Eyewitness History

This episode I have the great pleasure of doing a two person interview with Javier Peña and Steve Murphy. These two DEA special agents were assigned as the lead investigators targeting Pablo Escobar and his Medellin Cartel. These true American heroes provide a firsthand lesson in history as they discuss with me the reference bringing down the world's first Narco terrorist, the challenges they face...

In this episode, Josh and podcast host Jeremy Stalnecker discuss the value of podcasting and the art of the interview! Jeremy Stalnecker hosts two podcasts, "March or Die" and "The Situation Report." Find link here for our previous interview on Jeremy's "March or Die" podcast: https://rb.gy/vgduq See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I interviewed Chris Tarbell earlier this year. We discussed the infamous "Silk Road" investigation, which was also made into a movie, and what recruiting and training at the FBI was like! On July 26, 1908, the FBI was founded when U.S. Attorney General Charles Bonaparte ordered newly hired federal investigators to report to Chief Examiner Stanley W. Finch. Originally known as the Bureau of Investi...

Jack Barsky is a former KGB spy who successfully infiltrated the United States for over 10 years. During this time, he spied for the Soviet Union. At long last, he was discovered by the FBI. This is his story. In this episode, we also discuss on of my former interviewees, Valerie Plame. See below for links to that episode: Apple Podcasts: https://rb.gy/5drc2 Spotify: https://rb.gy/4gg80 See omnyst...

Subscribe to History of North America: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3NMEUTz Spotify: https://sptfy.com/Ojwu Discover more episodes of History of North America: Deep Timeline of USA, Canada and Mexico: https://apple.co/44jjZP5 / https://sptfy.com/OjwC Dinosaur Extinction to the Arrival of Humans: https://apple.co/3pFt062 / https://sptfy.com/OjwG Did China Discover America in 1421?: https://appl...

Greg Marinovich is co-author of The Bang Bang Club, a nonfiction book on South Africa’s transition to democracy that has been translated into six languages. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and filmmaker. He spent 25 years covering conflict around the globe, with his writing and photographs appearing in magazines and newspapers worldwide. Specifically conflict zones within Apartheid Sou...

John Wolfram was a Navy frogman. John assisted in the Apollo 10 astronaut and space recovery and was the first frogman in the water to rescue Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins after their historical moon landing. John is the author of Splashdown, The Rescue of a Navy Frogman first published in 2008. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I am ecstatic to share that Eyewitness History has surpassed 100,000 downloads! This is an exceptional milestone and I wanted to celebrate with you! I wanted to showcase some of my favorite interview moments from the show. They're with people ranging from an Oscar-winner to a 9/11 survivor. Thank you so much for letting me help tell these stories! HEAR THE FULL EPISODES: Oscar Winner Doug Drexler:...

Mike Drucker is an Emmy-nominated writer and comedian. He has worked on Saturday Night Live, Adam Ruins Everything, and much more! He was also a writer for The Onion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Feal was not an activist; he was a carpenter and a demolition specialist from Long Island, New York. He was a 9/11 responder, and while at the site on September 17, a piece of steel crushed his left foot. He twice applied for compensation from the September 11th Relief Fund, and was denied—even though his injury had been deemed “life-threatening and catastrophic.” Because it occurred ninety-s...

James Lampley is an American sportscaster, news anchor, film producer, and restaurant owner. He was best known as a blow-by-blow announcer on HBO World Championship Boxing for 30 years. He also had covered a record 14 Olympic Games on U.S. television, most recently the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. From a national talent hunt, the network interviewed 432 candidates for the once-in-a-life...

James Fenelon is the paratrooper-turned-author of Four Hours of Fury , the untold story of the American 17th Airborne Division’s combat jump over Germany’s Rhine River in March 1945. His most recent book, Angels Against the Sun , follows the 11th Airborne Division’s campaign through the Pacific and their eventual landing in Japan as the vanguard of the occupation forces. As an author, Fenelon leve...

Serving as a covert operations officer for the CIA, Valerie Plame kept her occupation and identity a secret, even from her closest family and friends. All that changed in 2003 when a conservative columnist, at the direction of senior White House officials, leaked her true identity. It was payback for her then husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, questioning the administration’s primary rationale for...

