HISTORY This Week

When we first aired "Operation Mincemeat" back in 2020, it was a daring WWII thriller that felt almost too wild to be true. Now, it’s not just history — it’s a hit Broadway musical. This week, we're revisiting our original episode about the ingenious Allied ruse that helped turn the tide of the war. And we’re adding a twist: an interview with Natasha Hodgson, co-creator and star of Operation Mincemeat, the musical. She joins us to talk spies, songs, and how one of the strangest wartime plots ever ended up on stage.

Original episode description --

July 10, 1943. 150,000 British and American soldiers storm the beaches of Sicily in the first Allied invasion of Nazi-controlled Europe. But the Nazis…aren’t really there to put up a fight. Hitler thought the invasion was coming for Greece. The Nazis have been tricked by two British Intelligence officers and a covert deception plan. How did their operation— which involved a corpse, a false identity and a single eyelash—change the course of WWII?  

Special thanks to Nicholas Reed, author of The Spy Runner.

** This episode originally aired June 7, 2020.

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July 7, 1938. Superman has the villain in his grasp. They soar through the air, then slam into the ground. This villain wants to start a war. Our hero won’t let that happen.

At this point, Superman only has two comic book appearances. And yet, his legend is already beginning to grow. Kids read about heroics at the community pool, sitting on their stoops, late at night under their covers. Soon enough, Superman becomes America’s hero, but the two young men who created him will get left behind.

How did two friends from Cleveland invent a national icon? And how did he slip from their grasp?

Special thanks to Brad Ricca, author of Super Boys: The Amazing Adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster – the Creators of Superman. His newest book is Lincoln’s Ghost.

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July 7, 2007. In a dramatic ceremony featuring pop stars, fireworks, and smoke cannons, the Colosseum is named one of the seven new wonders of the world. It’s an appropriately over-the-top blowout for an arena which, centuries before, was home to its own lavish events. How did spectacles once unfold on the floor of this ancient arena? And how did the Romans use games to entertain people and to control them?

Special thanks to our guests, Alison Futrell, co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World, and Barry Strauss, author of The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium.

** This episode originally aired July 4, 2022.

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June 28, 1928. Louis Armstrong is in the studio recording what he hopes will be another hit. His career is on the rise, but he’s not a household name yet. But he’s about to lay down a track – “West End Blues” – that won’t just change his career, but the entire genre of jazz. 

But Armstrong didn’t compose “West End Blues” – it was written by his mentor, a man only remembered by people who are really into the history of jazz, a cornet player named Joe “King” Oliver. Armstrong records this song likely as a favor to this father figure, someone who set him on the path to becoming an American icon. Oliver might be forgotten by many, but his role is undeniable.

Before “What a Wonderful World” or “Hello Dolly,” how did Louis Armstrong get his start following King Oliver around New Orleans? And how did the complicated, sometimes fractured relationship with his mentor give rise to this legendary career?

Special thanks to Ricky Riccardi, director of research collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens, New York, and author of several books on Armstrong, including his most recent, Stomp Off, Let's Go: The Early Years of Louis Armstrong.

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June 22, 1611. It’s been a long, cold winter. Henry Hudson and his crew have been stranded in the Canadian Arctic for months, living on the ice in wooden shacks - starving, sick, and ready to go home.

And yet, Hudson wants to carry on and search for the Northwest Passage, a theoretical trading route to the Pacific that could bring him untold fortunes. His crew has had enough.

How does this journey go so wrong? And what happens when you push a crew of sailors beyond the extreme?

Special thanks to Peter Mancall, historian at the University of Southern California and author of Fatal Journey: The Final Expedition of Henry Hudson.

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