Our goal is to ultimately record every story on the web site. Audio versions of the following stories are currently (or will be soon) available.

• Assassination of Jesse James - How did Jesse James become one of America's most notorious outlaws? What was his state of Missouri like during the Civil War? And . . . what is the story of his assassination by Bob Ford?



• Assassination of John F. Kennedy - November 22, 1963 remains a dark day in U.S. history. On that day, in Dallas, President Kennedy was shot. With evidence from the Warren Commission, and other primary sources, learn the story.



• Auschwitz: Place of Horrors - In 1944, while flying reconnaissance missions over an I.G. Farben plant, American pilots took pictures of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Using modern technology to interpret the pictures, the CIA has declared them "unique in the world." Find out why.



• Baseball: Early Days and Baseball Cards - During the Civil War, Union prisoners in Confederate prison camps played the game of basefall. After the war, the game quickly became America's past time. How did that happen? Why were African-Americans forced to "play ball" in their own league for so many decades? And . . . what were the beginnings of baseball cards?



• Beowulf - The story of Beowulf is Britain's national epic. How could that be when the poem is about Scandinavian warriors and monsters? See the original manuscript, watch a performance in the original Anglo-Saxon (Old English) language, learn about life in the Dark Ages and take a virtual trip to places where events originated and the tale was told.



• Blow - Carlos Lehder had a plan to flood America with cocaine. George Jung helped to carry out that plan. But . . . what is cocaine? And . . . how does it work in the human body?



• Charlotte's Web - Learn the background of the beloved story by E.B. White - and a few things about spiders along the way.



• Children in War: Background of Lion, Witch and Wardrobe -  During the first year of World War II, British parents sent about 800,000 school children into the countryside. They wanted to spare them the anguish of the London Blitz. Four children ended up in the care of C.S. Lewis. Living in Oxford, with the professor and his brother Warnie, those children became the inspiration for the Pevensie children in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe: Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan. (See, especially, chapter 4 of this story.)



• C.S. Lewis: Chronicles of Narnia Creator -  When he was four years old, C.S. (Clives Staples) Lewis decided he would change his first name to "Jack." That is how friends - like J.R.R. Tolkien - and family knew him. Who was he? Although his was the second-most recognized BBC voice during World War Two - after Churchill's - few of his radio broadcasts have survived. What did he sound like? In this story about the famous writer, learn some things you may not know - and - listen to a few rare audio clips.



• Erin Brockovich - Erin Brockovich (a formerly unemployed, single mother of three working in a California law firm) wanted to know why medical records were in a real estate file. What she found out led to a record-breaking settlement for people living near the PG&E plant in Hinkley, California.



• The Great Fire - It wasn't just the city of Chicago which burned on October 8-9, 1871. So did Peshtigo, Wisconsin (with a greater loss of life) and Holland, Michigan. What caused these cities to burn at exactly the same time?



• Hindenburg: Dramatic Air Disaster - Thunderstorms still rumbled in the atmosphere as the Hindenburg attempted to land at Lakehurst Air Naval Station. Then, without warning, the Zeppelin was a raging ball of fire. What happened? Why did letters from the original investigation remain unpublished for so many years?



• Thomas Jefferson - One of America's most controversial founding fathers, who was Thomas Jefferson? Learn about his background while you see his handwritten version of the Declaration of Independence.



• "Jim Crow" Laws -  After America's civil war ended, former slaves and their descendants were in for eighty more years of oppression and humiliation. As the South was repatriated, African-Americans were legally segregated - with the blessing of the federal government and its courts. How could this be? Because America had what came to be called "Jim Crow" laws.



• A Knight's Tale -  Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in the 14th century. It was a time of castles and intrigue, of knights and chivalry. English speakers then did not sound like English speakers today. But people who attended the popular jousting tournaments of the 14th century expected from their heroes what we expect from ours: Courage in the face of great danger.



• Magna Carta - In June of 1215, King John granted British nobles significant rights under the Magna Carta. Why did he do that? Take a trip back in time to visit Runnymede and have a look at the original "Great Charter."



• National Treasure: Book of Secrets - What do missing pages from an assassin's diary, a presidential desk made from wooden planks of a once-abandoned ship, Olmec hieroglyphics, Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty have in common? This film ... National Treasure 2.



• Pirates of the Caribbean - Jack Sparrow has become a much-loved pirate on the big screen. Who were the real pirates of the Caribbean? Why did they use Port Royal, Jamaica as their base of operations? Why did the port cease to be a pirate haven during 1692?



• The Perfect Storm - In October of 1991, a most unusual weather pattern developed in the North Atlantic. Weathermen dubbed the phenomenon a perfect storm. Learn what happened to the fishing vessel Andrea Gail, and her crew, when they were caught in the maelstrom.



• Seabiscuit - During the Great Depression, a knobby-kneed horse called Seabiscuit captured the hearts of Americans as he won races people thought he would lose. In so doing, he gave hope to people everywhere.



• Star-Spangled Banner - Old Doc Beans was missing during September of 1814. Learn how that event led to the creation of America's national anthem.



• Susan B. Anthony - A little-known story about one of America's leading suffragists is that she voted in the presidential election of 1872. Arrested on Thanksgiving day that year, the United States government charged her with illegal voting. Anthony was found guilty when her Judge largely ignored the rules of due process.



• The Underground Railroad - When escaping slaves risked their lives to find freedom in northern states, many were helped by conductors on the Underground Railroad. What was the Underground Railroad, how was it formed and when did it exist?



• Victory in Europe: Berlin and Potsdam - After the Soviet Army liberated Berlin, the war in Europe ended. As the Allied leaders met in Potsdam, a Berlin suburb, they made decisions which impacted Europe for decades. How, and why, did that happen?



• William Penn: Tried for Treason - Before he formed a colony called Pennsylvania, William Penn stood trial for treason against the Crown. When his jury refused to find him guilty, they were imprisoned.



• Wind that Shakes the Barley - From penal laws against Catholics (which Wolfe Tone tried to end), to the Irish Potato Famine (which decimated the country) to the Anglo-Irish Treaty (which split Ireland in two), the Irish have seen their share of sorrows. Then there was the Irish Civil War and the "Time of Troubles." Investigate the Emerald Isle's history.



• Wyatt Earp - During October of 1881, a shoot-out occurred near the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. Wyatt Earp, a former lawman, was charged with murder. What events led to the famous gun fight?