Exploring History

America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. On today's Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass tells about five books that your family would enjoy reading to …

Most people know the Marquis de Lafayette as an aide to General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. On the latest Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass tells how Lafayette live…

The former Soviet Union had a project to map the entire world. They produced over one million distinct maps of places around the world. On his latest Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass discusses…

One woman's letters to a president may have changed his thinking and may have helped bring about needed reforms in our country. On the next Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass tells how the lette…

A little known incident in 1854 was part of the struggle for equal rights for all Americans. It reminds us today of our need to be done with prejudice and scapegoating. In the latest Exploring Histor…

During World War II, the American military and American society were marked by segregation and prejudice. Many Americans believed that black persons were not capable of flying airplanes. But a traini…

Seventy-five years ago, Whittaker Chambers accused highly respected U.S. government official Alger Hiss of being a Communist. Hiss denied the accusation. Who was telling the truth? In his latest podc…

Mabel Fairbanks was an African American ice skater who overcame poverty, prejudice, and a host of other hardships to become an international skating star. In his latest podcast, Ray Notgrass tells Ma…

One of the special aspects of Christmas is hearing and singing the same songs, even though we have heard them year after year. Perhaps it is the memories that these songs bring to mind, or the beauti…

On the Exploring History podcast for Thanksgiving, Ray Notgrass tells the true story of a man who escaped Poland in 1938, came to the United States, and lived with gratitude for the country that gave…

In 1957 nine brave teenagers showed remarkable courage and conviction as they integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. On his latest Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass shares the…

World War I brought unprecedented loss of life and destruction. But it also provided stories of amazing heroism. In the latest Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass examines the causes of the war, …

Why should anyone, especially our students, bother to learn history? In his latest Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass offers six specific things we can gain from a study of history that can enri…

Ronald Reagan was a man of faith: faith in God, and faith in the strength of our country. In the latest Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass looks at the life and presidency of Ronald Reagan, focu…

Hot enough for you? We can be thankful that we can do something about it, but it hasn't always been this way. In this podcast, Ray Notgrass traces the history of attempts to produce conditioned air, …

Richard Nixon resigned the office of president of the United States fifty years ago, on August 9, 1974. This was the result of the Watergate scandal and other failings of the Nixon administration. On…

As the Summer Olympics in Paris, France, take place this year, we hearken back one hundred years to another Paris Olympics, and the accomplishments of a man of faith, Eric Liddell, both in the Olympi…

It’s time for that quadrennial exercise in American democracy, when thousands of people spend millions of dollars and take several days to make a decision that’s already been made. Of course I’m talk…

Fred Vinson's life went from being born in a jailer's house in Eastern Kentucky to serving as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was a key player in American government during and after Worl…

On June 19th, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger announced in Galveston, Texas, that all enslaved persons were free. Slavery was ended. On the latest episode of the Exploring History podcast, Ray Not…