In this episode we unpack the American habit of renaming places for political or financial expedience. And we also discuss the curious case of the 'samenaming' of King County
Hello and welcome! In this episode of US, eh? We will find out that in the case of WW1, the United States were not only late to join the war, they were also late to join the peace. Indeed, the end of America’s involvement in WW1 was nothing but a slight interruption in an otherwise pleasant game of golf.
In this episode we look into the not so very Spanish Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918.This episode is largely an adaptation of an article by Robert Kessler accessible here.
In this episode, we will be discussing the bizarre series of events that allowed Pepsi to be the first US company to sell goods in the USSR...and as a result acquire a formidable navy.
In this episode we look into one of the wilder plans that never was. The plan to settle Jewish refugees in Alaska on the eve of the second world war.A key source used in this episode can be found here: https://www.encountersalaska.org/proposal-jewish-resettlement?fbclid=IwAR1mDxkG2Wm0PoIqk7pIbhApS2n1wG_Ndxoo2NQpLf85m-Hq6qIZn802YyY
In this episode, we will be looking at the incredible rise (and subsequent demise) of one of the most extraordinary but forgotten Chicago gangs of the prohibition.
In this episode we look into the origins of a famous board game and how it was originally intended as an instrument to teach about the unfairness of an economic system based on the ownership of land.This episode makes extensive usage of Mary Pilon's 2015 article in the New York Times available here: (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/business/behind-monopoly-an-inventor-who-didnt-pass-go.html)
In this episode, we will be looking at the bizarre phenomenon of the US public or government relabeling things during a war to accomplish, well, something...
In today's episode we look into Rose Mary Woods and her willingness to stretch the truth (and herself) in service of President Richard Nixon
In this episode, we will look at the life of a man so extraordinary and improbable that he can be either seen as a shrewd investor or an incredibly lucky idiot.
In this episode we explore the history of 2 deadly inventions, made by one man: Thomas Midgley Jr. (This episode uses excerpts and quotes from the excellent 2019 article by Tom Philips available at https://www.popsci.com/humans-thomas-midgley-excerpt/)
In this episode we explore the rise of the popularity of coffee in the USA
In this episode, we look at the massive campaign of deception and propaganda conducted with the help of the US government to convince the American people to support the Gulf War.
In this episode we find out what happened when the secret CIA plan to overthrow Guatemalan president Arbenz, operation PBSuccess, was put into action.
In this episode we look at the distinctive world record set by Nellie Bly, a female journalist for the New York World.
In this episode we investigate the importance of 'optics' and finances in presidential elections.
In this episode we explore the Reagan administration's attempt to reinvent the vegetable.
In this episode we're looking into the CIA plan to overthrow the Guatemalan government in 1954.