History Dispatches
History Dispatches is a daily history show hosted by father and son duo Matt and McKinley Breen. The show covers people, places, events and even objects from throughout history. While any topic is fair game, Matt and McKinley hold a soft spot for the offbeat and wacky stories that most people don’t know about.
Episodes
July 18, 2025 • 18 mins
In 1900, a woman named Carry Nation was inspired by a vision - she claimed - from God. She had seen how alcohol destroyed families. It had killed her first husband. And so a few days later she entered a nearby saloon and started smashing whatever she could. And that was the start of her crusade to rid the nation of alcohol. This is the story of one of the most controversial and colorful people of the temperance movement - Carry Nat...
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July 17, 2025 • 13 mins
For over a hundred years the Periodic Table of Elements has shaped and organized every naturally occurring element in a surprisingly simple and elegant manner. But this was not always the case, and it took centuries of understanding to organize the Periodic Table into what it is today.
Sources
he Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance" by Eric R. Scerri
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_periodic_table
Im...
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July 16, 2025 • 18 mins
On December 4, 1872, the merchant ship Mary Celeste was discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores. Her lifeboat was missing. The last entry in her log was dated ten days earlier. She had plenty of provisions, and her cargo was intact. The captain's and crew's belongings were undisturbed. None of those who had been on board were ever seen or heard from again. This is the mystery of the Mary Celeste.
Sou...
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July 15, 2025 • 16 mins
2,000 years ago in the mists and forest of Britain, the Celtic warrior Queen Boudica led a revolt against the mighty Roman Empire, almost throwing them out of Britain for good. This is the story of Boudica.
Sources
"Boudica: Iron Age Warrior Queen" by Richard Hingley and Christina Unwin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudica
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Boudicca
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boudi...
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July 14, 2025 • 18 mins
In 1957, Carol Kaye, a 22-year old mother and musician, was invited to a recording session with the legendary Sam Cook. What followed was a 65+ year career in which she would be one of the most accomplished bass players in rock and popular music - appearing on over 10,000 records. This is the story of bass player extraordinaire Carol Kaye.
Sources
"https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/forgotten-heroes-carol-kaye
https://www...
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July 11, 2025 • 18 mins
Over the past 80 years the United States has built tens of thousands of nuclear bombs. The problem is that several of them have simply gone missing, without a trace. These six weapons are the United States' broken arrows.
Sources
https://www.atomicarchive.com/almanac/broken-arrows/index.html;
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/command-and-control-broken-arrows-how-many-nuclear-accidents-have-we-had/
http...
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July 10, 2025 • 15 mins
On December 22, 1938, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, the curator of a museum in East London, South Africa, came upon a large fish caught in the net by a trawler. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. And it wasn’t long before the strange fish with vivid blue scales was an international sensation. And that’s because the strange fish was supposed to be extinct - having disappeared from the earth 66 million years earlier. This is the...
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July 9, 2025 • 15 mins
Beneath the city of Paris lies a network of tunnels stretching hundreds of kilometers. Many of which are not totally explored. Their origin dates back to the Middle Ages, and today are home to a massive cemetery. This is the story of the Catacombs of Paris.
Sources
https://www.catacombes.paris.fr/en/history/site-history
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/strange-maps-paris-catacombs; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min...
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July 8, 2025 • 15 mins
In 525 BC, an army of 50,000 Persians - under the orders of King Cambyses II - set out from Thebes into the western desert of Egypt. Their goal was to subjugate the Oracle of Amun at the Siwa Oasis. The army was never seen again, and legend is that the entire army had been swallowed by a sandstorm. This is the story of the Lost Army of Cambyses.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Army_of_Cambyses
https://www.huffpos...
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July 7, 2025 • 16 mins
Throughout the 1100's the abbess Hildegard of Bingen was one of the most influential figures in medieval Europe. An astounding theologian, scholar, writer, and musician, she was also wrote hundreds of letters to numerous popes, kings and emperors. All while being overcome with mind melting visions from God.
Sources
Hildegard of Bingen by Fiona Maddocks
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hildegard_von_Bingen.jpg
...
