American History Tellers

More than 70 years have passed since ferries of immigrants arrived at Ellis Island. But the site is still alive with the memories of all those who entered full of hope for the future — and anxious to become Americans. In this episode, Lindsay is joined by two people who work at the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Foundation. Stephen Lean is the director of the Records Discovery Center, and Riley Dominianni is a research assistant there. Both have found that the archives can be surprisingly personal. 

You can search for your family in the Statue of...

In the immediate aftermath of America’s entry into World War I, federal agents began rounding up hundreds of German nationals and detaining them at Ellis Island, designating them as “alien enemies.” After the war, anti-immigrant sentiment intensified as eugenic theories of racial hierarchy gained popularity. By the 1920s, Americans were willing to accept sweeping changes to the nation’s immigration laws, with the introduction of quotas setting numerical limits on new arrivals. As the country closed the door on immigrants, Ellis Island was transformed into a facility for detention and deportation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Cali...

Audible True Crime is a dedicated podcast feed where we bring you the best podcasts in true crime, with episodes dropping every single week. 

Just in time for spooky season, we’re releasing a show called Ghost Story, a series about a hidden family secret, unexplainable events and jaw-dropping coincidences. Tristan Redman doesn’t believe in ghosts. But weird things happened in his teenage bedroom. And when he discovers later that occupants of his family home have seen the ghost of a faceless woman, he’s intrigued. Because it just so happens that his wife’s great grandmothe...

In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt vowed to crack down on the corruption and mistreatment that plagued Ellis Island. He appointed William Williams as the new Commissioner of Immigration and tasked him with cleaning up the Immigration Service. But Williams’ strict interpretations of federal immigration law drew criticism from German American and Jewish community leaders. As immigration to the United States reached an all-time peak, Ellis Island became the primary battleground in a fierce national debate over what it meant to become American. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the 19th century, economic turmoil, political unrest, and religious persecution drove record numbers of Europeans to American shores — making New York City the busiest port of entry. But new immigrants faced a dizzying array of conmen and thieves eager to prey on their confusion. In 1892, the U.S. government reined in the chaos by establishing a federal immigration depot on Ellis Island in New York Harbor. Over the next three decades, a small group of government inspectors would confront one of the largest mass migrations in the history of the world. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy an...

Lauren Malloy was a baby when her mother, Lori, was murdered in East Providence, Rhode Island. For thirty years, no one told her. Everyone said Lori died of natural causes. Then a stranger sent Lauren a message — and the lie collapsed. Now Lauren is investigating her own mother’s murder. She’s recorded hundreds of hours of interviews with law enforcement, family, childhood friends, and people who won’t stop contradicting each other. Every answer opens a darker question. Every person she trusts seems to be hiding something. And the closer she gets to the truth, the more she realizes...

After a late-night police raid on the Stonewall Inn in June 1969, the LGBTQ community fought back in the streets of Greenwich Village. Suddenly, the LGBTQ rights movement found itself catapulted onto the national stage.  

But questions of how radical an approach to take would pit young activists against the pioneers of the 1950s and 1960s. Even with the formation of new organizations like the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance, questions emerged. Would it be better to take part in the political process? Or to stage confrontational “zaps?”

These new groups would soon be eng...

Resistance at restaurants in San Francisco and Philadelphia showcased the building tension as trans activists challenged long-standing policies of discrimination. But leading gay rights groups continued to stress a calm, non-confrontational approach to reform.

That all changed in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, when police raided the Stonewall Inn. 

For police, it was just another raid, but this time would be different: the Stonewall’s patrons would fight back. The clashes on Christopher Street would become an uprising against police oppression with long-lasting reverberations for the LGBTQ rights movement.

See Privacy Policy at h...

As the 1960s dawned, LGBTQ activists began to voice frustration with the gradual approach to civil rights advocated by groups like the Mattachine Society. If LGBTQ people wanted to make real progress, they concluded, they would need to take direct action — starting with tactics shared with the Black civil rights movement. 

Through protests and sit-ins in places like New York, Washington DC, and San Francisco, LGBTQ activists started agitating for greater rights. They would tackle employment discrimination along with the widespread issues of police harassment, abuse, and entrapment, which targeted LGBTQ people nationwide. 

But as whit...

In the summer of 1969, a police raid on the Stonewall Inn sparked a riot on the streets of Greenwich Village. The protest marked a turning point in the gay rights movement. But the famed resistance in New York capped a movement that had been building for nearly two decades in America, as LGBTQ people mobilized to fight widespread and pervasive discrimination.

In the years following World War II, members of the LGBTQ community faced broad discrimination — from strict laws that oppressed them, churches that declared their very existence sinful, and a government that demonized them. They would pu...

