The Missing Chapter Podcast

Some of the coolest stories in history are the ones that hide in plain sight.  A deck of cards is no exception.  We see them everywhere and almost every household has a deck or two of cards.  From casinos to your grandparents’ house, to that junk drawer in your kitchen nobody cleans out. Fifty-two cards. Four suits. A couple jokers. Simple, yet historic, and absolutely fascinating because none of...

Let me start with a challenge.  How much of the Star-Spangled Banner do you actually know?  Not the first line.  Not the first verse.  The whole thing.  If I handed you a microphone at a baseball game and asked you to sing it, how far would you get?  Ten seconds?  Five?  Would you just start humming confidently and hope nobody notices? Because here's the strange thing: One of the most recogniz...

“Step into a Victorian drawing room. Velvet curtains pool at your feet. Gaslight flickers softly against polished wood. The air is warm… almost comforting. And on the walls, an exquisite emerald-green wallpaper glows with undeniable elegance. It’s beautiful. It’s fashionable. And it’s quietly killing you. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, Britain’s homes became showcases of progress—fi...

I think you reach a certain age, where you start to become very reflective on your life – where you’ve been and where you’re headed. For me, this weekend provides the opportunity to take time out of my busy schedule and reinforce what I already know… my Dad is truly a role model and mentor. There are always actions and traits that dads pass down to their sons – how to shave, how to carry oneself,...

If you are as obsessive as I am, I go crazy when I can’t find something.  It drives me nuts.  I will search far and wide and I am a man on a mission until this object is found.  I think there is something about the human mind that naturally gravitates toward finding the lost - like lost treasure.  People have crossed deserts, financed expeditions, started wars, and ruined their lives trying to fin...

History is full of strange coincidences, and the Civil War is no exception. In fact, we’ve documented many coincidences that occurred during the biggest turning point in our nation’s history – from the story of Wilmer McLean, whose land provided the stage for the first Battle of Bull Run and whose house witnessed the signing of peace in Appomattox, to the Union soldiers from the 27th Indiana Volun...

Have you ever wanted to prove someone wrong when someone told you that you couldn’t do something?  Maybe you proved a nay-sayer wrong.  Maybe you outperformed someone who doubted you.  Maybe you refused to give up when you failed. Now imagine that same energy, but instead of proving a point…You build a multi-million dollar company. Actually, scratch that. You build a company so successful, it comp...

Have you ever wondered about walking over something and had absolutely no idea what was underneath your feet? Maybe finding out about an old battlefield, tunnels, or maybe a subway? Maybe that one mystery smell in the city you’re visiting emanating from that sewer grate underneath your feet? Now imagine this: You’re walking across one of the most famous landmarks in America…The Brooklyn Bridge. Ca...

I don’t know about you, but I rarely have cash on me anymore.  And even more rare is when I carry change.  But you might have had an experience like I have had when you pull out some change in your pocket, and realize there is a coin that feels different from the rest.  And I’m not talking about the now rare, obsolete penny, but maybe the occasional Canadian coin that seems a bit lighter than your...

Let me start today’s episode with a question - What does a goat, a small child, a giant orange fuzzy creature… and a billion-dollar marketing strategy all have in common? …They’re all mascots - you know, those chaotic, dancing, slightly terrifying creatures running around at games -  hugging children, doing acrobats, and mocking their opponents.  They are the entertainers of the game!  But they di...

Humans have innate instincts, just like animals do. We can go to a zoo on vacation and observe mother tigers snuggling their cubs or baby elephants sidling next to their parents for warmth and comfort. That same night, what are my wife and I doing with our boys, while we’re watching a movie? You guessed it… the same parental, natural impulse to “snuggle.” There are few feelings more comforting tha...

Let me start with a quick question: What do coffee, gossip, war and your group chat all have in common? That sounds like the setup to a terrible joke, but it’s not because all of them are connected by the words we use every single day - words that didn’t start in classrooms or offices.  They started in battle. Words like skedaddle , blockbuster , jamoke - they sound harmless and funny. But their o...

