John Willis Menard: The First African America...

In recent years the public has become increasingly aware of the long-term dangers posed by sports injuries -- but at the turn of the 20th century this wasn't the case. Football players didn't wear protective gear, and in 1905 alone more than 15 players died from game-related inju ...  Show more

Now, we know this is going to sound weird, but... it turns out one of the world's most popular pop music contests is also one of the world's best examples of 'soft diplomacy'. So what happens when countries that hate each other get together to determine the year's best song? Spoi ...  Show more

This episode is from 2017. Whitman is often touted as the best and most important poet in U.S. history, but he also worked as a teacher and a journalist. And his poetry career didn't start out particularly well. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork ...  Show more

Nowadays Edward Bernays remains a relatively obscure historical figure. His legacy, however, is thriving around the globe, and his techniques are found in everything from the food we eat to the things we believe. But who was this man, and how did he get his start? And how does ...

On this episode of Our American Stories, former marine, Jason Porter, tells the story of meeting his best friend Forrest Johnson and how serving in WWII impacted him; and Richard Gary tells the origin story of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (aka Mark Twain) and the racial history of Ha ...  Show more

Howard Schultz, the author of the new book From the Ground Up, tells stories about his time as the Starbucks CEO and how it almost slipped away from him early on and about a moment that gave him a sense of spirituality. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices ...  Show more