For the last third of the nineteenth century, Union General Stephen Gano Burbridge, also known as the “Butcher of Kentucky,” enjoyed the unenviable distinction of being the most hated man in Kentucky. From mid-1864, just months into his reign as the military commander of the state, until his death in December 1894, the mere mention of his name triggered a firestorm of curses from editorialists and politicians. By the end of Burbridge’s tenure, Governor Thomas E. Bramlette concluded that he was an “imbecile commander” whose actions represented nothing but the “blundering of a weak intellect and an overwhelming vanity.”Part of what earned him this reputation was his heavy handedness to suppress attacks on Union citizens. On July 16, 1864, Burbridge issued Order No. 59 which declared: "Whenever an unarmed Union citizen is murdered, four guerrillas will be selected from the prison and publicly shot to death at the most convenient place near the scene of the outrages." He was also hated for extreme measures to ensure re-election of Lincoln by suppressing support in Kentucky for Democratic candidate George McClellan. His actions included arresting prominent persons favoring the candidate, including the Lieutenant Governor, whom he deported.Today’s guest is Brad Asher, author of a new biography on Burbridge. We discuss how he earned his infamous reputation and adds an important new layer to the ongoing reexamination of Kentucky during and after the Civil War. As both a Kentuckian and the local architect of the destruction of slavery, he became the scapegoat for white Kentuckians, including many in the Unionist political elite, who were unshakably opposed to emancipation. Beyond successfully recalibrating history’s understanding of Burbridge, Asher’s biography adds administrative and military context to the state’s reaction to emancipation and sheds new light on its postwar pro-Confederacy shift.

History Unplugged Podcast: American History, World History, World War 2, US Presidents, Civil War

How This Union General Who Executed Guerrillas and Imprisoned Political Foes Became the Most Hated Man in Kentucky

He was young, handsome, highly educated in the best English schools, a respected professional, and a first-class amateur athlete. He was also a serial killer, the Victorian equivalent of the modern-day Ted Bundy. His name was Montague Druitt—also known as “Jack the Ripper.”Druitt’s handiwork included the slaughter of at least five women of ill repute in the East End of London—an urban hell where women sold themselves for a stale crust of bread. But mysteries still remain about Druit – including his thinking behind the murders, the man behind the moniker, and the circumstances behind his demise. Exploring these questions are today’s guests Jonathan Hainsworth and researcher Christine Ward-Agius, authors of The Escape of Jack the Ripper: The Truth about the Cover-up and His Flight from Justice.We discuss:How a blood-stained Druitt was arrested yet bluffed his way to freedom by pretending to be a medical student helping the poorHow Druitt confessed to his cousin, an Anglican priestHow Druitt’s family placed him in a private, expensive asylum in France, only for him to flee when a nurse blew the whistleHow Druitt’s identity was concealed by his well-connected friends and family, thus hatching the mystery of Jack the Ripper

The Escape of Jack the Ripper: History’s Most Infamous Serial Killer, and the Cover-up to Protect His Identity

The United States is fraught with angst, fear, anger, and divisiveness due to our current political climate. How did we get here? And where are we headed?Before the American Revolutionary period, Americans thought that the British constitution was the best in the world. Under the British system and their colonial charters, free Americans already enjoyed greater liberties and opportunities than any other people, including those in Britain.Once they declared independence in 1776, the former British colonies in America needed their own rules for a new system of government. They drafted and adopted State constitutions. They needed cooperation between the States to fight the British, so the new States tried a confederation. It was too weak, so eleven years after declaring independence, the Framers devised a revolutionary federal and national constitution—the first major written constitution of the modern world.The new State and federal constitutions and the system of law were deeply influenced by the British system, but with brilliant and revolutionary changes.Today’s guest is James D.R. Philip, author of the book “Two Revolutions and the Constitutuion.” He describes how Americans removed the British monarch and entrenched their freedoms in an innovative scheme that was tyrant-proof and uniquely American. It was built on the sovereignty of the American people rather than the sovereignty of a king or queen.So, as well as describing the American Revolution and the development of the American constitutions that came before the final Constitution, we discuss the revolutionary development of the English system of law and government that was a foundation of the American system.

