Author Archives: andrewspaulw

Orson Welles’ 1938 Halloween Radio Play Panicked America

Actor and producer Orson Welles caused a nationwide panic in the U.S. when he broadcast his “War of the Worlds” radio play on Sunday night, October 30, 1938.  It was so realistic, listeners who tuned in late after 8:00 PM thought they were hearing horrifying news accounts of an actual Martian invasion of Earth! ThereContinue reading “Orson Welles’ 1938 Halloween Radio Play Panicked America”

Podcast: The Tragic Fate of the SS St. Louis Jewish Refugees

In May 1939, 937 anxious Jewish refugees fled the horrors of Nazi Germany, aboard an ocean liner named the SS St. Louis. Most were German citizens, with Jews from other countries like Poland and Austria. The passengers planned to reach Cuba first, then ultimately seek sanctuary the United States.  They would tragically never make it.Continue reading “Podcast: The Tragic Fate of the SS St. Louis Jewish Refugees”

Podcast: The American Legacy of the Cherokee Trail of Tears

General Andrew Jackson won the nasty election of 1828 and was elected President of the United States.  At this time, over 125,000 Native Americans still occupied millions of acres in the American southeast – land they had lived on for generations.  In a little over a decade, thanks the Indian Removal Act, there would beContinue reading “Podcast: The American Legacy of the Cherokee Trail of Tears”

Why Does The Middle East Have Straight Line Borders?!

Drawing the Middle East’s modern borders on a map with a ruler certainly seemed simple. Perhaps that’s why the lines, set in 1916 by Englishman Sir Mark Sykes and Frenchman Francois Georges-Picot were straight ones.

The Mariana Trench – a Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

 A decade before the Apollo Moon Missions, two aquanauts, traveled to the last unexplored place on Earth, the deepest point under all the Earth’s oceans.  On 23 January 1960, Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, in the bathyscaphe Trieste, descended down to the bottom of Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, 7 miles, (11 km) beneathContinue reading “The Mariana Trench – a Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea”

The Armenian Genocide – the Tragic, Forgotten Holocaust

Most know of the Jewish Holocaust, committed by Nazi Germany during World War II. But many are oblivious to Armenian Genocide, the 1st modern atrocity of the 20th century. It occurred 30 years earlier during World War I. In 1915, leaders of the Ottoman Empire began the systemic expulsion and extermination of Armenian Christians livingContinue reading “The Armenian Genocide – the Tragic, Forgotten Holocaust”

Mother Jones, the Mother of Labor Unions

You may know the name Mother Jones from the progressive news magazine & website.  But its namesake, Mary Harris “Mother” Jones was a fearless fighter for the working class and a tireless labor activist.  Her opponents in industry and congress labeled her “The most dangerous woman in America!” Jones combined radical organizing methods and energeticContinue reading “Mother Jones, the Mother of Labor Unions”

The Cuban Missile Crisis – the Day Russia Blinked

For 13 nerve-wracking days in October 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the earth close to a nuclear WORLD WAR III.   It was a direct confrontation between 2 major superpowers, United States and USSR (Soviet Union) during the so called Cold War. It was the worst clash since the construction of the Berlin WallContinue reading “The Cuban Missile Crisis – the Day Russia Blinked”