Tracing The Path

Episode 61: Every Episode Has 4 Jan 21, 2025

This is episode 61, the end of the first era and beginning of the second. In fielding your hundreds of ideas for shows, we decided to go over the 4 actual requirement that every story must have before becoming an episode of Tracing The Path. We look at old episodes and how they meet the requirements. We go over some unbelievable stories that haven't quite made it yet and preview what's in the works. Stay tuned.

Episode 60: Roald Dahl: A Real Chocolate Spy Dec 18, 2024

The fact that our most beloved children's author was a spy for the British isn't the twist. The twist comes when his greatest enemy becomes an important advisor. Along the way we run into Ian Fleming, FDR, Cadbury, Quaker Oats, Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, Beatrix Potter, the Sopwith Camel Ace Flyer and C.S. Forrester

Episode 59: Bob's Swedish Candy Canes: 1.76 Billion Sold Nov 22, 2024

Did you know that if it weren't for the Mexicans and the Swedes, our Christmas would look substantially different? Yep, today we trace the world of Peppermint back to Santa Anna, Bob, Amalia Erickson, William Wrigley, the American Chicle Company, the Erie Canal, some French cellophane and maybe even Elvis

Episode 58: Who Killed the American Dream? Oct 23, 2024

The "American Dream" was first coined in 1931. In 1971 two things happened on exactly the same day . . . the world's biggest song was released lamenting the end of the American Dream. And the world's biggest dreamer opened the most amazing American institution. In today's episode we cross paths with Apple Pie, James Truslow Adams, Buddy Holly, Billy McGuigan, Pat Hazell, Don McLean, Richard Valenzuela, Johnny Appleseed and Walt Disney among others.

Episode 57: 1848: The Year Halloween Began Sep 26, 2024

Have you ever heard the origin of Halloween? Perhaps you've heard about the Irish holiday Samhain, but there's more. And all of it converges on one year, 1848. In this episode learn about Mary Shelley, Lord Byron, Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe, Thomas Paine, Mary Wollstonecraft, the most powerful volcano ever recorded, Yellow Fever, premature burial, Galvanism, John William Polidori and vampires. You're about to hear the true origin of Halloween.

Episode 56: Criminals, Oak Trees and the Resolute Desk Aug 24, 2024

The Resolute Desk was a gift to the President as the movie National Treasure says. But did you know it involved Tasmania, Van Diemen's Land, Explorer John Franklin, Maritime Salvage Laws, Senator Lawrence S Foster, Abel Tasman, Anthony Van Diemen, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the HMS Resolute, Sweden's 300,000 oak trees, Rutherford B Hayes and Harry Truman.

Episode 55: Is Crayola Responsible for American Gothic? Jul 28, 2024

When the Industrial Revolution came to town, it inspired an opposite movement that may have changed the world. It certainly inspired a construction style and a whole bunch more. Today we rub elbow's with Teddy Roosevelt, David Sedaris, Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, Georgia O'Keefe, the Carnegies, Crayola Crayons, Edgar Allen Poe, Chicago Academy of Design and the Veterans Memorial in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Episode 54: When Rural America was Cancelled Jun 21, 2024

The Louisiana Purchase kicked off Westward Expansion in the United States. Then came the transcontinental railroad, Homesteading and factory towns. Even the Industrial Revolution aided rural communities with new farming technology and access to bigger markets. But one day in 1971, Rural America was cancelled. In today's episode we cross paths with Arthur Nielsen, UNIVAC Computer, General Douglas MacArthur, punch cards, the US Census Bureau, Remington Rand, IBM, CBS, Fred Silverman, Eckert & Mauchly, Herman Hollerith, Andy Griffith, Beverly Hillbillies, Starsky & Hutch and Eisenhower vs Stevenson

Episode 53: Robert Smalls & the Death of Lincoln: A Civil War Story May 04, 2024

Robert Smalls was the defiant slave who decided freedom was a better choice. That is when his and President Abraham Lincoln's lives would be intertwined, from the Civil War all the way through death. In this episode we discover Lydia Polite, Harriet Buss, Henry Ward Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, the Freedsman Bureau, Parris Island, Andrew Johnson, Joe Louis and the Harlem Globetrotters.

Episode 52: Francis Scott Key Bridge & the Chinese Spy Balloon Apr 11, 2024

Did you know the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the Chinese Spy Balloon and the International Space Station all have one thing in common? A law written in Roman Times. Let us tell you about NASA and Captain Skip Strong, the Stamp Act, H.G. Wells, Edward Bulwer Lytton, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Antarctica and the 1967 Space Treaty.

