The unstoppable Fannie Lou Hamer
Civil rights crusader Fannie Lou Hamer rivaled Martin Luther King Jr. in her command of audiences.
Oct 04, 2019•6 min
Retropod
The Washington Post
Retropod is a show for history-lovers, featuring stories about the past, rediscovered. Host Mike Rosenwald introduces you to history’s most colorful characters - forgotten heroes, overlooked villains, dreamers, explorers, world changers.
Last refreshed: ⓘ
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
Episodes
The photographer and the busboy
Photographer Boris Yaro shot the haunting photograph of Bobby Kennedy lying fatally wounded in the arms of Juan Romero, a busboy.
Oct 03, 2019•5 min
The time America invaded Britain
In 1777, Captain John Paul Jones hatched a plan to take the American Revolution to Britain’s shores.
Oct 02, 2019•4 min
Abraham Lincoln says he owes everything to his 'angel mother' and 'mama'
President Abraham Lincoln had two loving and supportive mothers in his lifetime. The second helped him cope with the tragic loss of the first.
Oct 01, 2019•5 min
The search for the anonymous author of a 1996 political novel
Before an unnamed senior official in the Trump administration published the opinion piece, “I am part of the resistance inside the Trump administration" in the New York Times, another mysterious anonymous author lit up Washington.
Sep 30, 2019•6 min
Woodrow Wilson's secret letters to another woman
Family and friends had known about the president’s intimate relationship with Mary Peck for years, but whispers about their involvement were growing.
Sep 27, 2019•6 min
The body of Emmett Till
Emmett Till’s mother opened his casket and sparked the civil rights movement.
Sep 26, 2019•4 min
The origins of the Waterloo teeth
More than 50,000 soldiers died during the Battle of Waterloo, but their teeth lived on.
Sep 25, 2019•4 min
In the 1850s, navigating Ice Alley was deadly for ships
Despite warnings of icebergs, the John Rutledge set sail from Liverpool, England, to New York.
Sep 24, 2019•5 min
How the teddy bear was born
In the fall of 1902, a year into his presidency, President Teddy Roosevelt set off to Mississippi for a bear-hunting vacation. It ended differently than planned.
Sep 23, 2019•5 min
The Saturday Night Massacre
The one night that changed President Nixon’s fate has stuck with us as a reminder of the limits of presidential power.
Sep 20, 2019•5 min
How a solar eclipse made Albert Einstein famous
It may be hard to believe, but one single event rocketed Einstein to fame.
Sep 19, 2019•5 min
How a renovation made the Supreme Court a friendlier place
One simple change to how the Supreme Court bench was designed made a world of difference to how the justices communicated.
Sep 18, 2019•4 min
The heroine of Lime Rock Lighthouse
Ida Lewis saved as many as 25 people during her service at the lighthouse. But her deeds have largely been forgotten.
Sep 17, 2019•4 min
The assassin who wore braids and killed Nazis
Freddie Oversteegen was 14 when she joined the Dutch resistance.
Sep 13, 2019•5 min
Colonel Blood, the scoundrel who tried to steal Great Britain's crown jewels
Thomas Blood had somewhat of a shady past. According to Ireland’s History magazine, he had a reputation for espionage and conducting terrorist campaigns — though many of his plans were foiled just in time.
Sep 12, 2019•4 min
The rookie pilot who was ready to give her life on Sept. 11
Heather Penney was among the first female combat pilots in the country. On Sept. 11, 2001, she got a mission: Bring down the fourth hijacked plane hurtling towards Washington.
Sep 11, 2019•5 min
Between Lincoln and Washington, only one was a great poet
Both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln wrote poetry. But only one had a way with words.
Sep 10, 2019•4 min
The Nazi stone
A mysterious stone memorial was found in 2006 in Washington, D.C. But who placed a memorial to Nazi spies on government property? And why?
Sep 09, 2019•4 min
Paul Jennings, the former slave who disputed a legend from history
According to James Madison’s Virginia mansion Montpelier, Paul Jennings’ account reveals, “how the racial and gender hierarchies of the time complicate the way we understand roles in historic events.”
Sep 06, 2019•4 min
Winnie and Nelson Mandela's marriage survived prison but not freedom
Their 38-year marriage endured his incarceration and hers.
Sep 05, 2019•5 min
The dark history of the pill
A group of poor women in Puerto Rico were the first test subjects for the birth control pill. Were they guinea pigs or pioneers?
Sep 04, 2019•4 min
Were the Duke of Windsor and Adolf Hitler friends?
Was the Duke of Windsor a Nazi sympathizer? Did he plot to dethrone his brother, King George VI? Did he really suggest more German bombings of Britain might end World War II?
Sep 03, 2019•4 min
The day anti-Vietnam War protesters tried to levitate the Pentagon
In October 1967, antiwar protesters announced that they would march en masse to the front steps of the Pentagon. and levitate it. And then they would try to levitate it.
Sep 02, 2019•4 min
The worst presidents
Besides President Trump, whom do scholars scorn the most?
Aug 30, 2019•5 min
The surprise hurricane that devastated the Florida Keys
In 1935, the Florida Keys ignored the threat of a looming hurricane. When the Category 5 storm made landfall, it left a wake of death and destruction.
Aug 29, 2019•4 min
Being a maverick almost stopped John McCain from becoming a public servant
At the Naval Academy, McCain was in a group called the “Bad Bunch” as he rebelled against his father’s expectations.
Aug 28, 2019•5 min
LBJ's political bombshell
By 1968, things were going badly for President Lyndon B. Johnson. Morale around the Vietnam War was sinking, and in Washington, political sharks were circling.
Aug 27, 2019•5 min
The most romantic day
All over the country, couples rushed to Las Vegas to get married. The demand for quickie weddings was at a fever pitch. But it wasn't Cupid's arrow causing the frenzy. It was the Vietnam War.
Aug 26, 2019•4 min
The French aviators who almost beat Charles Lindbergh
In 1927, the world watched as two French aviators attempted the world’s first transatlantic flight.
Aug 23, 2019•5 min
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android