HUB History - Our Favorite Stories from Boston History

On August 27,  1918 Boston became acquainted with the epidemic that has gone down in history as the “Spanish flu.”  A more accurate name for this disease outbreak might be the “Boston flu,” because our city is where this influenza variant mutated and ...

You probably know about Amelia Earhart’s famous career as a groundbreaking aviator, and you almost certainly know about her famous disappearance over the Pacific. But you may not know about Amelia Earhart’s first career as a social worker in one of ...

In this episode, we're joined by the curator of one of the oldest houses in North America.  He'll tell us about evidence that's been uncovered that generations of residents may have believed in an ancient form of countermagic.  The inhabitants of Ded ...

On August 8, 1920, an epic brawl broke out on Revere Beach when police attempted to arrest a group of four disorderly sailors. In the chaos that followed, 400 sailors attempted to storm the police station to free their comrades, even stealing rifles ...

On the evening of July 3, 1925, Boston’s Pickwick nightclub collapsed while couples packed the dance floor. Dozens were trapped in the rubble, while firefighters, police, and laborers worked desperately to free them. In the end, 44 people were kill ...

For many people, summertime in Boston means canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding, fishing, and even swimming in the rivers that run through and around our city. To celebrate the season this week we’re coming three classic episodes about industry, adv ...

In this week’s episode, we sit down with author Steven Ujifusa to discuss his new book “Barons of the Sea, and their race to build the world’s fastest clipper ship,” which will be out this Tuesday, July 17.  Steven will tell us about 19th century dru ...

In January 1941, the two masted fishing schooner Mary O’Hara collided with a barge in Boston Harbor. At least 18 sailors died in the ice cold waters of Boston Harbor, while they were almost in sight of their own homes. Only five members of the cre ...

This week, over a half a million people from near and far will flock to the banks of the Charles River to celebrate our nation’s Independence Day. Why did Boston decide to create new land dedicated to recreation along the river, and how did some of ...

In this week's episode, we use three classic episodes to turn the Trump administration's anti-immigrant rhetoric on its head. The President teaches us to be afraid of Central American and Middle Eastern immigrants and asylum seekers because of terro ...