarchist bombing, faulty building plans, and a rush for profit in the World War I economy. Order your copy of the...

Dec 25, 202441 minSeason 77Ep. 1

Transcontinental Railroad | The Iron Road | 5

Chinese laborers did much of the toughest work building the Central Pacific Railroad. That included blasting tunnels through the granite of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to eventually connect to the Union Pacific line at Promontory Point, Utah, in 1869. Today, Lindsay is joined by Sue Lee, historian and former executive director of the Chinese Historical Society of America. She and historian Connie Young Yu edited Voices from the Railroad: Stories by descendants of Chinese railroad workers.  ...

Dec 18, 202438 minSeason 75Ep. 5

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

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 ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Music app. Or for all that and more, go to IntoHistory.com History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser. Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....

Dec 16, 202417 min

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

Great Britain and the United States have always enjoyed a special bond, and nowhere has that been more evident than in the friendship between President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Churchill went to stay at the White House, part of a charm offensive to secure American help in the fight against fascism. Today, Lindsay is joined by British historian Dan Snow, host of Dan Snow’s History Hit podcast. They’ll discuss the imp...

Dec 11, 202439 minSeason 76Ep. 1

Transcontinental Railroad | The Golden Spike | 4

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 two railroads had been advancing toward each other without a defined location for their tracks to meet. But now, their grading crews were working within sight of each other in Utah. In the frantic race to the finish, it became increasingly difficult to hide the fact that the tracks destined to unite the nation were built on a foundation of corrupt...

Dec 04, 202440 minSeason 75Ep. 4