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:

Bleeding Kansas Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

While the American Civil War would answer the question of slavery once and for all, its bloody overture would take place five years earlier, when the territory of Kansas would go to war with itself to determine if it should be a free or slave state. It was a brutal guerrilla conflict that would claim dozens of lives. This is the story of Bleeding Kansas.

Sources

"Bleeding Kansas" by Nicole Etcheson

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Kansas#/media/File:The_Tragic_Prelude_John_Brown.jpg

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

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The Great Sphinx of Giza Sep 25, 2025

Show notes

The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of the most famous monuments of antiquity - and nearly every person has heard about it - and seen it. But what is the history of the Sphinx? When was it built? And why? This is the story of the Great Sphinx of Giza.

Sources

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

https://www.history.com/articles/the-sphinx

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sphinx-and-the-Pyramids-of-Ghiza-by-Facchinelli,-BNF-Gallica.png

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

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Enron Scandal Sep 24, 2025

Show notes

For more than a decade, the energy company Enron was at the top of the food chain. Named Forbes most innovative company six years in a row, it had a stock price of nearly a hundred dollars a share. The company was raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in profit. Or so everyone thought. Then, in late 2001, the entire house of cards came crashing down - destroying a company and the savings of thousands of people. This is the story of the Enron Scandal.

Sources

"The Smartest Guys in the Room" by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind

Images:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jeffrey_Skilling_mug_shot.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ken_Lay.jpg

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

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Trial of the Amistad Sep 23, 2025

Show notes

53 Africans - taken illegally from their homes - revolted on a ship - the Amistad - bound for a slave plantation in Cuba. But taking control of the ship did not mean they were free. They ended up on the shores Long Island, and what followed were legal proceedings that would determine the life - or death - of these men. This is the story of the Trial of the Amistad

Sources

"Mutiny on the Amistad" by Howard Jones

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._The_Amistad

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

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Revolt on the Amistad Sep 22, 2025

Show notes

In 1839, 53 captives, mostly taken from modern day Sierra Leone, were being transported to a plantation in Cuba aboard the Amistad. Lead by Sengbe Pieh, the African revolted, and took command of the ship. They tried to bring the ship back to Africa, but would instead end up off the coast of Long Island - setting the stage for a dramatic trial that would mean life or death. This is the story of the revolt on the Amistad.

Sources

"Mutiny on the Amistad" by Howard Jones

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

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Amistad#/media/File:Amistad_revolt.jpg

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

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Battle of Teutoburg Forest Sep 19, 2025

Show notes

Over 2,000 years ago, through dense woods, fog and swamp, 20,000 Roman soldiers marched through Teutoburg Forest, Germania, on routine assignment. What followed was not only disaster for them, but marked a turn in the entire Roman empire. Through cunning and deception, the German leader, Arminius, led an ambush that slaughtered three entire legions, cementing freedom for the Germanic tribes and permanently shifting foreign policy in the Roman empire. This is the story of the massacre of Teutoburg Forest.

Sources

The Battle That Stopped Rome: Emperor Augustus, Arminius, and the Slaughter of the Legions in the Teutoburg Forest", by Peter S. Wells

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Akvy_Secstievy_Battle.jpgg

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

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Spice Islands Sep 18, 2025

Show notes

One of the most valuable - and most fought over - items in history - has been spices such as cloves, nutmeg, and mace. And no place has caused as much greed and desire as five small islands in the Far East. This is the story of the Spice Islands.

Sources

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

https://lombokdiaries.substack.com/p/the-spice-islands

Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Willem_Blaeu00.jpg

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

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Gombe Chimp War Sep 17, 2025

Show notes

From 1974 through 1978, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, in Tanzania, two small tribes engaged in ambush, beatings, murder, and cannibalism. By the end, every male in one tribe was dead, and the other tribe conquered their territory. It is a story that doesn't sound that unusual, except for the fact that the participants in this war were chimpanzees. This is the story of the Gombe Chimpanzee war.

Sources

"Through a Window" by Jane Goodall

Image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/chimpanzee-on-green-grass-4179455/

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

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Moina Michael: the Poppy Lady Sep 16, 2025

Show notes

In November of 1918, American educator Moina Michael was inspired by the battlefront-theme poem "In Flanders Fields" by Canadian John McCrae. The lines "In Flanders fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses row on row," moved her - and Michael vowed to wear a red poppy as a symbol of remembrance for those who served in the war. And that would begin a tradition that endures to this day - with people from all over the world wearing poppies to commemorate those who have lost so much.

Sources

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

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6133312.stm

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poppy-Memorial-1948.jpg

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

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The Pepsi Navy Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

In 1989, the Soviet Union, under President Mikhail Gorbachev, wanted to ensure the soft drink Pepsi kept flowing to the empire. Unfortunately, the USSR lacked the money or goods to realistically trade with PepsiCo, so instead they swapped 17 submarines and three warships in exchange for the syrup. This, according to legend, made Pepsi the commander of the world's 6th largest navy.

Sources

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/11/27/pepsi-navy-soviet-ussr/

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

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