15-Minute History

Welcome back to Sketches in History! This segment, just for kids, shows that history isn't just a story, it's an adventure. Join Lottie Archer as she dives into her extraordinary notebook, where sketches from history come to life! In this episode, Lottie finds a telegram on her grandfather's desk, its edges yellowed and its paper thin and crinkly, printed in faded capital letters with...

Henry Ford didn't just build a car. He built the world we drive through, the suburb we live in, and the weekend we take for granted. He paid his workers more than anyone thought reasonable, and beat them when they tried to organize. He gave ordinary Americans freedom of movement and gave Nazi Germany a hero to admire. In this episode, we sit with one of the most consequential and troubling Ame...

Let's step into a time machine and tell the American Founding Fathers what they should have done as they were writing the Constitution! Join us every Thursday for Pop Quizzes and Sketches in History, and be sure to tune in on Mondays for our episodes and discussions. We love to hear from you as well, so post your comments below!

Join us as we talk about the era of industrial titans. In this discussion, we trace the Gilded Age from Carnegie's steel mills and Rockefeller's stranglehold on oil to the garages and server farms of Amazon, Google, and Apple. Join us every Monday for episodes and discussions, and Thursdays for pop quizzes and Sketches in History. We love hearing from you, so leave a comment below!

On Halloween night in 1938, a radio drama shocked the American people by describing a Martian invasion. This event demonstrated the power of the spoken word delivered electronically as much as FDR's "fireside chats." Joe is a big fan of the show, so Jon asked him about it (while also getting the date wrong--so please shame him in the comments below).

Every era has its titans. Men who look at the rules of commerce, find the gaps, and build empires inside them, until society catches up and writes new rules to contain what they created. In this episode, we trace the Gilded Age from Carnegie's steel mills and Rockefeller's stranglehold on oil to the garages and server farms of Amazon, Google, and Apple. The methods changed. The underlying...

Welcome back to Sketches in History! This segment, just for kids, shows that history isn't just a story, it's an adventure. Join Lottie Archer as she dives into her extraordinary notebook, where sketches from history come to life. In this episode, Lottie finds an old chrome microphone on her grandfather's shelf, with a handwritten card tucked beneath it: This Sunday. Ten o'clock. T...

Join Jon and Joe as they discuss how presidents have used, and sometimes botched, major communication mediums from radio to social media, and what it tells us about leadership in modern America.

Welcome back to Sketches in History! This segment, just for kids, shows that history isn't just a story, it's an adventure. Join Lottie Archer as she dives into her extraordinary notebook, where sketches from history come to life. In this episode, Lottie finds a mysterious bottle of oil and a folded newspaper and follows. The notebook takes her to the Wyoming plains of 1922, where a powerf...

Every president wants to speak directly to the American people. This has looked different in every era, with the technology helping to shape the man, and most importantly, the perception of the man. In this episode, we trace how the microphone, the television camera, and everything that followed didn't just deliver the president's words. These mediums rewrote the rules for who could lead a...

Remember the California Wildfires? Most of us watched the footage, maybe donated to the cause, and moved on. But what happened after the cameras left? Are the homes rebuilt? Why are permits nearly impossible to get? And where did the FireAid concert money go? The people who lost everything are still waiting for answers. It may feel like yesterday, but this is already history, and it's exactly...

The modern presidency's power is beyond anything our founders could have dreamed. Its limits often seem ill-defined, as are efforts to hold elected officials accountable for their actions. So what can be done? Join us every Monday for episodes and discussions, and check out our Thursday pop quizzes and Sketches in History episodes!

What happens when a powerful nation attacks a long-standing rival? No, we aren't talking about the United States and Iran (though that conversation is coming). What would happen if China tried to retake the island of Taiwan as it as long planned to do so. What are the historical forces in play? And how would America and the world respond to this kind of aggression? Join us on Thursdays for pop...

Americans love a scandal, especially when it involves those in power. In this episode, we take a look at three of the most scandal-ridden presidencies in American history (none of which involve living chief executives) and try to understand what each one tells us about the abuse of power and the institutions that work to both preserve and restrain it. Join us every Monday for episodes and discussi...

Welcome back to Sketches in History ! This segment, just for kids, shows that history isn't just a story; it's an adventure. Join Lottie Archer as she dives into her extraordinary notebook, where sketches from history come to life. In this episode, Lottie travels to 1913 Washington, D.C., where thousands of women in white march down Pennsylvania Avenue demanding the right to vote. But this...

By popular demand, the 15-Minute History team is re-airing one of our most popular episodes. This originally aired on April 8th, 2019. New episode next Monday, March 2nd. ____ The name “Enterprise” is not exclusive to fictional starships or the space shuttle; in fact, nineteen ships of the British Royal Navy and nine of the United States Navy have born the name (spelled either with an S or a Z). U...

Walter Isaacson's biography paints Steve Jobs as a visionary genius. But was Jobs truly the inventor and designer he's often portrayed as? In this pop quiz, we talk Steve Jobs's leadership style, his contributions, and whether the company has actually lost its edge without him. Join us every Thursday for pop quizzes and Sketches in History, and comment below with your thoughts and ques...

This discussion covers the four progressive amendments and how each changed Americans' relationship with their government. Joe and I also delve into some broader topics about constitutional changes and how our society continues to evolve in its understanding of the rule of law. Join us every Monday for new episodes and discussions, and let us know your thoughts and questions in the comments be...

Historians have often compared current Russian aggression toward Ukraine with the two world wars of the last century. But what does history tell us about an aggressor's fate after a conflict ends? Should other nations try to contain them, isolating these aggressive states with strong alliances and large military arsenals? Or is it better to bring them into the so-called "family of nations...

American progressives at the turn of the 20th century saw major flaws in the United States Constitution and worked to correct them through the process of amendments. Each one was the subject of debate and controversy, and all four made measurable changes to American society (though one can debate the merits of some). Join us for this survey of the four progressive amendments--as well as a funny st...

The 15-Minute History Podcast team welcomes you back to another Sketches in History. This segment, just for kids, shows that history isn't just a story; it's an adventure. Join Lottie Archer as she dives into her extraordinary notebook, where sketches from history come to life. In this episode, she travels to May 1903 to witness an unlikely camping trip that changed America forever. Standing besid...

"What struck you most about Roosevelt?" The question hangs in the air as we return to last week's episode. The spectacles, the gymnasium, the Badlands, the Bull Moose - each moment revealing layers we're still unpacking. Roosevelt's life demands conversation - about privilege and responsibility, grief and reinvention, the price of the strenuous life, and whether we're equ...

Why do so many large corporations, especially the tech giants, seem to avoid federal antitrust legislation? Join us every Thursday for pop quizzes and Sketches in History episodes, and leave a comment below if you have questions or ideas about topics we should cover!

"You must make your body." An asthmatic boy in wire-rimmed spectacles nods. Decades later, shot in the chest, he'll deliver a 90-minute speech: "It takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose." Theodore Roosevelt is often reduced to caricature - the Rough Rider, the big game hunter, the face on Mount Rushmore. But this oversimplified image misses the man who transformed perso...

The 15-Minute History Podcast team welcomes you back to another Sketches in History. This segment, just for kids, shows that history isn't just a story; it's an adventure. Join Lottie Archer as she dives into her extraordinary notebook, where sketches from history come to life. In this episode, she travels to 1907 to witness one of humanity's greatest engineering challenges: the constr...