Few people are more closely associated with the Western Frontier than William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Born in 1846, Cody came of age during the era of Westward expansion. As a young man, he began scouting for the 5th Cavalry and eventually built a reputation as a skilled frontiersman. He later took his exploits to the stage and then created Buffalo Bill’s Wild West arena show, which carried the image of the American West around the globe. 

In this episode, Lindsay is joined by Dr. Paul Andrew Hutton, author of the New York Times bestseller The Undiscovered Country...

Introducing Audible True Crime, a dedicated podcast feed where we bring you the best podcasts in true crime, with episodes dropping every single week. Find your next bingeable series about unsolved murders, cold cases, scams and mysteries. This is the cream of the crop of Audible podcasts, featuring award-winning series and soon-to-be favorites. Stop pestering your friends or searching “best true crime podcast” on Google.  

Up first, Guru: The Dark Side of Enlightenment: A search for spiritual guidance leads a group of strangers to seek direction from a self-help guru. And not just any guru. James Arthur Ray is...

As a young girl in Ohio, Annie Oakley learned to hunt game to keep her impoverished family fed. By the time she was a teenager she’d grown skilled enough to easily beat a traveling sharpshooter named Frank Butler in a public shooting match – and win his heart in the process. The two soon married, and in 1885 Oakley joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, becoming an international sensation and an emblem of frontier womanhood, all while carefully shaping her own image. But after nearly two decades as a performer, a newspaper scandal would draw her into a legal battle to c...

In 1894, a young Utah ranch hand named Robert LeRoy Parker – already going by the alias "Butch Cassidy" – was convicted of horse theft and sent to a Wyoming penitentiary. It was a minor crime that set the course for a much larger criminal career. After his release, he went on to earn a fearsome reputation as the mastermind of a gang of outlaws known as the Wild Bunch, before he and his partner, the Sundance Kid, led lawmen on an international manhunt that would cement his place as one of the West's most enduring legends.

See Privacy Policy at h...

In 1875, Bass Reeves became one of the first Black men to serve as a deputy U.S. marshal in the West. Reeves had been born into slavery, but after a violent confrontation with his owner, he fled to Indian Territory, in present-day Oklahoma. There, for three decades he used his knowledge of Indian languages and his expert marksmanship to hunt down murderers, horse thieves, and bootleggers across 75,000 square miles of remote terrain. As stories of his exploits spread across the frontier, he would become one of the most renowned and feared lawmen in the history of the West.

In 1865, James Butler Hickok, an Army scout and itinerant gambler better known as “Wild Bill,” shot a man dead in the town square of Springfield, Missouri. The gunfight became known as the first recorded quick draw duel, and Hickok became famous overnight. He parlayed his newfound fame into a job as a deputy U.S. marshal, and before long he was one of the most recognizable lawmen on the frontier. But Hickok’s reputation as a fearless gunslinger and a high-stakes gambler put a target on his back – one that haunted him to the end of his days. 

See Pri...

In 1821, a little-known backwoods hunter named David Crockett won a seat in the Tennessee legislature, despite having little formal education and virtually no political experience beyond his gift for spinning a good story. It marked an unlikely turning point for a man who would become a symbol of the American frontier, which was then rapidly expanding as settlers pushed into land long inhabited by Indigenous peoples. 

Ultimately, Crockett's frontier persona would prove his greatest political asset, eventually carrying him all the way to Congress. But once there, he would break with his own party o...

Today George Washington is remembered as the quintessential “Founding Father,” but his path to becoming an American hero was far from certain. Throughout the Revolution, Washington and countless others—including women, free and enslaved Black people, and Indigenous nations—had to make difficult choices about where their loyalties lay and what kind of future they hoped to secure. To help us uncover these often-overlooked stories, Lindsay is joined by Dr. Scott Stephenson, President and CEO of Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution, where the nation’s founding is explored as an ongoing experiment in liberty, equality, and self-government.

See Pri...

Just in time for America’s 250th birthday, follow Dan Taberski (Hysterical, 9/12, Missing Richard Simmons) as he sets off on his most complicated quest yet: to reclaim the manifesto and write his own. Dan attempts to rescue the manifesto as a form from the sweaty clutches of cynical politicians and mass shooters and return it to its rightful place: with the artists, the warriors, the visionaries, and the mildly crazy regular folks with something to say, the passion to say it, and the courage to do something about it. 

From Audible Originals and Please & Thanks Productions, this 6-pa...

After six long years of war, the Continental Army was exhausted, and Congress had run out of money. George Washington feared that without a decisive victory, the cause of independence would be lost.

