Claim OwnershipBehind the Headlines of History
Subscribed: 2Played: 22
Subscribe
© Copyright Ancestry® 2025
Description
Behind the Headlines of History is a podcast that explores intriguing news stories from the past, hosted by historian and genealogist Michala Hulme and Brad Argent.
In each episode, Brad and Michala share weird, wonderful, eye-opening and sometimes tragic stories that they’ve uncovered from the Newspapers.com archives. Then, they dive into Ancestry’s billions of other records and shake those family trees to find out more about the people behind the headlines.
36 Episodes
Reverse
In this special Holiday Finale of Behind the Headlines of History Season Four, join our cozy historians Brad Argent and Dr. Michala Hulme as they deck the halls and dive into the festive and fascinating headlines that stood out to them during this time of year. Discover the lengths that an eleven year old girl went through to get her Christmas wish—which may or may not have included breaking and entering! And peek into the origin of the iconic newspaper phenomenon, “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus”, spurred by a particularly philosophical eight year old’s now-classic Letter to the Editor. Thank you for listening, enjoy our gift to you, and Happy Holidays!
Watch the video episode on Ancestry's YouTube channel.
Links to Articles:
Is there a Santa Claus? (1897)
Wanted Live Doll So Kidnapped Baby (1930)
Christmas marks his birth, death (1937)
Now there's Clint Ozmond (1894)
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
Yes, you read that right. Dive into this episode of Behind the Headlines of History, where our brave hosts Brad and Michala trek through a treasure trove of stories laden with some of history's shadier characters, including a Peaky Blinders origin story. An Owl Gang? Rattlesnake Dick? Turkey-time thievery? No, this episode isn't animal themed (although we understand why you would think that), but brace yourself for some rough and rowdy stories. The coup de grâce? A shootout with infamous western highwayman, "Rattlesnake Dick"!
Watch the video episode on Ancestry's YouTube channel.
Links to Articles:
Three Years Penal Servitude (1924)
Encounter with Highwaymen: Death of the Notorious "Rattlesnake Dick" (1859)
Thanksgiving Robbery: Servant steals $20,000 (1903)
The Owl Gang (1929)
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
Historians Brad Argent and Dr. Michala Hume present more staggering headlines from old newspapers that are just as bizarre today.
Watch the video episode on Ancestry's YouTube channel.
Links to Articles:
The Old Maid Miser (1870)
Has 11 Husbands (1896)
Extraordinary Affair (1846)
Letter Came too Late: Printer Praised for Brave Attempt to Save County Official from The Thames (London, 1928)
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
Story-loving historians Brad Argent and Dr. Michala Hulme gather around the newspapers of yesteryear for stories involving a brave dog and a bizarre hoax.
Watch the video episode on Ancestry's YouTube channel.
Links to Articles:
The Moon Hoax (1871)
Big Dog Saves Boy Sinking in River (1911)
Queer Death of Thomas Foote, an animal impersonator (1895)
A Thanksgiving Game (1905)
Adam Locke family tree
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
Story-loving historians Brad Argent and Dr. Michala Hulme gather around the newspapers of old to learn more about the $400,000,000 fortune that one man reportedly came into in 1906.
Watch the video episode on Ancestry's YouTube channel.
Links to articles:
Old Man Heir To $400 million (1906)
Opal's Diary is Refuted by Grandmother (1921)
Beer Flood Drowns Eight (1919)
Library Notes (Ohio, 1946)
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
This week’s episode of Behind the Headlines of History finds our story-loving historians Brad Argent and Dr. Michala Hulme dive into two fascinating headlines from our service history archives. Plus– a war hero pigeon?
Watch the video episode on Ancestry's YouTube channel.
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
Story-loving historians Brad Argent and Dr. Michala Hulme gather around the newspapers of two of the messier stories from history.
Watch the video episode on Ancestry's YouTube channel.
Links to articles:
The Mourdaunt Divorce Case (1870)
Sensational Shooting (1902)
An Extraordinary Affair - A Wedding Indefinitely Postponed (1872)
Neck tie parties are all the rage (1870)
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
Story-loving historians Brad Argent and Dr. Michala Hulme gather around the newspapers of old for their first two spooky stories from history.
Watch the video episode on Ancestry's YouTube channel.
Links to articles:
The Strange Case of Alice Nutter
Ghosts Upstairs and Down
The Rochester Knockings
Girl Flees Screaming into Street from 'Ghost'
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Your favorite story-loving historians Brad Argent and Dr. Michala Hulme are back! Join us as we gather 'round the newspapers of old and return for Season 4 of Behind the Headlines of History, this Thursday October 30th. The wait is over at long last!
Behind the Headlines of History is a podcast series from Ancestry and Newspapers.com that explores intriguing news stories from the past, hosted by historian and genealogist Michala Hulme and Ancestry’s Brad Argent.
This episode of "Behind the Headlines of History" untangles two historical tales where nothing is quite as it seems. First, a sea captain vanishes from his vessel in the middle of a storm in the unforgiving Alaskan waters. Was it a tragic accident, or did something more mysterious happen on board? The answer may lie in his incredibly unusual name. Then, journey to the front lines of the Boer War, where two inseparable best friends enlist side-by-side. When a telegram arrives announcing one has been killed in action, it devastates their families back home. But a shocking twist reveals a case of mistaken identity so profound, it forces one wife to deliver an impossible, life-altering message to her grieving neighbor.
