The Brink of World War III

March 18, 1879. A crowd gathers around an indoor track in Brooklyn, NY, as an Irish immigrant named Bartholomew O’Donnell attempts a strange feat: walking 80 miles in 26 hours. Newspapers claim he’s eighty years old. Lap after lap, he circles the track: smoking a pipe, sipping ho ...  Show more

Why did Orson Welles take on a murder mystery? Listen for yourself. This week, we're sharing a special preview of Orson Welles and the Blind Soldier from the podcast Radio Diaries. In this series, we learn how Welles used his platform to shed light on a crime in a small, southern ...  Show more

This is the story of an American military legend - the recipient of America's highest decorations for valor: The Medal Of Honor, The Distinguished Service Cross, seven Silver Stars - and more than a dozen awards from allied nations. From the time he graduated 1st in his class fro ...  Show more

President Harry Truman's address to the United States Congress, and the world, in March 1947 is seen by some historians as marking the start of the Cold War.In it, the President committed the USA to the role of defender of global democracy, and pledged to contain the expansion of ...  Show more

After being stunned by China’s Red Army, Douglas MacArthur wanted payback – MacArthur demanded President Truman allow him to use the US military’s deadliest weapon, the nuclear bomb. MacArthur wanted to drop 50. The president thought it over; and decided against it. It was the en ...  Show more

World War II endures in the popular imagination as a heroic struggle between good and evil, with villainous Hitler driving its events. But Hitler was not in power when the conflict erupted in Asia—and he was certainly dead before it ended. His armies did not fight in multiple the ...  Show more