His life is one of firsts for the United States. Having contributed to the Federalist Papers, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, in 1812 James Madison became the first President to make a declaration of war.

In the fourth episode of our presidential series, we're taking a closer look at Ma...

New York was a city of 8 million people in 2001. A city that would be changed forever by the events of 9/11.

In this episode, we will not recount the day itself. Instead, we're looking at the after effects of the attack on New York city. What dangers remained after the buildings collapsed? How d...

In 1848, after almost two years of fighting, the US annexation of former Mexican territory was signed into a treaty.

Mexico lost a third of its territory, land which would later yield metals and stretch the United States from coast to coast.

To find out how the war broke out, and how it ended i...

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, so how did it work out when he became the leader of this nation that he was so instrumental in founding?

For the third episode in our special series about the Presidents, we're exploring Jefferson's presidency. What ch...

45 seconds. An estimated 7.9 on today's Richter scale. The deadliest earthquake in US history.

In this episode, we're examining the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. What happened? Why were this earthquake and the fires that it caused so disastrous? And who did this seemingly indiscriminate force o...

What could the prehistoric artists of North America have in common with the graffiti artists of today? Picked into the rocks of southwestern Arizona, a couple hour drive from Tucson, are marks of the Patayan and Hohokam traditions. The petroglyphs are an insight into these civilisations, their re...

Despite her's being a household name, how much do we really know about Pocahontas? Where did she come from? How old was she? And what was her real relationship with the colonists?

Don is joined for this episode by Camilla Townsend, a Historian of Early Native American and Latin American History ...

Sequels are always hit and miss. So what must it have been like to be the second President of the United States, following the man who originated the role?

This was John Adams' position, stepping into the shoes of fellow founding father George Washington. To find out about how Adams navigated hi...

When it closed in 1973, the Texas Chicken Ranch was the oldest continually operating brothel in the United States. Why was this brothel able to survive for so long? Who were the women at work there? And where did it get its name?

In this episode, Don explores the brothel behind the Dolly Parton ...

On August 10 1680, the Pueblo people began the most successful uprising against colonial power in North America.

For 11 days, Spanish colonisers were driven out, taken prisoner or killed, their horses were stolen and Christian churches were burnt to the ground. They did not manage to return for ...

What does a document written in 1215 in England have to do with the United States? The Magna Carta has supposedly influenced foundational documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

In this episode, Don is joined by Eleanor Janega, the new co-host of our sister podcast, ...

He was the victorious Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. As presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention, he oversaw the birth of the government of the United States. But George Washington is remembered by most as the first President elect of t...

He is undoubtedly the most famous member of the Confederate forces. But it wasn't always set to be that way.

In this episode, Don speaks to Jonathan Horn to find out about the life of Robert E Lee, why he made the decision to join the Confederate side, and how he was connected to George Washingt...

Beginning with the enduring words, 'We the People of the United States', the US Constitution is the basis of the government and its three distinct branches. So when was it written, and by who?

Mary Sarah Bilder is Founders' Professor of Law at Boston College and finalist for the prestigious Geor...

She's an icon, a polymath, a fashionista, and she's absolutely everywhere right now.

Where did Barbie come from? What has she represented to the many who have bought and played with her? And what makes her an American doll?

In this episode, M.G. Lord joins Don to introduce us to Barbie, her fri...

The Church of the Latter Day Saints is one shrouded in mystery, whispers of polygamy and is often synonymous with Salt Lake City. But where did this religion come from? And how did Mormonism make it to Utah?

To find out more about the American born religion of Mormonism, Don is joined by Profess...

School, play and much less work: the idealised childhood is a very separate part of life. But how did it come to be so? And why is this perhaps more pronounced in American society than anywhere else?

Don is joined by Todd Brewster to talk about the creation and possible demise of childhood in th...

Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev. Leading figures of the United States and the Soviet Union respectively, in a verbal debate about capitalism and communism in the 1950s. The location? A cultural convention.

On July 24 1959, this pair of key players in the Cold War met at the American National...

Why should we associate LSD and its psychedelic effects with New York as much as we associate it with San Francisco? What use did the CIA think that this drug could be to them? And how did LSD impact the culture of New York City?

Don is joined by Christian Elcock, author of Psychedelic New York:...

Gettysburg is synonymous with the bloodiest battle in the history of the United States. But before it was the location of a battle and Lincoln's arguably most famous speech, Gettysburg was a town.

In this episode, Don is joined by Andrew Dalton, executive director of the Adams County Historical...

The first three days of July 1863 saw the bloodiest single battle of the American Civil War. This clash between the Unionist and Confederate armies quickly became the stuff of legend.

But what actually happened at Gettysburg? Professor Glenn LaFantasie joins Don for this episode to take us throu...

On July 2 1937, Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, took off on what was supposed to be the final leg of their circumnavigation of the globe, but would in fact be their final flight.

In this episode Don is joined by Susan Butler to explore this American sweetheart's personality, her e...

Behind the handshakes of leading politicians, beyond the trade deals and hidden beneath mutually beneficial military deals, how has the 'special relationship' between the United States and the United Kingdom extended to intelligence and covert operations?

Don is joined by Michael Smith, who has ...

There are no other historic sites like this one on the planet. The concentric semi circles and mounds of Poverty Point in Louisiana are a mystery not only to those who come across them, but also to the archaeologists.

Don is joined by Tristram Kidder to find out what we do know about this late a...