History Author Show
We've all been transported into the past by a special book, place or person. On the History Author Show, host Dean Karayanis and a team of correspondents bring you the people who build the time machines.
Episodes
May 11, 2024 • 43 mins
May 11, 2024 - What happens when a celebrated author — Mohammed Ali’s official biographer, no less — turns his talents to putting his mother's century-long life down on paper? In this episode, our time machine welcomes aboard Thomas Hauser, author of “My Mother and Me: A Memoir.” Eleanor Nordlinger Hauser, who passed away last year at 96, experienced a life of success and failures, meeting the march of years with resilience...
Mark as Played
April 1, 2024 • 60 mins
April 1, 2024 - Where would an enslaved man who escaped the South find the courage to return to the Confederacy as a Union Spy? In this episode, we meet such a man thanks to Robert Hilliard, author of “In Freedom’s Shadow.” The novel is based on the heroic true story of John Scobell, an enslaved African American who escaped early in the Civil War. Recruited by the Union to return south and gather intelligence, Scobell found ...
Mark as Played
October 11, 2023 • 58 mins
October 11, 2023 - In this episode, our time machine welcomes aboard Brent Butt, who those of you in the Great White North know as the creator and star of the sitcom "Corner Gas," so beloved by Canadians that it has spawned an animated version and a movie. He's also host of the Butt Pod, which — since you probably have your phone out right now — I suggest you swipe over and subscribe to for some really insightful interviews. ...
Mark as Played
S.C. Gwynne – His Majesty's Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World's Largest Flying Machine
September 4, 2023 • 62 mins
September 4, 2023 - How did airship R101 — embodying the British Empire’s global ambitions — die in fireball of dreams, romance, and hubris and turn to ashes in the pages of history? S.C. Gwynne brings us this story of reaching for the sky in “His Majesty's Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World's Largest Flying Machine.” S.C. Gwynne previously joined us to discuss his books, “Hymns of the Republic: The Story of the...
Mark as Played
July 31, 2023 • 39 mins
July 30, 2023 - What did service in the World Wars mean to women who found new opportunities to enter the workforce and join the fight as never before? We’ll go on a fictional ride with one of those service members with today’s novelist, Jenni Walsh. Her novel is “The Call of the Wrens,” the third she joined us to discuss after her debut, “Becoming Bonnie,” and its sequel, “Side By Side,” about “the crash of the century,” wh...
Mark as Played
June 17, 2023 - Reading about history is one thing, but what happens when a legendary sportswriter looks back nearly a century to recall his upbringing in Newark, New Jersey, during the trying decades of the ‘30s and ‘40s – as a Jewish kid, mind you — while Wall Street crashed and Hitler made war on the world? In this episode, our time machine welcomes aboard a real time-traveler — at least, that’s how I like to think of people wh...
Mark as Played
May 11, 2023 • 24 mins
May 11, 2023 - Who was the greatest major league baseball catcher of all time? If the name Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra doesn’t spring to mind, have I got the movie for you. It’s the story of a kid from St. Louis and D-Day veteran whose life story has the power to uplift not just fans, but people from all walks of life. In this episode, our time machine welcomes aboard sports journalist Lindsay Berra, whose here to talk about...
Mark as Played
May 1, 2023 • 49 mins
May 1, 2023 - When a president of the United States dies, what does how we memorialize his life and service say about the republic? Our time machine welcomes back Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky to give her insights as we discuss “Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture,” co-written with Matthew R. Costello. The book includes observation of several scholars, bringing to life a vision shared by the White House ...
Mark as Played
March 21, 2023 • 53 mins
March 21, 2023 - How did a man who worked at the JFK Presidential Library grapple with the 35th president’s legacy over his own lifetime to deliver portrait of the real man behind the myths of Camelot? In this episode, our time machine welcomes back Stephen F. Knott, author of “Coming to Terms with John F. Kennedy.” We previously welcomed Mr. Knott onto the show way back in 2015 to discuss the book he co-authored with Tony...
