The Birth of Actuarial Science and Life Insur...

In the early 20th century, Neal's company Force of Life was investigated for fraud. But somehow, Neal managed to get through the scandal and went on to found a cosmetics company that became very successful. Research: “Can’t Find E. Virgil Neal.” New York Times. January 15, 1906. ...  Show more

E. Virgil Neal’s career started out with writing successful textbooks, but then took a turn into being a stage hypnotist and then a series of dicey mail-order businesses. Research: “Can’t Find E. Virgil Neal.” New York Times. January 15, 1906. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/tim ...  Show more

The Civil War and its decades-long aftermath continue to define American life well into the twenty-first century. Today we chat with Stanford's Professor Richard White, author of The Republic For Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, ...

In 1723, a teenage Benjamin Franklin arrived in Philadelphia ready to reinvent himself. He was a penniless apprentice printer with a hunger for knowledge and a burning ambition. Over the next 50 years, he would fashion himself into the most celebrated American of his time.

The popular BBC television series Villages by the Sea explores coastal life through the centuries. Its presenter Ben Robinson is an archaeologist with the fantastic job of exploring lost villages and uncovering their secrets, including those that give an insight into ...

Simple living, plain dress and pacifism. This is not a lifestyle typical of the United States. So how did the Amish come to be in America? Where did this religion come from? And how has their society changed with modernisation?

In this episode, Don and Dr Joseph Donn ...