Theodore Roosevelt is arguably the most masculine president in American history. So how was he influenced by the women around him? And how was he impacted by the deaths of two of them on the same day? In this episode, Edward O'Keefe introduces us to Theodore Roosevelt's mother, two sisters, and two wives: Mittie, Bamie, Conie, Alice and Edith. Edward O'Keefe, Prime Time Emmy award and Peabody winner, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, is the author of 'The Loves of Theodore...

Who really was Alexander Hamilton, and what do we actually know about his life? A Founding Father, he fought in the Revolutionary War, founded the American financial system and was the first ever Secretary of the Treasury. But who really was Hamilton? How did his face come to be on our bank notes? Did he love his wife? And why would he go to duel even after his son had died in doing so? In this first episode of our 4 part series on American History Hit, Don Wildman is talking to William...

Emerging victorious from an electoral quagmire in 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes became the 19th President of the United States. Professor Mark Zachary Taylor joins Don to explore the first great depression and how Hayes navigated the US towards recovery from it. From strike and unrest to growth and stability, how did Hayes lay the groundwork for economic prosperity? Produced by Freddy Chick. Edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long. Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original...

An iconic signature on the Declaration of Independence - that is what John Hancock is best known for. But how did he come to be the first signatory? What was his role in the American Revolution? Brooke Barbier joins Don in this episode to take us through the life and works of John Hancock, and to explain how he got the nickname, 'King Hancock'. Brooke is the author of ‘Boston in the American Revolution’ and ‘King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father’. She also founded...

During the spring of 1921, eleven bodies were found in in rural Georgia. These men were victims of horrific murders, and also of a more widespread crime - peonage. Whilst enslavement had legally ended with the surrender at Appomattox and the 13th Amendment, black people across the south were still being entrapped into debt slavery half a century later, in the Twentieth Century. To find out more about this, and about what drove these men's murderer to his crimes, Don speaks to Earl Swift,...

How does a heroic general of the Civil War become one of the lowest rated Presidents (at least until recently)? To discuss Grant's commitment to reconstruction, civil rights, and the crushing of the Ku Klux Klan, Don is joined by Professor Anne Marshall. Anne is a historian of the Nineteenth century U.S. South and the Civil War in historical memory at Mississippi State University. Produced by Freddy Chick. Edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long. Enjoy unlimited access to...

Strategic brilliance? Relentless determination? Unbeatable leadership and cooperation with Lincoln? How did Ulysses S. Grant distinguish himself in the Civil War? Don speaks to Cecily Zander, a historian specializing in the Civil War era and the American West. Together, they discuss Grant's rise to General, his role in the war and why he has been known as 'the Butcher'. Produced by Freddy Chick and Charlotte Long. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long. Enjoy unlimited...

Al Capone is one of the most notorious gangsters in US history. His story of rags to riches, set against the backdrop of the prohibition era, is worthy of the many movies that it has inspired. Violent mobster, genius businessman or semi-professional baseball player, who was the real Al Capone? To find out, Don speaks to Claire White, Director of Education at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long. Enjoy unlimited access to...

It comprises more than half of the world's defence spending, but what is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation? How has the United States influenced it from its inception to today? And how, during its 75 years, has it impacted the United States in return? Don is joined by Peter Apps, journalist and Reuters global defence commentator. From the signing of the treaty by the first 12 members on 4th April 1949, through tensions, failures and the addition of member states, how might NATO be 'the...

A wealthy man in his early 30s. An army man. A German immigrant. A bootlegger. A lover. Who was Jay Gatsby? And if he was based on a real person, what do we know about them? To delve into one of the most famous fictional characters of the 20th century (from one of Don's favourite authors, F Scott Fitzgerald) Don speaks to Joe Nocera. Joe is the host of a new eight-part investigation that delves into the shrouded mystery behind the person who claims to have inspired The Great Gatsby. American...

Three quarters of a million people dead in the Civil War. A country separated in to two. How do you join it back together? Do you punish the secessionists? How do you grapple with the question of enslavement? And who do you choose to be at the controls? When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, his Vice President, Andrew Johnson, became President. Johnson was a Southerner who had sided with the Union during the war. To hear how his standpoint impacted on his policy in the aftermath of...

More than 200 accused, 20 executed and a village plagued with hysteria. Were the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and 1693 the work of superstition, a power struggle, fungus or actual witchcraft? What makes them stand out in the history of witch trials? In this episode, Don speaks to Jessica Parr from Northeastern University about the alleged crimes, persecution and lasting memory of the so-called Salem witches. Jessica is a historian of the Early Modern Atlantic and author of 'Inventing George...

