The Past and The Curious: A History Podcast for Kids and Families

Episodes page 2 of 4

1. Rail Tales

   28 Aug 2023 · 35 min

   Episode 82 features the story of the Transcontinental Railroad, including the famous Golden Spike. Also in this episode is the story of Joseph Kekuku, a boy from Hawaii who changed music after being inspired by a…

2. Obelisks: Tall and Sometimes Stinky

   26 Jul 2023 · 34 min

   Episode 81: The Washington Monument is just one of many Obelisks in the world. Somehow several originals from Egypt have wound up all over the globe. And they inspired a stinky imitation in Australia, known as…

3. The Power of Plants

   28 Jun 2023 · 34 min

   Episode 80: Fabian Garcia, changed agriculture (and people's taste) with his ground breaking New Mexico No. 9 Chile, which is the genetic ancestor of nearly every chile grown in southwest America today. His dedication…

4. Stars Fell

   26 May 2023 · 36 min

   Maria Mitchell was the first American to discover a new comet, which brought her great fame, but her career in the 1800s as a professor at Vassar College left her greatest legacy. In the next century, Ann Hodges was…

5. Imperfect Pitch

   28 Apr 2023 · 36 min

   Melly Victor of Stoopkid Stories joins us for the story of Ella Fitzgerald's first performance at the famous Apollo Theatre. Also, we talk about the history of tuning, how the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War…

6. Strange Place for a Steamboat

   29 Mar 2023 · 32 min

   The Virginia became a major attraction when it got stuck in a cornfield, which is a place a boat does not belong. Also, The Meachums escaped slavery, and educated hundreds of children in a school known as the Floating…

7. Wright Brothers and Sister and a Smithsonian Spat

   27 Feb 2023 · 34 min

   The Wright Brothers became the first to fly a controlled powered aircraft with a pilot onboard, but just a few days before, Smithsonian Secretary James Langley almost beat them. His failure didn't stop the Smithsonian…

8. Underwear Roundup with Benedict Arnold, Abram Spanel and the Playtex Space Suit

   30 Jan 2023 · 32 min

   Here's two more underwear stories that aren't in the the book I See Lincoln's Underpants (which is now available!) First Benedict Arnold betrays the American Army but gets caught thanks to something hiding in someone's…

9. Underwear Chronicles Fourteen: Al Capone

   17 Jan 2023 · 18 min

   The last installment of The Underwear Chronicles - to celebrate the release of I See Lincoln's Underpants now available from booksellers! Al Capone grew up somewhere in the middle of a big family. Hand me downs were a…

10. Eggs!

    29 Dec 2022 · 29 min

    In the 2000s an anonymous American man found an egg worth millions. It was a Faberge Imperial Egg and it's story is fascinating. This episode traces the origin of the Faberge Eggs, and also the story of how it wound up…

11. Video Games!

    28 Nov 2022 · 31 min

    Episode 73: Ralph Baer fled Nazi Germany and settled in America where he eventually created the first home video game console, known as the Magnavox Odyssey. Not long after Ralph's creation, Jerry Lawson, a Black…

12. Underwear Chronicles Thirteen Garrett Morgan

    20 Nov 2022 · 17 min

    The penultimate episode of The Underwear Chronicles (soon to be the book I See Lincoln's Underpants) revisits inventor and leader Garrett Morgan. We've covered Garrett Before, but not like this! The Paris,…

13. Rufus vs. Poe

    27 Oct 2022 · 31 min

    Episode 72: Edgar Allan Poe is about as famous as an author can be, but that might be owed largely to Rufus Wilmot Griswold. Rufus didn't really like Poe and wrote a scathing obituary and biography on the man, creating…

14. Underwear Chronicles Twelve: Buzz Aldrin

    16 Oct 2022 · 18 min

    Episode twelve of the Fourteen episode series features Buzz Aldrin. Buzz had a great nickname and pair of underwear to match it, but things didn't work out the way they were supposed to when he became the second man to…

15. Episode 71: Houdini and Grandma Moses

    30 Sep 2022 · 34 min

    Harry Houdini almost quit and sold his tricks and secrets in 1899. It was good that he didn’t because in the 1900s he became a household name as the greatest escape artist in the world. It was a chance encounter that…

16. Underwear Chronicles Eleven: John Wesley Powell

    19 Sep 2022 · 16 min

    A scientist who lost his arm in the American Civil War wants to conquer The Grand Canyon. He needs a life-saving assist from his friends underwear. From the Upcoming Book "I See Lincoln's Underpants" due in the winter…

17. Episode 70: Matthew Henson and Some Bananas

    30 Aug 2022 · 32 min

    Slipping on banana peels was really a thing! Even Theodore Roosevelt got involved! Also, Black explorer Matthew Henson was quite possibly the first man to step on the North Pole. He also crossed paths with Mr. Roosevelt.

