Episodes

  • The Land Lobster: The world's rarest insect

    The Land Lobster: The world's rarest insect
    Jul 10 2026
    For untold years the tropical paradise of Lord Howe Island was home to the enormous insect called the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect, or Land Lobster - an 8-inch long bug endemic to the island. But they went extinct shortly around 1918 - at least until 2001, when just a few dozen were found on a virtually uninhabitable rock a dozen miles away. Sources "Rediscovery of the ‘extinct’ Lord Howe Island stick-insect (Dryococelus australis (Montrouzier)) (Phasmatodea) and recommendations for its conservation" by David Priddel et al. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-15/lord-howe-island-stick-insect-discovery-balls-pyramid/106381564 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dryococelus Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lord_Howe_Island_stick_insect_Dryococelus_australis_10June2011_PalmNursery.jpg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    19 mins
  • Navajo Code Talkers

    Navajo Code Talkers
    Jul 8 2026
    In World War II the United States took a unique turn in their quest for delivering fast, secret communications in combat situations. This was by using Native American language speakers and translators to deliver simple, yet unbreakable coded messages on the front lines. This is the story of the Navajo Code Talkers. Sources https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/code-talkers.html https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/american-indian-code-talkers https://www.intelligence.gov/publics-daily-brief/publics-daily-brief-articles/navajo-nation-inventors-of-the-unbreakable-code https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_talker File:Navajo_Indian_communication_men_with_the_Marines_on_Saipan_landed_with_the_first_assault_waves_to_his_the_beach._-_NARA_-_532526.tif?page=1 Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    17 mins
  • The Paraguayan War: South America's Deadliest War

    The Paraguayan War: South America's Deadliest War
    Jul 6 2026
    When Paraguay invaded its much larger neighbors in 1864, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay responded in force. For the next five years these nations waged the deadliest war ever seen on the continent. It was a war that saw 20 percent of Paraguay's entire population die. This is the story of the Paraguayan War. Sources https://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/3585/1/B28_-_The_Paraguayan_War_%281864-1870%29.pdf https://read.uolpress.co.uk/read/brazil/section/0c2155f3-0885-42c3-afda-319d122d8b63 Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Batalha_de_Campo_Grande_-_1871.jpg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    20 mins
  • Jonathan the Tortoise: The world's oldest living land animal

    Jonathan the Tortoise: The world's oldest living land animal
    Jul 3 2026
    In 1882 a 50-year old tortoise from the Seychelles was brought to the tiny island of St. Helena as a gift to the governor. That tortoise, who was later dubbed Jonathan, is still alive and well today, making him over 190 years old, and the world's oldest living land animal. Sources https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/at-190-jonathan-the-tortoise-is-the-worlds-oldest-living-land-animal-180979514/ https://sainthelenaisland.info/jonathan.htm Image by Luke McKernan - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jonathan_(27242406408).jpg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    16 mins
  • Alexis St. Martin and the gunshot that changed science

    Alexis St. Martin and the gunshot that changed science
    Jul 1 2026
    In 1822, a young man, Alexis St. Martin, was accidentally shot in the stomach. Miraculously, he survived, and even more amazing was the hole between his chest and stomach became permanent. This allowed a US Army surgeon - William Beaumont - to spend a decade studying St. Martin’s digestive system, making Beaumont the "Father of Gastric Physiology". This is the very weird story of the gunshot that changed medicine. Sources https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/grisly-story-human-guinea-pig-alexis-st-martin-180963520/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_St._Martin https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/probing-the-mysteries-of-human-digestion/ Images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Beaumont_painting.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Alexis_St._Martin,_aged_81_Wellcome_L0011057.jpg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    16 mins
  • Marcus Aurelius: The philosopher emperor

    Marcus Aurelius: The philosopher emperor
    Jun 29 2026
    They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. And while that is often true, sometimes you can get someone in power who genuinely wants to help their people. Such was the case with the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He was a man who was thrust onto the imperial throne, and forced to spend his time fighting - when all he wanted to do was study philosophy and govern his people. This is the story of Marcus Aurelius: the philosopher emperor. Sources "Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine" by Barry Strauss Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius_Antoninus_Augustus#/media/File:Kunsthistorisches_Museum_Vienna_June_2006_048.jpg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    27 mins
  • Project Habakkuk: the iceberg aircraft carrier

    Project Habakkuk: the iceberg aircraft carrier
    Jun 26 2026
    In World War II, the allies struggled to fend off U-boat attacks on shipping in the North Atlantic. A major issue was a lack of air support. Planes didn’t have the range to provide protection to the merchant fleets in the icy north. And then, someone had an idea. What if you converted an iceberg into an airbase? And even better - what if you could build an entire aircraft carrier out of ice. This is the story of Project Habakkuk. Sources https://albertaaviationmuseum.com/operation-habbakuk-the-iceberg-aircraft-carrier/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Habakkuk https://www.thealbertan.com/hot-summer-guide/the-iceberg-aircraft-carrier-that-almost-was-albertas-forgotten-wartime-wonder-10781370 https://www.albertaunderwatercouncil.com/single-post/2016/10/10/diving-jaspers-habbakuk-wreck Images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antarctic_Sound-2016-Iceberg_02.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lancaster_Mk_I_gun_positions.jpg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    18 mins
  • 10-Cent Beer Night: What could go wrong?

    10-Cent Beer Night: What could go wrong?
    Jun 24 2026
    Here is a free idea for you. If your sports team is having a bad season and no one is coming to games, throw a cheap beer night! It is a tried and true promotion method and one that the Cleveland Indians implemented in 1974. Specifically a 10 cent beer night. And it worked, drawing a crowd of thousands. The only problem was Cleveland got a little more than they bargained for when the game devolved into a full blown riot. Sources https://clevelandmagazine.com/articles/10-cent-beer-night-an-oral-history-of-cleveland-baseballs-most-infamous-night/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten-Cent_Beer_Night Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Texas_Rangers_run_during_Ten_Cent_Beer_Night.jpg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    18 mins