HISTORY This Week

The HISTORY® Channel

This week, something big happened. You might have never heard of it, but this moment changed the course of history. A HISTORY Channel original podcast, HISTORY This Week gives you insight into the people—both famous and unknown—whose decisions reshaped the world we live in today. Through interviews with experts and eyewitnesses, each episode will give you a new perspective on how history is written. Stay up-to-date at historythisweekpodcast.com and to get in touch, email us at historythisweek@history.com. HISTORY This Week is a production of Back Pocket Studios in partnership with the History Channel. read less

Our Editor's Take

History fans may find the HISTORY This Week podcast a fascinating listen. This official History Channel podcast provides a unique perspective on the past. In each episode, former NPR host Sally Helm examines a historical moment. These world-changing moments have one particular trait, though. Their dates correspond with the week of every released episode.

The HISTORY This Week host, a longtime journalist, meets with experts of all kinds. The guests help to uncover the facts and expose the hidden truths. Historians, scientists, and specialists go into great detail about the facts and theories. Their 30-minute discussions reveal how each moment changed past and present lives. Such information can be both fascinating and enlightening to listeners. Even the most knowledgeable fan may learn something new on HISTORY This Week.

Helm's ability to tell a great story is also what makes this podcast as unique as it is. Every HISTORY This Week episode evokes the time and place of the event. Whether it's the 16th century or the modern day, listeners may feel like they are there. Such added ambiance also gives Helm's narration a backdrop to set the episode's tone. One week's show could seem scary and eerie, while the next could be fun and whimsical.

Since its 2020 debut, HISTORY This Week has explored numerous topics. From Boston's Great Molasses Flood to Tutankhamun's curse, there is plenty for new listeners to explore. Each weekly episode adds to this already impressive catalog. Listeners, old and new, will learn about the places, people, and moments that left an impact on the present. Sometimes Helm tells a personal anecdote. During an April Fool's Day episode, she tells the story about how her mother pranked her after a spring break slumber party. Her mom claimed that she needed to be in school that day. The host still remembers the panic she felt over that April Fool's Day joke.

Every week's episode brings a new story that entertains and informs its audience in unique ways. Listeners of all kinds will love what HISTORY This Week has to offer them.

read less

HistoryHistory

Society & CultureSociety & Culture

EducationEducation

Play Trailer

HISTORY This Week Is Back for Season 5!

HISTORY This Week Is Back for Season 5!

HISTORY This week is back! To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episodes

New York Takes Out the Trash

New York Takes Out the Trash

November 18th, 2022. New York City is at war... with rats. And today, Mayor Eric Adams is set to announce four new pieces of legislation aimed at combating this scurrying problem. Two of these laws will target garbage, the rats' main source of food. If you put trash in places the rats can't get, their population will plummet, and New York will get a major victory in this long-running war. The garbage problem is nothing new for the city. In fact, it's been an issue since its founding almost 400 years ago. Today, we try to understand, how has New York historically tackled its trash? And when did the city become a shining example of sanitation for the entire world? Special thanks to our guest, Robin Nagle, anthropologist-in-residence for the New York City Department of Sanitation and a clinical professor at NYU's School of Liberal Studies. Her book is Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City. “Mayor Eric Adams Signs Rodent-Related Bills: Intros. 414-A, 442-A, 459-A, and 460-A” by NYC Mayor's Office is licensed under CC BY 4.0. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alexander the Great Finds His Destiny

Alexander the Great Finds His Destiny

November 14th, 332 BCE. Alexander the Great has conquered an unprecedented amount of territory in a relatively short amount of time. At just 24 years old, he's in control of Macedonia, much of Greece, and now, a huge part of Egypt. But Alexander doesn't want to just conquer each of these places - he wants to rule. And in a rare move for Macedonian royalty, he wants to rule in a way that honors local customs, allowing him to be seen as not just a king, but in some areas, as some kind of divine figure. So today, the ancient Egyptians will crown Alexander as a pharaoh. This is one in a long line of victories for Alexander the Great. However, in his often-overlooked later years, his luck starts to change. As Alexander continues his quest to reach the end of the known world, and his ambition reaches mythical heights, how will his unparalleled success come to an end? Special thanks to Rachel Kousser, professor of Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology at the City University of New York and author of Alexander at the End of the World: The Forgotten Final Years of Alexander the Great. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Japan’s First MLB Player Gets Pulled from the Game

