Dispatches from the 20th Century
By Dan Spencer
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Podcast Description
How much do you really know about the century we just left behind? Who made history 100 years ago? 50 years ago? 25 years ago? Join author Dan Spencer as he recaps the lesser known and long-forgotten people and events from the 20th Century.
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
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1 |
The Nixon Plan to Kill a Reporter | Dateline: Washington, DC - March, 1972 Presidential Aide Charles Colson called on E. Howard Hunt to find a way to thwart a long-time Nixon nemesis, syndicated reporter Jack Anderson. The proposed solution was assassination. Length: 5:44 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 9/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2 |
The Sleeping Prophet | Dateline: Hopkinsville, Kentucky - March 30, 1901: While under a hypnotic trance, Edgar Cayce prescribed a cure for his own ailment despite having no medical background. It was the first of over 14,000 predictions by the 20th Century's most prolific psychic. Length: 5:03 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 9/13/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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3 |
The One-Eyed Aviator | Dateline: Brooklyn, NY - July 22, 1933 Wiley Post completed the first 'round the world solo flight. He was one of the most skilled pilots of his era, despite having only one eye. Length: 5:37 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 9/6/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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4 |
Henry Ford's Jungle City | Dateline: Brazil - September 1928 Brazilian officials granted the Ford Motor Company an enormous acreage of rainforest for rubber production. Henry Ford then ordered the construction of an American city deep in the Amazon jungle. Length: 5:06 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 8/30/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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5 |
The PTL Club | Dateline: Fort Mills, South Carolina - March 19, 1987 Televangelist Jim Bakker resigned from the PTL Club, which he created with his wife Tammy Faye. Revelations about financial impropriety and sexual misconduct ruined the multi-million dollar Christian empire. Length: 5:29 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 8/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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6 |
The Pond | Dateline: Washington, DC - 1942 Before the creation of the CIA, the US operated a small intelligence branch so secret few people in government knew it existed. The organization was called the Pond. Length: 4:54 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 8/9/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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7 |
The Russian Space Dogs | Dateline: the Baikonur Cosmodrome, USSR - November 3, 1957 Laika the dog was place aboard a Sputnik satellite and sent into space. She was the first of thirteen canine cosmonauts. Length: 4:28 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 8/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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8 |
The Legendary Quack, Dr. John Brinkley Part 3 | Dateline: Del Rio, Texas - March 22, 1939 Dr. John Brinkley sued the American Medical Association for damages to his career. The trial unveiled the truth behind the goat gland doctor's 20-year hoax. Part 3 of 3. Length: 5:18 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 7/26/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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9 |
The Legendary Quack, Dr. John Brinkley Part 2 | Dateline: Milford, Kansas - 1923 Dr. John Brinkley created one of America's earliest radio stations, furthering his 20-year career as one of history's most audacious con men. Part 2 of 3. Length: 5:25 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 7/19/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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10 |
The Legendary Quack, Dr. John Brinkley Part 1 | Dateline: Milford, Kansas - November, 1917 Dr. John R. Brinkley conducted his first goat testicle transplant operation, which he touted as a surgical cure for male impotence. Thus began the 20-year career of one of history's most audacious con men. Part 1 of 3. Length: 6:14 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 7/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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11 |
The First Movie Sex Symbol | Dateline: Hollywood - October 14, 1917 Fox Studios releases the silent film Cleopatra starring one of the first and most popular sex symbols, Theda Bara. Length 4:49 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 6/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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12 |
The Rosicrucians | Dateline: San Jose, California - 1927 The Ancient Mystical Order of the Rosae Crucis, also known as the Rosicrucians, made its headquarters in San Jose, and the enigmatic spiritual society quietly branched out across the globe. Length: 5:25 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 6/21/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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13 |
The Trial of Dr. Spock | Dateline: Boston - January 1, 1968 Best-selling author and pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock was indicted for conspiracy to aid and abet military draft resistance… despite never having met his supposed co-conspirators. Length: 5:39 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 6/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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14 |
The Ledo Road | Dateline: Ledo, India - December 1, 1942 Construction began on one of the most daunting and dubious engineering feats of WWII - a 465-mile-long road through the Burmese jungle. Length:5:18 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 6/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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15 |
