Gems of History

We're back with another compilation of short history stories. This collection covers the invention of roller skates, a story of survival in the Amazon, and a horny president. In other words, all of the good stuff!  Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok by searching for the Gems of History Podcast. Also, join us on Facebook in "The Agora - Gems of History Discussion" group!

Continuing with our coverage on Revolutionary War espionage, we focus this week on the spies that George Washington recruited to help him in his efforts to defeat the British. The main circle of spies we know of today was the Culper Ring, a hand picked group that provided key information on British troop movements and battle plans which helped Washington deceive the enemy. We also discuss Agent 35...

This week begins our coverage on the art of espionage as practiced in the Revolutionary War. The first week will focus mostly on the British side of intelligence gathering, with people like William Tryon and the infamous Benedict Arnold. In a war where having a jump on enemy movements was everything, the British quickly realized how important it would be to organize their spies and collect as much...

This week we interview two friends of the podcast about their experience in the military, from boot camp to the way it affected their lives after they left. We hope this conversation gives people a better understanding of military service and answers some of the questions people may have. Thank you to everyone who is currently serving or has served. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouT...

This week take's our Edgewood coverage on the road as the officials at the base determine it is necessary to run trials overseas to get more unbiased results. We also discuss the various tragedies that surround Edgewood after the men left, such as the death of Harold Blauer and James Thornwell. The personal testimonies from former volunteers help shed light on how their lives were affected in the...

This week's episode is the first part of our coverage of the chemical and drug experiments that took place at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland throughout the middle of the 20th century. Thousands of unwitting soldiers were given varying drugs in radically different dosages by scientists all in the hope to find a way to create a war without guns. However, many of the tests proved to be less than effect...

We are back with some of your personal creepy tales straight from our wonderful listeners! In addition, we also read a few creepypasta stories to try and get everyone in the mood for Halloween! Thank you to everyone who submitted stories this year! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok by searching for the Gems of History Podcast! Also feel free to join us on Facebook in "The Agora...

In November of 1975, a man named Travis Walton was supposedly abducted by aliens in a forest a short ways outside of Phoenix, Arizona. He has never changed his story in the nearly 50 years since the event took place, and all of the witnesses passed polygraph tests shortly after the event took place. In what is now known as one of the most believable abduction stories in the United States, Travis t...

This week Evan discusses a family possession out of Indiana, full to the brim with children levitating and walking up walls. Jacob goes through the story of the Villisca Axe murders and how the house is still supposedly haunted to this day. Who do you think did it? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube - just search Gems of History Podcast! If you want to send in your personal stori...

MARK IS BACK! Evan is out this week so Mark is returning to fill in as we discuss two unsolved murder cases from World War II-era United Kingdom. The first case revolves around a skeleton found in a tree by four teenage boys who would later come to be known as Bella. The second is a murder in the open that remains unsolved to this day - that of Charles Walton. Who do you think Bella was? And who k...

This week's episode is up to it's ankles in blood as we discuss the story of Elizabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess. She has the record for the most prolific female murderer with a tally of 600 kills and was said to bathe in the blood of her victims. But there are a lot of rumors surrounding her story, so we attempt to figure out what is true and what is fanciful storytelling.  Link to Vapid Soul's...

This week we discuss the evolution of air warfare from World War I into World War II through the work of Malcolm Gladwell in his book The Bomber Mafia. One daring group of Air Force personnel attempted to change the strategy of bombing to be more precise and effective while keeping casualties down, but what ended up happening was quite the opposite. The result was one of the most deadly bombing ru...

This week we dive into some of the labor movements in America that paved the way for reform in the workplace during the early 1900s. Many people worked in dangerous conditions for little pay, sometimes even requiring their children to work to help support the family. But there were some brave souls who stood for change and put their lives on the line to create a safer and more accommodating workpl...

We conclude our coverage on the Sengoku Jidai this week by covering the Battle of Sekigahara, which concluded the warring states period and sent Japan into multiple centuries of isolationism. The battle could have gone either way, but Tokugawa Ieyasu eventually comes out on top at the third ruler, following Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.  Follow us on Twitter (@gems_history), Instagram...

This week begins our coverage on one of the most important time periods in Japanese history, the Sengoku Jidai civil war period. Hundreds of local lords controlled the landscape of Japan until three men came along and put forth the effort to unify the country under a single rule. It is one of the more violent periods in the country's history and we talk about the lead up to the final battle of the...

This week is a bit more serious than the past couple weeks, focusing on the unfortunate story of Otto Warmbier and his trip to North Korea. He had his whole life ahead of him, on his way to a successful career in banking. But after being convicted in North Korea for a crime he may or may not have committed, the life he had crumbled. We hope to find as much clarity out of the story as we can to fig...

DISCLAIMER: There is a bit of audio interference on this one, we are still figuring out the new equipment setup. Hopefully it doesn't get in the way of the episode for you as you listen, we tried to edit it out as best as we could! We go back to the short story format on this episode and tell five fun and comedic stories from history. We touch on a famous scam artist, a stubborn triangle of popes,...

This week we dive into two mysterious phenomenon from history: the dancing plague and spontaneous human combustion. The first took place in mainly medieval times, with hundreds of people dancing themselves to the point of exhaustion, sometimes ending in death. The second is a supposed situation where a person randomly bursts into flame and burns completely without any evident external ignition sou...

This week we take a look into the circumstances surrounding the Spanish-American War, including the second War for Cuban Independence and the situation in Spain leading into the short conflict. This war only lasted roughly 4 months, but it had quite a large impact in many different world politics. It skyrocketed Teddy Roosevelt to fame, established the first foreign U.S. holdings in Cuba, and dash...

On our second and final episode on the Spartans we focus more on the battles they fought, particularly the famous battle at the pass of Thermopylae. This battle is one of the main reasons for the Spartans claim to fame and skyrocketed them to historic legends. It is also, perhaps, the reason they were forced to become the military power that they are know propped up to be. Follow us on Twitter (@g...

This week starts our series on the ancient powerhouse civilization of the Spartans. We seek to find the middle ground truth on who the Spartans were and set up for our second part which will focus on the titular battle of Thermopylae, which skyrocketed the Spartans to fame. If you think you know about this society, you may be surprised by what they were actually like.  Follow us on Twitter (@gems_...

This week we are spanning all of history and seeing how governments at different points in time dealt with their worst criminals. A lot of early executions focused on the spectacle of a public execution to show the state's power, but there are still plenty of places today that put people to death as a government institution. We discuss how the transition from ancient death sentences transitioned t...

For the 4th of July, we decided to cover an American milestone - the moon landing. During the Cold War, there was a lot of focus put on both the Soviet Union and the United States to be the first country to put a man into space and eventually on the moon. The United States eventually won, but they recruited help from an unlikely place, the Nazis.  Follow us on Twitter (@gems_history), Instagr...

We return to the world of ghosts this week with one of the most well documented cases of paranormal activity in the past century. The Enfield Poltergeist was chosen as the basis for the sequel to one of the most popular modern horror movies, the Conjuring. With hours of recordings of supposed paranormal happenings, it's an interesting case from both sides of the belief coin. We do our best to pres...

We are heading back to the UK for this episode, highlighting a Scottish freedom fighting hero. William Wallace came from nothing and became the Guardian of Scotland by the middle of the war for Scottish independence. While he wasn't necessarily the real Braveheart, he was a very important figure in the fight against the English. Follow us on Twitter (@gems_history), Instagram (@gems_of_history_pod...