Vanessa Williams Part 1: Becoming Miss Americ...

Can you use the word in a sentence? For this episode, Spelling Correspondent Gabe Henry takes Sarah through the surprisingly rampageous (r-a-m-p-a-g-e-o-u-s) history of the Spelling Bee, a uniquely American phenomenon. From the earliest examples of late night “spelling matches,” ...  Show more

What do men really get up to at the pub? For this April Fools' Day episode, Sarah tells urban legend correspondent Chelsey Weber-Smith of American Hysteria the history and the mystery behind crop circles, those sophisticated patterns left imprinted in corn and wheat fields said t ...  Show more

There is bouncing back after adversity, and then there is: Vanessa Williams. The talented multi-hyphenate was only 21 years old when she became the first Black woman to be crowned Miss America. Yet a controversy surrounding the release of unauthorized nude photos led to her ultim ...  Show more

Cécile Fatiman (1771-1883) facilitated a special ceremony that ignited the Haitian Revolution. This month, we’re talking about Mischief Makers: oddballs, chameleons, and nonconformists. Queens of quick wit. History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we ...  Show more

Corazon Aquino (1933-2009) rose above her fears to become the first female president of the Philippines. She led the country to democracy in a way that set a precedent for other countries around the world.You’re probably familiar with rebels without a cause, but what about rebels ...  Show more

In 1983, Vanessa Williams became the first black woman to win Miss America. In 1984, a few weeks from the end of her reign, she was forced to step down when she found out Penthouse was going to publish unauthorized nude images of her in their magazine. Williams went on to have a ...  Show more