Amazing Tales About History

Mike Allen
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Oct 9, 2025 • 18min

Trails the Spies Followed

Nathan Hale, Caleb Brewster, Benedict Arnold, John Andre – all part of spy rings or treasonous activities. One man, who has studied them all, retraced 200 miles of their paths during the Revolutionary War by bicycle and kayak. He recounts their historic and harrowing stories.
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Oct 2, 2025 • 22min

Disneyland of the East

Do you remember Freedomland – a theme park in The Bronx, NY that was surprisingly open for only five years? It was dubbed “Disneyland of the East” because it was created by the same person who designed the original Disneyland – the first employee ever hired by Walt Disney. It turns out that Freedomland’s financial backers never intended for it to be open more than five years – and the reason will amaze you.
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Sep 25, 2025 • 23min

Did Gustave Whitehead Fly Before the Wright Brothers?

Did Gustave Whitehead beat the Wright Brothers as the first to fly? His supporters say he beat them by two years, but that an unfair agreement between the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the Wrights’ estate unfairly stacks the deck against Whitehead. The arguments are strong on both sides, and this 125-year-old dispute shows no signs of dying down.
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Sep 18, 2025 • 19min

The Secret Behind the Old Farmer's Almanac Weather Forecasts

The Old Farmer’s Almanac is the oldest continuously published periodical in the U.S. Started in the late 1700s, it’s been known for its highly accurate weather forecasts for more than 230 years as well as information of agriculture, gardening, astronomy, and home-spun wisdom. The current editor shares the basics of the weather forecasting formula.
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Sep 11, 2025 • 20min

The Day British Occupation Finally Ended

It used to be a major holiday. It’s been largely forgotten. But it’s trying to make a comeback. It’s Evacuation Day. It’s when the British left their military headquarters in New York City for the last time after the Revolutionary War, leaving the new United States to stand on its own. On November 25, 1783, General George Washington led his troops down Broadway, but all did not go smoothly that day. The British left a final surprise.
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Sep 4, 2025 • 22min

How ESPN Began

Starting an all-sports television network took guts, money, and talent. These miraculously came together to meet a September 7, 1989 deadline for ESPN to go live. The first employee was Peter Fox – ESPN’s original Executive Producer. He has numerous, priceless, and unforgettable behind-the-scenes stories of the people and circumstances that brought us ESPN.
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Aug 28, 2025 • 21min

The Colonial Hero You Never Heard Of

There’s a Colonial Era hero who many people have never heard of – John Durkee. Ten years before the Declaration of Independence, Durkee stopped the highly unpopular British Stamp Act from taking effect in Connecticut. You won’t believe how he did it, though. His actions spurred a movement that brought Jonathan Trumbull to the Governor’s office, cementing CT’s role as the only colony to officially back the Patriots during the Revolutionary War.
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Aug 21, 2025 • 20min

George Washington's Lost Village

You can no longer find the village of Fredericksburgh, NY on any maps. It disappeared 200 years ago. And yet, for three months in 1778, George Washington and his generals developed strategic military plans there during the Revolutionary War, and the infamous Culper Spy Ring was also formally kicked off.
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Aug 14, 2025 • 25min

First Coast-to-Coast Highway

The creator of the Indy 500 car race, bicyclists, and an Army convoy led by Dwight Eisenhower all had a hand in pushing development of the first road to connect America’s east and west coasts. The Lincoln Highway was built nearly 50 years after the country had been connected via the transcontinental railroad. Here’s the magical story of opening up automobile traffic across a 3,000 mile landscape.
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Aug 7, 2025 • 20min

Molasses Flood Kills 21

2.3 million gallons of molasses were in a 5-story high tank in Boston’s north end. On a cold winter day in 1919, the tank collapsed, sending a 30-foot-high wave of molasses throughout an entire neighborhood killing 21 and injuring 150. The disaster led to the first class-action lawsuit in U.S. history. And, the smell of molasses lingered for decades.

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