18. Underwear Chronicles Ten: Queen Victoria

    17 Aug 2022 · 17 min

    From Mick's upcoming book (end of 2022) "I See Lincoln's Underpants," this chapter focuses on Queen Victoria's life, preferred underwear, and also a pesky boy who takes to breaking and entering in Buckingham Palace.

19. Episode 69 Sled Dogs (A Mashup Special)

    30 Jul 2022 · 39 min

    A special mashup with our friends from Cool Facts About Animals. Mick tells the tale of the Great Serum Run of 1925 in two parts. When a Diphtheria epidemic threatens the small and far-off town of Nome Alaska, the only…

20. Underwear Chronicles Nine: Otzi the Iceman

    13 Jul 2022 · 13 min

    Who knew an ancient man frozen in his underwear could trigger international conflict? Otzi's accidental discovery was quite a find for science, and many are grateful that a glacier gobbled him up thousands of years ago!

21. Episode 68: Lost And Found

    29 Jun 2022 · 30 min

    Two kids, at two time and two places, find two remarkable things. One starts the first Gold Rush in America and the other leads to a Cold War spy ring! The stories of Conrad Reed and Jimmy Bozart - and more!

22. Underwear Chronicles Eight: Amelia Bloomer

    16 Jun 2022 · 15 min

    Despite being the namesake of an article of clothing that we commonly think of as underwear, Amelia Bloomer did not invent bloomers. To further the cause of Women’s Rights and to fight for the right to vote (in…

23. Underwear Chronicles Seven: Annette Kellerman

    29 May 2022 · 18 min

    Annette Kellerman was a swimmer from Australia who rose to stardom for her speed and grace, but also changed the world of swimsuits. She once performed in front of England's Royal family, thanks to some clever…

24. Episode 67: Violet Jessop, The Effie Afton, and more Shipwrecks

    29 Apr 2022 · 32 min

    Violet Jessop survived not one, not two, but three shipwrecks involving White Star Line's incredible Olympic-class ships, including the Titanic. The Effie Afton was not so lucky. This steamboat was part of the struggle…

25. Underwear Chronicles Six: Charles Lee

    19 Apr 2022 · 17 min

    Charles Lee was George Washington's "Frenemy," and his duplicitous behavior got him caught with his pants down.

26. Episode 66: Weather Wonders

    30 Mar 2022 · 31 min

    Tetsuya "Ted" Fujita played an important role in understanding the impact of the atomic bombs of WWII. He brought that knowledge to America and applied it to understanding, and protecting people from, tornados. Also,…

27. Underwear Chronicles Five: Abraham Lincoln

    14 Mar 2022 · 16 min

    Abraham Lincoln wore some pretty plain underwear. We know because they made a few "surprise appearances." NEWSFLASH: The Underwear Chronicles are gonna be a book nd our Kickstarter is open through March of 2022. Jump…

28. Episode 65: Samuel And J.C.

    28 Feb 2022 · 32 min

    The year 1913 saw the births of two incredible Black Americans. One was Samuel Wilbert Tucker, a Civil Rights pioneer and all-around incredible person. The other was James Cleveland Owens, who came to be known as…

29. Underwear Chronicles Four: Satchel Paige

    16 Feb 2022 · 17 min

    Satchel Paige went from burlap hand-me-downs to silk patterned boxers. Along the way we came one of the most dynamic baseball players in history.

30. Episode 64: Oh, So Many Birds!

    30 Jan 2022 · 33 min

    Eugene Schieffelin filled American skies with Starlings, who replaced the Passenger Pigeons that once (literally) darkened the skies. John James Audubon's obsession helped him create a very expensive book. This episode…

31. Underwear Chronicles Three: Buster Keaton

    18 Jan 2022 · 18 min

    Buster Keaton could take a fall like no one else, and that skill carried him from the Vaudeville stages to the movie screen. He made people laugh, dazzled them with stunts, and fought a fire in his undies.