Eugene Smith joined Peoples Temple in 1973 and lived in the Temple’s San Francisco commune before leaving for Jonestown in fall 1977. He was in Georgetown on November 18 clearing items from customs. Numerous members of his family – including his mother, wife, and infant son – died in Jonestown. Eugene is the author of the 2021 book, Back to the World: A Life after Jonestown. See omnystudio.com/lis...

Allan Havey is an actor, comedian, writer, and talk show host. He was the host, writer and executive producer of Night After Night with Allan Havey, which aired on The Comedy Channel from 1989-1992. He’s known for portraying Lou Avery on AMC’s “Mad Men” and Karl Allerd on Showtime’s “Billions”. He made numerous appearances on the David Letterman show (on both CBS and NBC) and created two Cable Ace...

In Organized Crime and Punishment: A History and Crime Podcast, historian Steve Guerra and his trusty sidekick “Mustache Chris'' explore the rise of organized crime in various regions of the world and delve into the lives of some of the most renowned criminals and notorious gangsters. Every week, you’ll hear historical recollections and exclusive interviews about everything organized crime, from t...

Anne Marie works with NGO's and private companies to develop and fund their organizations and projects. She has hosted fundraisers for political campaigns from NY City Council to the NY Governors race and Presidential bids. Clients include, United Cerebral Palsy Research & Education (CEO Paul Volcker) as well as Tom Cruise and his 9/11 NY Detox Project. She creates and produces unique events f...

Henk Rogers is the President of the Tetris Company and a pioneer in the video game industry. In the 1980s, Rogers brought role-playing games to Japan and turned a little-known game called Tetris into an international phenomenon after intense negotiations with the Soviet Union and Nintendo. His efforts helped establish the Game Boy as a market leader and made Tetris one of the most popular games of...

Doug Drexler is a visual effects artist, designer, sculptor, illustrator, and a makeup artist who has collaborated with such talents as Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, Meryl Streep, and Warren Beatty. He began his career in the entertainment industry working for makeup artist Dick Smith on such films as The Hunger and Starman. He has also contributed to Three Men and a Little Lady, The Cott...

Jackie Kohnstamm grew up in North London, where she still lives. She studied an ancient Jewish community in France for her PhD, never guessing how the skills acquired then would later help her delve into her own family story. She has lectured in higher education and written short stories and plays for BBC radio and the stage. Jackie is nourished by lengthy meals with friends and by her garden on t...

Michael Chertoff is an American attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security to serve under President George W. Bush. He was the co-author of the USA PATRIOT Act. Chertoff previously served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as a federal prosecutor, and as Assistant U.S. Attorney General. He succeeded Tom Ridge...

Landon Y. Jones (Lanny) is an author and magazine editor. His most recent book is Celebrity Nation: How America Evolved into a Culture of Fans and Followers, to be published in May 2023 by Beacon Press. His previous books are William Clark and the Shaping of the West (Hill and Wang, 2004), The Essential Lewis and Clark (Ecco/HarperCollins, 2000) and Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom Ge...

David Tyson retired from the CIA’s Directorate of Operations in 2020 after a 25-year career. The majority of his service was overseas; most of his postings and deployments were in Central Asia, the Caucasus region, and South Asia. David was a member of Team Alpha, the first group of U.S. personnel inserted behind enemy lines in Afghanistan after 9/11. During that deployment, David and the team wor...

Paula Stone Tucker was a witness to the May 4, 1970 shootings at Kent State University. A retired clinical psychologist, she worked with survivors of trauma and abuse. In her younger days she was a reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal and the Daily Kent Stater. She grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and graduated from Kent State. She splits her time between northeast Ohio and The Villages, Florida w...

Still in love with making records, Charles Fisher is currently based in his home studio in Melbourne. He is renowned for his great ears (finding and developing talent; selecting hits), his canny arrangement skills and his psychological skills, getting the best out of a range of personalities. The extraordinarily versatile ‘song doctor’ is at home with rock guitars (Radio Birdman, Hoodoo Gurus), po...