Mark as Played
January 25, 2023 • 57 mins
January 23, 2023 – How did the relationships of two pairs of U.S. presidents — Theodore Roosevelt with William Howard Taft and Franklin Delano Roosevelt with freshman Congressman Lyndon Baines Johnson — change the course of history, and the world we live in today?In this episode, presidential historian Mike Purdy brings us Presidential Friendships: How They Changed History. Mike is an opinion contributor to The Hill and founder of ...
Mark as Played
December 19, 2022 • 48 mins
December 19, 2022 – How did Kermit the Frog, Big Bird, and the rest of the Sesame Street expand their neighborhood to Moscow after the collapse of the USSR? In this episode, we meet the woman who adapted a beloved American TV show for an audience newly freed from behind the Iron Curtain.TV producer and filmmaker Natasha Lance Rogoff who brings us, “Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia...
Mark as Played
November 21, 2022 • 55 mins
November 21, 2022 – If you could ride along in a Humvee with one of the most admired American combat leaders of the last half century, what would you hope to learn?
In this episode, our time machine welcomes back internationally acclaimed military historian and U.S. Army veteran Mike Guardia. We last caught up with Mike to discuss his book, Skybreak: The 58th Fighter Squadron in Desert Storm.
Mike returns to discuss his acclaimed bio...
In this episode, our time machine welcomes back internationally acclaimed military historian and U.S. Army veteran Mike Guardia. We last caught up with Mike to discuss his book, Skybreak: The 58th Fighter Squadron in Desert Storm.
Mike returns to discuss his acclaimed bio...
Mark as Played
October 24, 2022 • 28 mins
October 24, 2022 - Something special this week for the season of pumpkins, ghosts, and Candy Corn: A YouTube feature on what Hollywood gets right and wrong about yesterday called History Author Showtime.
It’s a video breakdown of the 1975 movie, “The Legend of Lizzie Borden,” starring Elizabeth Montgomery, who you may remember as Samantha Stevens from “Bewitched.” I often ask authors what they think of the film or TV portrayals of ...
Mark as Played
October 10, 2022 • 46 mins
October 10, 2022 - What if historical fiction could give someone the courage that saves their life? In this episode, Judith F. Brenner shares her debut novel The Moments Between Dreams, which has the power to do just that, as we mark Domestic Violence and Polio Awareness Months.
The book has been described as "edutaining,' both educational and entertaining, as we return to the 1940s and ‘50s for a story set during the polio epidemi...
Mark as Played
David Pietrusza – Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal
September 26, 2022 • 50 mins
September 26, 2022 - How did Franklin Delano Roosevelt win reelection with 46 of the 48 states in 1936, despite America being in the throes of the Great Depression? In this episode, legendary historian David Pietrusza to discuss his new book, Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal.
Enjoy his previous appearances in our archives where we discuss his books:
TR’s Last War: Theodore Roosevel...
September 26, 2022 - How did Franklin Delano Roosevelt win reelection with 46 of the 48 states in 1936, despite America being in the throes of the Great Depression? In this episode, legendary historian David Pietrusza to discuss his new book, Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal.
Enjoy his previous appearances in our archives where we discuss his books:
TR’s Last War: Theodore Roosevel...
Mark as Played
September 3, 2022 • 49 mins
September 3, 2022 - On the morning of September 8th, 1900, disaster struck the vibrant, prosperous island of Galveston, Texas, tearing out its heart. In this episode, our time machine travels back to the turn of the last century to meet sixteen-year-old Clara and the Gladys family, against the backdrop of the worst natural disaster to ever strike the United States -- that killed between 6,000 and 8,000 on the island of Galveston.
...
September 3, 2022 - On the morning of September 8th, 1900, disaster struck the vibrant, prosperous island of Galveston, Texas, tearing out its heart. In this episode, our time machine travels back to the turn of the last century to meet sixteen-year-old Clara and the Gladys family, against the backdrop of the worst natural disaster to ever strike the United States -- that killed between 6,000 and 8,000 on the island of Galveston.
...
Mark as Played
August 22, 2022 • 47 mins
August 22, 2022 - What if you were a Midwestern haberdasher-turned-senator, who served just three months as vice president, before finding yourself thrust into the Big Chair, charged with winning World War II?
