HISTORY This Week

• The Colosseum Becomes a Wonder | A Conversation with Barry Strauss & Alison Futrell

  July 7, 2007. In a dramatic ceremony featuring pop stars, fireworks, and smoke cannons, the Colosseum is named one of the seven new wonders of the world. It’s an appropriately over-the-top blowout for an arena which, centuries before, was home to its own lavish events. How did spectacles once unfold on the floor of this ancient arena? And how did the Romans use games to entertain people and to control them? Special thanks to our guests, Alison Futrell, co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World, and Barry Strauss, author of The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium. ** This episode originally aired July 4, 2022. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• The Forgotten Mentor Who Inspired Louis Armstrong

  June 28, 1928. Louis Armstrong is in the studio recording what he hopes will be another hit. His career is on the rise, but he’s not a household name yet. But he’s about to lay down a track – “West End Blues” – that won’t just change his career, but the entire genre of jazz.  But Armstrong didn’t compose “West End Blues” – it was written by his mentor, a man only remembered by people who are really into the history of jazz, a cornet player named Joe “King” Oliver. Armstrong records this song likely as a favor to this father figure, someone who set him on the path to becoming an American icon. Oliver might be forgotten by many, but his role is undeniable. Before “What a Wonderful World” or “Hello Dolly,” how did Louis Armstrong get his start following King Oliver around New Orleans? And how did the complicated, sometimes fractured relationship with his mentor give rise to this legendary career? Special thanks to Ricky Riccardi, director of research collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens, New York, and author of several books on Armstrong, including his most recent, Stomp Off, Let's Go: The Early Years of Louis Armstrong. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• The Mutiny of Henry Hudson

  June 22, 1611. It’s been a long, cold winter. Henry Hudson and his crew have been stranded in the Canadian Arctic for months, living on the ice in wooden shacks - starving, sick, and ready to go home. And yet, Hudson wants to carry on and search for the Northwest Passage, a theoretical trading route to the Pacific that could bring him untold fortunes. His crew has had enough. How does this journey go so wrong? And what happens when you push a crew of sailors beyond the extreme? Special thanks to Peter Mancall, historian at the University of Southern California and author of Fatal Journey: The Final Expedition of Henry Hudson. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• "Have You No Decency, Sir?"

  June 9, 1954. Senator Joseph McCarthy has accused the United States Army of having communists within its midst. After rising to power during a time of great fear in America, McCarthy's name has become synonymous with anti-communism – and with baseless, life-ruining accusations. But today, five simple words will take down one of the most notorious men in American political history. What made McCarthy so powerful in the first place? And how did that very same thing eventually bring him down? Thank you to our guest, Ellen Schrecker, historian, author and expert on McCarthyism. Thank you to Thomas Doherty, Professor of American Studies at Brandeis University, for speaking with us for this episode. He is the author of Cold War, Cool Medium: Television, McCarthyism, and American Culture.  ** This episode originally aired June 8, 2020. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Jumping Off a High Dive on a Horse (While Blind)

  June 14, 1938. It’s 8:30 PM at Lake Worth Casino in Fort Worth, Texas. All eyes are on a huge high-dive platform, 40 feet in the air. And at the top? A woman… on a horse. Horse diving is one of the most popular acts in America, and Sonora Carver is one of its stars. She’s been doing it for years, traveling the country to perform one of the more unbelievable stunts in sideshow history.  But a few years back, Carver suffered a devastating injury during one of these dives and completely lost her eyesight. And yet, she continues to perform this act for thousands around the country. How did diving horses become one of America's most popular attractions, only to fade into near-complete obscurity? And what does Sonora's story reveal about the complicated relationship between risk, resilience, and entertainment? Special thanks to our guests: Cynthia Branigan, author of The Last Diving Horse in America; and Vicki Gold Levi, author and cultural historian of Atlantic City. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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