Two Revolutions and the Constitution

Not many people have heard about Alfred Hubbard but he was one of the most intriguing people from the 20th Century. His story begins in 1919 when he made his first newspaper appearance with the exciting announcement that he had created a perpetual-motion machine that harnessed energy from the Earth's atmosphere. He would soon publicly demonstrate this device by using it to power a boat on Seattle's Lake Union, though, at the time, heavy suspicions were cast about the legitimacy of his claims. From there, he joined forces with Seattle’s top bootlegger and, together, they built one of Seattle’s first radio stations. He was then involved in a top secret WWII operation, and even played a role in the Manhattan Project. In the 1950s, he was one of the first people to try a new drug by the name of LSD, and helped pioneer psychedelic therapy. He was known as “The Johnny Appleseed of LSD,” as he introduced the drug to everyone from Aldous Huxley to early computer engineers in what is now known as Silicon Valley. He was a fraud, to be sure, but may have also been a genius. Famous California psychiatrist Oscar Janiger once said, "Nothing of substance has ever been written about Al Hubbard, and probably nothing ever should." And yet, there is little dispute regarding the fascinating scope of his adventurous life. To explore his story is Brad Holden, author of the book “Seattle Mystic: Alfred Hubbard – Inventor, Bootlegger, and Psychedelic Pioneer”.

Alfred Hubbard Was a 1920s Inventor, Bootlegger, and Psychedelic Pioneer Who Became the Patron Saint of Silicon Valley

The Norman’s conquering of the known world was a phenomenon unlike anything Europe had seen up to that point in history. Although best known for the 1066 Conquest of England, they have left behind a far larger legacy.They emerged early in the tenth century but had disappeared from world affairs by the mid-thirteenth century. Yet in that time they had conquered England, Ireland, much of Wales and parts of Scotland. They also founded a new Mediterranean kingdom in southern Italy and Sicily, as well as a Crusader state in the Holy Land and in North Africa. Moreover, they had an extraordinary ability to adapt as time and place dictated, taking on the role of Norse invaders to Frankish crusaders, from Byzantine overlords to feudal monarchs. Today’s guest, Trevor Rowley, author of The Normans: A History of Conquest, offers a comprehensive picture of the Normans and argues that despite the short time span of Norman ascendancy, it is clear that they were responsible for a permanent cultural and political legacy.

The Normans: A History of Conquest

During the roaring twenties, two of the most revered and influential men in American business proposed to transform one of the country’s poorest regions into a dream technological metropolis, a shining paradise of small farms, giant factories, and sparkling laboratories. Henry Ford and Thomas Edison’s “Detroit of the South” would be ten times the size of Manhattan, powered by renewable energy, and free of air pollution. And it would reshape American society, introducing mass commuting by car, use a new kind of currency called “energy dollars,” and have the added benefit (from Ford and Edison's view) of crippling the growth of socialism.New cities – St. Petersburg; Ankara; Nev-Sehir; Cancún; Acapulco; Huatulco; Norilsk; Vladivostok; Fritz Lang’s MetropolisThe whole audacious scheme almost came off, with Southerners rallying to support what became known as the Ford Plan. But while some saw it as a way to conjure the future and reinvent the South, others saw it as one of the biggest land swindles of all time. They were all true.To tell the story of this audacious plan is Thomas Hager, author of the new book “Electric City: The Lost History of Ford and Edison’s American Utopia. He offers a fresh look at the lives of the two men who almost saw the project to fruition, the forces that came to oppose them, and what rose in its stead: a new kind of public corporation called the Tennessee Valley Authority, one of the greatest achievements of the New Deal.