Would the Cold War have happened if the nuclear bomb was never created? How did Gorbachev, Reagan and Thatcher reduce tensions between the East and West? And, according to one of the Russian authorities' most wanted journalists, how are echoes of the Cold War felt today? 'Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War' is a new, 9-part Netflix documentary which answers these questions and more. In this episode of American History Hit, Don speaks to the series' director and two contributors to get...

At least 23 of the Presidents of the United States can have their ancestry traced back to Ireland. So why did this diaspora come to America? What was their reception like? And how have they reached the top of the power structure so regularly? We are finding out in this episode with historian Kevin Kenny, Professor of History and Glucksman Professor in Irish Studies at New York University. Kevin is the author of 'Making sense of the Molly Maguires' and 'Diaspora: A Very Short Introduction'...

President and Commander-in-Chief at a major turning point in American History? Victim of a violent and public assassination? How do you remember Abraham Lincoln? Most likely it isn't for his role as a son, husband, friend and father. In this final episode of our Lincoln series, we're going to dig into Lincoln's personal life, upbringing, relationships and struggles with his mental health. Don speaks to Callie Hawkins, CEO and executive director of President Lincoln's Cottage. Callie is also...

A far-right hate group known the world over, the Ku Klux Klan emerged in the aftermath of the Civil War. So why did it emerge? Where did it get its name from? And how has its size, focus and influence changed in the years since? To demystify this terrorist organisation, Don spoke to Professor Kristofer Allerfeldt from the University of Exeter, England. Kristofer is the author of 'The Ku Klux Klan: An American History'. Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Anisha Deva. Senior Producer was...

Inaugurated into the thick of secession and assassinated just weeks after Confederate surrender, there is no separating the story of Abraham Lincoln from the Civil War. So in this second part of our series on Lincoln, Don speaks to Adam Smith about Lincoln's leadership of the Union army during the war. Adam is a professor at the University of Oxford and Director of their Rothermere American Institute. He is also the host of podcast 'The Last Best Hope?' and author of 'The Stormy Present:...

In July 1860, half a century after the importation of captive slaves was banned under federal law, a ship docked in Alabama carrying around 110 enslaved people. To find out who was still engaging in the Atlantic slave trade, how these people were forced onto the Clotilda and what happened to them after landing in the United States, Don speaks to Hannah Durkin. Hannah is the author of 'Survivors: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the Atlantic Slave Trade'. Produced and edited by Sophie...

When it comes to US Presidents, it’s not easy to agree on much these days. But one thing that has remained consistent is the man widely considered to be the best president in history: Abraham Lincoln. In this first episode of our three part series, we're finding out about Lincoln's rise to power and key policies as the President of the United States. Don speaks to Matthew Pinsker, Professor of History at Dickinson College and author of 'Lincoln's Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln' and 'The Soldiers’...

The Cold War, Prohibition, the Gold Rush, the Space Race. Every part of your life - the words you speak, the ideas you share - can be traced to our history, but how well do you really know the stories that made America? We'll take you to the events, the times and the people that shaped our nation. And we'll show you how our history affected them, their families and affects you today. Hosted by Lindsay Graham (not the Senator). From Wondery, the network behind American Scandal, Tides...

On February 18th, 1965, the University of Cambridge hosted one of the most legendary debates in history. Author James Baldwin and conservative intellectual William F. Buckley Jr took to the floor to discuss whether the American Dream was achievable only at the expense of black Americans. To find out more about this debate, often overshadowed by other significant civil rights events of the same era, Don speaks to Nicholas Buccola. Nick is a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College...

On 23 June 1972, a man boarded American Airlines Flight 119 in St Louis. He sat most of the way to Tulsa before donning a wig and a pair of gloves in the restroom, taking out a gun and handing a member of the cabin crew a note. 'Don't panic. This is a ransom hijacking.' To find out more about this man, what he hoped to gain from his crimes, and how he and others were inspired by D.B. Cooper, Don speaks to John Wigger. John is Professor of History at the University of Missouri and author of...

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. Why was the Greenwood district known as Black Wall Street? Why was it targeted that day? How did its residents raise themselves up and carry on to become commercially...

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. So what exactly was Buchanan's role in steering his country towards this fate? Could he have done more? Why is Kansas so intrinsic to this story? And what else was unusual about his presidency? Don speaks to Dr Ian Iverson, Historian and Editor at the John...