32. Episode 63: More Accidents, More Toys

    29 Dec 2021 · 26 min

    Chance has given us some great toys. Explore the accident that led to Silly Putty, the chance repurposing that led to Silly Putty, a few men who stumbled upon them, and two women who figured out what the substances…

33. Underwear Chronicles Two: Marie Antoinette

    15 Dec 2021 · 19 min

    The famed Queen of France had several run-ins with underwear. She also had run-ins with smallpox, ladies-in-waiting, an awkward young prince, catty couriers, and ultimately, the guillotine. If nothing else, this…

34. Episode 62: Chance Encounters

    27 Nov 2021 · 30 min

    Train stations are busy places and two notable men had very remarkable (and dramatic)encounters in stations during the 1860s. Thomas Edison met a mentor, and Robert Lincoln met a Shakespearean actor named Booth. Also…

35. Underwear Chronicles 1: Up, Up, and Away With Their Clothes

    15 Nov 2021 · 18 min

    Jean-Pierre Blanchard (1753-1809) and John Jeffries (1744-1819) Aeronauts, International Record Setters, Nearly Naked Travelers In the first release from our monthly true tale of underwear history, we meet two early…

36. Episode 61: A Queen and Some Witches

    28 Oct 2021 · 33 min

    Marina Raskova set world flying records, survived an epic plane crash, and was a trailblazer for generations of female pilots in Russia. With her help, The Night Witches became the most feared fliers of World War 2.…

37. Episode 60 Big Ideas: Professor TSC Lowe and John Cleves Symmes Jr

    29 Sep 2021 · 34 min

    Professor TSC Lowe (who was not a professor at all) had visions for a transatlantic balloon flight. He never succeeded in that but he did wind up as the Chief Aeronaut of the Balloon Corps during the American Civil…

38. Episode 59: Safety with Books

    30 Aug 2021 · 32 min

    The 1939 World's Fair brought a special visitor from England: an original copy of Magna Carta, but with World War II in full swing, America couldn't send it back. So the had to babysit the priceless document, which got…

39. Episode 58 Origin Stories And Gold Medals

    29 Jul 2021 · 33 min

    Origin stories, comic mis-starts, and medal-winning moments are highlighted in this episode featuring two unlikely international star athletes. Canada's Bobbie Rosenfeld overcame, among other things, small pox and very…

40. Bonus Episode! Knox Says Yes

    3 Jul 2021 · 15 min

    Henry Knox is a name not many people know, but he was a pretty amazing bookseller turned soldier during the Revolutionary War. Released in honor of July 4th - but you can listen anywhere and anytime - still a good…

41. Episode 57: On Horseback!

    28 Jun 2021 · 31 min

    This episode tells the stories of Sibyl Ludington and Charley Willis. Sybil's well-known story is amazing, yet it lacks a lot of primary sources, and we use that as a way to introduce thinking about the past with a…

42. Episode 56 Eugene And Django in Paris

    26 May 2021 · 34 min

    Django Reinhardt was a Romani musician who, despite losing the use of two of his fingers was one of the most important musicians of his time. His contemporary and fellow Parisian was a man named Eugene Bullard. This…

43. Episode 55 Telescopes And Stars

    27 Apr 2021 · 33 min

    Edwin Hubble changed our view of the Solar System, but he was also a collegiate National Champion basketball player and high school coach. He also dealt with the struggles of freezing his face to a telescope. Anything…

44. Episode 54: Gold!

    26 Mar 2021 · 32 min

    Levi Strauss left his native Germany to escape discrimination, and then left New York for the opportunities of the American West. He lost some gold, but changed the world with his pants partnership. Ferminia Sarras was…

45. Episode 53: Sophie And Willa

    24 Feb 2021 · 35 min

    No one could have predicted that Sophie Blanchard would become France's leading aeronaut, but she flew higher than any woman before her. Willa Brown was the first Black woman to earn a pilot's license in America, but…

46. Episode 52 Food Fight

    26 Jan 2021 · 31 min

    The Oyster Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay contend with the Toe Nail Governor and his mission to protect the oysters from extinction. A few years later, a new Food Fight erupts in middle America. This one is about…

47. Episode 51: Roller Skates And Atomic Power

    22 Dec 2020 · 35 min

    John Joseph Merlin created automata, musical instruments, clocks, and one of the first pairs of roller skates. His roller skate debut was pretty tragic (and hilarious). A.C. Gilbert was a magician turned toymaker who…

48. Episode 50: Let's Dance!

    29 Nov 2020 · 35 min

    Maria Tallchief was a member of the Osage nation who happened to become the first major American ballet dancer. Her story is read by Ashley Thursby, a dancer with The Louisville Ballet. The Dancing Plague of 1518 began…

49. Episode 49: Under Your Feet

    28 Oct 2020 · 31 min

    This episode is about places that used to be and which are now covered up by something new. Yarrow Mamout was an unusual man in early America, but the black business leader's story was literally buried by buildings…

50. Episode 48: Great Moments in Communication!

    29 Sep 2020 · 34 min

    The Transatlantic Cable connected North America and Europe, allowing for communication like never before (at least for a few weeks). It sure wasn't easy - told by Greg and Abigail Maupin. Likewise, Alexander Graham…