Japan’s First MLB Player Gets Pulled from the Game

November 4, 2009. It's Game 6 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Yankees will clinch the series tonight on the back of one player, Hideki Matsui. He's a baseball player from Japan, one of the few who made the jump across the Pacific to play in America. In the last 15 years, many more Japanese players have made that move, including superstar Shohei Ohtani, arguably the most popular baseball player in the world today. But before Ohtani, before Matsui, there was Masanori Murakami, the first Japanese player to appear in MLB. How did Murakami go from a village outside of Tokyo to pitching in front of tens of thousands in America? And how did an international incident cut his U.S. career short, leading to a 30-year gap before the next Japanese player would arrive in the Major Leagues? Special thanks to Rob Fitts, author of Mashi: The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer; Kerry Yo Nakagawa, founder and director of the Nisei Baseball Research Project; and Michael Clair, writer and senior manager for storytelling and special projects at Major League Baseball. You can hear him on MLB Morning Lineup, the league’s daily podcast. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Breaking the Mars Curse

Breaking the Mars Curse

Oct 27, 1972. The planet Mars has many victims. Specifically, spacecraft. There have been so many failed missions to Mars, that scientists are rumbling about a "Mars Curse". But one mission is defying the odds. Mariner 9, an American space probe, has been orbiting Mars for the last year. But now, it's running out of fuel and will be deactivated, having met all of its mission objectives. Mariner 9 gave us our closest look ever at the Red Planet, solving mysteries that have been debated for centuries. Today, humanity's relationship with Mars. How did people come to believe it had expansive forests and a Martian civilization? And how did one epic mission bring us closer to understanding what's really happening on the Red Planet? Special thanks to William Sheehan, author of Discovering Mars: A History of Observation and Exploration of the Red Planet; and Kevin Schindler, historian of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Last Regular Day in Pompeii

The Last Regular Day in Pompeii

October 24th, 79. Pompeii is one of the crown jewels of the Roman Empire, a bustling city that serves as a coastal retreat for Rome's elite. But Pompeii also has a large, often overlooked middle-class population. They don't live in Pompeii's massive villas. Instead, they live a typical urban life – shopping at small businesses and haggling with street vendors. They even go to restaurants. And one of these restaurants—still being excavated by archeologists today—may unlock a whole new side to the story of this doomed city. So, before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, how did everyday people live in Pompeii? And how can just one city block show us that life 2,000 years ago might not be so different from today? Special thanks to our guest, Allison Emmerson, associate professor of Roman Archeology at Tulane University and director of the Pompeii I.14 Project. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Presenting Gone South Season 4

Presenting Gone South Season 4

Gone South, the Edward R. Murrow award-winning podcast, is back. Unlike previous seasons, writer and host Jed Lipinski brings listeners new episodes every week with no end in sight. Each episode of Gone South Season 4 tells a different story about one of the South's most interesting crimes. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cats Go From Pest to Pet

Cats Go From Pest to Pet

October 18, 1887. At the Crystal Palace in London, hundreds of cats are ready to be judged. This is the first show put on by the National Cat Club, an organization seeking to bring order to the competitive cat world. But the NCC has another goal, to bring legitimacy and attention to a new idea: having a cat as a pet. Even just a couple of decades before this, you’d rarely find a cat living in a person’s home. Cats were on the streets – living near humans, not with them. They’re pretty much seen on the same level as the mice they catch. But now, cats are starting to get their due. So, how did cats overcome their image problem? And who were the artists who helped us fall in love with our feline friends? Special thanks to Kathryn Hughes, author of Catland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Saturday Night!

It's Saturday Night!

October 11, 1975. In Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City, Lorne Michaels and his cast and crew of 20-somethings scramble as the clock gets closer and closer to 11:30 PM. Wardrobes are being assembled, sets put together, and everyone—from NBC executives to viewers at home—anxiously awaits the start of what's supposed to be "a whole new dimension for TV." In just a few minutes, NBC's Saturday Night will be broadcast live across America, and change television forever. Today, guest host Dave Holmes interviews author James Andrew Miller to find out... what happened in the lead-up to the first episode of SNL? And how did one man's unwavering vision result in the most influential comedy program of the century? Special thanks to James Andrew Miller, author of Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An American Mutiny in WWII

