Nov 30, 2015
In 1983, Soviet satellites reported that the United States had launched a nuclear missile toward Moscow, and one officer had only minutes to decide whether to initiate a counterstrike. In today's show we'll learn about some nuclear near misses from the Cold War that came to light only decades after they occurred.
We'll...
Nov 23, 2015
In 1876, a gang of inept Chicago counterfeiters launched an absurd plot to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln and hold it for ransom. In today's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll follow their comical attempts to carry out the bizarre scheme, and uncover the secret society that was formed afterward to...
Nov 15, 2015
In 1939, as Germany was sending the people of Poland to labor and death camps, two doctors found a unique way to save their countrymen -- by faking an epidemic. In this week’s episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll learn about their clever plan, which ultimately saved 8,000 people.
We'll also consider four...
Nov 2, 2015
In 1959, Texas journalist John Howard Griffin darkened his skin and lived for six weeks as a black man in the segregated South. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe his harrowing experience and what it taught him about the true state of race relations in America.
We'll also ponder...