Retropod

Latest Episodes:

How the State of the Union went from speech to spectacle Feb 06, 2019

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The president's State of the Union started as a simple report on the condition on the nation; overtime, the address became a moment to rally Congress and the public.

Winifred Stanley, a forgotten equal pay pioneer Feb 05, 2019

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The woman who first introduced equal pay legislation in Congress had to fight to be taken seriously — and often failed.

The Soviet officer who stopped World War III Feb 04, 2019

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In 1983, Stanislav Petrov, a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Union’s Air Defense Forces, trusted his gut and averted a global nuclear catastrophe.

How 'Broadway Joe' redefined the NFL Feb 01, 2019

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A few days before his team took the field as huge underdogs in Super Bowl III, New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath made what was seen as an insane prediction at the time: "The Jets will win Sunday," he said. "I guarantee it."

The godmother of the open office Jan 31, 2019

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If you work in an office without offices, with just about everyone working in a large spare space full of stylish desks, straight lines and papers stored in a credenza, then you have met Florence Knoll Bassett.

The Confederate spy who evaded capture Jan 30, 2019

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After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, John Surratt traveled across three continents, wore disguises and used fake names for nearly two years to escape authorities.

The rise of supermarkets Jan 29, 2019

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If you’re like most Americans, you probably visit a grocery store once or twice a week. But you probably don’t know that one single grocery item is responsible for the rise of supermarkets as we know them.

How the Doomsday Clock came to be Jan 28, 2019

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Over the past seven decades, the Doomsday Clock has served as a metaphorical measure of humankind’s proximity to global catastrophe. Every year, scientists and nuclear experts set the clock's time after grappling over the state of geopolitical affairs.

Pinball’s sordid past Jan 25, 2019

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Pinball was once so vilified that it was banned in cities across the United States.

The man inside the minds of a million consumers Jan 24, 2019

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In the 1950s, Lester Wunderman became the king of direct mail advertising — the ancestor of today’s online targeted ads.