American History Hit

The city of Tulsa is perhaps best known in history books for the events of 1921. In 36 hours, hundreds of residents of the Greenwood district were murdered and more than 30 blocks of housing and businesses were razed to the ground.

In this episode, Don is with Victor Luckerson to go beyond the story of that one day in Tulsa...

From 1857 to 1861, James Buchanan held the office of President of the United States. It was a pivotal moment in the history of America, a bitterly divided nation that would very soon descend to its darkest depths during the Civil War...

From financial to conspiratorial to sexual, the words 'Clinton' and 'scandal' are regularly found in each others' vicinities. But why?

Don is talking to Professor Peter Ling today to take us back to before Bill Clinton became president, before Monica Lewinsky became a household name, to find out about the scandals that have lurked in the Clintons' shadows.

Peter, from the University of Nottingham, is working on a study of presidential scandals from Watergate to Trump...

Where did the idea for Facebook come from? How has the site evolved? And how has it changed the world? In this episode, 20 years after the creation of the social media site, Don speaks to Steven Levy, WIRED’s editor at large.

Steven had access to Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg over three years for his book 'Facebook: The Inside Story'. His work chronicling the digital revolution can be found at WIRED.com.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan...

The war between the Union and the Confederacy is a major turning point in the history of the United States. But why did it happen?

From slavery and states' rights, to economic, legislative, moral, and political issues, in this episode, Don and Professor Adam Smith explore how these intertwined issues triggered this devastating war.

Adam is a professor at the University of Oxford and Director of their Rothermere American Institute...

We're creeping closer and closer to the Civil War in our chronology of presidents, and this episode's focus did little to delay the division of the United States.

The 14th President, Franklin Pierce, took office in March 1853. To hear about his attempts at both domestic and foreign policy, as well as the personal tragedies that impacted his ability to govern, Don spoke to Brian Neumann...

What were the Apache Wars? How did they begin? And how did the end of the Mexican-American War impact the indigenous people of that region?

In the 19th century, U.S. forces and Apache groups in areas that are now parts of New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas fought a series of conflicts over territory, power and resources...

How did the 100th bomber group get a reputation for being unlucky? Who were they? And what was their role in the Second World War?

In this episode, Don has the pleasure of speaking to John Orloff. John has written the TV adaptation of Donald L. Miller's 'Masters of the Air', following the men of the 'Bloody Hundredth' 25,000 feet in the air as they conduct bombing raids despite freezing temperatures, lack of oxygen and opposition fire...

Wiretapping, White House tapes and the possibility of impeachment. On June 17, 1972, a break-in at the Watergate Hotel triggered a chain of events ending with the resignation of President Nixon in 1974.

From the burglary to the surprising redactions from the Nixon tapes, Kathryn Brownell joins Don to explore the story. Kathryn is an Associate Professor at Purdue University and author of '24/7 Politics: Cable Television and the Fragmenting of America from Watergate to Fox News'...

How did a president lose his entire cabinet so soon after taking office? What was his role in the Westward expansion of the United States? And where did the name Millard come from?

From teaching himself to read to becoming President of the United States, today we are being introduced to the 13th President of the United States, Millard Fillmore...