Electric City: Ford and Edison’s Vision of Creating a Steampunk Utopia

Of all the radioactive elements discovered at the end of the nineteenth century, it was radium that became the focus of both public fascination and entrepreneurial zeal.This unlikely element ascended on the market as a desirable item – a present for a queen, a prize in a treasure hunt, a glow-in- the-dark dance costume and soon became a supposed cure-all in everyday twentieth-century life, when medical practitioners and business people (reputable and otherwise) devised ingenious ways of commodifying the new wonder element, and enthusiastic customers welcomed their radioactive wares into their homes.Lucy Jane Santos—herself the proud owner of a formidable collection of radium beauty treatments—is today’s guest. She’s the author of the new book “Half Lives,” which delves into the stories of these products and details the gradual downfall and discredit of the radium industry through the eyes of the people who bought, sold and eventually came to fear the once-fetishized substance.

Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium

How deeply was the Confederate Secret Service involved in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln? Did the Confederate Secret Service assassinate Abraham Lincoln?” There are some strong indications that it did, but the facts uncovered in researching this question only raise more questions than they answer. After all, we are dealing with an issue of espionage and intelligence that originated in a government that hasn’t existed for 154 years.But sometimes the best way to explore unanswerable questions is with a counterfactual story, or even an outright fiction. Frequent guest Sandy Mitcham (The Death of Hitler’s War Machine, Bust Hell Wide Open) is back with us today to discuss this topic by way of his new book “The Retribution Conspiracy.” Sandy has couched his book in the form of a novel because there are some missing pieces. But he still provides an eye-opening account of spycraft and subterfuge in antebellum and Civil War America.

An Alternate History of the Lincoln Assassination Plot

Although now largely forgotten outside Russia, Boris Savinkov was famous, and notorious, both at home and abroad during his lifetime, which spans the end of the Russian Empire and the establishment of the Soviet Union. A complex and conflicted individual, he was a paradoxically moral revolutionary terrorist, a scandalous novelist, a friend of epoch-defining artists like Modigliani and Diego Rivera, a government minister, a tireless fighter against Lenin and the Bolsheviks, and an advisor to Churchill. At the end of his life, Savinkov conspired to be captured by the Soviet secret police, and as the country’s most prized political prisoner made headlines around the world when he claimed that he accepted the Bolshevik state. However, some believe that this was Savinkov’s final play as a gambler, staking his life on a secret plan to strike one last blow against the tyrannical regime. Todays’ guest is Vladimir Alexandrov, author of To Break Russia’s Chains: Boris Savinkov and His Wars Against the Tsar and the Bolsheviks. Neither a "Red" nor a "White," Savinkov lived an epic life that challenges many popular myths about the Russian Revolution, which was arguably the most important catalyst of twentieth-century world history. All of Savinkov’s efforts were directed at transforming his homeland into a uniquely democratic, humane and enlightened state. There are aspects of his violent legacy that will, and should, remain frozen in the past as part of the historical record. But the support he received from many of his countrymen suggests that the paths Russia took during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries—the tyranny of communism, the authoritarianism of Putin’s regime—were not the only ones written in her historical destiny. Savinkov's goals remain a poignant reminder of how things in Russia could have been, and how, perhaps, they may still become someday.

What if Tsarist Russia Hadn’t Gone Communist? Revolutionaries Like Boris Savinkov Tried to Accomplish This

