Have To Know History

Count Dracula moves to England and brings fifty boxes of dirt. You know, most people just bring a suitcase. Join history teacher Jason Freewalt for a Halloween edition of Have To Know History as we explore Bram Stoker’s Dracula , the real Vlad the Impaler, and the vampire legends behind the famous Count. Why doesn’t Dracula have a reflection? Where do wooden stakes, garlic, and bats fit into the s...

How much of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth came from real history? Quite a bit, actually. In this episode of Have To Know History , we look at the real-world ideas behind The Lord of the Rings — including Beowulf , Old English, Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon culture, ancient stories about magical rings, World War I, and the English countryside Tolkien knew and loved. We’ll also look at where names li...

What does The Hunger Games have to do with ancient Rome? Quite a bit, actually. In this episode of Have To Know History , we look at the Roman ideas hiding all through Suzanne Collins’s world, from Panem and “bread and circuses” to gladiators, political spectacle, the Capitol, and all those very Roman names like Coriolanus, Caesar, Seneca, Plutarch, Cinna, Cato, Octavia, Portia, and Flavius . We’l...

What was it really like to be a Roman gladiator? Movies like Gladiator and Spartacus have given us an unforgettable picture of ancient Rome, but the real history is a lot more complicated—and maybe even more interesting. In this episode of Have To Know History , we look at who Roman gladiators actually were, where they came from, how they trained, and what happened when they finally stepped into t...

Did the adventures of Odysseus really happen? In this episode of Have To Know History , we journey back more than 3,000 years to explore the fascinating historical world behind Homer's Odyssey . Along the way, we'll meet the Cyclops, the Sirens, Circe, Calypso, Scylla and Charybdis, and discover how real geography, Bronze Age history, archaeology, and centuries of storytelling may have tra...

How did one family of bankers help shape one of the greatest cultural movements in history? In this episode of Have To Know History , we conclude our three-part series, From the Silk Road to the Renaissance , by exploring the incredible story of the Medici family of Florence. The Medici weren't kings, but their wealth, political influence, and patronage helped transform Florence into the heart...

What if the Renaissance wasn’t just about great artists, beautiful paintings, and famous sculptures? What if it was also about cities? In this episode of Have To Know History, we continue our three-part series, From the Silk Road to the Renaissance . Part 2 focuses on the Italian city-states: places like Venice, Genoa, Milan, and Florence. During the Renaissance, Italy was not one united country y...

What if the Renaissance didn’t begin with a painting, a sculpture, or a famous artist? What if part of the story begins with the Silk Road? In this episode of Have To Know History, we begin a three-part series called From the Silk Road to the Renaissance. Part 1 follows Marco Polo, the Silk Road, and the world of trade, travel, stories, inventions, and ideas that helped open Europe’s imagination a...

When people hear the name Mansa Musa, they usually hear one claim right away: the richest man who ever lived. But how did someone become unimaginably wealthy in the middle of the Sahara Desert? In this episode of Have To Know History, we explore the real story behind Mansa Musa — not just his gold, but the systems that made his wealth possible. From silent barter and the salt trade to camel carava...

Imagine a story so old it was told long before it was ever written down… A story of monsters, warriors, revenge—and one hero who decides to fight a creature with his bare hands. That’s Beowulf . In this episode of Have to Know History , we dive into one of the oldest surviving stories in the English language—a tale of Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a final battle with a dragon that comes many year...

Baseball feels as American as summer nights, hot dogs, and a game of catch in the backyard… but the real story of how it began is far more surprising. In this episode of Have To Know History , we go beyond the familiar myths and uncover the true origins of baseball—from ancient stick-and-ball games played in Egypt, Greece, and Rome… to chaotic medieval games… to the rise of professional teams in p...

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only ancient Wonder of the World still standing — and the more we study it, the more questions it raises. Built over 4,500 years ago during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu, this massive monument was once a gleaming white mountain in the desert, aligned with the stars and designed for eternity. But how was it built with such precision? Who were the workers really? And wh...

