Flashback: History's Unintended Consequences

Introducing: Afghan Star, hosted by John Legend May 16, 2024

From the fall of the Taliban until its return, people all over Afghanistan planned their lives around Afghan Star. People would pack into apartments. Villages would hook up generators to a single tv so crowds could watch. New Year’s celebrations would come to a halt, all to watch this one show. Over its 15 seasons, Afghan Star spotlighted an Afghanistan that could be: women singing without hijabs, Afghanistan’s first rapper, people of warring ethnic groups hugging and cheering for each other on stage. And it launched a cultural revolution. This is the story behind it all– from how a ragtag team scrambled to make the show every week, to the dangers they faced for trying to push the country forward. In Afghanistan, a cultural revolution was televised through a musical talent show, and this is its story. Hosted by John Legend.

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Introducing: Very Special Episodes Feb 01, 2024

On Very Special Episodes, we tell one incredible story each week. Stranger-than-fiction tales about normal people in extraordinary situations. Stories that make you say, “this should be a movie.” Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.

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Special Series: The Election Day Massacre. Part 3. Nov 19, 2020

After the horrific violence of Election Day, 1920, in Ocoee, Florida, hundreds of Black families fled the town, never to return. White farmers took ownership of their lands. And the crimes of the mobs of white vigilantes - lynching, murders, arson, theft - were covered up for almost a century. Until now.

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Special Series: The Election Day Massacre. Part 2. Nov 07, 2020

Before the presidential election of 1920, the Klan marched through Florida to warn Black citizens not to vote. Newspapers across the state issued the same warning. When a prominent Black resident, Mose Norman, tried to cast his vote in the town of Ocoee, a mob of white vigilantes descended on the community. They exacted a terrible vengeance, starting with the family of a local Black leader, July Perry. Photo credit: Orange County Regional History Center

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Special Series: The Election Day Massacre. Part 1. Nov 02, 2020

The worst incident of election violence in American history happened a century ago on Election Day, 1920 in the town of Ocoee, Florida. The victims were hundreds of Black residents. The perpetrators were their white neighbors. And the reason was that Black citizens had gone to the polls and tried to vote.

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Bonus Episode 9: The Surgery That Sparked the Iran-Contra Scandal Oct 07, 2020

Did President Ronald Reagan authorize selling arms to Iran while still recovering from major surgery in 1985?

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Bonus Episode 8: How a Haircut Changed Music History Sep 09, 2020

After a 23-year-old Elvis Presley submitted to an Army barber in March 1958, rock and roll, and American life, were never quite the same.

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Bonus Episode 7: Grace Kelly’s Fateful Trip to Cannes Aug 26, 2020

In 1955, actress Grace Kelly journeyed to the Cannes Film Festival, setting in action a chain of events that would find her trading her Hollywood throne for a real one.

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Bonus Episode 6: The Fatal Pitch That Changed Baseball History Aug 12, 2020

The tragic death of Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman in 1920 would help shape the future of baseball.

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Bonus Episode 5: The Freak Bicycle Accident Behind a Children’s Classic Aug 05, 2020

Ludwig Bemelmans rode his bike down the wrong side of the road and into literary history when he dreamed up the beloved children’s book Madeline.

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Bonus Episode 4: The Drunk Cop Who Brought Down a President Jul 29, 2020

If not for the fateful inaction of a single Washington, DC police officer, Watergate might never have happened.

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Bonus Episode 3: The Newspaper Error That Sparked the Nobel Prize Jul 22, 2020

When a newspaper mistakenly proclaimed Alfred Nobel dead in 1888, the inventor of dynamite set out to reinvent his legacy.

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Bonus Episode 2: Your Unintended Consequences Jul 14, 2020

Flashback listeners send us examples of the unexpected results of some historical events -- from two World Wars to an unfortunate landscaping trend.

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Bonus Episode 1: The Hockey Injury That Launched Air Travel Jul 07, 2020

Why the story of human flight begins on a frozen pond in Dayton, Ohio…and why there was only one Wright Brother with the Right Stuff.

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FB 110: A Hollywood Ending: How One Inventor’s Mysterious Disappearance Changed the American Film Industry Jul 01, 2020

The birth of Hollywood owes a surprising amount to the untimely demise of a single Frenchman.

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FB 109: A Libertarian House on the Prairie: How a Children’s Classic Inspired a Modern Political Movement Jun 24, 2020

A tale of rugged frontier individualism gone corporate, and how the Ingalls’ family farm led to the Koch brothers’ political machine.

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FB 108: Matchmakers: How a Dangerous Discovery Ignited the Labor Movement Jun 17, 2020

The discovery of one of the most hazardous elements on earth helped spark the greatest underdog story in the history of human labor relations.

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FB 107: A Tale of Two Pests: How Gypsy Moths and Kudzu Took Over America Jun 10, 2020

Gypsy moths and the invasive vine kudzu were supposed to be solutions. Instead they’re problems that seem to grow … and grow.

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FB 106: An ‘Uncommonly Silly’ Law: How One Man’s Crusade Against Obscenity Resulted in Abortion Rights Jun 03, 2020

The backlash to a 19th century chastity law ended up sparking a far more controversial new freedom for women.

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FB 105: High Hitler: How a Meth-Peddling Doctor Changed the Course of World War II May 27, 2020

Did one dictator’s chronic flatulence wind up causing needless suffering for millions?

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FB 104: The Jordan Effect: How a Baseball Strike Saved Basketball May 20, 2020

Michael Jordan’s famous sabbatical from professional basketball might have lasted much longer had Major League Baseball not experienced the worst strike in its history.

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FB 103: AC/DC: How Air Conditioning Changed the Landscape of American Politics May 13, 2020

Cooler homes transformed Americans’ lives — and eventually their government as well.

Check out this episode's "Lecture Notes" at https://www.ozy.com/flashback/

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FB 102: Holy Smokes: How the YMCA Helped Launch the Tobacco Black Market May 06, 2020

The YMCA provided American soldiers with billions of cigarettes during World War I — and smugglers and terrorists with billions of new incentives to evade the law.

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FB 101: McVeigh’s Mentor: How Henry Ford Inspired the Oklahoma City Bombing May 06, 2020

Hate speech is also something that can be mass-produced, and with disastrous consequences.

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(Extended Trailer) Flashback: Isaac Newton’s ‘Year of Wonders’ Apr 22, 2020

Each of us handles social distancing in our own way. Some are doing virtual yoga classes. Others are turning to art. And then there are those truly rare birds... like Sir Issac Newton. He once turned his time in quarantine into an opportunity to change the way we understand the world around us. Learn about history’s unintended consequences on Flashback, a new podcast from OZY and iHeart Radio Podcast Network. Find out how some of the best-laid plans can go horribly wrong or prove unexpectedly magnificent.

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Introducing: Flashback Apr 06, 2020

Our first season connects the dots on 10 incredible tales of unintended consequences that changed history, from Henry Ford’s role in the Oklahoma City bombing to the home appliance that changed the landscape of American politics.

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