184: The Rise of Adolf Hitler: From Failure to Führer of Nazi Germany or the Third Reich
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“There will be no more mercy now; anyone who stands in our way will be butchered.” This is th...
183: The Origin of Fascism: “Il Duce” Benito Mussolini & the Rise of Fascist Italy
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Italy, Gentlemen, wants peace, wants quiet, wants work, wants calm; we will give it with love, if...
182: A Prologue to World War II: US Army Interwar Preparation
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is the story of interwar preparation–not that the United States realized it was preparing for...
181: American Aviation: The Growth of the Industry Through the Eyes of Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, and Howard Hughes
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“If he is lost it will be the most universally regretted single loss we ever had. But that kid ain...
180: “A Race to the Sky”: The Rise of New York City’s Chrysler, Manhattan Company, and Empire State Buildings
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“If this is to be a skyscraper… why not make it scrape the sky.” This is the story of the r...
179: Bridging the Bay: San Francisco’s Golden Gate and Bay Bridges (Infrastructure pt. 2)
19 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Everybody says it can’t be done.” This is the story of San Francisco’s two great bridges...
178: “A Damn Big Dam”: Taming the Colorado River with the Hoover (or Boulder) Dam (Infrastructure pt. 1)
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“I felt no distress whatever…I was perspiring freely and was as limber and helpless as a wet rag...
Introducing: What We Spend
Mon, 28 Apr
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
A new HTDS episode about The Hoover Dam debuts May 5th. Meanwhile, we'd like to introduce a new sh...
America 250: The Boston Campaign 1775-76: A Leadership Discussion with Gen. William Rapp
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a conversation to kick off the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Retired U.S. Ar...
177: An Epilogue to the New Deal and CCC Deep Dive with Neil Maher
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A discussion of the recent HTDS narrative episodes on FDR and the New Deal. Think of it as a book cl...
176: FDR v. “The Nine Old Men” (The New Deal pt. 3): Court Packing and Closing the New Deal
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“No matter how great and good a man may be, executive aggrandizement is not safe for democracy.”...
Presenting "Crime House True Crime Stories:" A Crime House Original
Mon, 17 Mar
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! HTDS will be back next week with a special episode continuing our history...
175: The Dirty Thirties (The New Deal pt. 2): Dust, Doubts, and the “Second” New Deal
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet.” This is the st...
174: The First “First Hundred Days:” FDR Kicks Off the New Deal
Mon, 24 Feb
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
“[We] had forgotten to be Republicans or Democrats. We were just a bunch of men trying to save the...
174: The First “First Hundred Days:” FDR Kicks Off the New Deal
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“[We] had forgotten to be Republicans or Democrats. We were just a bunch of men trying to save the...
173: From Hyde Park to the White House: The Early Life and Election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-–...
14 (Second Edition): The Newburgh Conspiracy and The Peace of Paris
Mon, 27 Jan
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
“I have not only grown gray but almost blind in service to my country.” This is the story (or t...
13 (Second Edition): The Battle of the Chesapeake & the World Turns Upside Down at Yorktown
Mon, 13 Jan
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
"The British officers in general behaved like boys who had been whipped at school.” This is the s...
12 (Second Edition): An American Judas Betrays & Nathanael Greene Saves!
Mon, 30 Dec
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
"Arnold has betrayed us! Whom can we trust now?" This isn't a story of betrayal; this is THE story ...
172: Breadlines, Bank Failures, & the Bonus Army: Hoover & the Early Great Depression
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"Too much praise cannot be given to the President for the prompt and resolute and skillful way in wh...
171: Christmas Special VIII: Festivities in the Jazz Age
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“There is a million dollars here for the asking!” This is the story of Christmas in the 1920s. ...
170: The Crash of 1929 & Meeting President Herbert Hoover
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“A wise man never sells out at the first sign of trouble. That’s for the pikers.” This is the...
169: An Epilogue to the 1920s: Youth culture, The Great Gatsby, and more with Professor Sarah Churchwell
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our last few episodes have reveled in stories of the popularization of movies, music and sports duri...
168: Halloween Special IV: Nosferatu and Silent Horror
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“His Lordship from Transylvania would like to purchase a nice house in our small town . . . it wil...