You wouldn’t believe how these ninety-year-old WWII heroes come alive when you put a rifle in their hands.Andrew Biggio, a young U.S. Marine, returned from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq full of questions about the price of war. He went looking for answers from those who had survived the costliest war of all—WWII veterans.His book, the Rifle: Combat Stories from America’s Last WWII Veterans, Told through an M1 Garand is the answer to his questions. For two years, Biggio traveled across the country to interview America’s last living WWII veterans. Thousands from our Greatest Generation locked their memories away, never sharing what they had endured with family and friends, taking their stories to the grave. So how did this young Marine get them to talk? By putting a 1945 M1 Garand rifle in their hands and watching as their eyes lit up with memories triggered by holding the weapon that had been with them every step of the war.It began when Biggio bought a 1945 M1 Garand rifle and handed it to his neighbor, WWII veteran Corporal Joseph Drago, unlocking memories Drago had kept unspoken for fifty years. On the spur of the moment, Biggio asked Drago to sign the rifle. Thus began this Marine’s mission to find as many WWII veterans as he could, get their signatures on the rifle, and document their stories.With each visit and every story told to Biggio, the veterans signed their names to the rifle. Ninety-six signatures now cover that rifle. Each signature represents a person, the battles endured during the war, and the PTSD battles fought after it. These are unfiltered, inspiring, and heartbreaking stories told by the last living WWII veterans—stories untold until now.

Reviving Lost WW2 Stories With An M1 Rifle

Eleventh-century Spain was a violent borderland of Christian-Muslim bloodshed, but on the eve of the First Crusade, the two religions cooperated as much as they warred in Iberia. And who else to capture the heart of medieval Spain than Charlton Heston himself? Based on the real-life Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, who lived from 1043 to 1099 and was protagonist of the 13th century epic The Poem of the Cid, this movie captures medieval Spain in full Hollywood Golden Age splendor. Rodrigo defeated the Almoravids in a decisive battle in the history of Spain’s Reconquista, but was known for battling with both Muslims and Christians. The move – despite its extremely slow pacing and suuuuuper long takes – does a good job of capturing this age. It also doesn’t hurt that few people could handle the mythopoetic language of the script like Charlton Heston (John Wayne definitely couldn’t – see our review of him as Genghis Khan in The Conqueror).

Hollywood Hates History: El Cid (1961)

What happens when you cast Milla Jovovich as Joan of Arc, take away her combat finesse she displayed in the Resident Evil series, but have her embody the fringe historical theory that the Maid of Orleans did not follow God’s orders to liberate France but was actually a schizophrenic? Why 1999’s the Messenger, of course! Guest Steve Guerra joins Scott to discuss the few accuracies and many inaccuracies of this film (and yes, there are flaming arrows).

Hollywood Hates History: The Messenger – The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)

The most famous large-scale sea rescue in history is the Dunkirk evacuation. Here nearly 400,000 Allied soldiers were surrounded by the German army in 1940, and Winston Churchill said, "the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured. But they were rescued off the coast of France between 26 May and 4 June in an improvised fleet. But few know there was actually a larger evacuation that happened in America, and it happened immediately after September 11th.At 10:45 AM EST on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the United States Coast Guard issued the call for “all available boats” to assist the evacuation of Lower Manhattan. But hours before the official call went out, tugs, ferries, dinner boats, and other vessels had already raced to the rescue from points all across the Port of New York and New Jersey. In less than nine hours, approximately 800 mariners aboard 150 vessels transported nearly half a million people from Manhattan. This was the largest maritime evacuation in history—larger even than boat lift at Dunkirk—but the story of this effort has never fully been told. Todays guest, Jessica DuLong, author of the book SAVED AT THE SEAWALL: Stories from the September 11 Boat Lift, tells this story on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. She discusses how the New York Harbor maritime community delivered stranded commuters, residents, and visitors out of harm’s way after the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. A journalist and historian, DuLong is herself chief engineer, emerita of the retired 1931 New York City fireboat, John J. Harvey. She served at Ground Zero, spending four days supplying Hudson River water to fight the fires at the World Trade Center. To tell the story of this marine rescue, DuLong drew on her own experiences as well as eyewitness accounts to weave together the personal stories of people rescued that day with those of the mariners who saved them.As DuLong explains, “Still today few people recognize the significance of the evacuation effort that unfolded on that landmark day. This book addresses that omission. The stories that follow are the culmination of nearly a decade of reporting to discover how and why this remarkable rescue came to pass—what made the boat lift necessary, what made it possible, and why it was successful.

