Season 4 launches on Monday, Oct. 5. How We Got Here, presented by NBC12 in Richmond, Virginia, is a podcast highlighting Virginia’s rich history, one week at a time.

In this bonus episode of How We Got Here, we sit down with Francis Gary Powers Jr., the son of the CIA spy who was shot down over the USSR on May 1, 1960. After Episode 4 of Season 3 was released, Powers Jr. contacted us to tell us he lives in Central Virginia and would be willing to discuss his father's incredible story of espionage and imprisonment by the KGB. Powers Jr. has written a book about his dad and travels the country to set the record straight about his dad’s famous crash in the...

In this bonus episode of How We Got Here, we go behind the sounds with Digital Director Kate Albright and Executive Producer Colten Weekley to dive deep into how we made this season. You’ll hear about some of our favorite guests and which segments really stuck with us. Plus, we have exciting news about the future of the podcast!

In this episode of How We Got Here – The birth of Richmond’s Monument Avenue. The day the Robert E. Lee monument is unveiled in a field west of the city to a crowd of thousands of Confederate veterans. How it’s meaning has evolved over the last 130 years. The day the world stopped in Virginia Beach - how the heroes among us emerged at yet another tragedy. And the birth of a man who fanned the flames of the American Revolution. “Give me liberty, or give me death.”

In this episode of How We Got Here – A tainted treaty for peace in the Virginia Colony. Colonists seeking revenge poison Powhatan Native Americans with a deadly drink. Plus, the hostess with the mostest – how Dolley Madison, the first “First Lady,” helped her husband navigate the precipitous political scene of a young United States. And, the angel of the battlefield. How a woman whose passion for helping soldiers during the Civil War led to her launching the American Red Cross.

In this episode of How We Got Here – A Virginian caught in the middle of U.S. and Soviet spy games after being taken prisoner by the KGB. How Confederate soldiers from Chesterfield protected Richmond from an attack along the James River in the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff.   The story of a Richmond-born slave who possibly spied inside the Confederate White House. And, the imprisonment and eventual release of Confederate President Jefferson Davis - why he was never tried for treason.

In this episode of How We Got Here - Secretariat’s birth in Virginia. How the legend became the greatest racehorse of all time. Plus, severely injured by friendly fire near Chancellorsville during the Civil War, we uncover the secret illness that killed Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. And the traditional anthem “Hail to the Chief” that is played for U.S. Presidents actually started thanks to the wife of a Virginia-born President. How Julia Gardiner became a Tyler after a tragedy on...

In this episode of How We Got Here – Dozens killed when a packed courtroom floor gives way at the Virginia State Capitol, known as the Capitol Calamity. Plus the epic Battle of Chancellorsville leads to Confederate General Stonewall Jackson being shot by his own men. A standoff tainted with treason ends the appointment of Sir John Harvey as Royal Governor of Virginia. And a day in history the U.S. Supreme Court would like to forget – how Virginia helped set the precedent of forced...

In this episode of How We Got Here - the largest manhunt in American history; the escape and eventual death of John Wilkes Booth. Inside the macabre mind of Richmond native Edgar Allen Poe. Plus a look back at the storied career of jazz legend and Virginian, Ella Fitzgerald. And when Robert E. Lee turned down an offer to command the Union army.

Season 3 launches on Monday, April 20. In this bonus trailer, we take you through some of its most memorable moments. How We Got Here, presented by NBC12 in Richmond, Virginia, is a podcast highlighting Virginia’s rich history, one week at a time.

Season 3 launches on Monday, April 20. How We Got Here, presented by NBC12 in Richmond, Virginia, is a podcast highlighting Virginia’s rich history, one week at a time.

In this bonus episode of How We Got Here, we go behind the sounds with Executive Producer Colten Weekley to dive deep into how we made this season. You’ll hear about some of our favorite guests and which segments really stuck with us. Plus, we have exciting news about the future of the podcast!

In this week’s episode of How We Got Here, the true story of albino brothers from Virginia who were abducted and exploited by the circus for decades before their mother finally found them. Plus, a fiery Christmas disaster at the Richmond Theater that claimed the life of Virginia’s Governor. We’ll tell you about the eighth and final U.S. President that was born in the commonwealth, and the emotional “first” goodbye from George Washington to Congress, as he was trying to get home to Martha for...