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July 5, 2025 • 17 mins
The Execution of King Louis XVI as brought to you by wonderful History Daily. Host Lindsay Graham takes us on a dramatic recreation of the events of that fateful day in 1793 - when the French Revolution took a step that few had ever imagined. This episode is presented in partnership with History Daily. Thanks to Lindsay Graham and his team.
https://www.historydaily.com
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hinrichtung...
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July 4, 2025 • 25 mins
On the morning of September 22, 1776, 21 year old Nathan Hale was escorted to the gallows in New York City near modern-day 66th St. and Third Avenue. He was to be hanged for being a spy. When given a chance for some final words, he was reportedly to have said one sentence that would resonate to this day. 'I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.' This is the story of Nathan Hale.
Sources
https://en.wikip...
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July 3, 2025 • 13 mins
In late afternoon on March 25, 1911, a small spark would ignite on the 8th floor of the Triangle Factory. The spark would turn into a blaze that would leave 146 dead. And the worst part is that almost all of these deaths were preventable. This is the story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.
Sources
Triangle: The Fire that Changed America by David Von Drehle
Image: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Image_of_Tria...
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July 2, 2025 • 19 mins
Edward Carter was an American soldier of mixed race. He fought the Japanese in Shanghai. The fascists in Spain. And the Nazis in Europe. And on March 23, 1945, Carter single-handedly wiped out two machine gun nests, a mortar team, killed six Germans, and captured two more, despite being wounded five times. For his actions, Carter would - ultimately - receive the Congressional Medal of Honor - although it would take more than 50 yea...
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July 1, 2025 • 14 mins
In the 1200s a legend surfaced of a female pope who ruled for two years, disguised as a man. And while it was just that - a legend - that did not stop Pope Joan from being considered real for hundreds of year. And desite being nothing more than myth, Pope Joan would have an abnormally large impact on the Catholic Church.
Sources
"The Myth of Pope Joan" by Alain Boureau
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Papesse_J...
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June 30, 2025 • 20 mins
The Stanley Cup - hockey's greatest prize - is meant to be experienced - by the fans and the players. As a result, the treasured trophy has been through many, many adventures in its 130+ years. It’s been lost, stolen, tossed in a river, and even used as a flower pot. These are the Adventures of the Stanley Cup.
Sources
https://www.nhl.com/news/stanley-cup-has-strange-and-colorful-past
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_C...
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June 27, 2025 • 14 mins
Taking 200 years to build the Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the world's most iconic structures. Built in wet soil, engineers have been fighting gravity for nearly a thousand years. And seemingly by sheer willpower, the structure still stands today.
Sources
https://www.towerofpisa.org/; https://www.britannica.com/topic/Leaning-Tower-of-Pisa
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pisa/interventions.html
Image: https://commons.wik...
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June 26, 2025 • 10 mins
In 1784, 44 Japanese sailors ventured off towards an island in the Pacific in search of a mysterious treasure. They would not be heard of again - until 151 years later when a bottle was found detailing the fate of the crew. This is the story of Chunosuke Matsuyama and the world’s oldest Message in a Bottle.
Image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/clear-glass-bottle-on-brown-sand-4724049/
History Dispatches is part of the Airwave ...
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June 25, 2025 • 26 mins
In 1909, wealthy Georgia widow Susie Wright Allgood saw a business opportunity. She wanted to create a new stuffed toy that would usurp the popular Teddy Bear. Her new toy was Billy Possum - inspired by President William Howard Taft. For this episode, we are joined by Howard Dorre from the podcast Plodding Through the Presidents.
Sources
"How a Stuffed Animal Named Billy Possum Tried—and Failed—to Replace the Teddy Bear as Ame...
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June 24, 2025 • 21 mins
On Feb. 14, 1929, seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang were lured into a garage at Lincoln Park - lined up - and killed in a hail of machine gun fire. The killings were believed to have been orchestrated by Al Capone - and exposed the mob violence that was gripping many of the nation’s big cities. No one would ever be charged in the killings. This is the story of the Valentine’s Day Massacre.
Sources
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