History Dispatches

4.8 (120)
History
Updated Daily

History Dispatches is a daily history show hosted by father and son duo Matt and McKinley Breen. The show covers people, places, events and even objects from throughout history. While any topic is fair game, Matt and McKinley hold a soft spot for the offbeat and wacky stories that most people don’t know about.

19m ago • Subscribers Only

Operation Rubicon - one of the most successful intelligence operations of the Cold War

Crypto AG was a Swiss company that specialized in encryption technology with roots all the way back to 1920. In 1970, the company was sold. The buyers - the CIA and BND - the latter West Germany's intelligence service. The result was described as the 'Intelligence Coup of the Century'. This is the story of Operation Rubicon. Sources https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/national-security/cia-crypto-encryption-machines-espionage/ https://www.cryptomuseum.com/intel/cia/rubicon.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Rubicon Image: by Rama - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hagelin_CX-52-IMG_0568-white.jpg
1d ago

The Smoot: History's oddest measuring stick

On a cold October night, on the Harvard Bridge in Boston, Oliver Smoot and his fellow MIT fraternity pledges were doing something odd - measuring how long the bridge was in Mr. Smoot's height. But they succeeded, and eventually this would cause the unit - the Smoot - to be born. It is a story that lives on in the lore of Boston, MIT, the Internet, and the very concrete of the Harvard Bridge itself. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot https://news.mit.edu/2008/smoot-tt0924 Image: Courtesy MIT - https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/object/GCP-00023939?query=smoot&resultIndex=6 History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1d ago · Bonus

For fans of history: In Pursuit with Colleen Shogan

Introducing Mary Lincoln's Fiery Trial from In Pursuit with Colleen Shogan. Follow the show: In Pursuit with Colleen Shogan The story of Mary Lincoln's life is often a tale of mental illness, frivolous spending habits, and a rocky marriage to husband, Abraham. But what if we have Mary all wrong? Colleen Shogan talks with author Lois Romano about Mary's difficult childhood, her tenure as First Lady during the Civil War, and her fight to reclaim her own life in widowhood. Read Lois Romano's essay on Mary Lincoln. Hosted by Colleen Shogan, Ph.D. Written and Produced by Jim Ambuske, Ph.D. Audio mixing by Curt Dahl of CD Squared. Music from Music Bed. Production Services by Stand Together. In Pursuit is a podcast by More Perfect.Join the Conversation:Tell us who inspires you: https://www.inpursuit.org/join.Please leave a rating and review on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. It helps other listeners find the show. Follow In Pursuit:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/In-Pursuit-USA-61580409336588/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inpursuitusa/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@inpursuitusaBlueSkye: https://bsky.app/profile/inpursuitusa.bsky.socialX: https://x.com/InPursuitUSA DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to team@podroll.fm.
3d ago

10 Tragic Days: The coup that rocked Mexico

Over 10 days in 1913, Mexico experienced a coup d'état that would lead to the execution of its nation’s president. During this crisis, Mexico would end up having - in less than an hour’s time span - three different presidents. This is the story of the 10 Tragic Days. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Tragic_Days https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/mexican-revolution-and-the-united-states/interactive-map.html https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Ten_Tragic_Days Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Decena_trágica.JPG History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
6d ago

The Republic of Fredonia

After Mexico gained its independence in the early 1800's it had a bit of a sore spot - Texas. This sore spot would eventually turn into the Texas Revolution, but before that, there was the Fredonia Rebellion. This was a series of evictions, fraudulent elections, and farcical arrests that eventually amounted to a declaration of independence. Sources Richard Fields - Cherokee Chief, True West Magazine, March 1987 https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/fredonian-rebellion https://easttexashistory.org/items/show/166 Images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fredonian_Rebellion_Flag_of_1826.svg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Konen_Colorado_%26_Red_River_Land_Co._c._1835_UTA_(map).jpg History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 16

Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion

In 1918, 60,000 soldiers of the Czechoslovak Legion found themselves trapped inside Russia after the collapse of the Russian Empire in WW1. What followed was a nearly three year battle to cross the length of Russia - 6,000 miles - to a port on the Pacific - and ships to take these men home to their new nation. This is the story of the Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovak_Legion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolt_of_the_Czechoslovak_Legion https://www.fpri.org/article/2016/06/epic-misadventure-historic-achievement-remarkable-story-czecho-slovak-legion/ Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Czechoslovak_Review,_Czechoslovak_railroad_car.jpg History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 14 • Subscribers Only

The Turkish Bombard

In 1453 the walls of Constantinople were some of the most fear in the world. They had stood for a millennium, and kept almost every invader out. Even the rising power of the Ottoman Empire would not dare risk an assault. Until one of the greatest cannons ever constructed was built - the Basilica Gun - aka the Turkish Bombard. Sources https://historynet.com/the-guns-of-constantinople/?f https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilic_(cannon) https://royalarmouries.org/collection/object/object-6177 Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dardanelles_Gun_Turkish_Bronze_15c.png History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com
Sep 11

The Glorious Defeat of the Revenge - The 1591 Battle of Flores

On August 30, 1591, the British fleet was surprised off the Azores by a superior Spanish force. The English quickly fled - except for one ship - the Revenge. The captain, Richard Grenville, refused to abandon the British sailors who were on shore at the time the Spanish arrived on the scene. Grenville would thus stand and fight - alone - against the entire 55-ship Spanish fleet. This is the story of the Battle of Flores - or the Glorious Defeat of the Revenge. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Flores_(1591) “The Revenge: A Ballad of the Fleet” by Lord Alfred Tennyson - https://www.online-literature.com/tennyson/726/ “Last Fight of the Revenge” by Sir Walter Raleigh https://webhispania.info/this-is-how-spain-crushed-the-royal-navy-in-1591-the-feat-england-wants-us-to-forget/ Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Edward_Dixon_The_Revenge_1591_Battle_of_Flores_Azores_(cropped).jpg History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Trailer

Introducing History Dispatches

History Dispatches debuts Monday, March 17. History Dispatches is a daily history show hosted by father and son duo Matt and McKinley Breen. The show covers people, places, events and even objects from throughout history. While any topic is fair game, Matt and McKinley hold a soft spot for the offbeat and wacky stories that most people don’t know about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Matt Breen

Host
Serena Dyer

Guest
Vic Michaelis

Guest

4.8

out of 5

120 Ratings

Flessie!

Sep 15

Monsker17

I spent my childhood summers on Flathead Lake & the greater Glacier/Bob Marshall and had never heard this story (we joked about the Flathead monster but I had no idea of the story origins). 🪵🫎🦕
Super fun show!

Jun 28

Refriger8tor

Love these guys’ dynamic and it’s always informative and entertaining. Keep up the great work!
Going Political

Jul 27

Burger awesome

I used to enjoy this podcast but now it is more political. It makes me sad because history shouldn’t be told with a spin.
Great Stories & Chemistry

May 13

prhang

This show is always my first podcast of the day. I enjoy shows with a wide variety of topics. History Dispatches gives me that, plus they do a good job of researching the material. Having Matt (dad) & Mic (son) co-host makes it fun and unique. Someone please buy some advertising from them!

History Dispatches is a daily history show hosted by father and son duo Matt and McKinley Breen. The show covers people, places, events and even objects from throughout history. While any topic is fair game, Matt and McKinley hold a soft spot for the offbeat and wacky stories that most people don’t know about.