Donald Trump and Grover Cleveland are the only two presidents to get elected to two nonconsecutive terms. Their personalities and lifestyles explain a lot; neither liked having their opinions questioned, neither cared what others thought of them, and both had beautiful, much younger wives. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Take a look back, and you’ll see how similar human reaction is over the centuries to so many things that happen to us today. Take the recent fires in LA and the great Chicago fire of 1871. How do people decide what to save, and what matters most, when faced with a catastrophic event?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fires in California are terrifying to watch. But fire has a deep history…and there are lessons to be learned.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Success doesn’t always come easy. We’re talking boobs, plastic, marketing directly to little kids…and getting indicted for corporate fraud. Who knew there was all that drama surrounding Barbie dolls and their creator, Ruth Handler?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this replay episode of The Backstory: Did you know that as recently as the Victorian era, somebody could have you committed to an insane asylum just because you disobeyed a husband, were too opinionated, were caught masturbating, and so much more? The treatment ranged from being chained to a wall, beaten...and more. And no one had to prove your insanity! This is the story of how one woman, post-lock-up, changed the status quo.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ll do anything to look fabulous these days—Ozempic, Botox, plastic surgery—but we have nothing on our ancestors. Sounds unpleasant, but they used face creams made from animal and human pee. They glued animal pelts on surprising body parts. And they literally poisoned themselves in their quest for perfect skin and hair. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Was Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" inspired by political outrage? That’s the story and it makes sense when you hear what he went through and what he was seeing in London back in 1843.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this replay episode of The Backstory: We all have our Christmas traditions, but how did Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and George Washington’s recipe for heavily spiked eggnog rule the season?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Espionage in the mid-1900s was very much like what you see in the early James Bond movies. Kim Philby, a British aristocrat and a notorious double agent lived a life a lot of us fantasize about. He was never arrested. But why…and what happened to him?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this re-release episode: War is a terrible thing under any circumstance. But imagine the Civil War. There were more deaths than the combined total in WW1 and WW2. Food, uniforms, medical supplies, working weapons, and more, all in short supply with con artists stealing as much as 25% of government war funds. But the passion and ideology so many soldiers brought to battle was astounding. This is the story of Johnny Clem who desperately wanted to fight for the Union. He joined the military at 9 years old and retired as a general 55 years later after marrying a Confederate’s daughter!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this re-release episode: Have we really only known about dinosaurs for less than 200 years? They roamed the earth for almost 200 million years and were wiped out in a matter of months. Where did they go and how did we find out about them?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve all had jobs that we’re less than proud of but took out of a lack of judgment or, most probably, a need to make a buck. But what happens when you make a bad choice and the whole world is watching? Stars like Brad Pitt, Jacob Elordi, Julia Roberts, and lots more weigh in. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever heard the term “drinking the Kool-Aid”? It all started with Jim Jones and his people’s temple cult in the 1970s. After outspoken support from people like Jane Fonda and First Lady Roselyn Carter, he led his followers to the jungles of Guyana in South America in 1978. In the end, over 900 people drank his cyanide-laced Kool-Aid. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lee miller, the subject of a fascinating new Kate Winslet film, lived a glamorous but troubled life. Abused as a child, she went on to become a star fashion model in the 1920s. Then, as a wartime photographer, found herself taking a bath in Adolf Hitler’s tub the day he committed suicide. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many of us see Thanksgiving, most importantly, as a day to express gratitude. What’s amazing is how many Native Americans also celebrate gratitude on that day—even though for them, it’s also a national day of mourning. But they still believe every day is a day to give thanks. This is a peek into another perspective.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thanksgiving is the best. Whether you celebrate with family, friends, or even on your own, what makes it the best is the focus on gratitude. But what about all those traditions? When we celebrate, how we celebrate, what we eat, and even the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! Where did all those traditions come from and how have they evolved?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It might shock you to know how recently human beings were kidnapped and used as exotic displays at world fairs, museums, zoos, and all sorts of shows for public entertainment. This is one man’s story about being trapped…in a human zoo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We revisit the life of the greatest artist in history as Ken Burns releases his new documentary “Leonardo da Vinci.” Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest artists in the history of the world. And he loved understanding how things worked, coming up with designs for helicopters, robots, a self-propelled car, and machine guns centuries before they got made. He was also one wacky guy! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Loretta Young was a superstar during Hollywood’s golden age. But after her death, in her memoir, she admitted that her daughter was fathered by Clark Gable. Her family later said she’d told them it was date rape.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Attacked by a grizzly bear in 1823 and left for dead by his companions, Hugh Glass crawled for 200 miles through the wilds of South Dakota. The true story behind Leo DiCaprio’s 2015 flick The Revenant is one of the wildest survival stories ever told.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You think the pirates of the Caribbean ruled the seas? They had nothing on the pirate queen who commanded the largest and most powerful pirate fleet in history. 250 years ago, she controlled more than 70,000 pirates…and never had to answer for her crimes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We think the political scene these days is intense...let’s go back to the 19th century and see how political passion led to legal murder!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Orleans was terrorized in 1918 and 1919 by the Axeman. He targeted the families of Italian grocers, broke into their homes in the dead of night, and went after them with an axe...or whatever else he could find. Who was he and why did he do this? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At age 16, Betty Robinson ran in the 1928 Olympics, the first games that allowed women to compete in track and field. She won gold and tied a world record. Three years later, she was in a horrific plane crash. Thought to be dead, she was taken to an undertaker. But her incredible determination and unbelievable recovery led her to another Olympic gold medal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Exorcist was a best-selling book and an iconic movie over 50 years ago. But the true story that inspired it is even more chilling…and still unexplained. And the story of the child who at the center of the exorcism is even more amazing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this re-release episode: The Netflix hit film Society of the Snow is the true story of South American athletes trapped in the snowy mountains after a plane crash…with some surviving by eating their dead teammates. Now we look at the Donner party of pioneers in 1846, trapped in 22 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains…and the even more gruesome way some of them survived. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’d think having the richest father in America would make you fabulously happy. But for Consuelo Vanderbilt, it meant a cruel childhood and a forced marriage to a jerk with a title.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve seen it too many times: A young star begins the climb to the top, only to be murdered by an obsessed lover or fan. Dorothy Stratten burst onto the Hollywood scene when she was just 19 years old…and she was dead by 20. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this replay episode: Frank Lloyd Wright, the most famous architect in American history, brought nature and tranquility to design. So how did his chaotic personal life lead to a mass murder at his home? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Body art...tattoos...are pretty ubiquitous these days. But where did it all start…and why? The first documented evidence of tattooing goes back over 5,000 years. But why did they do it? It’s not what you think. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever been in a spot where you'd do almost anything to make money? Imagine somebody putting out a want ad to hire an old seedy looking guy to live in the garden at their home. It's true! The ornamental hermit was all the rage among rich folks in the 18th century. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Presidential corruption…and Spiderman? It all boils down to the maxim “With great power comes great responsibility.” But not all of our leaders have taken that to heart.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this replay episode: What would we do to live better, longer, or maybe even forever? Lots of quests for immortality involved mystical potions or objects. And one very popular fad in the 1920s involved transplanted monkey testicles!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this replay episode: Sex scandals are as constant in Hollywood as gorgeous people, glittering clothes, and scads of money. But while the paparazzi these days use every trick to give us an inside look at the private lives of the stars, they have nothing on the stars of Hollywood’s golden age. Sex, shocking divorces, and even murder—there’s nothing new under the Hollywood sun.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this replay episode: On a beautiful summer morning in 1908, a massive explosion hit Siberia. It downed 80 million trees and lit the night sky 3,000 miles away in Sweden. But to this day, no one knows what caused it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this replay episode: In the race to become the reigning superpower, nations have resorted to all sorts of bizarre tactics. Some of them were pretty humorous. And that reached new heights during the Cold War.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this replay episode of The Backstory: Born into complete poverty and now, by some accounts, the richest man in the world, Vladimir Putin has also become an enemy of most of the world. Here's where he came from, how he got a stranglehold on power, and what he’s doing with it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s never been easy to be a teacher, and yet their value is immeasurable. But imagine a time when teachers couldn’t date, dye their hair, go to a barber shop, or even enjoy a trip to an ice cream shop.