167: The Golden Age of Sports: Horse Racing, Boxing, Basketball, Football, & Jim Thorpe
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“We have a basket and a ball, and it seems to me that would be a good name for it.” This is the...
166: A Conversation on Negro Leagues Baseball History with Bob Kendrick
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As a follow up to episode 165 America’s Favorite Pastime: Baseball, we’re proud to share an inte...
165: America’s Favorite Pastime: Baseball, the Negro Leagues, and the Great Bambino
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"As I hit the ball, every muscle in my system, every sense I had, told me that I had never hit a bet...
164: Harlem Renaissance: The Great Migration, Jazz, and the Flowering of Black Culture
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Harlem is the queen of the black belts, drawing Aframericans together in a vast humming hive . . ...
163: The Show (Boat) Must Go On: Broadway and the American Musical
26 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Miller, Lyles, and I were standing near the exit door . . . Blake stuck out there in front, leadi...
162: The Birth of the Movies: From Silent Cinema to the Rise of Hollywood & the First “Talkie”
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain’t heard nothing yet!” This is the story of the silver ...
161: An Epilogue Toast to Prohibition’s End with Author Daniel Okrent
29 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cheers to Professor Jackson’s post Prohibition conversation with distinguished author Daniel Okren...
160: Al Capone & the End of Prohibition
15 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Only Capone kills like that.” This is the story of the rise and fall of Al Capone, and the las...
159: Scofflaws, Moonshiners, Bootleggers, and Crime Lords
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Don’t ask me nothin’! You hear me? Don’t ask! And don’t bring anybody in here for me to i...
158: Prohibition - So You Wanna Be a Rum Runner?
17 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“You’re Bill McCoy.” “Never heard of him.” This is the story of a crazy decade-plus when ...
157: Temperance, Prohibition, and the Path to the 18th Amendment
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Description: “Farewell, you good-for-nothing, God-forsaken, iniquitous, bleary-eyed, bloat...
156: The Presidency of “Silent” Cal Coolidge
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“I believe I can swing it.” This is the story of the Coolidge Administration. Calvin Coolidge ...
155: The Life & Times of Warren G. Harding & The Teapot Dome Scandal
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“If you knew of a great scandal in our administration, would you for the good of the country and t...
154: An Epilogue Discussion with Ben Sawyer
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Prof. sits down with fellow Prof. Ben Sawyer of the Road to Now Podcast and Middle Tennessee Sta...
153: West Virginia’s Mine Wars: From Trouble in Matewan to the Battle of Blair Mountain
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“I want to say make no settlement until they sign up that every bloody murderer of a guard has got...
152: The Second Ku Klux Klan: Racism, Anti-Semitism, & Anti-Catholicism in the 1920s
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Every official except one elected yesterday at the first municipal election of this borough had b...
151: The First Red Scare - Bombings, The Palmer Raids, Eugene Debs, and J. Edgar Hoover
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Palmer, do not let this country see red.” This is the story of America’s First Red Scare. On...
150: The Great War’s Aftermath: Coming Home, The Spanish Flu, & The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“I keep wondering if the Unknown Soldier is one of my men.” This is the story of the United Sta...
149: WWI Epilogue
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Episode to end all … World War I episodes. Professor Jackson sits down with Kelsi Dynes to tal...
148: Tales of Christmas from World War I (A Truce, Plum Pudding, and Love)
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“The circumstances under which we are spending this particular Christmas are unusual.” This is ...
147: Peacemaking in Paris: The Treaty of Versailles
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“A Peace which cannot be defended in the name of justice before the whole world would continually ...
146: The Armistice of November 11, 1918
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“The German delegation has come to receive the proposals of the Allied Powers looking to an armi...
145: Halloween Special III: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“If I can but reach that bridge,” thought Ichabod, “I am safe.” This is the story of school...
144: A Conversation with Ken Burns - Storytelling and the American Buffalo
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Greg Jackson sits down with legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns about his latest fil...
143: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive (pt.2) – Breaking the Kriemhilde Line
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“All right, General. We’ll take it, or my name will head the list.” This is the story of Meus...