Episode 51: What Happens in French Lick, Indiana Spreads Around the Globe Mar 10, 2024

French Lick, Indiana was once the top resort town in the U.S. Famous people like Bing Crosby, Al Capone and Ronald Reagan all went there. But it's known for much more than that and what starts in there, changes the world. This week's episode features Tod Sloan, FDR, West Baden Springs Hotel, Sun Rayed Tomato Juice, Smirnoff Vodka, Cock & Bull and the Russian Revolution.

Episode 50: How Many Times Has Coca-Cola Changed Their Secret Recipe? Feb 12, 2024

Everyone knows they changed it in 1985 to New Coke. But how many know of the other four times? And one of those might be considered a public duping. To get the answer today's story covers Thomas Edison, Cocaine, Kola Nut, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Robert Gozuieta, Fanta, Tab, Diet Rite, Robert Woodruff, Atlanta's Jewish Community, Royal Crown Cola and just maybe the show The Walking Dead.

Episode 49: The 20th Century Trivia Window: Jeopardy & Trivial Pursuit Jan 10, 2024

The 20th Century presented the perfect moment for the rise is Trivia, and the games that go with it. Maybe that window is beginning to close. In today's episode we explore the Han Dynasty, WW2, Merv Griffin, Charles Van Doren, NBC, College Bowl, Trivial Pursuit, Jeopardy, Alex Trebek, Radio Quiz Bowls, Information Please, the $64K Question, Columbia University and Dr. Joyce Brothers.

Episode 48: The Whole It's A Wonderful Life Movie Story Nov 19, 2023

Did you know "It's A Wonderful Life" started out as a dream? And then as a Christmas card? How did it beat the odds to become an American classic? The story starts back in 1876 and involves Amadeo Giannini, Philip Van Doren Stern, Frank Capra, Jimmy Stewart, World War II, the Council on Books in Wartime, Jimmy the Raven, Cary Grant, Republic Pictures, Columbia Pictures, The Greatest Gift and the 1906 San Francisco Earth Quake.

Episode 47: Was Dickens the World's First Influencer? Nov 06, 2023

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an influencer is someone who made it big online. We disagree. Could there have been an influencer before the internet? Charles Dickens did have millions of fans, he did influence people, companies, governments and society. He was much more than an author and perhaps the world's first influencer.

Episode 46: How East Texas Wildcatters Won World War II Oct 07, 2023

Winston Churchill said it best "whomever controls the oil will win the war". Luckily, the United States had Wilcatters with true tenacity who would find oil no matter where it hid. In today's episode we explore the Big Inch and Little Big Inch piplines, Columbus Joiner, Spindletop, Cushing Oklahoma, Tom Slick, Texaco, the Rule of Capture, origin of kerosene, street lights, German U-Boats, H.L. Hunt, Lamar Hunt, the Superbowl and the NFL.

Episode 45: 1882: Do Not Enter These United States Aug 04, 2023

The Chinese Exclusion Act is one of our most undiscussed tragedies. Despite the bad, Chinese immigrants pushed through to help shapes these United States. Today's episode crosses paths with Bruce Lee, Teddy Roosevelt, Chester A. Arthur, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Bing Cherry, the Valencia Orange, the Citizenship Clause and Equal Protection Clauses of the 14th Amendment, Oldsmobile, the TaiPing Revolution, the Gold Rush, the Transcontinental Railroad, Wong Kim Ark, Grover Cleveland, the NY Sun and the Statue of Liberty.

Episode 44: A Sketchy Popcorn Story Jul 03, 2023

To get a button on the microwave for popcorn, it first had to touch the hands of Winston Churchill, Cracker Jacks, the 1893 World's Fair, Major League Baseball, a #1 hit song, Superman, Betty Boop, Raytheon, McCann Erickson, and popcorn balls at the North Pole. Sit back and hear a tale you've not heard before.

Episode 43: Celebrity Edition: The Rest of the Story Jun 06, 2023

Today we honor Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story" with this unbelievable tale. You'll never guess who it is about, but along the way the story touches Martin Luther King, Jr, Mbutu Sese Seko, Pearl Harbor, Goucher College, Rudolf Hess, Erwin Rommel, Apollo 13, the Israeli Air Force, Isaroku Yamamoto, and the Ebola Epidemic. All connected with one amazing revelation.