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know there was a period of time when the U.S. government secretly used the public to test biological weapons? Some sites included rural Georgia, San Francisco Bay, and the New York City subway system. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There have been plenty of killers who admitted they were inspired by violent movies, TV shows, and video games. This is the story of a couple of teenagers from the Midwest who robbed and murdered folks just to recreate their favorite movie: Natural Born Killers. And there's a powerful celebrity connection in this saga.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all know major public figures who drive us crazy because they loudly share opinions we don’t agree with. But that’s democracy, right? So, the iconic Greek philosopher Socrates was exactly that kind of big mouth 2,400 years ago in Athens, where democracy was just being originated. Problem is, he angered the wrong big shots and wound up being executed in a really unusual way.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Partying is supposed to be all about providing entertainment for family, friends, or people you want to impress. But frequently, it’s about entertaining yourself. Some of history's wildest parties involved setting guests on fire, making them eat until they vomited, or making them have sex with strangers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maybe you’ve seen Sicario, Scarface, Narcos, or Blow, but they have nothing on the bloody and intense real-life story of Pablo Escobar, the king of cocaine. Starting out as a kid in the slums of Medellin, Columbia, he went on to run the Medellin drug cartel in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. In his short life, Escobar’s cartel made him the 7th richest man in the world, with a net worth of $30 billion. And then…it all collapsed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does someone with such a brilliant mind and fierce work ethic turn out to be a world-class jerk as a dad? Steve Jobs knew how to create the world’s most valuable company. But when it came to his daughter, he admitted at the end of his life he’d failed her. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all know about the midnight ride of Paul Revere at the onset of the Revolution. But what about Sybil Ludington, the female Raul Revere? She was just 16 years old when she made her little-known 40-mile ride to warn about approaching British troops in Connecticut.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A father hates his son for being everything he’s not: gentle and wildly talented. That hatred culminates in murder. The tragic family story of Marvin Gaye, where a life of pain goes unaddressed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

War is a terrible thing under any circumstance. But imagine the Civil War. There were more deaths than the combined total in WW1 and WW2. Food, uniforms, medical supplies, working weapons, and more, all in short supply with con artists stealing as much as 25% of government war funds. But the passion and ideology so many soldiers brought to battle was astounding. This is the story of Johnny Clem who desperately wanted to fight for the Union. He joined the military at 9 years old and retired as a general 55 years later after marrying a Confederate’s daughter!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We had an attempted assassination on the campaign trail this summer. But in addition to the four U.S. presidents who were assassinated, there have been attempts on the lives of presidents or candidates nine other times...one of them was successful. What motivates the would-be killers? And how do we turn down the heat?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Re-release: The Netflix hit film Society of the Snow is the true story of South American athletes trapped in the snowy mountains after a plane crash…with some surviving by eating their dead teammates. Now we look at the Donner party of pioneers in 1846, trapped in 22 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains…and the even more gruesome way some of them survived. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all dream, but what stops us from making those dreams a reality? This is about a middle-class kid from Ohio who never stopped believing in the future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

George Washington never lived in the White House or Washington, DC. The White House wasn’t white when it was built, and it wasn’t called the White House for its first 100 years. The famous portrait of George Washington that hangs in the East Room isn’t the original. Those stories...and the famous DC influencer who saved the day when the White House burned.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you intrigued by the thought of aliens visiting Earth and leaving behind signs like cave drawings and pyramids and geoglyphs? Did you know that many of these ancient sites are part of what’s called the Great Circle, appearing along an exact circle within a tenth of a degree of each other?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