The Antikythera Mechanism | Dateline: The Mediterranean - 1901 Among the relics divers found in an ancient shipwreck was an odd device with many clock-like gears. Decades later, scientists concluded it was an astronomical analog computer. Length: 4:33 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 5/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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16 |
The Rajneeshee Bioterror Plot | Dateline: The Dalles, Oregon - October 1984 By contaminating restaurants with salmonella, followers of a spiritual guru perpetrated the first biological attack in US history. Length: 5:24 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 5/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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17 |
The King of Publicity Stunts | Dateline: New York City - January 27, 1918 Reporters arrived at the silent movie premiere of Tarzan of the Apes to discover the theater full of chimpanzees. It was one of many publicity stunts dreamed up by press agent extraordinaire Harry Reichenbach. Length: 5:02 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 5/10/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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18 |
Operation Pastorius | Dateline: Amagansett, NY - June 13, 1942 German spies disembarked from U-boats off the coast of Long Island on a mission to dynamite factories and railroads that were crucial to America's war effort. Length: 5:16 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com . | 5/3/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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19 |
The Theft of the Mona Lisa | Dateline: Paris, France - August 21, 1911 The world's most famous painting was stolen from the Louvre in broad daylight. Da Vinci's masterpiece remained hidden for two years. Among the suspected thieves was Pablo Picasso. Length: 5:32 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 4/26/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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20 |
The Canadian Al Capone | Dateline: Hamilton, Ontario - November 19, 1924 In a front page story of a Toronto newspaper, Canada's notorious King of the Bootleggers, Rocco Perri, admitted to running a criminal operation. And he got away with it. Length: 5:16 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 4/19/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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21 |
The Assassination of Leon Trotsky | Dateline: Mexico City - August 20, 1940 While in exile in Mexico, Leon Trotsky, torchbearer of the Bolshevik Revolution, was murdered by a Soviet assassin. Length: 4:49 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 4/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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22 |
The First MLB Player from Japan | Dateline: Flushing, NY - September 1, 1964 Pitching in relief for the San Francisco Giants during an away game at Shea Stadium, 20-year-old Masanori Murakami became the first Japanese-born player to ever wear a Major League uniform. Length: 4:39 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 4/5/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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23 |
The Marijuana Tax Act | Dateline: Washington, DC - August 2, 1937 President Roosevelt signed into law a bill to levy taxes on marijuana farming and imports in the United States. The bill's proponents raised drug fears as the primary reason for controlling the crops, but businessmen had ulterior motives. Length: 5:50 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 3/29/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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24 |
The Russian Elvis | Dateline: East Berlin - June 17, 1986 Millions of stunned fans around the world mourned the death of rock and roll superstar Dean Reed after his reported suicide. Although he was unknown in his native United States, his popularity in the Soviet Union matched Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Length: 5:38 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 3/22/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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25 |
The Dugway Sheep Incident | Dateline: Skull Valley, Utah - March 13, 1968 Six thousand sheep mysteriously died in a matter of hours. Although the US Army would not admit blame, the deaths were attributed to an accident at the top secret Dugway Proving Ground. Length: 5:02 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 3/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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26 |
The Petrov Affair | Dateline: Sydney, Australia - April 3, 1954 A junior officer at the Soviet embassy defected to Australia. What began as a relatively unremarkable Cold War incident escalated into a scandal that rocked Australian politics. Length: 5:02 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 3/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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27 |
The Disastrous First Flight to Hawaii | Dateline: San Francisco - August 31, 1925 American pilots made the first attempt to fly nonstop from California to Hawaii. The result would be both disastrous and, ultimately, heroic. Length: 5:38 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 3/1/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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28 |
The Comfort Women | Dateline: Japan - August 4, 1993 More than 50 years after the fact, the Japanese government grudgingly conceded for the first time the existence of what were euphemistically called 'comfort women' - young sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II. Length: 5:01 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 2/22/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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29 |
The Diggers | Dateline: San Francisco - 1967 A newspaper columnist popularized the term hippie, but the young street performers in the Haight Ashbury district already had a name. They called themselves the Diggers. Length: 5:13 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 2/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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30 |