In 6 seasons and nearly 300 episodes, Phil and I have brought you countless stories “forgotten” or “lost” in the bowels of history. We’ve shed light on names, faces, and lives that you have never known about; people who have shaped not only our history, but the lifestyles we live every day. But what about the people you have heard of? What about the names that are familiar to you? What could we po...

Welcome to The Missing Chapter—the podcast where we uncover the stories that history somehow forgot to highlight. Today’s Missing Chapter Profile is about a man who helped light up the modern world—in the most literal sense—and yet somehow, most people have never heard his name. We’re heading to Queens, New York, to a house that doesn’t just preserve history—it protects a legacy. Inside that home...

There are certain sounds that instantly trigger memories. A school bell.  The startup noise of an old computer on dial up.  The click of a cassette tape. And for decades, one sound meant the same thing for almost everyone on Earth. Today on The Missing Chapter , we’re talking about the hidden story of a sound that started billions of conversations that technically isn’t even necessary anymore.  It...

Well, everyone, we’re back with another Top 5. That’s right, back by popular demand, our Top 5 today focuses on something that we haven’t heard much about - the worst military blunders in human history. So let’s take a deep look into what we would consider our Top 5 Worst Military decisions of all time. This episode might be filled with bad decisions, but not on your part.  You made the right deci...

“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is a beloved children's book by Judi Barrett about the town of Chewandswallow, where food falls from the sky for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, until the weather turns bad and giant food storms threaten the town, forcing the residents to find a new way to live. The story, first published in 1978, is known for its imaginative concept and inspired the popular a...

Ever wondered why spaghetti breaks in more than two pieces? We just witnessed something remarkable on the latest episode of the Missing Chapter Podcast. For years, it's been believed that when you break spaghetti, it never snaps into just two pieces. But guess what? We tested it live—and the results were shocking! This myth has puzzled physicists since 1939. So, can spaghetti break in two? Wat...

You know the stories where someone says they “know a guy” who did something so insane that it sounds completely made up?  You roll your eyes because physics, common sense, and survival instincts say, “Yeah, no chance.”  And yet—every once in a while—one of those stories is real. Well, on today's episode of the Missing Chapter, you won't believe that this story isn't made "up.&quot...

Imagine a podcast that unlocks the door to imagination and lost historical stories. Beyond it is another dimension—a dimension of sight, sound, and mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. An auditory journey to the realms of reality and science fiction; behind the curtain of one of the most popular and beloved television shows of all time.     A cup of ho...

Have you ever wondered how humans went from trudging around on two feet to gliding and rolling on a thin piece of medal or a few wobbly wheels? The story of skating is one of the most unexpected and delightful missing chapters in history — and it all starts way before disco, spandex, or decent brakes for that matter. On this Missing Chapter Short, we are actually going to encourage you to skate th...

What if I told you that, for nearly a quarter of a century, a cookie recipe—yes, a cookie recipe—could predict the next President of the United States? That between stump speeches and State of the Union addresses, there was another kind of political showdown happening... not in Washington, not on TV, but in kitchens across America. It started in 1992, with one offhand remark from Hillary Clinton—a...

If you have been a Missing Chapter podcast listener for any period of time, you know how much we love uncovering the unknown stories of history.  Well, for today’s episode, we’re not just going to uncover, we’re going to unpack, as I unfold an unbelievable overcomer story of one of the most popular and widely known goods in the world.  It’s a wild one today, listeners, so make sure you pour yourse...

For today’s Missing Chapter Profile, we look into the details and unknown stories of one of the pioneers in the entertainment industry as a magician and escape artist.  One of the most daring and death-defying individuals in history, Harry Houdini’s life is filled with unbelievable stories.  And as popular of a man as he was, there are still parts of his life that are covered in mystery.  So let’s...

If you were fortunate enough to grow up in the decade of the 1980s, then chances are you have fond memories walking up and down the isles of iconic toy stories, places KB Toys, Toys are Us, FAO Swartz. Their shelves were lined with toys that defined the years of our youth – Cabbage Patch Kids, Transformers, GI Joe, Tickle Me Elmo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In the weeks after the Christmas Shop...