In this episode, our time machine welcomes aboard journalist Jeffrey Frank who brings us, The Trials of Harry S. Truman: The Extraordinary Presidency of An Ordinary Man, 1945-1953.
Jeffrey Frank is the best-selling author Ike...
August 22, 2022 - What if you were a Midwestern haberdasher-turned-senator, who served just three months as vice president, before finding yourself thrust into the Big Chair, charged with winning World War II?
In this episode, our time machine welcomes aboard journalist Jeffrey Frank who brings us, The Trials of Harry S. Truman: The Extraordinary Presidency of An Ordinary Man, 1945-1953.
Jeffrey Frank is the best-selling author Ike...
Mark as Played
August 8, 2022 • 56 mins
August 8, 2022 - In the late summer of 1942, the First Marine Division sought to wrest Guadalcanal from the Japanese Empire. We’ll meet one of only two reporters on hand to record the carnage, as the spot in the Pacific earned its nickname, the Island of Death.
In this episode, our time machine travels back war zones to meet in intrepid journalist who told soldiers’ stories to the folks back home. Our guide on this journey is Ray ...
August 8, 2022 - In the late summer of 1942, the First Marine Division sought to wrest Guadalcanal from the Japanese Empire. We’ll meet one of only two reporters on hand to record the carnage, as the spot in the Pacific earned its nickname, the Island of Death.
In this episode, our time machine travels back war zones to meet in intrepid journalist who told soldiers’ stories to the folks back home. Our guide on this journey is Ray ...
Mark as Played
July 24, 2022 • 61 mins
July 25, 2022 - How did the worlds of hip-hop and boxing unite, blending together music, race, sports, and politics? In this episode our time machine welcomes back Dr. Todd D. Snyder who brings us Beatboxing: How Hip-Hop Changed the Fight Game. We previously caught up to discuss his previous book: Bundini: Don't Believe the Hype.
Meeting Mohammed Ali's hype man, Drew "Bundini" Brown, was an experience that really stuck with me, in...
July 25, 2022 - How did the worlds of hip-hop and boxing unite, blending together music, race, sports, and politics? In this episode our time machine welcomes back Dr. Todd D. Snyder who brings us Beatboxing: How Hip-Hop Changed the Fight Game. We previously caught up to discuss his previous book: Bundini: Don't Believe the Hype.
Meeting Mohammed Ali's hype man, Drew "Bundini" Brown, was an experience that really stuck with me, in...
Mark as Played
July 2, 2022 • 63 mins
July 2, 2022 - Who were the citizen spies who risked their lives to bring General George Washington the intelligence he needed to win the War for Independence? In this episode, we take a fictional trip back to the American Revolution, to meet the people who fought for liberty with their wits and secrecy, not muskets and cannon.
Our guide on this journey is S.W. O'Connell who brings us, The Patriot Spy, Book One of the Yankee Doodl...
July 2, 2022 - Who were the citizen spies who risked their lives to bring General George Washington the intelligence he needed to win the War for Independence? In this episode, we take a fictional trip back to the American Revolution, to meet the people who fought for liberty with their wits and secrecy, not muskets and cannon.
Our guide on this journey is S.W. O'Connell who brings us, The Patriot Spy, Book One of the Yankee Doodl...
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
The Podium: An NBC Olympic and Paralympic podcast. Join us for insider coverage during the intense competition at the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. In the run-up to the Opening Ceremony, we’ll bring you deep into the stories and events that have you know and those you'll be hard-pressed to forget.
In The Village will take you into the most exclusive areas of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games to explore the daily life of athletes, complete with all the funny, mundane and unexpected things you learn off the field of play. Join Elizabeth Beisel as she sits down with Olympians each day in Paris.
Listen to the latest news from the 2024 Olympics.
The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are here and have everyone talking. iHeartPodcasts is buzzing with content in honor of the 33rd Olympic Games and you can follow Paris Summer Games to stay up to date on all things Olympics. We’re bringing you episodes from a variety of iHeartPodcast shows to help you keep up with the action. Follow Paris Summer Games so you don’t miss any coverage of the 2024 Olympic Games, and if you like what you hear, be sure to follow each Podcast in the feed for more great content from iHeartPodcasts.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.