Episodes

June 22, 1969. The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio catches fire, sparking a movement to clean up the United States’ polluted waterways.

June 21, 1919. Rather than surrendering their fleet to the British following Germany’s defeat in WWI, German sailors deliberately sink their own ships while being interned off the coast of Scotland.

June 20, 1975. Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws is released in theaters and becomes the highest grossing movie of all time, essentially creating the genre of the “summer blockbuster". Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

June 19, 1968. In an event coined “Solidarity Day,” over 50,000 people march on Washington D.C. to protest economic injustice, marking the climax of Martin Luther King’s “Poor People’s Campaign.”

On today's Saturday Matinee: Wondery and Bloomberg bring a new story of incredible wealth, betrayal, and what happens when “doing good” goes really, really bad. When nerdy gamer Sam Bankman-Fried rocketed to fame as the world’s richest 29-year-old, he pledged to donate his billions to good causes. But when Sam's crypto exchange FTX collapsed, billions of dollars went missing, and Sam was in handcuffs, those who knew him were left wondering — who was Sam really? A well-meaning billionaire who made a mistake? Or a calculated con man? Listen to Spellcaster: Wondery.fm/SC_HD Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

June 16, 1903. Henry Ford incorporates the Ford Motor Company, marking the beginning of one of the world's most influential automobile manufacturers.

June 15, 1215. Amid growing opposition to his tyrannical rule, King John I of England adds his royal seal to the Magna Carta, the first written constitution in European history.

June 14, 1982. Argentine forces surrender to Britain in their fight over the Falkland Islands, returning the archipelago to British control.

June 13, 1886. After being declared medically insane and forcefully deposed, the eccentric king of Bavaria, Ludwig II, drowns under mysterious circumstances.

June 12, 1987. US President Ronald Reagan delivers a rousing speech challenging Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

On today’s Saturday Matinee, we unravel the layers of deception in this episode of "Useless Information", where extraordinary stories meet the flip side of reality. Link to Useless Information: https://uselessinformation.org Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

June 9, 1973. Secretariat makes horse racing history by winning the Belmont Stakes by an unprecedented 31 lengths and capturing the Triple Crown.

June 8, 1949. George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece, 1984, hits bookshelves for the first time, causing an immediate sensation with the novel’s chilling depiction of life under authoritarianism.

June 7, 1892. Homer Plessy is arrested for sitting in the “whites-only” compartment of a train, leading up to the landmark Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson which heralded an era of racist legislation in America.

June 6, 1944. During World War II, British, Canadian, and American troops storm five beaches in Normandy, France, beginning the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany.

June 5, 1968. At a campaign stop in Los Angeles, US senator and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy is assassinated.

On today’s Saturday Matinee, we bring you part one of a six part series on the most inspiring, infuriating, painful and powerful events in American history: Reconstruction. Link to American History Tellers: wondery.com/shows/american-history-tellers/ Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

June 2, 1953. Following the unexpected death of her father, twenty-five-year-old Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor is crowned Queen Elizabeth II.

June 1, 1962. Former high-ranking Nazi and architect of the Holocaust, Adolf Eichmann, is executed for his crimes against humanity.

May 31, 1859. After 13 years of construction, the Great Clock of Westminster, also known as Big Ben, begins operation.

May 30, 1948. In less than a day, a flood destroys a public housing project that was once one of Oregon’s largest cities, killing 15 people and leaving over 18,000 homeless.

May 29, 1953. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay become the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

On today’s Saturday Matinee, we leave the names and dates behind to investigate the real past, which is often too complicated for history. Link to 2 Complicated 4 History: https://linktr.ee/2c4h_podcast Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

May 26, 1896. In the aftermath of a financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal begins printing the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the nation’s oldest market index still in use today.