Interviews with three "new storytellers" who explore the culture and history of New York City, including Nicolas Heller (New York Nico, the "unofficial talent scout of New York City"), Riley Arthur (Diners of NYC) and Tommy Silk (Landmarks of NY).

It’s one of the great narratives of American urban history — the northward trek of New York society up the island of Manhattan during the 19th century.

This month we are marking the 160th anniversary of one of the most dramatic moments in New York City history – the Civil War Draft Riots which stormed through the city from July 13 to July 16, 1863. In many ways, however, our own city seems to have forgotten these significant events.

This is the story of the invention of the Pledge, a set of words that have come to embody the core values of American citizenship. And yet it began as part of a for-profit magazine promotion, written by a Christian socialist minister.

Long-term and overnight parking used to be illegal in the early 20th century. But in 1950, street parking was legalized with the advent of alternate-side parking rules, and soon parking meters and 'meter maids' were attempting to keep a handle on the chaotic situation. Eventually the car took over. Will it always be this way?

From 1941 and 1976, dozens of young women and high school girls were bestowed the honor of Miss Subways with her smiling photograph hanging within the cars of the New York subway system.

The Brooklyn Bridge is not only a symbol of the American Gilded Age, it’s also a family tree of sorts. This episode is arranged as a series of mini biographies of the three family members who gave us the bridge -- John Roebling, his son Washington Roebling and Washington's wife Emily Warren Roebling. Through their stories, we’ll watch as the Brooklyn Bridge is designed, built and opened in 1883.

The Broadway Musical is one of New York City's greatest inventions, over 160 years in the making! But why Broadway, exactly? And how did our fair city go from simple vaudeville and minstrel shows to Shuffle Along, Irene and Show Boat, surely the most influential musical of the Jazz Age?

Pizza lovers of all kinds will find much to enjoy in this show, tracing the early origins of American pizza and specifically how New York City-style pizza was born. (What even is New York style pizza? Even that answer is trickier than you think.)

On the rainy evening of April 18, 1912, survivors from the Titanic disaster were brought to the berth of the Cunard liner Carpathia at Pier 54 at the Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. On that very spot today, a fanciful waterfront development juts out into the Hudson River called Little Island.

Enter the magical world of New York by gaslight, the city illuminated by the soft, revolutionary glow of lamps powered by gas, an innovative utility which transformed urban life in the 19th century.

One of the great narratives of American history — immigration — through the experiences of the Irish.

The story of how Wall Street, that short little street in Lower Manhattan, became synonymous with the American financial system and how it got that most interesting name.

Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci's stoic portrait and one of the most valuable paintings on earth, came to America during the winter of 1963 and was received as though she were a rock star. At the Met, thousands lined up outside in the freezing cold to catch a glimpse of the painting.

Dorothy Catherine Draper was the first woman to ever sit for a photograph — a daguerrotype, in the year 1840, upon the rooftop of the school which would become New York University. What was her story?

In this art-filled episode of the Bowery Boys, Tom and Greg look at Edward Hopper's life, influence and specific fascination with painting New York City (albeit in his own unusual way).

The Fulton Fish Market in downtown Manhattan was once to seafood what the Chicago stock yards were to the meat industry, the primary place where Americans got fish for their dinner tables. Today its former home is known by more familiar name -- the South Street Seaport. But you can still find ghosts of the market along these historic stone streets.

New York City has a new landmark, a little bar in the West Village named Julius', where one moment of protest (the Sip-In of 1966) set the stage for a political revolution, “a signature event in the battle for LGBTQ+ people to gather, socialize, and celebrate openly in bars, restaurants, and other public places.”

There is much nostalgia today for the 1939-1940 World's Fair and its stranger, more visually chaotic 1964-65 World's Fair. And that nostalgia has fueled a thriving market for collectables from these fairs -- the souvenirs and other common household items branded with the two fairs' striking visual symbols.

Reflecting upon New York City restaurants from the 1990s (Mars 2112, anyone?), praising the strange wonders of Chez Josephine and Congee Village and revealing some great places for pizza in New York City.

A.J. Jacobs, author of "The Puzzler: One Man’s Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life," leads Greg and Tom down a maze of fascinating origins for the world's most popular puzzles.

Absinthe was one of the most popular and most mysterious drinks of the Belle Epoque and late Victorian and Edwardian worlds. Myths sprang up that the elixir created dramatic hallucinations and even provoked ghastly crimes.

In 1890 Jacob Riis turned his eye-opening reporting about New York's tenement districts into a ground-breaking book called How The Other Half Lives, a book which awoke Americans to the plight of the poor and laid the groundwork for the Progressive Era.

In this special episode, we look at the history of New York City as seen through one corner of the Lower East Side, best known for its landmark Seward Park. Created by the intersections of several streets, it's a place that has gone by many names -- in the past and even today.

In late December 1954 Marilyn Monroe came to New York City wearing a disguise. By then she was the biggest movie star in the world and she had come to the city to reinvent herself and her career. 1955 would be a year of discovery for Marilyn -- exploring the city, working on her craft and generally being the toast of the town.