Episode 42: Oxford, Tolkein & The Accidental Murder May 03, 2023

The path to creating the world's most important dictionary involved J.R.R. Tolkien, the constructed language of Esperanto, the Oxford English Dictionary, a murderer in an insane asylum, Alice in Wonderland and the Civil War in the United States. Today's story also featured Alfred Lord Tennyson, Bialystok Poland, L.L. Zamenhoff, W.C. Minor, James Murray, Winston Churchill, Jonathan Swift, and St. Elizabeth's Hospital.

Episode 41: The Comet That Saw it All Apr 03, 2023

Did you know a scientist once hijacked a satellite from NASA? And got a medal for it? Comets have been part of our world since the beginning, no matter what science fiction films tell you. Today we visit Einstein, Atilla the Hun, Isaac Newton, Robert Farquhar, Edmund Halley, NASA, Jimmy Carter, Jules Verne, Galileo, Mark Twain and a painter in Italy.

Episode 40: 300 Years to Email Enron Mar 03, 2023

The history of email is over 300 years in the making . . . and every step is fascinating, especially the Enron Corpus. Without the story of the typewriter, Emilie Baudot, Alan Turing, Donald Murray, and the U.S. Air Force, there likely wouldn't be email today. This story covers Ray Tomlinson, Western Union, H.G. Wells, Remington, John Pratt, Christopher Sholes, Tom Hanks, and Kenneth Lay.

Episode 39: 484 Year Documentary of Muscle Shoals Feb 04, 2023

How could the smallest town in the furthest corner become the epicenter of music? Because it has been the silent epicenter of the US from the beginning. In today's episode we cross paths with King Ferdinand, Ponce De Leon, Beethoven, W.C. Handy, Sam Philips, Robert E Lee, Charles Dickens, Helen Keller, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, Alexander Graham Bell, Woodrow Wilson and even Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil.

Episode 38: Who Silenced Alfred Hitchcock? Jan 23, 2023

Alfred Hitchcock is known as the Master of Suspense and greatest director of the 20th Century. What made him different? Today's episode is the Six Degrees of Hitchcock as we encounter Cary Grant, Salvador Dali, John Steinbeck, Thornton Wilder, Ingrid Bergman, James Stewart, Jerry Mathers, Charles Gounod and J. M. Barrie.

Episode 37: The Cropduster, The Military Plot & Lindbergh's 322 Bones Oct 22, 2022

Charles Lindbergh is the connecting rod between Delta Air Lines and Pan Am. But how they came to be involves a military plot, some crop dusters, the Skull & Bones society, the Lusitania, a name change and a boll weevil. It's an amazing story when you hear it all together.

Episode 36: When 26 Million Teens Waited for The Beatles Sep 21, 2022

While many think The Beatles took the world by storm, in reality the world was patiently waiting for them. In this episode we explore Brylcreem, Marlon Brando, the Queen of England, Brian Epstein, Elvis Presley, World War II, JFK, Martin Guitars, the Ed Sullivan Show, the British class system, Liverpool England, Disney, Davy Jones, Hamburg Germany, John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Episode 34: The Hands That Changed the World Aug 23, 2022

Did you know that a town in Norway wanted to abolish time? They decided to get rid of all the clocks because "shouldn't people eat when they are hungry and sleep when they are tired?" You'll be amazed at how we got here in the first place. Today we connect Rolex, Galileo, Christiaan Huygens, The Golden Spike, Benedictine Monks, the US Naval Observatory, John Harrison and the Boer War.

Episode 35: The Fairy Tale of Sixto Rodriquez Jul 20, 2022

Have you heard of Sixto Rodriguez? At one time he was more popular than the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. The Story of Sixto Rodriguez doesn't start in 1971, it starts with Ghandi and apartheid. In today's episode we look at Paul Simon, Harry Belafonte, The Beatles, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Bob Dylan, the United Nations, Coca-Cola, Ghandi, The Sugarman Sixto Rodriquez and even Rosa Parks.

Episode 33: Finish What You Started Jun 25, 2022

In today's episode we look at how it all started. George Lucas, Thor Heyerdahl, Warren Buffet, James Marshall, Roger Cook, Mt. St. Helens, John Houseman, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Michael Jackson, and Wynton Marsalis all come together for one purpose. Grab the Star Wars Radio Drama here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kkl2tsaf7tskc2m/AABr6AFIukEYAq7kZitrQERHa?dl=0

Episode 32: The Blue Jeans that Got Away With Murder May 20, 2022

The creation of blue has dyed jeans and caused immeasurable grief. Blue is not an easy color to come by in nature. The path to making blue jeans; therefore is an interesting one. In today's episode we reach Levi Strauss, John Hershel, Charles Darwin, the American Revolution, Eli Whitney, the California Gold Rush and ultimately the company whose experiments with Prussian Blue led to murder.