But there was fresh cause for hope in the summer of 1781, as a massive French fleet sailed for the Chesapeake Bay. French and American commanders devised a plan to trap the British Army on a peninsula in Yorktown, Virginia.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the aftermath of America’s victory at Saratoga, France entered the Revolutionary War, transforming the colonial rebellion into a global conflict. British officials decided that the path to victory lay in the South. As the fighting shifted to the Carolinas, a brutal civil war erupted, pitting families and neighbors against one another in cycles of violence and retribution.

By 1779, the Patriot cause hung in the balance, undermined by rampant inflation, soldier mutinies, and one of the most notorious incidents of treason in American history.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/pr...

In 1777, as Americans sought the support of France, Benjamin Franklin struggled to convince officials in Paris to form a military alliance with the new United States. Meanwhile, British General John Burgoyne planned a grand strategy to crush the rebellion by conquering the Hudson River Valley. That summer, his troops fought the Continental Army in a battle that would turn the tide of the American Revolution.

But late that year, American forces faced a winter of peril as George Washington led his exhausted army into quarters at Valley Forge, where the soldiers endured disease, freezing...

Ed is the grandson of footballing legend Gordon Banks. He was a national icon, the only goalkeeper ever to win the soccer World Cup for England. But Ed’s heard a rumour: that in 1970, while defending the title, his granddad, his hero, was poisoned… by the CIA. All part of a Cold War plot to bolster a military dictatorship in Latin America, supposedly. Could this possibly be true? Banks did get ill in Mexico in 1970 with food poisoning. And England crashed out, marking the start of decades of hurt. Ed enlists the help of investigative journalist Gabriel Gatehouse. Together they...

In July 1776, the British Royal Navy began landing a massive armada in New York Harbor, setting up the biggest battle of the Revolutionary War. In response, General George Washington faced the daunting challenge of preparing his motley army to defend New York and keep the colonists’ hopes alive.

In the months that followed, faith in the cause of independence began to waver, and the Continental Army teetered on the brink of collapse. But on Christmas night, the Patriots made a bold strike against the British Army that began with a daring crossing of the ic...

In the aftermath of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, colonial militiamen converged on Boston to confront the veteran British Army. But over the next six months, newly appointed commander-in-chief George Washington struggled to transform a patchwork of amateur militias into a unified national army.

As the conflict wore on, Americans debated whether to escalate the fight and take the unprecedented step of declaring their independence.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. John Schneider rode into town like a character out of a Western: an outsider on a Harley-Davidson, in trademark cowboy boots. He promised relief to patients suffering in Wyoming and Montana. He seemed like the hero they needed. But when surgeries go wrong and a strange letter exposes a bitter feud, medical professionals and government officials search for the truth about this cowboy doctor. They discover claims of broken bodies, bullying, fraud, and lawsuits.

From Audible, the fifth season of the hit series Dr. Death returns with The Cowboy: the story of a surgeon who took...

In 1765, King George III and his ministers in the British Parliament sparked outrage in the American Colonies when they announced they were issuing the Stamp Act, the first direct tax on the Colonies. American critics decried the “taxation without representation,” and Boston radicals staged protests, boycotts, and attacks on tax collectors.

After a decade of growing tension over taxes, representation, and imperial control, the first shots of the Revolutionary War rang out in the Massachusetts countryside, as colonial militiamen confronted British regulars on the Lexington village green.

See Privacy Policy at https://art1...

Thomas Edison is one of the most celebrated inventors in American history, having helped transform a world lit by candles and gas lamps into one powered by electricity. Over his lifetime he was granted more than a thousand patents, and pioneered the very idea of organized innovation at his ground-breaking research and development laboratories. But the story of how he did it is complicated. So, to help us understand Edison’s remarkable achievements, Lindsay is joined by Dr. Paul Israel, Director and General Editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University. He’s the author of Edison: A Li...

Is what’s happening on OnlyFans real? Or is it only a fantasy?

In this provocative investigation into OnlyFans—the adult platform where subscribers around the world spent more than $7 billion in 2024—journalist Leon Neyfakh teams up with comedian and OnlyFans creator Gracie Canaan for a one-of-a-kind exploration into the current state of human connection. Throughout, they discover that the site originally built for spicy adult content has quietly and surprisingly become something more complicated— an emotional marketplace where desire, performance, care, fantasy, and vulnerability seemingly blur together.

As Neyfakh and Canaan navigate timely questions about au...

By 1888, the race to power America's cities had become a battle between the rival visions of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. But when the powerful industrialist George Westinghouse threw his weight behind Tesla and his AC system, what had been a personal falling out became something far larger – a war over the future of electricity itself. Their bitter fight spilled into courtrooms, ignited a national debate about capital punishment, and culminated in a fierce competition for the contract to illuminate the most ambitious event of the decade: the Chicago World’s Fair.

See Privacy Policy at https://art1...