142: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive (pt.1) – “The Lost Battalion”
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven’s sake, stop it.” This is...
141: Wartime Interlude
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Time to review! Greg and Kelsi talk through the main takeaways of the American story in World War I ...
140: WWI Aviators: From the Lafayette Escadrille to the Red Baron and More
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Something has happened to one of the boys.” This is the story of the Great War’s flyboys –...
139: From Yeomen (F) to “Hello Girls:” American Women in World War I
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Is there any regulation which specifies that a Navy yeoman be a man?” This is the story of t...
138: The 15th New York/369th or The Harlem Hellfighters
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“My men never retire. They go forward, or they die!” This is the story of the 15th New York, a....
137: The First Battle of the First American Army: St. Mihiel
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Marshal Foch, you have no authority as Allied Commander-in-Chief to call upon me to yield up my...
136: The German Spring Offensive’s End, or The Second Battle of the Marne
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Every time I have felt annoyed since then at France, this picture comes to mind and my anger soft...
135: Belleau Wood – A Cut Deeper with Captain Mac Caldwell
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The impact of the 1918 Battle of Belleau Wood on the US Marine Corps is hard to overstate. Though in...
134: (Most of) The German Spring Offensive of 1918 & The Fight for Belleau Wood
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is the story of the first real battles of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in World War I...
133: Heading “Over There:” “Black Jack” Pershing & Creating WWI’s American Expeditionary Force
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Lafayette, nous sommes ici!” (Lafayette, we are here!) This is the story of a nation building a...
132: The US Enters WWI (RMS Lusitania, Black Tom Island, & The Zimmermann Telegram)
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“I still think I see the struggling of poor passengers in the water.” This is the story of the ...
131: Epilogue on World War 1 before the US
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Starting the Great War (World War I) and covering this massive conflict up to 1917 has been a pretty...
130: Russia: From the Great War to Revolution with Deputy Provost Kat Brown
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To say Russia had a difficult go of it during World War I would be a gross understatement. Millions ...
129: World War I Before the US (Military Tech, Trenches, Global Armies, Ypres, Verdun & the Somme)
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row.” This is the story of ...
128: The Causes of World War I (From the Congress of Vienna to Franz Ferdinand & the Marne)
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Sopherl, Sopherl! Don’t die on me. Live for our children.” This is the 99-year story of Euro...
127: Mr. Wilson Goes to Washington (Progressive Policies & Foreign Affairs in South America)
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“It would be the irony of fate if my administration had to deal chiefly with foreign affairs.” ...
126: Christmas Special 6: Jacob Riis’ “Is There a Santa Claus?”
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Now, how would you like to be a reporter, if you have got nothing better to do?” This is the s...
125: Epilogue: The Progressive Era
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
So much to say–it’s been a while! Kelsi and Greg share stories that they wish made it into some...
124: The “Bull Moose” Election of 1912
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“It’s true. But it takes more than that to kill a bull moose.” This is the story of one of th...
123: The Wright Brothers Fly at Kitty Hawk
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Not in a thousand years would man ever fly.” This is the story of two brothers and the dream...
122: Halloween Special II: H.P. Lovecraft – “The Outsider” & “Dagon”
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“I am writing this under an appreciable mental strain, since by tonight I shall be no more.” Thi...
121: Henry Ford: The Model T & Mass Production
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Your car is self-contained–it carries its own power-plant … keep at it.” This is the story ...
120: From Atlanta to the NAACP, or Booker T. Washington v. W.E.B. Du Bois
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“I am not quite sure of the exact place or exact date of my birth, but at any rate, I suspect I mu...
119: Women’s Suffrage & the Passage of the 19th Amendment
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“President Wilson, how long must we wait for liberty?” This is the story of women’s suffrage....
118: “The Island of Hope and Tears:” Ellis Island
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“That’s the light of freedom! Remember that. Freedom.” This is the story of 40% of modern Amer...
117: Epilogue on Progressive Era Part I (Teddy Roosevelt)
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With the Presidency of Teddy Roosevelt covered, Greg sits down with Zach and Kelsi to talk favorite ...
