Stuff You Missed In History Class

In 1850, James Strang was crowned king of Michigan's Beaver Island. He got the opportunity to lead after meeting Joseph Smith and converting to Mormonism. After Smith's death, Strang tried to step in as his successor. Tune in to learn what happened next. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most people have heard of great South and Central American empires, but Mississippian civilizations are more obscure. At its peak, the Mississippian city known as Cahokia was bigger than London. So how did it get so big -- and why was it abandoned? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bobby Fischer called Paul Morphy "the greatest chess genius in history," By age 20, he earned recognition as America's best player after winning the nation's first chess championship tournament in 1857. So why did his career end after only two years? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When a mysterious woman sporting a turban showed up in England, people took her for a foreign beggar. But she claimed to be a princess who had been kidnapped by pirates! Eventually, however, the truth proved stranger than fiction. Tune in to learn more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After covering the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, Deblina and Sarah return to the topic of disastrous fires in history. Listen in as they recount some of history's most famous fires, comparing and contrasting the factors leading to these catastrophes. Including the Peshtigo Fire, the Great Fire of London, the Great Fire of Meireki, and the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough discusses his book "The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris," which follows the experiences of American expats in the French capital. Tune in to learn more about McCullough's work. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Queen Victoria loved two men: Prince Albert, and after his death, her servant, John Brown. Late in life, the Queen had a third partner, a Muslim man named Abdul Karim. So why did Victoria's children want the records of this relationship destroyed? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early 1900s, New York City's Triangle Shirtwaist factory was one of the largest blouse factories in the city. It was also incredibly unsafe. Learn how a fire at this factory triggered a national change in attitudes surrounding workplace safety. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The German battleship Bismarck was the most feared warship in the world - a powerful complement to U-boats. But when she sank the pride of the British fleet, the battle cruiser Hood, in a matter of minutes, her fate was sealed. Tune in to learn more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the late 1800s, no one really monitored food additives. After Congress refused to regulate food safety, Harvey Wiley had groups of healthy men ingest poisons for six months. Tune in to learn how these "Poison Squads" shed new light on Wiley's cause. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's the three-hundredth episode of your favorite history podcast, and what better way to celebrate than to take a closer look at real story behind the blockbuster film 300? Listen in and learn more in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this all-listener-suggested episode, Deblina and Sarah take a look at why four different warships from around the world went down, and why they were built In the first place. Tune in to learn if your suggestion made it on the airwaves. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jimmy Winkfield won the Kentucky Derby twice, and he was also the last African-American jockey to win the race. Winkfield moved abroad in 1904 to continue his career, but it wasn't until 2005 that Congress honored his work. Tune in to learn more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the sinking of Black Sam's Wydah to the Medusa's disastrous accident off the African coast, history is rife with tales of shipwrecks. Listen in as Sarah and Deblina as they discuss the Edmund Fitzgerald, the Mary Rose, the Medusa, the Vrouw Maria and the Whydah. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Although Madame Tussaud's museum is world-famous, the story of Marie Tussaud herself is less well-known. So who exactly was she, and how did she create one of the world's most popular museums? Tune in and learn more in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This year, Prince William and Kate Middleton will be getting married at Westminster Abbey. Listen in to learn more about royal weddings as Sarah and Deblina travel through the centuries to look at the Abbey's connections to the crown and to the Windsors. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On March 1, 1932, 20-month-old Charles Augustus Lindberg Jr. disappeared. The kidnappers left several clues at the crime scene, authorities eventually made an arrest and a trial ensued -- but some still wonder whether the right person was convicted. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1695, Alexander Selkirk ran away and joined a band of buccaneers. In 1704, after a fight with his captain, Selkirk was put ashore on an uninhabited island about 400 miles west of Valparaiso. Tune in to learn more about the real-life Robinson Crusoe. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To recruit troops for the U.S. Civil War, the Federal Congress passed the Union Conscription Act in 1863, which drafted able-bodied men between the ages of 20 and 45. Needless to say, this didn't go over well in New York. Tune in to learn more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1839, Africans held captive by slavers revolted and ordered the Amistad's crew to return to Africa. However, the ship was captured in Long Island and the slaves were put on trial -- but that's not the end of the story. Tune in to learn more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.