She was the sexiest, most beautiful actress in Hollywood during her short career. But Marilyn Monroe had a heartbreaking childhood with a mentally ill mother. Her upbringing destroyed her self-confidence. And that allowed Hollywood and dozens of men to use and abuse her.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scandal, fraud, embezzlement, wild parties, and illicit affairs—sounds very presidential, right? Not only was that the name of the game in the roaring 20s, a lot of it was essentially covered up by the press during Warren Harding’s short presidency. It was pure historical drama. With his sudden death, conspiracy theorists pointed at the ultimate insider.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So we’re all sweltering from the heat…air so thick and hot you can feel it go down your throat as you breathe. But heat waves are nothing new. They killed thousands in 1898 and thousands more in the early 1900s. But the one that hit London 166 years ago, changed the city forever. It was “the great stink of 1858.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They say knowledge is power. But is it more important than ethics…or law? Over the centuries, researchers' quest to understand what’s under our skin, the human anatomy, has motivated scientists—as well as money-hungry grave robbers—to become body snatchers. But more than that, it sometimes inspired murder.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Polar explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew spent almost 2 years trapped in sub-zero desolation after their ship, The Endurance, was ice-bound and finally sank, stranding them on an ice floe. This is their story of survival and endurance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you meet a guy dripping with testosterone who loves hunting, war, alcohol, and women, you don’t expect that he’s going to be obsessed with kittens and cats…and have dozens of them all over his home and office. That’s the paradox of Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author, Ernest Hemingway.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You think politics bust up our families? It’s hard to believe that, like us, politics could fracture a Founding Father’s family. Ben Franklin was incredibly close to his son William, then NJ’s royal governor, until he declared his allegiance to the king.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He was an Academy Award-winning mega movie star. He had scores of affairs with women and men, 11 children by a variety of women, and a family story dominated by illness, mental illness, addiction…and murder. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Belle Cora went from minister’s daughter, to prostitute, to San Francisco’s richest madam, to wife of a man hung for the murder of someone who insulted her—all that before her death at 34.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An angry mob vandalizes a new home and then burns it to the ground. A young family barely escapes. Now 85 years later, after a lifetime of public service, the oldest daughter, now 97, moves back to that same piece of land, where another new home has been built as a gift from the community. It’s the full-circle life story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth, America’s second Independence Day. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all have to regularly be somewhere on time. But what did people do before cell phone alarms or even alarm clocks? Animals, body cues, and knocker-uppers were just a few of the methods.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that as recently as the Victorian era, somebody could have you committed to an insane asylum just because you disobeyed a husband, were too opinionated, were caught masturbating, and so much more? The treatment ranged from being chained to a wall, beaten...and more. And no one had to prove your insanity! This is the story of how one woman, post-lock-up, changed the status quo.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hamilton the musical tells us the story of Alexander Hamilton, a brilliant guy who had a fiery temperament and a cheating heart. Imagine being his wife and raising eight fatherless kids, resurrecting her dead husband’s reputation, and being a tireless champion of widows and orphans. Plus, before her death at 97, Eliza Hamilton also became the toast of NYC and Washington. What a life!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Politics is a nasty business. But it always has been. And it may have played a role in the death of a literary genius. You know the Edgar Allan Poe story called The Tell-Tale Heart, about the heart of a murder victim that never stops beating? Maybe Poe is still trying to tell us something 175 years after his mysterious death.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all love to laugh, no matter when, where, or how we’ve lived. Amazingly, there are a handful of topics that have given us the giggles for at least 5,000 years. And a lot of them involve 6th-grade humor.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James Brown, the godfather of soul, had some anger issues. In fact, he went to prison after threatening agents at an insurance seminar with a gun because he thought they used his private bathroom. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Think politics today are the most angry and violent they’ve ever been? What about the days when senators and congressmen came to work armed with guns and knives? Or the murder of one congressman by another just because they had an ideological disagreement? That’s when politics were bloody.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We think the world just keeps evolving. But what happens when a civilization like Rome collapses and all that technology disappears? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine meeting your children…and they're way older than you! But you've been obsessed since your earliest memory with the idea that you were the mother of eight kids. But you died, leaving them orphaned. And your guilt was palpable, even as a three-year-old! You may not believe in reincarnation, but it’s hard to ignore Jenny Cockell’s story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We use words and phrases every day, and usually never question why we say what we say. Why do we say “she’s on a wild goose chase” or “we laughed our heads off”? The surprising origin of ordinary phrases. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’d think being a princess (and ultimately the queen) of the Hawaiian islands would be an uncomplicated dream life. But the last queen of the kingdom of Hawaii dealt with an unfaithful husband, racism, death threats, and being placed under house arrest for over a year as her kingdom was overthrown by a coup and annexed to America. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Swearing, cursing, cussing, giving somebody the finger…they’re kind of ubiquitous these days, but they’ve been around for thousands of years. And now researchers say that yelling out your favorite four-letter word can even lower your blood pressure. But where in the &^%* did it all start and how has it evolved?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Born into complete poverty and now, by some accounts, the richest man in the world, Vladimir Putin has also become an enemy of most of the world. Here's where he came from, how he got a stranglehold on power, and what he’s doing with it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Being successful at what you do in business doesn’t seem to guarantee you’ll be a successful spouse or parent. Thomas Edison is a clear example of a genius businessman who was a bit of a failure as a father. Most of his children shared stories of their difficult relationship with the Wizard of Menlo Park.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thousands of young people, dreaming of stardom, head to Hollywood. A few make it, but so many more are victimized by predators who specifically prey on the most vulnerable types. This is the story of the Digital Entertainment Network, aka DEN, among the first companies with plans to stream digital content to young adults. That blew up because of its owner's lust for young boys.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seemingly strait-laced Washington, D.C. in the 19th century was actually filled with illicit affairs. One of them involved some powerful players (and a very young wife). It also involved the son of Francis Scott Key, who wrote the Star Spangled Banner and it led to a murder that was the talk of pre-Civil War Washington…and beyond.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The lord of bhang, Reefer Madness…weed has a checkered past. But for thousands of years it was used and celebrated by most cultures. It wasn’t until one pivotal moment in the early 20th century that it became demonized. Now its benefits have been rediscovered and its reputation somewhat salvaged.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are some mysteries that we never quite figure out. One of them is about the 1971 hijacking of a jetliner by a guy called D. B. Cooper. He got $200,000 from the FBI and parachuted out of an airliner into the stormy wilderness of Washington state. They’ve never found him or even figured out who he was. But one man has stepped forward with a likely answer, thanks to his mom.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From a 2-inch wide blurry, black-and-white image, to a giant piece of clear glass that transforms wirelessly into an exquisite screen, television has almost magically evolved. In 100 years, for better or for worse, screens have become one of the most important, controlling devices in our lives. How did it start? And where is it taking us?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby 90 years ago led to the execution of a man a few years later. But researchers say there are plenty of reasons to suspect that there was a rush to judgment. And then there’s Charles Lindbergh’s fascination with Aryan superiority, which led him to have seven children with three German women, in addition to the six he had with his wife.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did ferocious, man-eating wolves evolve into Labrador Retrievers, St. Bernards, and even teacup poodles—not to mention become our best friends? It's an amazing story of genetics and mutual need. But it's also a story of love. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do so many of us have the need to be trendy, to do or say things we think make us look as cool as the people we’re copying? Trends through the ages have included everything from style statements to full-on body modification. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s hard to imagine that one of the most powerful presidents in U.S. history was the victim of domestic violence. Abe Lincoln was physically and emotionally battered by Mary Todd Lincoln, primarily due to her mental illness.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talent, glamour, fame, sex, and possibly murder. What really happened to Natalie Wood more than 40 years ago? One guy who was there has been talking about her death. But nobody’s listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He’s been called the devil, the monster. But H.H. Holmes was America’s first known serial killer. Even he said killing was his destiny. His victims were men, women, and even little children, many coming to Chicago and his hotel for the great 1893 World’s Fair. The tabloid press described his murders and then embellished the story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anybody who took to the sky in the early days of aviation had nerves of steel. Amelia Earhart was pure cast iron, and her disappearance over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 made her legendary. But despite all the wild theories about what happened to her, we may soon discover the truth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Want to be fabulously successful? Just make sure everybody notices you. Wanna be a fabulously successful spy? Just make sure nobody notices you.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sex scandals are as constant in Hollywood as gorgeous people, glittering clothes, and scads of money. But while the paparazzi these days use every trick to give us an inside look at the private lives of the stars, they have nothing on the stars of Hollywood’s golden age. Sex, shocking divorces, and even murder—there’s nothing new under the Hollywood sun.