History Unplugged Podcast

On August 1, 1914, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackelton and his crew sailed from England, set on making history as the first to cross Antarctica. Their ship never returned from her maiden voyage. On November 22, 1915, the aptly named Endurance disappeared, crushed by ice and swallowed by the Weddell Sea. Today, nearly everyone is familiar with Shackelton’s harrowing survival story and incredible rescue of all 27 crew members. Yet Endurance was thought lost forever, impossible to find because of her remote, frozen resting place—until March 5, 2022. Today’s guest is John Shears, author of “Endurance: The Discovery of Shackleton’s Legendary Ship.” He takes us inside the Endurance22 mission to locate, film, and survey the wreck of  Shackleton’s lost ship. We get a firsthand account of the search for Endurance and its discovery—upright and largely intact, at a depth of 9,869 feet underwater.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A house on the Florida coast. An assisted living program. A lively retirement community. Medicare. Our modern concept of old age—and even the idea of old age as a distinct stage of life—are products of our recent past. Where once Americans had little choice but to work until death, in the years after World War II government subsidies and employer pensions allowed people to retire en masse. But the enormous strides made in the 20th century are under siege today as we face critical issues like the uncertain future of social security, a caregiving crisis, and an aging and increasingly diverse society. Today’s guest is James Chappel, author of “Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age.” He shares the surprising history of old age in modern America, showing how we created unprecedented security for some and painful uncertainty for others. From social security and 401(k)s to fitness programs and even The Golden Girls, Chappel explores the rise and fall of a shared ideal of old age, showing how it has been shaped by politicians’ choices, activists’ demands, medical advancements, and popular culture.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emily Herring, author of "Herald of a Restless World," dives into the extraordinary life of philosopher Henri Bergson. She reveals how his 1913 lecture created a frenzy in New York City, akin to rock star status. Herring discusses Bergson's role in persuading the U.S. to join World War I and how his ideas on creativity and freedom resonate in today's tech-driven society. The conversation highlights the decline of public philosophy and the need to revive Bergson's insights as we navigate modern challenges like AI and materialism.

In the summer of 1941, German troops surrounded the Russian city of Leningrad—now St. Petersburg—and began the longest blockade in recorded history, one that would ultimately claim the lives of nearly three-quarters of a million people. At the center of the besieged city stood a converted palace that housed the world’s largest collection of seeds — more than 250,000 samples hand-collected over two decades from all over the globe by world-famous explorer, geneticist, and dissident Nikolai Vavilov, who had recently been disappeared by the Soviet government. After attempts to evacuate the priceless collection failed and supplies dwindled amongst the three million starving citizens, the employees at the Plant Institute were left with a terrible choice. Should they save the collection? Or themselves? These were not just any seeds. The botanists believed they could be bred into heartier, disease-resistant, and more productive varieties suited for harsh climates, therefore changing the future of food production and preventing famines like those that had plagued their countrymen before. But protecting the seeds was no idle business. The scientists rescued potato samples under enemy fire, extinguished bombs landing on the seed bank’s roof, and guarded the collection from scavengers, the bitter cold, and their own hunger. Then in the war’s eleventh hour, Nazi plunderers presented a new threat to the collection…Today’s guest is Simon Parkin, author of “The Forbidden Garden: The Botanists of Besieged Leningrad and Their Impossible Choice.” We look at the story of the botanists who held their posts at the Plant Institute during the 872-day siege and the remarkable sacrifices they made in the name of science.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, half of the world’s population lives around the Pacific Rim. This ocean has been the crossroads of international travel, trade, and commerce for at least 500 years. The economy was driven by  workers in rickety sailing boats like in Moby Dick. The risk of starvation, dehydration, shipwreck, sinking, and death began as soon as you stepped out into open water. Today, we’re going to zero in on one of those stories.  On December 10, 1887, a shark fishing boat disappeared. On board the doomed vessel were the Walkers—the ship’s captain Frederick, his wife Elizabeth, their three teenage sons, and their dog—along with the ship’s crew. The family had spotted a promising fishing location when a terrible storm arose, splitting their vessel in two. The Walker family was shipwrecked on a deserted island in the South Pacific. The survivors soon discovered that their island refuge was already inhabited by a ragged and emaciated man who introduced himself as Hans. This fellow castaway quickly educated the Walkers and their crew on the island’s resources. But Hans had a secret, and as the Walkers slowly came to learn more, the luck of having this mysterious stranger’s assistance would become something more ominous. To look at this story and the wider world of Pacific maritime life – and death – we are joined by today’s guest, Matthew Pearl, author of “Save our Souls: The True Story of a Castaway Family, Treachery, and Murder.