American Carnival: Barnum Project

Listen to an anecdote from Barnum's young life highlighting both his showmanship and his humbug! Phineas Barnum, a young store clerk, makes a rash decision with a peddler, and as a result has to work his way out of a tight bind.

Listen to the unbelievable and tragic life of the original Siamese twins, Chang and Eng, and their adventures touring with the infamous P. T. Barnum.

Liar, Liar, Robes on Fire. Barnum doesn't stand for anyone's lies, even a minister's.

This episode is about the Joyce Heth hoax, which made P. T. Barnum famous in the entertainment industry.

New York juggler Signor Antonio, Professor of Equilibrium and Place Dancing, is recruited by the infamous P. T. Barnum. Changing the man's name to Vivalla to sound more ethnic, Barnum hypes the once-nobody to stardom.

Barnum's American Museum, once located on the corner of Anne and Broadway in New York City, was a major point of American pop culture in the mid-1800s; step in to see the build up and opening of one of Barnum's greatest triumphs!

Genuine Mermaid for Lease -- Profit Guaranteed.

Barnum exhibits General Tom Thumb, fresh out of England. 11 years old and only 25 inches high!

Come get excited to experience the Great Buffalo Show... or Great Buffalo Hoax!

P.T. Barnum and his side show collection. The American Museum in New York welcomes the Bearded Lady of Geneva!

How Barnum got the nickname "Prince of Humbug."

This episode is about one of the many natural curiosities Barnum had in his museums.  His famous Woolly Horse was a popular exhibit, but was the horse actually one of a kind?

Jenny Lind, "the Swedish Nightingale," engaged in a $150,000 contract with P. T. Barnum to sing on tour in America. This episode describes the excitement over Jenny Lind's 1850 arrival in New York City.

Become one of the hundreds of onlookers who watched Barnum's "Brick Man" perform a fairly peculiar task!

Listen to this informational, jaw-dropping episode on P. T. Barnum's horrific 1865 museum fire.

Be inspired by this tall tale of love and tragedy involving one of the tallest women to grace the face of the earth -- the one, the only Anna Swan.

This episode discusses Barnum's first day running his own circus. It goes through the troubles -- and triumphs -- of the beginning of Barnum's circus life.

Take a trip to the small town of Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1875. A new mayor has just been elected, a mayor named Barnum.

Jumbo was the most famous elephant and admired by millions around the world.  However, one tragic night changed everything.