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite the fact there have been well over 125 female presidents and prime ministers around the world, the U.S. has never had a woman who ran the country. Or did we?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Food plays so many roles in our lives. Obviously, it keeps us alive, but it also satisfies desires and brings us closer to the people we share it with. But over thousands of years, we’ve eaten some pretty weird stuff. From flaming, feathered peacocks to all sorts of bugs and “unexpected” animal secretions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Netflix hit film Society of the Snow is the true story of South American athletes trapped in the snowy mountains after a plane crash…with some surviving by eating their dead teammates. Now we look at the Donner party of pioneers in 1846, trapped in 22 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains…and the even more gruesome way some of them survived. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the remarkable story of Robert Smalls. In 1862, he was a young slave who managed to commandeer a rebel warship in Charleston, South Carolina’s heavily fortified harbor, turn it over to the North and go on to have a spectacular business and political career.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nazis not only had a deluded belief in their own racial superiority, some of their top leaders believed they were superhumans descended from the inhabitants of the lost city of Atlantis. (They had a whole branch of the military dedicated to proving that.)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Human attachment is thousands of years old but Valentine’s Day started off as a blood soaked pagan fertility festival, and it wasn’t much fun for women. On the flip side, the romance element is a recent invention. You can thank the Victorians for that. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sports, whether they're big-time or small-time, make an awful lot of people happy. They can also push folks to pull some crazy stunts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re all a contradiction at times, but nothing like Civil War general Oliver Howard. He was a medal of honor winner, he worked to get freed black men the right to vote, and was the founder of historically black Howard University. But after the war he chased down and killed or captured hundreds of Native Americans in the Nez Perce War with the U.S.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What would we do to live better, longer, or maybe even forever? Lots of quests for immortality involved mystical potions or objects. And one very popular fad in the 1920s involved transplanted monkey testicles!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the race to become the reigning superpower, nations have resorted to all sorts of bizarre tactics. Some of them were pretty humorous. And that reached new heights during the Cold War.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stop and think about the impact of radio on our world. For thousands of years, storytelling, music, news, and entertainment were all in person. Suddenly, this gadget arrives and opens up the world to us. What did we hear, and how did it change us?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You love gangster TV shows and movies like The Sopranos, The Godfather, and Goodfellas? You love Las Vegas? Bugsy Siegel was the mobster/visionary who created Las Vegas with his spectacular Flamingo Hotel and Casino in 1947. But it cost him his life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It seems like iconic, larger-than-life folks should meet larger-than-life demises. But that's not always the case. There are huge names who died from all sorts of ridiculous and messy mistakes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hearing about a panel on an Alaska Airlines jet popping off mid-air gives us all a serious case of the creeps. But imagine you’re in a jet at almost 35,000 feet when a terrorist’s bomb blows it into pieces. You free fall to Earth…and survive. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On a beautiful summer morning in 1908, a massive explosion hit Siberia. It downed 80 million trees and lit the night sky 3,000 miles away in Sweden. But to this day, no one knows what caused it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Depression is nothing new, although we call it by a different name than they did centuries ago, and we have some new ways of treating it. But some of our greatest minds, like JFK, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Abe Lincoln have been strengthened by their battles with depression. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s the Wild West and the first democratic governor of Wyoming, as well as the state's first female doctor, have ties to vicious train robber Big Nose George Parrott. And you won’t believe the mementos they kept. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ll do anything to look fabulous these days, but we have nothing on our ancestors. They used face creams made from animal and human pee. They glued animal pelts on unusual body parts. And they literally poisoned themselves in their quest for perfect skin and hair. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all have our Christmas traditions, but how did Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and George Washington’s recipe for heavily spiked eggnog rule the season?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beauty intrigues everyone, but a desire for control, massive ego, and hatred drive some to steal beauty belonging to others. That was Hitler’s motivation as he rampaged through Europe attempting to steal art, architecture, and even a spectacular race car.