In this episode of How We Got Here, how a Virginia newspaper got the Wright Brother’s first flight oh so wrong. Plus—a brewing tea party demands independence, but not in Boston. We examine the day slavery was abolished in America, and the country finally learns of George Washington’s death from a famous Richmonder. And, an all-around-the-world show of America’s military might that steamed away from the shores of Virginia.

In this episode of How We Got Here, George Washington’s final moments after a torturous night of medical care. And it ended before it began - we take you inside what may have been the fastest battle of the American Revolution. Also the legacy of a black woman from Richmond who changed the face of business in America. And the slaughter pen known as The Battle of Fredericksburg, where hundreds took their final breath beneath the Northern Lights.

In this episode of How We Got Here, the newly uncovered tale of a 16-year-old heroine from Hopewell, who exposed a British plot to crush the American rebellion. The Commonwealth’s defiance over a landmark court decision to integrate public schools. Why the Kennedy Administration apologized for getting the first celebration of a national holiday wrong. And we go old-school with the Monroe Doctrine. Finally, the heroes of Pearl Harbor recount the horrific day that catapulted the U.S. into the...

In this episode of How We Got Here, we relive the fiery death of the oldest electric streetcar system in America. We introduce you to a slave-turned-spy-turned-folk hero who fought for his own freedom after American independence. And we’ve got the low down on how Thanksgiving began (in Virginia…sorry Massachusetts). Plus, we’ll explore how it became illegal in Virginia to duel to the death. Plus, an army of rebels topples the mightiest power in the world at Yorktown.

In this episode of How We Got Here, how the Gettysburg Address was barely a footnote in newspapers. Also, President John F. Kennedy and his family built a home in Virginia - only to enjoy it for three weekends. And we delve into a 400-year-old Thanksgiving tradition that started in the commonwealth and continues to this day. The famed Richmond woman who helped usher in a new era of Southern literature - with a little ghost story. And why the Confederacy chose Richmond as its Capitol.

Season 2 launches on Monday, Nov. 18. How We Got Here, presented by NBC12 in Richmond, Virginia, is a podcast highlighting Virginia’s rich history, one week at a time.

In this bonus episode of How We Got Here, we go behind the scenes with Digital Director Kate Albright and Executive Producer Colten Weekley to tell you how we got to this idea, and what it takes to put each episode together. You’ll hear about some of our favorite guests and which segments really surprised us. Stick around for the end of the episode for exciting news about the future of How We Got Here.

In this episode of How We Got Here: Richmond’s role in the domestic slave trade, brought to light by the uncovering of a slave burial ground. Three men killed in a tank in World War II are finally honored 75 years later. How the river city remembered the longest serving Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Marshall. And we’re serving up a segment on the incredible life and legacy of tennis great and Richmond-native, Arthur Ashe.

In this episode of How We Got Here: Happy Birthday America! It’s also the anniversary for the deaths of several presidents. We show you how Virginia got its name and bring you the mythology behind the woman bearing her breast on the state seal. We hear from the “proud spirited ladies” left behind during the Civil War – plus the conclusion of the seven days’ battles.

In this episode of How We Got Here: The derecho that devastated Central Virginia, and Aaron Burr’s ties to Richmond that saved his life. A tap dancing legend breaks racial barriers, and how the Seven Days’ Battles changed the landscape of the Civil War. Plus, Elvis’ escapades in Virginia, and his last show in the river city.

In this episode of How We Got Here: The devastating path of Hurricane Agnes that paralyzed Richmond, and Virginia’s ties to the bungling burglars of Watergate. Find out how Captain John Smith got “Disney’ed,” and how country music was born out of the mountain music of southwest Virginia – with a chaser of Johnny Cash.  

In this episode of How We Got Here, we explain how the Civil War's Siege of Petersburg could have lasted two days instead of nine months and why Virginia played such a big role in shaping the Declaration of Independence. We also share a “loving” story that changed marriage laws across the country, plus the horrifying moments as lawmakers, practicing America’s pastime, take cover when a gunman opens fire on a baseball field.