The Theremin | Dateline: New York City - January 1928 A new electronic instrument called a theremin was played before an American audience for the first time. Ten years later, the inventor mysteriously disappeared from New York and was believed to have been kidnapped by the KGB. Length: 5:21 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com . | 2/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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31 |
The American Protective League | Dateline: Washington, DC - March 1919 Incoming US Attorney General Mitchell Palmer ended the association between the Bureau of Investigation and the American Protective League, citing the latter as "a grave menace." Length: 5:04 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 2/1/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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32 |
The All-Nude Broadway Musical | Dateline: New York City - June 17, 1969 The musical Oh, Calcutta! debuted. Featuring a cast who performed in the nude, it would go on to become the fifth longest running show in Broadway history. Length: 5:07 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 1/25/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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33 |
The Man Who Built Miami Beach | Dateline: Miami, Florida - 1913 Automotive tycoon Carl Fisher conceived and financed the transformation of a sandbar covered in mangrove swamps into the resort town of Miami Beach. Length: 5:25 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 1/18/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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34 |
The Eternal Calendar | Dateline: Moscow - September 1929 The Soviet Union dispensed with the Gregorian calendar and replaced it with a new calendar of its own design. Length: 4:39 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan Spencer's novels. For info, visit danspencer.com. | 1/11/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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35 |
The Bridge Game Murder | Dateline: Kansas City, Missouri - September 29, 1929 Housewife Myrtle Bennett shot and killed her husband John during an argument that erupted over a game of bridge. Her ensuing trial captivated and stunned the nation. Length: 5:06 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan's novels. Please visit danspencer.com. | 1/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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36 |
The Disappearance of Ambrose Bierce | Dateline: Chihuahua, Mexico - December 26, 1913 While following Pancho Villa's army, author Ambrose Bierce wrote his final correspondence on this date. Then he mysteriously disappeared. Length: 4:52 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan's novels. Please visit danspencer.com. | 12/26/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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37 |
The Murder of JFK's Mistress: Part 2 | Dateline: Washington, DC - October 12, 1964 While walking along a canal path in Georgetown, Washington socialite Mary Pinchot Meyer was murdered in broad daylight. She was the ex-wife of a high-ranking CIA officer and was unusually close to the late President Kennedy. Part 2 of 2. Length: 4:33 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan's novels. Please visit danspencer.com. | 12/21/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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38 |
The Murder of JFK's Mistress: Part 1 | Dateline: Washington, DC - October 12, 1964 While walking along a canal path in Georgetown, Washington socialite Mary Pinchot Meyer was murdered in broad daylight. She was the ex-wife of a high-ranking CIA officer and was unusually close to the late President Kennedy. Part 1 of 2. Length: 5:35 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan's novels. Please visit danspencer.com. | 12/14/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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39 |
The Jacuzzi Brothers | Dateline: Berkeley, California - 1907 Seven brothers emigrated from Italy to Northern California. Although they invented many unique products over the course of the 20th Century, one particular invention made Jacuzzi a household name. Length: 5:02 You can support this podcast by purchasing Dan's books at danspencer.com. | 12/7/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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40 |
The Gay Nazi Grail Seeker | Dateline: Germany 1933 With Hitler's rise to power, Nazi leadership commissioned archaeologist Otto Rahn to search for the Holy Grail. Length: 5:28 Want to support this podcast? Visit danspencer.com. | 11/30/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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41 |
The Whiskey Robber | Dateline: Budapest, Hungary - January 15, 1999 Authorities finally captured the infamous Whiskey Robber, a Hungarian national folk hero known for his strange bank heists. To everyone's amazement, the thief was identified as the notoriously inept goaltender for one of Hungary's professional hockey teams. Length: 5:26 Want to support this podcast? Check out Dan's novels. | 11/23/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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42 |
The Second Moon Landing | Dateline: The Moon - November 19, 1969 Apollo 12 astronauts Charles 'Pete' Conrad and Alan Bean became the third and fourth of only 24 humans to date to ever set foot on the moon. Length: 5:40 You can support this podcast by visiting danspencer.com. | 11/16/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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43 |
The Mattachine Society | Dateline: Los Angeles - November 11, 1950 Five men, led by Harry Hay, convened the first meeting of the Mattachine Society, the first gay mens' support group in America. Length: 4:38 Want to support this podcast? Check out Dan's novels. | 11/9/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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44 |
The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress | Dateline: Los Angeles - June 5, 1968 Shortly after midnight in the kitchen pantry of the Ambassador Hotel, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. The shooter was instantaneously apprehended. However, several eyewitnesses saw a young woman in a polka dot dress mysteriously leave the scene, and to this day people wonder who she was. Length: 6:01 Support this podcast. Check out Dan's novels. | 11/2/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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45 |
