American History Tellers

In the summer of 1807, Richmond, Virginia hosted the most sensational trial in the young nation’s history. At stake was the life of Aaron Burr, who stood accused of plotting an armed insurrection agai...

In 1925, the famous politician and presidential contender William Jennings Bryan returned to the limelight to lead a new crusade against the teaching of evolution. With Bryan’s support, Tennessee beca...

On the sweltering morning of July 10, 1925, 200 newspaper reporters, newsreel film producers, and radio broadcasters flooded the county courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee. Hot dog vendors, preachers, and...

On July 20, 1925, the trial of John Scopes continued in the stifling heat of the overcrowded county courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee. Tempers flared as the defense and prosecution sparred over the ques...

The Scopes ""Monkey"" Trial was set against the backdrop of the roaring twenties, a time of both cultural upheaval and deep social tensions. While ostensibly about science versus religion, the trial b...

July 14, 1970. A group of Puerto Rican activists stage an occupation demanding better health care at the Lincoln Hospital in South Bronx, New York City. You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazo...

July 28, 1540. King Henry VIII of England marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, 32 years his junior. You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Music app. Or for all that and more, go to Int...

In the fall of 1906, a mysterious outbreak of typhoid fever struck a wealthy New York family vacationing in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Suspicion soon fell on the family's Irish cook, who had vanished af...

After spending two years in forced isolation on a remote island in the East River, Mary Mallon fought back, insisting that she posed no danger to the public and city officials had overstepped their au...

In 1906, a New York health department investigation into an outbreak of typhoid fever led to the discovery that a cook, Mary Mallon, was an unsuspecting ""healthy carrier"" of the deadly bacteria. Thi...