Stuff You Missed in History Class

Belle Boyd got her start as a spy in Martinsburg, Virginia, at the age of 17. In 1862, the “Cleopatra of the Secession” obtained – [Read more]

Riots are a distressingly common part of human history, and the strangest events can trigger widespread violence. In this episode, Deblina and Sarah take a [Read more]

Allan Pinkerton fell into detective work when he discovered a gang of counterfeiters in Illinois. In 1861, he helped thwart a plot to assassinate Abraham [Read more]

Recently deceased heiress Huguette Clark was reclusive — she hadn’t been photographed since 1930. Her father was the wealthy William Andrews Clark, whose political battles [Read more]

In 1850, James Strang was crowned king of Michigan’s Beaver Island. He got the opportunity to lead after meeting Joseph Smith and converting to Mormonism. [Read more]

Most people have heard of great South and Central American empires, but Mississippian civilizations are more obscure. At its peak, the Mississippian city known as [Read more]

Bobby Fischer called Paul Morphy “the greatest chess genius in history,” By age 20, he earned recognition as America’s best player after winning the nation’s [Read more]

When a mysterious woman sporting a turban showed up in England, people took her for a foreign beggar. But she claimed to be a princess [Read more]

After covering the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, Deblina and Sarah return to the topic of disastrous fires in history. Listen in as they recount some [Read more]

In this episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough discusses his book “The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris,” which follows the experiences of American expats in [Read more]