HISTORY This Week

August 15, 1915. American diplomat J. T. Du Bois publishes a letter in The New York Times. It’s not about diplomacy or foreign affairs. This letter is about sharks. It’s Du Bois’ attempt to prove to the American public that “Man-Eating Sharks” - as he calls them - are real. 

Because in 1916? Most people think they’re a myth. Experts say that sharks aren’t dangerous. That they’re “rabbit” tame and too weak-jawed to pose any real threat to humans—at least, in the North East. 

But the following summer, a series of mysterious attacks in New Jersey will radically change the conversation and lead to a giant sea change in our feelings about sharks. What happens when the myth of the man-eater becomes real? 

Special thanks to Richard G. Fernicola, author of Twelve Days of Terror: A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks, and Dr. Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History. We also referenced the book Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo.

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August 7, 1943. Off the coast of Venezuela, a Nazi U-boat is under siege. For nine days, it’s hunted by Allied aircraft across the Caribbean, until its engines fail and its commander gives the order: abandon ship. Forty-three German sailors plunge into shark-infested waters, and are pulled out by their enemy - the United States.

The Germans think the worst is behind them. Instead, they’re headed for a POW camp in the American heartland, where life will actually be pretty comfortable. They play soccer, harvest corn, eat well… until things turn violent. 

How did Nazi prisoners of war end up murdering each other on U.S. soil? And what does American justice look like when applied to the enemy?

Special thanks to William Geroux, author of The Fifteen: Murder, Retribution, and the Forgotten Story of Nazi POWs in America.

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July 29th, 1992. The Baltimore Sun runs a feature about a surprise candidate in the upcoming presidential race: Barbie. The 11.5-inch icon of girlhood and glamor is running for office – and flying off the shelves. But how did a plaything become important enough to make national news? 

To answer that question, we take you on a journey through doll history, from French porcelain beauties to cherubs that stood for women’s suffrage. And of course, the doll who taught us how fun life in plastic could be. How did these dolls revolutionize play and even politics? And what do they have to tell us about ourselves? 

Special thanks to our guests: Florence Theriault, doll expert and founder of Theriault’s antique auction firm; Pat Wahler, author of The Rose of Washington Square: A Novel of Rose O'Neill, Creator of the Kewpie Doll; and Robin Gerber, author of Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her.



** This episode originally aired July 24, 2023.



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July 23rd, 1892. Henry Clay Frick is one of America’s leading industrialists. To Alexander Berkman, he’s one of America’s leading villains. Berkman is an anarchist, along with his partner, Emma Goldman. They believe the current order of things needs to change, and one way to make change is through violence.

Frick is meeting with his associates in his Pittsburgh office when Berkman bursts into the room and draws his gun. The men lock eyes, knowing that their fates are about to be forever changed. 

Why did the "Queen of Anarchism" and her partner target one of America's wealthiest men? And how did the attack help lead to the rise of J. Edgar Hoover and policing as we know it?

Special thanks to Steven Johnson, author of The Infernal Machine: A True Story of Dynamite, Terror, and the Rise of the Modern Detective. We also referred to the books Love, Anarchy & Emma Goldman by Candace Falk; American Anarchy by Michael Willrich; and Sasha and Emma by Paul Avrich and Karen Avrich.

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July 17, 1674. During renovations at the Tower of London, construction workers digging beneath a stone staircase make a chilling discovery—two child-sized skeletons buried ten feet underground. And King Charles II believes he knows who they are.

The remains reignite one of the most enduring mysteries in British history: the fate of the Princes in the Tower. For over 500 years, historians have debated what happened to King Edward V and his younger brother, Prince Richard. Were they murdered—perhaps by their uncle, Richard III? Or did they simply vanish from the historical record?

This week, Sally Helm speaks with Philippa Langley, author of The Princes in the Tower: Solving History’s Greatest Cold Case. Langley shares why she believes we’ve been looking at this mystery the wrong way—and how new evidence could finally bring the truth to light.

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