American Esoterica
American history, bite-sized. These are the stories that may have slipped through the cracks - the odd detours that have shaped our history and culture in small, but sometimes significant, ways.
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Episodes
Friday Jun 06, 2025
Friday Jun 06, 2025
THIS ONE'S GOT IT ALL, FOLKS - hucksters, country music, goat testicles, pirate radio, patent medicines, wire fraud, William Jennings Bryan...you name it! This is the bizarre story of how rural America fell in love with country music.
Thursday May 22, 2025
Thursday May 22, 2025
Meet Herman Hollerith - the founder of your digital world and archnemesis to The Count on Sesame Street.
Sunday May 11, 2025
Sunday May 11, 2025
We all know that THE story about George Washington isn't true, but what if what we've been wrong about all this time is that the story is KINDA true-ish?
Friday May 09, 2025
Friday May 09, 2025
Sometimes American cultural greatness runs in very concentrated pockets.
Thursday Apr 24, 2025
Thursday Apr 24, 2025
"Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again..." - George W. Bush.
Wednesday Apr 09, 2025
Wednesday Apr 09, 2025
There's one order that holds the record for maybe the most antisemitic government act in American history, and it both complicates and haunts the legacy of someone otherwise perceived as a hero.
Thursday Mar 27, 2025
Thursday Mar 27, 2025
Attacking the Union from the south just wasn't cutting it. So why not attack from the north instead? GENIUS.
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
Lincoln loved the theater, although he might have a different opinion in retrospect. Yes, we're doing another Lincoln one. Yes, it includes some startling coincidences.
Thursday Feb 27, 2025
Thursday Feb 27, 2025
This one is about Beyoncé’s stepfather’s ex-wife’s uncle. (It's also the incredible story of a family that lifted each other to unheard-of heights.)
Thursday Feb 13, 2025