The Bonus Army | Dateline: July 28, 1932 - Washington, DC At the command of President Herbert Hoover, US Army soldiers used tear gas and bayonets against World War I veterans who had been living in makeshift camps along the Anacostia River. The veterans and their families were forced off the land, crushing their civil attempt to persuade Congress to pass legislation in their favor. Length: 5:26 Want to support this podcast? Check out Dan Spencer's novels. | 10/26/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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46 |
The Invention of Sliced Bread | Dateline: Chillicothe, Missouri - July 7, 1928 In this sleepy small town 90 miles northeast of Kansas City, history was made on this date when the first package of sliced bread was sold to the public. Length: 3:56 Want to support this podcast? Visit danspencer.com. | 10/22/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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47 |
The Mad Bomber of Manhattan | Dateline: Waterbury, Connecticut - January 21, 1957 Detectives arrested a mentally disturbed individual who terrorized New York City for nearly two decades with his crude, home-made bombs. Length: 6:14 Want to support this podcast? Check out Dan Spencer's novels. | 10/19/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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48 |
The Berlin Airlift | Dateline: May 12, 1949 - Berlin At one minute past midnight, the Soviet Union lifted its eleven-month-long blockade of Berlin. The allied airlift had triumphed. Length: 6:29 Want to support this podcast? Visit danspencer.com. | 10/12/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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49 |
The Mayor of Silicon Valley | Dateline: June 25, 1968 - San Jose, California The inventor of the silicon microchip, Robert Noyce, left Fairchild Semiconductor on this date to form a new company. The new business was originally called Integrated Electronics. The name was later shortened to Intel. Length: 4:56 Want to support this podcast? You can purchase Dan Spencer's novels at Amazon.com. | 10/8/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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50 |
The Federal League | Dateline: April 13, 1914 - Baltimore The Baltimore Terrapins hosted the Federal League's inaugural game on this date. The new baseball endeavor competed against the well-established National and American leagues, and was the only serious third branch of American baseball in the 20th Century. Length: 5:54 Want to support this podcast? Visit danspencer.com. | 10/5/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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51 |
The Coue Method | Dateline: New York City - January 24, 1923 French psychotherapist Emile Coue arrived on American soil to begin a lecture tour of 81 dates across the east coast. He promoted his internationally popular book titled 'Self-Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion,' which introduced Europeans and Americans to the concept of self-hypnosis in aiding medical cures. Length: Want to support this podcast? Visit danspencer.com. | 9/28/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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52 |
The Last American in North Korea | Dateline: South Korea - August 15, 1962 At high noon, US Army Private First Class James Joseph Dresnok walked across a minefield and surrendered to North Korean forces, making him the second of only four Americans to defect to North Korea since 1962. Length: 5:43 Want to support this podcast? Check out Dan's novels. | 9/24/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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53 |
The Weather Underground | Dateline: New York City - March 6, 1970 A bomb exploded in the basement of a Greenwich Village townhouse, killing three people inside. Two women escaped unharmed… and then disappeared. Investigators discovered the identities of the deceased. They were Terry Robbins, Diana Oughton, and Ted Gold. All three were known members of the Weather Underground, the militant activist group on the FBI's Most Wanted List. Their accidental deaths occurred while creating crude explosives they planned to use in a political act. Length: 5:52 Want to support this podcast? Check out Dan's novels at danspencer.com. | 9/20/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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54 |
The Disappearance of Sister Aimee | Dateline: Los Angeles - June 23, 1926 Aimee Semple McPherson, renowned radio preacher and founder of the Foursquare Gospel Church, reappeared one month after she had reportedly drowned off the California coast. She claimed to have been kidnapped, but skeptics found her story dubious. Length: 5:44 Want to support this podcast? Read Dan's novels. | 9/13/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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55 |
The Man Who Owned the Sky | Dateline: San Francisco - March 14, 1915 Lincoln Beachey, the daredevil birdman, flew his monoplane for the last time before a huge crowd at the Panama Pacific International Exhibition. Tens of thousands of onlookers watched in horror as their hometown hero plunged to his death into San Francisco Bay. Length: 5:06 Want to support this podcast? Check out Dan's novels at danspencer.com | 9/7/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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56 |
The FBI's Kremlin Spy | Dateline: Washington, DC - 1981 Fearful that their cover had been blown, the FBI shut down Operation Solo and called in Agent 58. He was the United States' number one spy inside the Kremlin for decades during the Cold War. Length: 6:21 Would you like to support this podcast? Read Dan's novels. | 9/7/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 56 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
The Man Who Owned The Sky
Another interesting podcast from Mr Spencer about Lincoln Beechy (sp) who was a light plane daredevil. I find it fun to take 5-6 minutes from my work to fade into another time, when things were so very different. It's like a little catnap in time.
A treasuretrove
I just discovered this collection of weird accounts and am loving them. Highly recommended.
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