Episode 31: Did Russia Start the Peace Movement? Apr 22, 2022

Was Russia the first to make Peace a political campaign? How did the Peace sign come to be? In today's episode learn the stance Russia has had on peace. Meet Marie Curie, Pablo Picasso, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the situation with Ukraine's Crimean Coast, the Manhattan Project and hear the words of Russian Premiere Yuri Andropov himself and 11 year old Samantha Smith.

Episode 30: She Bombed The President for Votes Mar 18, 2022

There was a time when a plan was hatched to bomb Woodrow Wilson, but not the way you'd ever think. Today's story involves L. Frank Baum, Edith Wilson, the Statue of Liberty, Wilbur Wright, Oberlin College, Ruth Law, Matilda Jocelyn Gage, the State of Tennessee, and William Boeing. Sit back and enjoy as we celebrate the 19th Amendment.

Episode 29: 187 Years Behind Martin Luther King's Dream Feb 20, 2022

Where did the words in the "I have a dream" speech come from? W.E.B. Dubois, Abraham Lincoln, A. Philip Randolph, Langston Hughes, Mahalia Jackson, Thomas Dorsey, Harry Belafonte, Prathia Hall Wynn, John D. Rockefeller, and so many others have been fighting for the Dream since 1776. When Martin Luther King gave his speech in Washington, he made sure their voices were heard.

Episode 28: Will Winnie the Pooh Ever Find Freedom? Jan 21, 2022

How did Winnie The Pooh change United States Copyright law? Since the beginning they changed considerably - and maybe rightly so. This is the story of how Disney built its empire using the public domain as a tool. Disney, A.A. Milne, Mickey Mouse, Jimmy Stewart, and the U.S. Congress.

Episode 27: The History and Impact of McCann Erickson Dec 20, 2021

Much of what you know from the 20th Century can be traced back to McCann Erickson. Everything that seemingly unites those of us with a common 20th Century History can be linked to them . . . even the toppling of a government. If you've seen Mad Men, you've heard them mentioned. But what you didn't learn was the truth about their role and impact on your life.

Episode 26: A Charlie Brown Christmas (TV Show) Podcast Nov 17, 2021

Thinking of watching A Charlie Brown Christmas this year? What would be better than a full understanding of how it came to be, starting way back in the 1400s. Learn about Charles Schulz, Lee Mendelson, Bill Melendez, Vince Guaraldi, Hans Christian Andersen, Felix Mendelssohn, Saul Zaentz, NASA, Coca-Cola and more.

Episode 25: James Bond, Ghost Armies & Ungentlemanly Warfare Oct 22, 2021

Would you ever think Thomas Edison, George Easton, Ian Fleming and Bill Blass all took part in deception? In the World's Greatest Con? The Ghost Army. It's the story of James Bond, Inflatable Tanks, Celluloid Film and a WW2 Ghost Army. Sit back and be amazed at this story of America's most respected names.

Episode 24: Cholera, Margherita Pizza and The Godfather Sep 22, 2021

The history of pizza is more than its Naples Origin. You'll be amazed how Mario Puzo, Queen Margherita, Pinocchio, Yogi Berra, Al Capone, The Supreme Court and Sophia Loren all play a part. Today we look at the interconnected history of the world's greatest food (and maybe the Mob).

Episode 23: Did the Post Office Grow America? Aug 23, 2021

Could the post office be the single largest cause of America's expansion to Westward? When you look at it through Maslow's lens, it just may be. Sears, Greeting Cards, Charles Lindbergh, Benjamin Franklin, King William III, the California Gold Rush, the Boston Tea Party . . . and Addressing the Unaddressed in Calcutta. Let's talk about the 7 most important words in the U.S. Constitution.

Episode 22: How the Supreme Court Created Disney+ and HBOMax Jul 21, 2021

People like Walt Disney, Walter Murisch, Blake Edwards, Friz Freleng and Henry Mancini paved the way for Independent Film Makers today. . . but they had help with the Paramount Decrees of 1948. Now that those are over, has the window closed?

Episode 21: Who Started The Outer Space Race? Jun 20, 2021

HG Wells motivated authors, inventors, scientists, politicians and the every day man. Specifically Orson Welles, Leo Szilard, Robert Goddard and George Lucas were inspired by Wells to change the world. And from his words we put astronauts on the moon, created NASA and now rovers on Mars. Get ready to hear the story of how one man shaped science.

