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
January 9, 2026 • 16 mins
On March 4, 1865, Vice-President-Elect Andrew Johnson gave the most memorable - and controversial - vice-presidential inauguration speech in American history. And that is because Johnson, according to most observers, was resoundingly drunk - and had been on and off for the previous week. Johnson would mumble, slur, and insult his way through his speech, which would color him - and his subsequent presidency - for the rest of his lif...
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January 8, 2026 • 13 mins
In the 1970s and 80s the swamps of south Florida became the perfect place to smuggle drugs into the United States. And the fishermen of the swamps were the perfect smugglers to ferry these illicit goods. The epicenter of this smuggling was Everglades City where almost the entire town was involved in the drug trade. This all came to a head in 1983 with Operation Everglades where nearly 80% of the adult male population was arrested f...
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January 7, 2026 • 27 mins
In November of 1956, the Hungarian Water Polo team came to Melbourne, Australia, for the Olympic games. But back in Europe, the player’s homeland was only a couple of weeks removed from a bloody - and failed - uprising against the Soviet Union. Then, on Dec. 6, in the semi finals - the Hungarian polo team was slated to face the Soviet Union - who many saw as their suppressors and overlords. What followed was one of the most brutal ...
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January 6, 2026 • 19 mins
On the South Pacific island of Tanna, the locals are waiting for a man to return and save them this man’s name, John Frum. He is the central figure in the most prominent cargo cult in the south pacific, dating to the start of World War Two. But the origins are just as murky as the man himself. This is the story of the John Frum Cargo Cult.
"John Frum He Come" by Edward Rice
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/in-john-they-trus...
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January 5, 2026 • 19 mins
On Sept 10, 1813, on Lake Erie, nine vessels of the United States Navy met - and defeated - six ships of the British Royal Navy in one of the biggest naval battles of the War of 1812. The battle ensured American control of the lake for the rest of the war, which in turn allowed the Americans to recover Detroit, and win the Battle of the Thames - which broke the Indian confederation of Tecumseh. This is the Battle of Lake Erie.
S...
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January 2, 2026 • 15 mins
Around 1150 AD, near the village of Woolpit - in East England - two mysterious children suddenly appeared. They wore odd clothing and spoke a strange language. And most shockingly - their skin was green. This is the story of Green Children of Woolpit.
Sources
https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-Green-Children-of-Woolpit/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_children_of_Woolpit
https://www.historyskills.com/classroom/ye...
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January 1, 2026 • 17 mins
The most isolated island in the world is Bouvet Island. It is located over a thousand miles from any other location The nearest land Antarctica. It has an amazing history of discovery, loss, phantom islands, and much more. This is the story of Bouvet Island.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouvet_Island
https://www.lifeinnorway.net/bouvet-island/
Image courtesy of the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson...
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December 31, 2025 • 11 mins
In 892, the Viking warrior Sigurd Eysteinsson was the scourge of the north of Scotland. Through unscrupulous means, he had just defeated one of his main rivals - a Pictish chief named Máel Brigte. He rode off the battlefield with the head of his foe hanging from his saddle - a trophy of his victory. However, despite being dead, Máel Brigte would have his revenge - killing Sigurd in a most unique manner. This is the story of the Dea...
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December 30, 2025 • 21 mins
In 1816, the 40-gun French frigate, the Medusa, departed for the overseas colony of Senegal, carrying 400 people. Incompetent and selfish decisions allowed the ship run aground, and 147 people were stranded on a raft. Only 15 survived. Their harrowing story includes murder and cannibalism. This is the story of the raft of the Medusa.
Sources
https://shipwrecks.hist.sites.carleton.edu/the-medusa/the-medusa-historical-backgroun...
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December 29, 2025 • 21 mins
In 1862, a man born into slavery - Robert Smalls - pulled off an unlikely escape from his captors. He, his friends, and their families, stole a ship, and sailed out of Charleston harbor - right under the noses of the Confederates. But Smalls' extraordinary life was just beginning. He would serve with Union forces throughout the Civil War, then become a successful businessman, and politician. This is the life of Robert Smalls.