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take our beds for granted. But how and where we slept, as well as who we were with and what we did while in bed, has changed dramatically over the centuries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Criminal forensics has seen some pretty amazing advances over the past decade. But less than a century ago, investigators were attempting to nab killers through "optography," a process that involved dissecting a murder victim's eyes to harvest an actual image of the last thing the victim saw.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have we really only known about dinosaurs for less than 200 years? They roamed the earth for almost 200 million years and were wiped out in a matter of months. Where did they go and how did we find out about them?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The sister of a president and two senators, Rosemary Kennedy was subjected to surgery that destroyed her brain and her life...simply because she didn’t fit the mold.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Being President doesn't mean you don't have some pretty weird personal quirks...everything from what they did in their free time, to some of the odd ways they took care of themselves. Wait until you hear the one about LBJ and "Jumbo"!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fake news has cost a lot of people their reputations...and even their lives. Was that the case for America's so-called first female serial killer?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Twain invented the modern bra strap? A ventriloquist who was a huge star in kids’ television and in Vegas invented the first artificial heart? A rock star’s invention saved model train giant Lionel? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's lots of tradition when it comes to Thanksgiving. But a lot of how and when we celebrate, what we eat, and what we look forward to about the long holiday weekend sort of evolved on the fly.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Napoleon Bonaparte, legendary general, legendary emperor, legendary lover…or was he? It seems his feelings about sex were all over the map. He was an insecure guy who’s love life with Josephine ran the gamut from red hot to ice cold.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here’s a surprise! It seems lots of our icons have something in common. We’re talking about Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, Mozart, Abe Lincoln, Thomas Edison, John F. Kennedy, John Lennon, Michael Jordan, Olympic stars Simone Biles and Michael Phelps, as well as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk. What’s their common thread? ADHD! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest artists in the history of the world. And he loved understanding how things worked, coming up with designs for helicopters, robots, a self-propelled car, and machine guns centuries before they got made. He was also one wacky guy! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sex has been a complicated topic throughout history...at times celebrated as a life force, and at other times vilified. Some of the items invented to discourage sex included the pricking ring and, believe it or not, Corn Flakes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s 1944 and a 22-year-old Japanese soldier is left to defend a South Pacific island during World War 2. But he’s never told the war ended, so he stays on the job for 30 years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The problem with psychopaths is they're incredibly charming...until they go in for the kill. This is the story of Edgar Smith, a killer who managed to convince publisher/TV star political commentator William F. Buckley Jr., that he was completely innocent. Buckley took up his cause until the unthinkable happened.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NYC streets in the 1860s were filthy, bumpy, and fiercely crowded. Then an ingenious guy built a working demo of a wind-driven underground railroad…the first subway. But corruption let the air out of his idea.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We love Halloween, but how did it all start? Turns out its origins go back thousands of years to ancient Ireland and a holiday that involved human sacrifice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you love the blood and gore of a great horror flick? What is that about?! Why we love abject fear and how the movies cashed in on it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jack the Ripper murdered and dismembered at least 5 women in London 135 years ago and was never found. Was it faulty profiling? There are experts with evidence who believe Jack the Ripper was actually a woman.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The witch trials in Salem Massachusetts ended over 300 years ago. In Europe, the last witch was executed in 1782. But in both cases, the last of those accused weren't exonerated until as recently as a year ago.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re all intrigued by political rivalries. But how far can rivals go? This is all about a medieval pope whose body was exhumed, dressed up, and put on trial by his opponents.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marie Antoinette, the last queen before the French revolution, has a pretty bad rap. Falsely accused of the infamous “let them eat cake” quote, she was given to the French king in a political deal, stripped naked in front of the king’s advisors at 14 before her wedding, and massively attacked by both pro-royalists and revolutionaries before facing the guillotine at 37.  Lots of riches, but not an easy life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thomas Edison was a lot of things – genius businessman, incredible marketing guy, someone with an insane work ethic and no need of sleep. But he an inventor? Not so much. He and his team borrowed the light bulb, perfected it and mass produced it. Then his business and marketing skills did the rest.