An American Mutiny in WWII

October 9th, 1944. In California, 50 U.S. sailors are on trial for the Navy’s most serious crime, mutiny. It’s a rarely used charge, yet these 50 sailors—all of whom are Black—face the death penalty if convicted. But today, their chances of a fair trial get a little better. Thurgood Marshall enters the courtroom. He is the lead attorney for the NAACP, and believes that this trial is a direct result of ongoing segregation and racism in the U.S. military. Knowing the odds are against him, Marshall will do everything he can to prevent a miscarriage of justice. Today, the Port Chicago Mutiny. Why did 50 Black sailors working on the homefront get charged with a capital crime? And with Thurgood Marshall on their side, will justice prevail in the courtroom? Special thanks to Matthew Delmont, professor of history at Dartmouth College and author of Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad; and Steve Sheinkin, author of The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Real Red Dead Redemption

The Real Red Dead Redemption

October 5th, 1871. In what some call the wildest town in the Wild West, bad blood has been building for a long time. Wild Bill Hickok, the sheriff of Abilene, Kansas, is facing down Phil Coe, a saloon owner with a history of antagonizing the law. Then, the guns come out. This kind of shootout isn’t uncommon in the Old West, but it’s a lot more complicated than good guys versus bad guys. And to understand it on a deeper level, you just have to play a video game. Red Dead Redemption is a wildly popular gaming franchise, filled with train robberies, cattle rustling, and gunfights. And today, we take a close look at the real history behind the second game in this legendary series. Who are the inspirations behind its main characters? And how can understanding this video game help us to learn the true story of the Wild West? Special thanks to our interview guest, Tore Olsson, author of Red Dead’s History: A Video Game, An Obsession, and America’s Violent Past. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cleveland Balloonfest '86

Cleveland Balloonfest '86

September 27th, 1986. Just before sunrise in Cleveland’s Public Square, the city center is abuzz with thousands of volunteers working tirelessly to fill up balloons. The goal? To launch 1.5 million balloons into the sky at once - a record-breaking spectacle, organized by Cleveland's United Way. They hope this will bring money and inspiration to a city that desperately needs both. Why did Cleveland choose this colorful stunt to repair its public image? And should this day be remembered as a triumph… or a disaster? Special thanks to Dr. George Fraser, former marketing director for the United Way of Cleveland and CEO and founder of FraserNet Incorporated; Chris Quinn, editor of The Plain-Dealer in Cleveland; and Nathan Truesdell, documentary filmmaker. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SEASON PREMIERE: Nixon Does Whatever It Takes to Win in ’68

SEASON PREMIERE: Nixon Does Whatever It Takes to Win in ’68

September 16, 1968. Richard Nixon isn't exactly seen as a comedian. But tonight, he's trying to change that by appearing on Laugh-In, a TV show similar to Saturday Night Live. Nixon needs every vote he can get in the 1968 election, facing off against Hubert Humphrey, the vice president who became the Democratic nominee after Lyndon Johnson withdrew from the ticket. Nixon's Laugh-In appearance is a surprise, but soon, he'll pull off a move that no one would ever expect. How did back-channel dealings, unattended teleprompters, and Oval Office shouting matches turn this election into an all-time drama? And what do recently uncovered conversations reveal about how far Nixon was willing to go to secure victory? Special thanks to David Farber, professor of history at the University of Kansas and author of Chicago ‘68; Lawrence O’Donnell, host of The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC and author of Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics; and Luke Nichter, professor of history at Chapman University and author of The Year That Broke Politics: Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HISTORY This Week Is Back for Season 5!

HISTORY This Week Is Back for Season 5!

HISTORY This week is back! To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

9/11: Rescue on the Water (Replay)

9/11: Rescue on the Water (Replay)

HISTORY This Week returns with new episodes starting September 16th! In the meantime, listen to a favorite classic from the archives. September 11, 2001. On a clear and sunny day, Captain Richard Thornton is piloting his ferry boat back and forth between New Jersey and New York City. But when he hears an airplane flying too low to the ground, he knows something is wrong. After the World Trade Center’s North Tower is struck, Thornton instinctively drives his ship down towards Lower Manhattan. He will soon be joined by countless other marine craft: ferries, fishing boats, tugboats, and more. With the roads, bridges, and trains that connect the island of Manhattan to the rest of the world shut down, this collection of civilian, commercial, and military boats manages to carry more than 500,000 survivors to safety. How did this impromptu evacuation, which was larger than Dunkirk during WWII, come together? And how does one ferry boat captain reflect on the shared sense of duty he felt on that fateful day? This episode originally aired on September 6, 2021. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Love, Betrayal, and the Battle for Rome (Replay)

