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Amid rising tension between the U.S. and Cuba, Hemingway's widow went on a literary rescue mission May 30, 2019

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When author Ernest Hemingway killed himself in 1961, the political strain between the United States and Cuba was escalating. In the midst of that struggle, Hemingway's widow scrambled to recover the author's work from his beloved home in Cuba.

Frank Lloyd Wright tried to create a perfect house for an imperfect world May 29, 2019

Show notes

In 1939, an unknown copy editor from Washington, D.C., begged famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright to design his family a home. The result was a modern house that stood decades ahead of its time.

Rising from ruin: The many rebuilds of Notre Dame May 28, 2019

Show notes

The world watched Notre Dame as it burned in April. But the cathedral has endured a lot in its 856 years.

A debate that went into extra innings: Can baseballs curve? May 24, 2019

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Beginning in the earliest days of baseball, fans, journalists and even physicists disputed whether or not pitchers could make a ball curve.

How food found its way into the freezer May 23, 2019

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While on a research trip to the Arctic in the early 20th century, scientist Clarence Birdseye — a name you might recognize from the frozen food aisle — made an observation that would go on to change the way we eat.

The man who helped create the first measles vaccine didn’t vaccinate his own son May 22, 2019

Show notes

In the 1950s, millions of people suffered from measles every year. David Edmonston, an 11-year-old student, became the cure.

Clara Barton, America's most famous nurse, broke boundaries to treat Civil War victims May 21, 2019

Show notes

The nurse who founded the American Red Cross had no formal training in medicine. She tended to countless wounded soldiers.

Why Naval Academy students climb a greased up obelisk every year May 20, 2019

Show notes

Every year, freshmen at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis take part in an annual tradition where they must climb a 21 foot high obelisk covered in vegetable shortening and place a hat at the very top.

The forgotten pioneers of the first American utopia May 17, 2019

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More than a decade ago, bestselling historian David McCullough stumbled upon an important name from the past that even he’d never come across before. What he discovered was the story of pioneering American idealists.

The game show contestant who cheated his way to fame May 16, 2019

Show notes

In the 1950s, Charles Van Doren, a quiet professor in New York City, became wrapped up in one of the biggest television quiz show scandals in history.

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