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By the 1830s, the Zulu kingdom was consolidating its power as the strongest African polity in the south-east, but was under growing pressure from British traders and hunters on the coast, and descendants of the early Dutch settlers at the Cape – the Boers. In 1837, the vanguard of the Boers' Great Trek migration reached the borders of Zulu territory, causing alarm. When the Boer leader Piet Retief and his followers were massacred in cold blood, war broke out. Although the initial Boer counter-attacks were defeated by the Zulus, in December 1838 a new Trekker offensive resulted in a nation- defining clash between Boer and Zulu at the battle of Blood River. Today’s guest is Ian Knight, author of “Blood River 1838: The Zulu–Boer War and the Great Trek.” We explore the 1836 Boer/Ndebele conflict, the imbalance in technique and weaponry, the reasons why the British settlers allied themselves with the Boer Trekkers, and why the war was a key turning point in the use of traditional Zulu military techniques. This work also reveals that a Boer victory at Blood River was by no means a foregone conclusion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this final episode of our series on the Barbary Wars, we look at the fates of the Barbary States. After 1815, the Barbary States lost their independence, with Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and Morocco succumbing to European powers through military defeats and colonization, culminating in French and Spanish protectorates by the 19th century. We also look at how the Barbary Wars placed the United States on a pathway to global naval hegemony.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When news reached Parliament of the Boston radicals’ destruction of the Royal East India Company’s tea, it passed the Coercive Acts, a collection of punitive measures designed to rein in that insubordinate seaport town. The Coercive Acts unleashed a political firestorm as communities from Massachusetts to Georgia drafted resistance resolutions condemning Parliament’s perceived encroachment upon American liberty. Local leaders also directed colonists to refrain from purchasing British merchandise and forego the theater, horse racing, and other perceived debauched traditions. Local activists next convened the Continental Congress to coordinate a pan-colonial resistance movement to pressure Parliament into repealing the Coercive Acts and settling American rights on a constitutional foundation. Once convened, Congress deftly drafted the Articles of Association. Traditionally understood as primarily an economic response by the colonies to Parliament’s actions, the Continental Association called for public demonstrations of commercial and cultural restraint, conduct delegates hoped would both heal the empire and restore colonial virtue. Today’s guest is Shawn McGhee, author of No Longer Subjects of the British King: The Political Transformation of Royal Subjects to Republican Citizens, 1774-1776. We discuss the process by which the Continental Association organized American towns and counties into a proto-national community of suffering to protect political identities they felt were under threat. Those sacrificing for the common cause severed their bonds of allegiance to the British king and separated from the broader imperial nation. In this crucible of austerity, they formed an American political community, completing the political transformation from subject to citizen.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The conclusion of the War of 1812 elevated America's naval reputation and marked the start of the "Era of Good Feelings," a period of national pride. With peace restored, President Madison redirected attention to the Barbary pirates, who had exploited American merchant ships during the war. Furious at the enslavement of American sailors, Madison secured Congressional approval to wage war against Algiers in early 1815. Naval leaders like Stephen Decatur achieved swift victories, leveraging military strength to negotiate treaties that ended tribute payments and secured favorable terms for the U.S. Decatur's diplomacy extended to Tunis and Tripoli, compelling restitution for captured ships and releasing enslaved Europeans, bolstering America’s global standing. The Second Barbary War showcased the growing might of the U.S. Navy, earning respect from European powers and silencing earlier British doubts about American resilience. Celebrations of naval triumphs at home solidified national identity, while the treaties reflected America's emergence as a formidable maritime force.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Napoleon Bonaparte is reported to have said. “The policies of all powers are inherent in their geography. Is he correct? How much does geography determine the character of a nation in its politics and culture? To explore this question is today’s guest, Paul Richardson, author of “Myths of Geography.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.