So...
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December 26, 2025 • 19 mins
Constructed around the year 300 AD of the reddish purple stone porphyry, the Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs is the iconic image of the four men who ruled the Roman Empire at that time. Yet this one piece has moved around the Mediterranean world, and to this day generates controversy. This is the story of the statue - The Portrait of Four Tetrarchs.
Sources
https://genealogytrails.com/wis/brown/murderofcharlesarndt.html
https...
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December 25, 2025 • 23 mins
In 1919, the United States Congress passed the 18th Amendment to the constitution. This prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages nationwide. This is the story of Prohibition.
Sources
https://prohibition.themobmuseum.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States
https://www.americanprohibitionmuseum.com/
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:5_Pro...
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December 24, 2025 • 17 mins
The American wild west was probably not as wild as pop culture would have us believe. However, sometimes it was far crazier. Such as when a lead miner turned politician pulled out a gun and shot a fellow delegate on the floor of the Wisconsin territorial legislator - and got away with it. This is the story of James R. Vineyard.
Sources
https://genealogytrails.com/wis/brown/murderofcharlesarndt.html
https://www.facebook.com/j...
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December 23, 2025 • 15 mins
St. Nicolas is famed for bringing gifts to good children. But in the Alpine regions of Europe, there is a legend about a grotesque creature - half human, half goat - that comes to punish naughty children. This creature - with horns and a long forked tongue - would beat bad children with birch rods - and even carry them away to be eaten. Today, this creature has become a world wide phenomenon. This is the story of Krampus.
Source...
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December 22, 2025 • 16 mins
30 miles south of Washington DC, in a small part of the Potomac River, lies an area called Mallows Bay. This bay is not home to a handful of shipwrecks or even a dozen. Or even 30 or 40 wrecks. Mallows Bay has over 200 wrecked vessels dating back to the 1920s. This is the story of the Ghost Fleet of the Potomac.
Sources
https://savingplaces.org/places/ghost-fleet
https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/mallows-potomac/
https:...
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December 19, 2025 • 12 mins
Most people probably know that Winnie the Pooh was based upon the stuffed toy bear of Christopher Robin Milne - the son of author A.A. Milne. But there is another tale behind the famed bear - which involves a Canadian veterinarian, a black bear cub, and World War 1. This is the story of Harry Colebourn and a bear named Winnie.
Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2015/nov/24/winnie-the-pooh-inspire...
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December 18, 2025 • 15 mins
With the discovery of Radium in 1898 it began to be used in numerous applications. The most famous was a glow in the dark paint. Thousands of women applied for jobs painting watch dials and other instruments, and to keep their paint brush extra fine, they were instructed to lick the brush. This would all be fine, if a bit unsanitary, except that radium is radioactive, and dozens of these women started to die. This is the story of t...
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December 17, 2025 • 50 mins
The French Revolution would bring about many, many changes in Europe. One of the most radical was the dechristianization of France - including the banning of religious holidays. Will Clark, the host and creator of Grey History - a French Revolution Podcast - joins us to tell the story of How the French Stole Christmas.
Sources
Learn more about Will Clark and his podcast, Grey History, at https://greyhistory.com
History Dis...
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December 16, 2025 • 22 mins
At the outset of World War II, the United States faced a shortage of pilots. As a result, a plan was launched to help ease the situation. This was the creation of a unit of women to fly non-combat duties - such as delivering airplanes to bases. More than 1,000 female pilots would go on to deliver over half of newly made military aircraft during the war to bases all over the nation. This is the story of the Women Airforce Service Pi...
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December 15, 2025 • 17 mins
How do you fight a disease with no known cure - and spreads by just drinking water? This disease is no fantasy but rather Dracunculiasis, or Guinea Worm Disease. While not necessarily fatal, it is extremely painful, and can leave the infected crippled for the rest of their life. But this being a parasite means there are no vaccines or antibiotics to fight it. In 1985, the disease infected more than 3.5 million individuals, and the ...
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