American History Tellers
The Cold War, Prohibition, the Gold Rush, the Space Race. Every part of your life - the words you speak, the ideas you share - can be traced to our history, but how well do you really know the stories that made America? We'll take you to the events, the times and the people that shaped our nation. And we'll show you how our history affected them, their families and affects you today. Hosted by Lindsay Graham (not the Senator). From Wondery, the network behind American Scandal, Tides of History, American Innovations and more.
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- Update frequency
- every 5 days
- Average duration
- 37 minutes
- Episodes
- 446
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
The Space Race| Photo Finish | 4
JFK said that nothing in the 1960s was "...more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space..." than getting a man to the moon and back safely. As the Apollo 11 f…
00:38:52 |
Wed 06 Jun 2018
The Space Race | Taking the Lead | 3
In times of crisis, Americans had always put their confidence in their country’s superiority in power, technology and leadership. America had never failed them. And in 1961, hope and faith in their c…
00:39:12 |
Wed 30 May 2018
The Space Race | Playing Catch Up | 2
Information sharing was normal in the global scientific community, but when it came to rockets, normal rules didn’t apply. If the details got passed along to civilian scientists, there was no telling…
00:37:29 |
Wed 23 May 2018
The Space Race | Starting Gun | 1
Remember Werner von Braun? We talked a little bit about him in our Cold War series. He was in charge of the German rocket program in World War II. First used to lob missiles and bombs all over Europe…
00:38:27 |
Wed 16 May 2018
History Through Innovation | Interview with Steven Johnson | 7
The phone in your hand is more powerful than all of the computers that put a man on the moon, combined. In the age of supercomputers, driverless cars, and mail-order DNA testing it’s easy to forget t…
00:40:41 |
Thu 10 May 2018
The Age of Jackson | Manifest Destiny | 6
“Manifest Destiny” is a uniquely American idea. The phrase captured the sense of inevitability—and entitlement—many citizens still feel. But in the 19th century this idea consumed American’s thought …
00:39:45 |
Wed 02 May 2018
The Age of Jackson | The Little Magician | 5
During the last years of Jackson's presidency, the economy flourished. The national debt was paid in full, industry and agriculture boomed. But when Martin Van Buren assumed the presidency, he inheri…
00:35:38 |
Wed 25 Apr 2018
The Age of Jackson | Great White Father | 4
During his political rise, Jackson distinguished himself with his ability to exact ruthless military victories over indigenous people. As President Native Americans felt the brunt of this power. What…
00:35:42 |
Wed 18 Apr 2018
The Age of Jackson | King Mob | 3
From the beginning, Jackson's administration was riddled with controversy. Citizens mobbed the White House on inauguration day, breaking furniture and fine china. They were only lured out with alcoho…
00:32:59 |
Wed 11 Apr 2018
The Age of Jackson | Good Feelings | 2
In the summer of 1817, President James Monroe toured the country in an effort to unite the ever-growing United States, torn between bitter political battles that overshadowed national conflict.
To M…
00:31:50 |
Wed 04 Apr 2018
The Age of Jackson | Washington Burns | 1
In August 1814, the White House burned. A fire that would eventually consume the entire nation in Civil War was already burning. This is Antebellum America.
This is the adolescence of the United Sta…
00:35:03 |
Wed 28 Mar 2018
Prohibition | Interview with Lillian Cunningham | 7
Do you know the record for the longest ratification period of any constitutional amendment? Lillian Cunningham did. She’s an editor with the Washington Post, host of two outstanding American History …
00:32:35 |
Wed 21 Mar 2018
Prohibition - We Want Beer | 6
The people had spoken: They wanted beer, and they wanted it now, but not just for drinking. Protestors wanted the jobs that came with breweries, and the country was desperate from the money that coul…
00:34:38 |
Wed 14 Mar 2018
Prohibition - Down and Out | 5
Closing Time by Daniel Francis provides a good account of the border wars and smuggling across the northern border. Robert Rockaway’s article “The Notorious Purple Gang” details the gang’s origin as …
00:33:54 |
Wed 07 Mar 2018
Prohibition - Poisoning the Well | 4
The rise of the speakeasy was one of many unintended consequences of Prohibition - and others were much deadlier.
Not coincidentally, at the same time Prohibition was taking effect, the Klu Klux Kla…
00:31:29 |
Wed 28 Feb 2018
Prohibition - Speakeasy | 3
While Prohibition was successful in closing the saloon, it didn’t quench America’s thirst. Enterprising bootleggers found more ways to provide more alcohol to parched Americans – so much that there w…
00:30:54 |
Wed 21 Feb 2018
Prohibition - Drying Out | 2
When a German U-boat torpedoed the RMS Lusitania on Friday, May 7th, 1915, Americans found two new enemies: Germany and the beer it was so associated with. Anti-German sentiment grew, and with it hos…
00:29:49 |
Wed 14 Feb 2018
Prohibition - Closing Time | 1
On January 17, 1920, the United States passed the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, ushering in a 13-year dry spell known as Prohibition. But how did a country that loved to drink turn its back …
00:37:33 |
Wed 07 Feb 2018
The Cold War - Interview with Audra Wolfe and Patrick Wyman | 7
We’re closing out our series on the Cold War with two interviews with fascinating historians. First, we’re talking with Audra Wolfe, the author of Competing with the Soviets: Science, Technology, and…
00:44:52 |
Wed 31 Jan 2018
The Cold War - Last Man Standing | 6
In the early 1970s, while trying to wind down the war in Vietnam, President Richard Nixon made overtures to Moscow and Beijing that would usher in a new era of the Cold War: Detente. But the thaw in …
00:40:43 |
Wed 24 Jan 2018
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