The men who assassinated Julius Caesar believed they were saving the Roman Republic. Instead, they accidentally created an emperor. In this episode of Have To Know History , we trace the political chaos that followed Caesar’s murder and led to the rise of Octavian , later known as Augustus , Rome’s first emperor. From Marc Antony’s explosive funeral speech to the doomed alliance of the Second Triu...

If you could turn invisible, would you still do the right thing? In this episode of Have To Know History , we explore Plato’s famous story of the Ring of Gyges and the debate between Socrates and Glaucon over human nature, morality, and whether people are truly good — or simply afraid of getting caught. This ancient thought experiment asks a timeless question: who are you when no one can see you?...

What if everything you think is real… isn’t? In this episode of Have To Know History , we break down Plato’s famous Allegory of the Cave from The Republic and explore what it reveals about truth, education, and how easily people can be shaped by what they are taught. From ancient Greece to the modern world of media and information, this powerful thought experiment challenges how we understand real...

The Olympic Games didn’t begin with gold medals, national anthems, or massive stadiums. They began nearly 3,000 years ago in ancient Greece as a sacred festival dedicated to Zeus — where city-states paused wars, athletes competed for honor, and victory meant glory, not money. In this episode of Have To Know History , we explore the true origins of the Olympic Games :• Why Greek city-states stopped...

What is courage? What is love? What is beauty? More than 2,400 years ago, Socrates was asking the same questions we still struggle with today. In this episode of Have To Know History , we explore Socrates, the Socratic Method, and why asking questions — instead of accepting easy answers — became one of the most powerful tools in Western thought. Socrates believed wisdom begins by admitting what yo...

What does it really mean to be romantic? Believe it or not, the word “romance” originally meant being Roman. In this episode of Have To Know History , we explore how the ancient Romans saw themselves as refined, polished, and civilized — and how that self-image shaped the meaning of romance, love, and even the Romance languages we still speak today. From Roman bathhouses and Latin poetry to the ri...

Before he conquered Rome, before he became dictator, and long before his dramatic assassination, Julius Caesar made one decision that changed everything: he crossed the Rubicon. In 49 BC, Caesar stood on the edge of a small river that marked the legal boundary of his authority. Crossing it with his army was treason. Not crossing it meant losing everything — his power, his allies, his safety, and p...

Before Julius Caesar became the most famous Roman in history, he was kidnapped by Cilician pirates — who had no idea who they were dealing with. In this episode, we explore the unbelievable true story of how young Caesar: • mocked the pirates holding him hostage • demanded they raise his ransom because he was “worth more” • treated the pirates like his employees • promised he’d come back to punish...

Julius Caesar. Pompey. The Roman Senate. The Rubicon. The epic assassination. This is the dramatic story of how the Roman Republic collapsed — and how one ambitious general changed world history forever. In this episode of Have To Know History , we break down Caesar’s rise to power, his conquest of Gaul, his rivalry with Pompey the Great, and the fateful moment he crossed the Rubicon and plunged R...

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz isn’t just a fantasy story — it may also be a hidden allegory about America in the late 1800s. In this episode, we explore how L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel reflects the Panic of 1893, the gold vs. silver debate, and the rise of the Populist movement. We break down the symbolic meaning behind: Dorothy and ordinary Americans The Scarecrow and farmers The Tin Woodman and indu...

Long before Instagram or travel blogs, the ancient Greeks made the world’s first bucket list — the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. From the Great Pyramid of Giza to the Lighthouse of Alexandria, these incredible creations showed what humans could build with imagination, ambition, and divine inspiration. In this episode, Mr. Freewalt takes you on a journey through the ancient Mediterranean to u...

This is Have To Know History — history you just have to know. Rome didn’t start with marble temples and mighty emperors. According to legend, it began with a jealous king, an abandoned pair of twins, a war god, and a wolf. In this episode, we dive into the myth of Romulus and Remus — and why the Romans needed this story. Here’s what we explore: 🏛️ Rome’s not-so-glamorous real beginnings — a collec...

After the Greek city-states united to defeat the mighty Persian Empire, peace didn’t last long. Athens rose to power through the Delian League , transforming an alliance for defense into an empire of tribute, ships, and wealth. Sparta watched with growing resentment — and before long, the two greatest powers in Greece were on a collision course. In this Have To Know History – Story Time episode, I...