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How often do you tell little lies in order to look good or protect somebody’s feelings? Researchers say we all do it at least twice a day. But compulsive liars are another story. They dig really deep holes. This is an unbelievable story about a hotshot producer/writer on Grey’s Anatomy who destroyed her career and her personal life lying about her cancer battle and her brother’s suicide.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charles Manson and his "family" of followers went on a gruesome killing spree in L.A. during the summer of 1969. He claimed that his inspiration for some of it was the music of the Beatles (Helter Skelter in particular). But Manson had a much deeper connection to Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys. It destroyed Dennis's reputation and his health, and changed his life forever. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did ferocious, man-eating wolves evolve into Labrador Retrievers, St. Bernards, and even teacup poodles—not to mention become our best friends? It's an amazing story of genetics and mutual need. But it's also a story of love.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During the prohibition era of the 1920s and early 1930s, speakeasies and gin joints were the place to be to get ahold of “evil booze.” How did the government try to control access? They purposely poisoned industrial alcohol that was being repurposed for cocktails.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all love The Wizard of Oz, right? So why was it a box office flop when it came out? And why was production so horrible for the cast and crew? It’s a story of what people put up with (and still put up with) to make it in Hollywood.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you intrigued by the thought of aliens visiting Earth and leaving behind signs like cave drawings and pyramids and geoglyphs? Did you know that many of these ancient sites are part of what’s called the Great Circle, appearing along an exact circle within a tenth of a degree of each other?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The “unofficial” first Me Too case of the 20th century exploded across the press with the murder of star architect Stanford White. His wild love affair with a 15-year-old showgirl ultimately led to her rich husband shooting White six years later in 1906, in front of a crowd of theatergoers. It was the trial of the century with a lot of “firsts” both in the press and in the courtroom.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Titanic disaster has fascinated us for over a century, including those on board the doomed Titan submersible who lost their lives just trying to get a close-up look. Equally entranced was a 23-year-old ship’s nurse—a Titanic survivor who amazingly also survived the wrecks of both of Titanic’s sister ships and continued to work on cruise liners for 40 years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He gets credit for it, but Ben Franklin was not the first guy to discover electricity. It goes back thousands of years. But how was it used? We tapped into those jolts for everything from feeling better to feeling REALLY good. It's a shocking story!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've been dealing with smoky skies in North America lately. But in 1816, the eruption of the largest volcano in modern history led to smoke and ash blocking the sun for over a year. The eruption, illness, and famine killed more than 100,000 people and there were fears that the earth was ending. But it did inspire some iconic paintings, poetry, and novels—like Frankenstein.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alice, the untamed daughter of Teddy Roosevelt, was constantly on the cover of every newspaper. Alice LOVED being the original influencer. And the public couldn't get enough of the scandalous, beautiful teenager in the White House.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did the light bulb change the way the entire world slept? The old-fashioned joy of waking up at 11pm to party...and get stuff done!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know the Eiffel Tower, the Washington Monument, and the Statue of Liberty were all hated by the public for decades before they became cherished destinations?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When someone is credited with a world-changing invention and we find out years later they stole the idea, does that change history?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Turns out that ancient Olympic athletes competed totally in the nude. And they had a fascinating way of making a living off their sweat.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Frank Lloyd Wright, the most famous architect in American history, brought nature and tranquility to design. So how did his chaotic personal life lead to a mass murder at his home? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If women in the 1800s wanted to take a swim, they were pulled into the surf in a cabana on wheels, wearing 30 pounds of wet wool. So how did we get to the bikini, much less the thong?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens to your life if you sit next to a president when he's assassinated?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Love a good, juicy story that goes beyond what we already know? We're talking scandalous presidential family members, a mass murder at a world-famous architect's home, stolen inventions, nude athletes at the first Olympics, compulsive liars, the arrival of the bikini, and so much more. History fanatic Patty Steele tells you the inside backstories you didn’t know you needed to know.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.