American Dunkirk – How Half a Million New Yorkers Were Evacuated from Manhattan Island on 9/11

Lope Martín was a little-known 16th century Afro-Portugese pilot known as the "Columbus of the Pacific"--who against all odds finished the final great voyage of the Age of Discovery. He raced ahead of Portugal’s top navigators in the notoriously challenging journey from the New World to Asia and back, only to be sentenced to hanging upon his return, while a white Augustine monk achieved all the glory.It began with a secret mission, no expenses spared. Spain, plotting to break Portugal’s monopoly trade with Asia, set sail from a hidden Mexican port to cross the Pacific—and then, critically, to attempt the never before-accomplished return: the vuelta. Four ships set out, each carrying a dream team of navigators. The smallest ship, guided by Lope, a mulatto who had risen through the ranks to become one of the most qualified pilots of the era, soon pulled far ahead and became mysteriously lost from the fleet.It was the beginning of a voyage of epic scope, featuring mutiny, murderous encounters, astonishing physical hardships—and at last a triumphant return. But the pilot of the fleet’s flagship, an Augustine friar, later caught up with Martín to achieve the vuelta as well. It was he who now basked in glory, while Lope Martín was secretly sentenced to be hanged by the Spanish crown as repayment for his services.To look at this forgotten story is Andres Resendez, author of the new book Conquering the Pacific: An Unknown Mariner and the Final Great Voyage of the Age of Discovery

Columbus of the Pacific: The Forgotten Portuguese Sailor Who Opened Up Earth’s Largest Ocean in 1564

Conspiracy theories have always swirled around Brown Brothers Harriman, the oldest and one of the largest private investment banks in the United States, and not without reason. As America of the 1800s was convulsed by devastating financial panics every twenty years, the Brown Brothers Harriman quietly went from strength to strength, propping up the US financial system at crucial moments while avoiding the unwelcome attention that plagued many of its competitors. Throughout the nineteenth century, the partners helped to create paper money as the primary medium of American capitalism; underwrote the first major railroad; and almost unilaterally created the first foreign exchange system. More troublingly, there were a central player in the cotton trade and, by association, the system of slave labor that prevailed in the South until the Civil War. Today’s guest, Zachary Karabell, author of INSIDE MONEY: Brown Brothers Harriman and the American Way of Power is here to discuss this complex marriage of money and power in America. But it’s what came after, in the 20th century, that truly catapulted the firm's influence and offers insight about their legacy and lessons for the future.In this episode we discuss: Brown Brothers Harriman’s essential and largely unknown role in shaping American historyHow Brown Brothers Harriman helped create an axis of political and economic power, educated at elite schools, now known as “the Establishment”How a balanced sense of self-interest and collective good helped Brown Brothers Harriman avoid the fate of “too big to fail” firms in the twenty-first centuryThe idea of “enough” wealth or “enough” success – has it become alien in today’s economy? Was it always this way?What lessons can be learned from those who stewarded the expansion of America’s infrastructure in the early days of our democracy as we embark on rebuilding our infrastructure today?

Brown Brothers Harriman: The Shadowy Investment Bank That Built America’s Financial System

For history lovers who listen to podcasts, History Unplugged is the most comprehensive show of its kind. It's the only show that dedicates episodes to both interviewing experts and answering questions from its audience. First, it features a call-in show where you can ask our resident historian (Scott Rank, PhD) absolutely anything (What was it like to be a Turkish sultan with four wives and twelve concubines? If you were sent back in time, how would you kill Hitler?). Second, it features long-form interviews with best-selling authors who have written about everything. Topics include gruff World War II generals who flew with airmen on bombing raids, a war horse who gained the rank of sergeant, and presidents who gave their best speeches while drunk.

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History Unplugged Podcast: American History, World History, ...

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