Episode 20: Connecting The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon May 19, 2021

The Six Degrees of Separation Game originated in 1909 with a Novel Prize winners speech. From there it has grown in reach and truth. What if we connect the most amazing things that could never truly have something in common. We do and it's amazing!

Episode 19: Was the Idea for m&ms Stolen or Inspired? Apr 20, 2021

Which 2 wars played a role in the history of M&M Chocolate Candy? And the Nutcracker? How did the Mars Bar, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way and Cadbury Easter Eggs come to be? And learn how 2 wars combined to make the most popular candy in the world.

Episode 18: How Negro League Baseball Solved the Cuban Missile Crisis Mar 20, 2021

Baseball created strong ties between the U.S. and Cuba, specifically the negro leagues and the Cuban league. For both countries baseball had become the national past time . . . until Fidel Castro stepped in. Today we look at the how baseball impacted the Cuban Missile Crisis along with some of the major traditions surrounding it.

Episode 17: How a Tennessee Student Overturned the Scopes Trial Verdict Feb 22, 2021

Let's unravel the mysteries of the Trial of the Century where Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan put evolution on trial. What was the long term significance? How did it end? And who got the final justice?

Episode 16: Believe it or Not! A Cartoonist Saved our National Anthem Jan 20, 2021

In today's story we explore the interconnected stories of Anacreon the Greek Poet, Francis Scott Key, Robert Ripley, John Philip Sousa and 7 US Presidents. The Star Spangled Banner isn't just about a flag or the Battle of Fort McHenry. It involves slaves, Charles Schulz, Jack London, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and even Barry Goldwater.

Episode 9: How the Transistor and Pirate Radio Created Rock n Roll Oct 23, 2020

Rock N Roll wouldn't exist like it does without these three guys. Because while Chuck Berry and Elvis were ushering in a new age of music. They had a little help from a major invention. We go "Back to the Future" to find out how rock n roll came to be.

Episode 8: ABCs of the Most Famous Song in the World Aug 25, 2020

The most famous tune in the world has been around for 700 years as part of classical, folk, children's and pop music. It's been played by Mozart, Louis Armstrong, the Simpsons, and Lewis Carroll. In the 1800 it changed the American lexicon, and in the 1960s it became a pop song that was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Episode 7: Why Rand McNally's Route 66 Started With Camels Jul 20, 2020

Did you know Route 66 started in 1857, with Camels? Learn about the history of Route 66 intersects with the Indy 500, Charles Lindbergh, The Lincoln Highway, Rand McNally, L. Frank Baum, Dwight Eisenhower, Edward Fitzgerald Beale and more.

Episode 6: The Wizard of Oz's 30 Year Miracle Jun 18, 2020

How did Frank Lloyd Wright, Susan B. Anthony, the Great Chicago Fire, L. Frank Baum and Judy Garland help create the 39 year Wizard of Oz Tradition?

Episode 5: The John Williams Legacy You Knew Nothing About May 19, 2020

Did you know that the Williams family has its hands on Orson Wells, Gilligan's Island, Back to the Future, the Looney Tunes, the Simpsons, Saved By the Bell, the Olympics, Jaws, Star Wars and Tears for Fears? No other family has reached so far.

Episode 4: How Curious George Escaped Nazi Germany Apr 17, 2020

If you're going to the traveling exhibit of the Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey, this is a great companion podcast. Listen in as we connect the dots between Hans and Margret Rey, Chris Van Allsburg, H.G. Wells, Harry the Dirty Dog and Will Ferrel and more.

Episode 3: The Surprising Life Story of Paul Harvey (Radio) Mar 19, 2020

What path did Paul Harvey take to become the most influential man of the 20th century? Let me just say that it involves Charles Lindbergh, Pearl Harbor, Joseph Kennedy . . . and you'll have to listen to get the rest of the story.

Episode 2: How the Hostess Twinkie Survived Death (Twice) Feb 20, 2020

There's a Twinkie in Maine that's 30 years old. But the story of Twinkie has far outlasted that. How did a brand outlast it's owners and defy all odds to become a success?

Episode 1: How The Oregon Trail Game Made Apple Computers Famous Aug 06, 2019

Minneapolis's tech community was far ahead of everyone else. And their state government's progressive attitude paved the way for great changes. 1,500 miles away Steve Jobs was building a computer company, but he knew something was missing, and the answer fell in his lap. Learn how Apple went from selling 300 computers, to millions because of a game.

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