American Esoterica

American Esoterica

American history, bite-sized. These are the stories that may have slipped through the cracks - the odd detours that have shaped our history and culture in small, but sometimes significant, ways.

Episodes

October 9, 2025 7 mins

Forget what you think you know about the deadliest fire in American history.

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The real story that likely inspired a fake story, and it's way more heartbreaking. This one is a three-hankie episode.

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August 28, 2025 8 mins

We actually had genuine royalty in this country once, and no, I don't mean Beyoncé (or Queen Bey, as those of us who are true fans call her). And in New Jersey, of all places.

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August 14, 2025 10 mins

Remember that time that somebody almost assassinated JFK? Probably not.

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July 31, 2025 8 mins

A baker's dozen colonies? A regular dozen? Fourteen? Fifteen? Twenty-six? HOW MANY COLONIES WERE THERE?

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Here's another round of lightning-fast-ish presidential trivia, from the devil to the Beast and everything in-between.

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June 19, 2025 8 mins

The tip of Lake Michigan is just the tip of the iceberg that spins out into a war between the states. Two states, that is.

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THIS ONE'S GOT IT ALL, FOLKS - hucksters, country music, goat testicles, pirate radio, patent medicines, wire fraud, William Jennings Bryan...you name it! This is the bizarre story of how rural America fell in love with country music.

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May 22, 2025 6 mins

Meet Herman Hollerith - the founder of your digital world and archnemesis to The Count on Sesame Street. 

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May 11, 2025 2 mins

We all know that THE story about George Washington isn't true, but what if what we've been wrong about all this time is that the story is KINDA true-ish? 

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May 9, 2025 5 mins

Sometimes American cultural greatness runs in very concentrated pockets. 

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April 24, 2025 13 mins

"Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again..." - George W. Bush.

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April 9, 2025 10 mins

There's one order that holds the record for maybe the most antisemitic government act in American history, and it both complicates and haunts the legacy of someone otherwise perceived as a hero.

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Attacking the Union from the south just wasn't cutting it. So why not attack from the north instead? GENIUS.

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March 13, 2025 5 mins

Lincoln loved the theater, although he might have a different opinion in retrospect. Yes, we're doing another Lincoln one. Yes, it includes some startling coincidences.

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February 27, 2025 7 mins

This one is about Beyoncé’s stepfather’s ex-wife’s uncle. (It's also the incredible story of a family that lifted each other to unheard-of heights.)

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February 13, 2025 2 mins

A love story for the ages.

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February 13, 2025 8 mins

She broke the invisible barriers in early American aviation with little more than a wing and a prayer. 

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January 30, 2025 5 mins

The Napkin of Consequence emerges to define 50 years of American policy. 

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January 16, 2025 7 mins

These are the losers of the losers - the ones who tried to do something stupid and failed in the attempt. Look at them - look at them and laugh. Also, it's a very serious subject, and your laughter is highly inappropriate. Grow up.

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