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
What happens when a promise to marry is broken? What if the lawsuit for "seduction" is filed against the man's estate after his death, and the woman bringing the suit has already found a new husband? This episode opens a scandalous 1850s court file filled with love poems and questionable motives. Then, we take to the skies for the baffling mystery of a Member of Parliament whose balloon adventure turns into a terrifying disappearance over the English Channel. And finally, discover exactly how much chaos one very intoxicated monkey can unleash on a New York bar when it's denied another cocktail.
This episode of "Behind the Headlines of History" delves into two curious tales from the past. An 1840 newspaper report on a tragic construction accident seems straightforward enough, but it holds a shocking secret. Follow a genealogical trail that uncovers an unbelievable link between one of the injured workers and a modern-day Hollywood A-lister you would never expect. Then, step into the curious world of Victorian spiritualism, where a con-artist's séance goes disastrously wrong. When the "spectral visitor" makes its grand entrance, the results are more comical than cosmic. Finally, stick around for a jaw-dropping "news in brief" involving a baby, a coffin (just trust us), and a cry that defied all logic!
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
This episode of "Behind the Headlines of History" delves into two intriguing historical crimes. First, Michala retraces the tragic story of Michael Joseph Goldsmith, a Birmingham jeweler who was robbed of a fortune in diamonds and gold in Manchester in 1892. His story ends with a shocking twist, rich with dramatic irony. Brad's story recounts the amusing 1896 case of John and Margaret Inchley, a fashionable Melbourne couple caught smuggling goods by wearing them through customs. See how lavishly they lived– and if they got away with it in the end.
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
In this episode of "Behind the Headlines of History," hosts Brad Argent and Mikaela Hume delve into two intriguing historical newspaper stories. The first story recounts the grim tale of a murderous brush-maker who, in 1875, murdered his mistress and got caught in the act. The second story, from 1880, details a police raid on a fancy dress ball in Manchester, where 47 men were arrested for "immoral" behavior, with 22 found dressed as women, offering a rare glimpse into 19th-century LGBTQ+ history.
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
Of course! Here is a more tantalizing version of the summary designed to pique curiosity:
Prepare for a journey into the bizarre and the macabre as we uncover two astonishing tales from history. First, discover the peculiar story of a 19th-century criminal whose daring escape plan involved shedding every last piece of his clothing. What could possibly motivate a man to flee naked into the cold November night?
Then, delve into a truly chilling mystery that sent an entire city into a riot. When a grieving grandfather demands to see his young grandson one last time, the opening of the coffin reveals a horrifying and unnatural substitution that taps into the era's deepest fears of body snatchers.
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
Ahead of International Women’s Day, in this episode our stories explore different experiences and achievements of women throughout history – from the incredible story of a no-nonsense suffragist who travelled from the USA to London to investigate her two-timing husband (as reported in The Chicago Tribune, 24 August 1911) and her moment of activism recorded in the 1911 census, to the death of a Cornish ‘witch’ (The Courier and Argus, 27 January 1880).
And listen to the end of the episode for some fitting NiBs – one highlighting a woman’s achievements in longevity, and the other dipping into the pay negotiations for female bus conductors during WWI.
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
There’s a little Antipodean flavour to some of this week’s stories – Michala takes us from a highway robbery in Bradford, England (reported in the Leeds Mercury, 30th December 1843) across the seas to Australia, tracing the fate of two men called Abraham. Not to be outdone, Brad takes the robbery theme and runs with it – all the way to New Jersey, where he picks up the story of a one armed bandit (of sorts) – from the The Courier-News, 6th February 1899.
Then for this episode’s News In Briefs, Michala brings to the table an extraordinary tale of a disruptive theatre-goer and Brad’s unearthed an amusing Letter To Editor on the evolution of the Australian accent.
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
Sensitive ears (and noses!) beware – Brad’s opening story in this episode is a bit of a stinker, involving a dispute over pig manure in Ireland (reported in the Nationalist and Leinster Times, 2nd January, 1886). Thankfully Michala is on hand to cleanse your auditory palettes with a tale about beer in Manchester…but before you take a sip, watch out, it’s poisoned! (Story from the Guardian, 18th January, 1901).
To round the episode off, this week’s News In Briefs feature a big appetite, and a peculiar theft on someone’s front doorstep.
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
Michala transports us back to the world of 1920s Birmingham gangland this week, and if you’re a Peaky Blinders fan, some of the names in her newspaper article (from The Times, 28 April 1921) may be familiar…Then, not to be outdone, Brad unpicks the eye-opening headline ‘Man Aged 130 has son 4 And a Wife in Her Twenties’ (from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 27 July 1919).
Then kick back and indulge in this episodes’ News In Briefs – one featuring a lecture on…Scottish love songs (there’s our nod to Valentine’s Day) and another highlighting the ingenuity of a 19th century Texan animal lover.
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
We’re hopping across the Atlantic for this week’s episode – that’s right, all our stories this week are sourced from newspapers in the USA. And there are some corkers hidden in that American newsprint.
Whilst Brad doesn’t believe in ghosts, the subject of his story – Mr. Frank Swulius – certainly did; the spooky actions of his cursed dead mother are reported in The Chicago Tribune on 14 Dec 1902. And Michala’s found a robbery with a twist; why did ten men cause pandemonium at the house of one Mrs. Olive Whedon (as reported in The New York Times on 24 Oct 1885)? Listen to find out!
And our News in Briefs involve a toothbrush fire, and a rather peculiar discovery in someone’s pocket…
All newspaper articles referenced in this episode were sourced on Newspapers.com, with additional research conducted by Brad and Michala using Ancestry® and other resources.
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States