History

History Dispatches

History Dispatches is a daily history show hosted by father and son duo Matt and McKinley Breen. The show covers people, places, events and even objects from throughout history. While any topic is fair game, Matt and McKinley hold a soft spot for the offbeat and wacky stories that most people don’t know about.

Latest Episodes:

Nazca Lines Mar 27, 2026

Show notes

If you flew over the Nazca Desert in southern Peru, you would be astounded to see hundreds of miles of lines drawn into the earth. These lines created massive shapes - including animals and plants. The designs - called geoglyphs - were made more than 2,000 years ago. But who made them? And why? Was it aliens? This is the story of the mysterious Nazca lines.

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Sources

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/700/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_lines

https://www.livescience.com/22370-nazca-lines.html

History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com

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Patriot War Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

In 1837 and 1838 many parts of British Canada were aflame with rebellion. To help quash this rebellion the United States sent support, fighting alongside the British army. However, fighting alongside the Canadian rebels was the Hunters Lodge - a secret society intent on helping the Canadians fight for freedom. This is the story of the Patriot War.

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Sources

https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/mhugl/2019/10/27/the-battle-of-windsor/

https://www.michigan.gov/dmva/about/history/military-events/highlights/the-patriot-war

https://historycooperative.org/journal/the-patriot-war-of-1837-1838-locofocoism-with-a-gun/

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_War#/media/File:Battle_of_the_Windmill.jpg

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Robert Johnson: King of the Delta Blues Mar 25, 2026

Show notes

Robert Johnson died in 1938 at the age of 27. He only recorded 29 songs in his lifetime. Yet he is widely recognized as the King of the Delta Blues. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting have influenced musicians to this day. Yet the man’s life was filled with mystery. Was he murdered by a jealous husband? And what about that pact that he supposedly made with the devil? This is the story of blues legend Robert Johnson.

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Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Johnson

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/devils-music-myth-robert-johnson/

https://magnoliatribune.com/2023/07/13/robert-johnson-the-man-myth-legend-and-legacy/

History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com

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Esperanto Language Mar 24, 2026

Show notes

The root of most conflict is misunderstanding and miscommunication. But what if there was a universal language that everyone could speak? Would such a language help avoid communication problems. To a dress this, in 1887, Ludovic Zamenhof created a brand new language: Esperanto. This was a constructed language to try and facilitate communication across ethnic and geographic lines. Today it is spoken by tens of thousands of people. This is the history of Esperanto.

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Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC61387/

https://zamenhof.info/en/biografio

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Esperanto_bandera.jpg

History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com

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The Story of Gunpowder Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

We like things that go boom. Cannons, fireworks, dynamite - you name it. Explosive blasts - big and small - have an 'aha' factor that’s hard to deny. The source of all those booms goes back nearly 2,000 years to the alchemists of ancient China. This is the story of gunpowder.

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Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder
https://www.britannica.com/technology/gunpowder

History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com

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Berlin Wall Mar 20, 2026

Show notes

In 1961, the Soviet backed East German government grew tired of its citizens fleeing into West Berlin. And thus, the East Germans began construction of a fortified wall that would completely surround West Berlin from the world. This wall would become the most notable - and hated - symbol of the Soviet era. This is the story of the Berlin Wall.

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Sources

https://diplomacy.state.gov/berlin-wall/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall

History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com

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Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Mar 19, 2026

Show notes

One of the worst ecological disasters in the 21st century was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Thanks to greed, mismanagement, and poor practices, an explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico caused the deaths of 11 people, and nearly 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the ocean, costing billions of dollars in damage and untold harm to the environment. This is the story of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

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Sources

https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-case-study

https://ocean.si.edu/conservation/pollution/gulf-oil-spill

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill

Image: by DVIDSHUB: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flickr_-_DVIDSHUB_-_Oil_Spill.jpg

History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com

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The Birdman of Coorong - John Francis Peggoty Mar 18, 2026

Show notes

In the 1890s in South Australia, a murdering bushranger terrorized the area of Coorong. However, this was not a large scary outlaw on horseback - but instead, a small man wearing gold jewelry and riding an Ostrich. This is the story of John Francis Peggotty - the Birdman of Coorong.

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Sources

https://coorongcountry.com.au/coorong-bushranger/

https://aguidetoaustralianbushranging.wordpress.com/2018/02/21/john-francis-peggotty-the-birdman-of-coorong/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Francis_Peggotty

History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com

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A Year of Mistakes Mar 17, 2026

Show notes

One year ago today we dropped the first 10 episodes of History Dispatches. And except for a single week, we have released one episode every single weekday. And while we try our best, we are far from perfect. This is a catalog of every mistake - that we know of - from the past year.

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History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com

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Charles Whitman: The Texas Tower Sniper Mar 16, 2026

Show notes

On August 1, 1966, Marine veteran Charles Whitman murdered his mother and his wife, then went to the 28th floor observation deck of the University of Texas Austin's main building. When he was done,17 people were dead and 31 injured - making it one of the nation's worst shootings of all time.

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Sources

https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/university-of-texas-tower-shooting-1966

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman

Images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Whitman_(1963).jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Whitman%27s_arsenal.jpg"

History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com

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