In the spring of 1884, a little-known Serbian immigrant named Nikola Tesla arrived in America with little more than a letter of introduction to the most famous inventor in the world – Thomas Edison. Tesla went to work for Edison, impressing his new employer with his intelligence and work ethic. But the two men were too different, too stubborn, and too convinced of their own vision to coexist for long. Tesla would break away, determined to prove that his own approach to electricity – a system run on alternating current – was superior to everything Edison had built.

See Privacy Policy at htt...

In the 1870s, the age of artificial light was still in its infancy. Gas lamps cast a dim glow on city streets, and early arc lights were just beginning to appear in a handful of public spaces. But reliable, practical light for homes and businesses remained out of reach for most people. Then, in 1878, America’s most famous inventor, Thomas Edison, witnessed a demonstration of a novel electric generator and had a spark of inspiration. 

Edison was convinced that he would be the one to harness electricity to illuminate the world. He set his sig...

The devastation of the 1900 Galveston hurricane left thousands dead and a city in ruins — but it also set in motion a remarkable story of recovery and reinvention. As survivors buried their dead and relief poured in, city leaders adopted an entirely new form of government to steer the rebuilding effort. 

In this episode, Lindsay is joined by historian Dr. Patricia Bixel, who shares how Galveston rose from the wreckage — constructing a massive seawall and raising the city's own grade to face whatever the Gulf might bring next. Bixel is the co-author, with Elizabeth Hayes Turner, of Galveston and t...

On September 9, 1900, the residents of Galveston, Texas woke up to find their island in ruins. Entire neighborhoods had vanished overnight. Telegraph, telephone, and electrical lines were destroyed, as were the four bridges connecting Galveston to the mainland. Bloodied men, women, and children stumbled through the streets. And thousands of corpses were strewn amongst the wreckage, victims of what remains America’s deadliest natural disaster.

As the survivors reckoned with the challenge of rebuilding their lives, Clara Barton, the 78-year-old founder and president of the American Red Cross, rushed to Galveston to aid with relief.

See Pr...

As a catastrophic hurricane approached Galveston, Texas on the morning of September 8, 1900, residents continued to go about their daily lives, with little warning of what was to come. Children played in the surf at the beach, and workers clocked in for their shifts downtown. But when the full strength of the storm hit, water from the Gulf of Mexico flooded the streets of the island city, and 100 mile-per-hour winds sent bricks, tree branches, and slate roof tiles flying through the air. Between 6 and 8 o’clock that night, a monster storm surge washed over the island, forcing thousands of men, wo...

At the turn of the 20th century, a booming cotton trade had made the Gulf Coast city of Galveston, Texas an economic powerhouse. Located just a few feet above sea level on a narrow barrier island, it was prone to flooding. But in a time before sophisticated weather forecasting, residents failed to grasp the danger lurking in their midst.

In early September 1900, as a tropical storm gathered strength in the Caribbean Sea, Cuban forecasters warned that a powerful hurricane was charging toward Texas. But in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War, U.S. Weather Bureau officials had...

In 1949, aspiring writer Nelle Harper Lee moved from her home in small-town Alabama to New York City. She was following in the footsteps of her childhood friend, author Truman Capote. Within a few years she had penned a novel of her own, and called it To Kill a Mockingbird.

To Kill a Mockingbird catapulted Harper Lee to the heights of literary fame. But just as she found success, she withdrew, overwhelmed by being in the public eye, and the pressure to produce another book as good as her first. Decades would pass before anyone mentioned the possibility...

Born into poverty in Harlem in 1924, James Baldwin rose to become a celebrated novelist, essayist, playwright, and poet, and a leading voice in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. In his debut novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, and in his essay collections, Notes of a Native Son and The Fire Next Time, Baldwin wrote eloquently and provocatively about race, religion, sexuality, politics and class. 

To distance himself from the racial hatred and discrimination at home, Baldwin spent much of his adult life in France, helping to create a vibrant community for other Black artists, s...

Growing up in the Salinas Valley of Northern California, John Steinbeck dreamed of becoming a professional writer. In his youth he took on odd jobs and worked amongst ranch hands and migrant workers, who would inspire some of his greatest work, including The Grapes of Wrath. Published in 1939, the book captured the struggles of everyday Americans during the Great Depression, and Steinbeck became famous for his empathetic portrayal of the working class.

Steinbeck would go on to become one of the most decorated authors of the 20th Century, winning the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for...

In the late 1850s, a young man named Samuel Clemens started out piloting steamboats on the Mississippi River. Within a few years, he embarked on a writing career, adopting the pen name that became famous: Mark Twain. Armed with a wry sense of humor and a natural flair for storytelling, Twain gained wide acclaim for his short stories, travel sketches, and novels.

In 1885, he published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a story of two runaways on a quest for freedom. It would become one of the most celebrated, and controversial, books in American literature. But at the...