Love, Betrayal, and the Battle for Rome (Replay)

HISTORY This Week returns with new episodes starting September 16th! In the meantime, listen to a favorite classic from the archives. September 2, 31 BCE. Two camps prepare for battle off the coast of Greece. On one side is Octavian, Julius Caesar’s heir apparent. On the other, Marc Antony and his lover, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. This battle won’t just determine the leader of Rome, but the fate of global civilization. How did Cleopatra wind up in the middle of a Roman game of tug of war? And how did the Battle of Actium change our world forever? Special thanks to our guest, Barry Strauss, author of The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium. This episode originally aired on August 29, 2022. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Deadly Puzzle of Yellow Fever (Replay)

The Deadly Puzzle of Yellow Fever (Replay)

HISTORY This Week returns with new episodes starting September 16th! In the meantime, listen to a favorite classic from the archives. August 27, 1900. Dr. Jesse Lazear, a U.S. Army surgeon, walks into Las Animas Hospital Yellow Fever ward in Havana, Cuba, toting a brood of mosquitos. He has the system down: remove the cotton stopper that keeps the mosquito penned in its glass vial, turn the vial over, and seal it against a consenting infected patient’s skin. Chasing the source of Yellow Fever, scientists try to understand this deadly plague by running a high-stakes medical experiment on human subjects. But today, those subjects will include themselves. Why did ordinary people—and the doctors running the experiment—willingly and knowingly consent to take part in this study? And when we look back, should we be horrified... or impressed? Special thanks to our guests: Dr. Kathryn Olivarius of Stanford University and author of, Necropolis: Disease, Power, and Capitalism in the Cotton Kingdom, as well as Molly Crosby author of, The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever the Epidemic That Shaped Our History. This episode originally aired on August 22, 2022. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Man Who Stole the Mona Lisa (Replay)

The Man Who Stole the Mona Lisa (Replay)

HISTORY This Week returns with new episodes starting September 16th! In the meantime, listen to a favorite classic from the archives. August 21, 1911. On a Monday morning, a department store employee on a Paris street sees a man hurrying by. He carries a white-wrapped package and, as the employee watches, he throws something small and shiny over his shoulder...it’s a doorknob. Then the man disappears into the streets of Paris. That store employee has just witnessed a small part of what will soon become the world’s most famous crime. In that white-wrapped package was...the Mona Lisa. Why has the Mona Lisa enchanted so many people since the 1500s? And how did a struggling Italian handyman manage to steal it? Thank you to our guests, Martin Kemp, author of Mona Lisa. The People and the Painting, and Dr. Noah Charney, founder of the Association for Research into Crimes against Art. This episode originally aired on August 16, 2021. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HISTORY This Week is coming back!

HISTORY This Week is coming back!

After a long, long wait, we are very happy to be bringing HISTORY This Week back to our listeners around the world. New episodes start releasing on September 16th, but in the meantime, we’ll be airing some favorite HTW classics in our feed. If you haven’t already, make sure to follow the show on your favorite podcast app. Please sign up at historythisweekpodcast.com to stay updated, and if you want to reach out, contact us at historythisweek@history.com for any questions or thoughts. See you soon! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reflecting on History

Reflecting on History

August 14, 2023. The HTW team is ready to talk. In a special episode that wraps up Season 4, Sally asks the people behind the scenes about lessons they've learned from telling hundreds of true stories about the past. It’s a great conversation you’re not going to want to miss. And when you’re finished, please fill out our listener survey: bit.ly/htw2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

History’s Undelivered Speeches

History’s Undelivered Speeches

August 8, 1974. President Richard Nixon sits in the Oval Office, addressing the American people. He tells them: I’m going to resign. The news is shocking, but not unexpected. Today, it might even seem inevitable. But in the days leading up to the big decision, Nixon himself didn’t know what he would do. At night he roamed the halls of the White House, torturously weighing his options. He even ordered a speechwriter to draft a statement announcing his refusal to resign. Sally Helm sits down with political speechwriter Jeff Nussbaum to talk about this curious kind of a document: a speech that could’ve changed history if only it had been given. They discuss what Nixon, and two other speech givers, would have felt preparing multiple drafts, as they faced an uncertain future, and how the world would be different had these speeches been given. Special thanks to our guest: Jeff Nussbaum, author of Undelivered: The Never-Heard Speeches That Would Have Rewritten History. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices