Stuff You Missed In History Class

Nowadays, Thanksgiving has become an official holiday, complete with its own trappings of tradition and mythology. But how much of the conventional Thanksgiving story is true? Join Sarah and Katie as they take a closer look at the first Thanksgiving. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 19th century, Britain tried to remedy a trade deficit with China by hooking the country on opium. Tensions rose as more and more Chinese citizens became opium addicts, eventually leading to war. Learn more about the Opium Wars in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Born around 1596, Pocahontas was the daughter of the chief Powhatan. Today she is remembered as an ardent supporter of the Jamestown colonists -- but how much of this story is true? Learn more about Pocahontas in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to Plato, Atlantis was an ancient civilization destroyed by an earthquake over 10,000 years ago. Join Katie and Sarah as they take a look at the myth of Atlantis -- and the bizarre theories surrounding its location -- in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first computer programmer was a woman named Ada Lovelace. Learn how the daughter of Lord Byron -- one of the most famous poets in the Western world -- moved out of her father's shadow and became a herald of the electronic age in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether the topic is Lucrezia Borgia or Frankenstein, Lord Byron keeps popping up in podcasts. Who was this poet, and why is he associated with so many historical figures? Join Katie and Sarah as they take a look back at the incomparable Lord Byron. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sarah and Katie take a crack at one of Canada's strangest mysteries: The Mad Trapper of Rat River. Travel back to 1931, when a man calling himself 'Albert Johnson' led the Canadian police on a 150-mile chase -- all without saying a word. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the daughter of a pope, Lucrezia was born into dizzying power and political intrigue. She was also controversial -- rumors of incest and other crimes dogged her and persist today. Join Sarah and Katie as they try to separate the fact from fiction. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the course of her life, Marie Laveau wielded enormous influence as the notorious Voodoo Queen of New Orleans -- but how much of her story is true? Join Sarah and Katie as they unravel the fact and fiction surrounding the legendary Marie Levaeu. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Halloween looming, Sarah and Katie travel back in time to explore the historic challenge that led to the creation of Frankenstein and the vampiric Lord Ruthven. Tune in to learn more about the birth of these intentionally horrific creatures. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saint Paul's Cathedral stands on the site of four previous churches, the earliest of which dates back to 604. When German forces bombed London in World War II, Churchill formed a group to protect the ancient church. Tune in to learn what happened next. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Mount Vesuvius erupted in August of 79 AD, Pompeii was buried in volcanic ash and rock. As time passed, Pompeii was forgotten. Learn more about the catastrophe that destroyed Pompeii -- as well as the city's rediscovery -- in this podcast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The outspoken statesman and abolitionist Charles Sumner served as a senator from 1851-1874. Learn how Senator Sumner's 1865 protest against the Kansas-Nebraska Act prompted one of the most violent altercations in senatorial history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone's heard of the breathtaking Egyptian queen Cleopatra -- but have you ever heard of her children? Listen in as Katie and Sarah investigate the lives of Cleopatra's four children in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

King Herod wasn't the world's worst ruler. Yet seventy years after his death his tomb was desecrated and forgotten. Learn more about the life and death of King Herod (along with the rediscovery of his tomb) in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, people associate molasses with cookies and other sweets. Yet in 1919 molasses was used in munitions as well as food -- and Boston had one of the biggest tanks around. Learn how molasses flooded Boston in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the final episode of a five-part series, former President Jimmy Carter examines human rights and the United States, using Cuba as an example. Learn more about the United States and Cuba in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Better known as Blackbeard, Edward Teach (or, alternately, Thach) started out as a lowly privateer. Listen in as Katie and Sarah explore the facts behind the legendary pirate -- as well as the history of piracy -- in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the fourth episode of a five-part series, former President Jimmy Carter examines human rights and the foreign policy goals of the United States. Learn more about the United States and human rights in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the Sun King, Louis XIV ruled France for over 70 years. Yet even a king can't get everything he wants. Learn about Louis' secret marriage to Madame de Maintenon -- and why it was secret -- in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.