116: Teddy Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy: From Big Stick Diplomacy to the Panama Canal
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“I [will] be obliged to interfere, by force if necessary, if the Germans [take] any action which l...
115: History–Doomed to Repeat It? A Conversation with Lindsay Graham
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Legendary podcaster and composer (but not US Senator) Lindsay Graham is a dear friend of HTDS an...
114: A Square Deal (pt. 3): “Leave it as it is” (Teddy Roosevelt & Conservationism)
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Very well then–I so declare it.” This is the story of the final “C” of President Theodor...
113: A Square Deal (pt. 2): Consumer Protection–The FDA, & Ida Tarbell muckrakes Standard Oil
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“In Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress you may recall the description of the Man with the Muck Rake …”...
112: A Square Deal (pt. 1): Corp. Regulation—a coal strike, a trust, & Teddy’s Frenemy J.P. Morgan
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“If we have done anything wrong, send your man to my man and they can fix it up.” This is the f...
111: The Assassination of Will McKinley & The Strenuous Life of Theodore Roosevelt
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life.” T...
110: Epilogue to the Age of Imperialism
25 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Greg, Zach, and Kelsi sit down for a chat about America’s surprisingly compact burst of turn-of-th...
109: The Election of 1900 & the Rise of Anti-Imperialism
11 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Only dead men can tell the truth in this world. It can be published after I am dead.” This is ...
108: G.O. 100, “The Water Cure,” & The Law of War in the Early-20th Century with Professor Ryan Vogel
28 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The ugliest aspects of the Philippine-American War raised questions of legitimate warfare. Specifica...
107: The Philippine-American War
14 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Co … wards! Assassins!” This is the story of the Philippine-American War. Having bested the ...
106: The US Annexation of the Hawaiian Kingdom
28 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“You have my love, and with sorrow I dismiss you.” This is the story of the Hawaiian Kingdom’...
105: “A Splendid Little War:” The Spanish-American War and Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders
14 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Sergeant, the Spanish bullet isn’t made that will kill me.” This is the story of the Spani...
104: The Road to the Spanish-American War
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!” This is the story of the road to war for American Emp...
103: A Gilded Age Christmas: Joseph Pulitzer’s Christmas Tree Fund
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Santa can’t fool [me], since the holes in [my] stockings are too big for anything to be put in....
102: Epilogue to the Gilded Age
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Greg sits down with Zach and Kelsi for a chat. They make a rather … LIVE(ly) announcement … then...
101: The New South, Jim Crow (Plessy v. Ferguson), & the Death of Frederick Douglass
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?” This is the sto...
100: Halloween Special! Edgar Allan Poe: The Tell-tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, & The Raven
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
‘How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole sto...
99: The Gilded Age’s Singer Sewing Machines & Dangerous Bananas w/ Dr. Ben Sawyer of The Road To Now
11 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Did Singer Sewing Machines take over the world? And are bananas as dangerous as they appear in carto...
98: Silver & Gold: From Grover Cleveland to William Jennings Bryan & William McKinley
27 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” This is the story of the Gilded Age’s l...
97: The Gilded Age’s Robber Barons: John D. Rockefeller & Andrew Carnegie
13 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Someday, some-time, when I am a man, I want to be worth a hundred thousand dollars!” This is th...
96: The War of the Currents: (Thomas Alva Edison v. Nikola Tesla & George Westinghouse)
30 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Tesla, you don’t understand our American humor.” This is the story of opinionated inventors ...
95: "Several Thousand Things that Won't Work:" Thomas Alva Edison and His Electric Light
16 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“I have got so much to do and life is so short, I am going to hustle.” This is the story of tria...
94: Epilogue to Gilded Age Part I (or Gilded Age interlude w/ Significant HTDS Updates)
02 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
An epilogue. Or interlude? Well, we aren’t done with the Gilded Age, but we have too much behind-t...
93: La Liberté éclairant le monde: Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty
19 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Vive l’entente fraternelle des deux républiques !” This is the story of the Statue of Libert...
92: The Brooklyn Bridge, or the Story of the Roebling Family
21 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“John Roebling has not the leisure to wait upon any man.” This is the story of a bridge and a f...