Eddie Rickenbacker shouldn’t have survived—his childhood, his auto racing career, the first World War as he became America’s greatest ace, the many plane crashes that had taken others’ lives but yet, not his. A Medal of Honor recipient, he became a genuine icon and hero to the American people, providing a reason to celebrate during the Depression and inspiring them to face life’s daily challenges. But then, in his 50s in 1942, Rickenbacker faced his worst odds yet: a B-17 bomber forced to ditch in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, with only inflatable rafts to survive the searing days and freezingnights—and no way to contact anyone. To tell Eddie’s story is today’s guest, John Wukovits, author of “Lost at Sea: Eddie Rickenbacker's Twenty-Four Days Adrift on the Pacific.” We look at his fight for survival with seven other men adrift on the Pacific. We also look at how many times Eddie Rickenbacker actually defied death—including one airline crash when a dislodged eyeball dangled on his cheek, and yet he tried to help the otherpeople escape while he remained pinned inside the plane.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3101278/advertisement

The American Civil War brought with it unprecedented demands upon the warring sections—North and South. The conflict required a mobilization and an organization of natural and man-made resources on a massive scale.In this episode I talk with Jeffry Wert, author of the new book Civil War Barons, which profiles the contributions of nineteen Northern businessmen to the Union cause. They were tinkerers, inventors, improvisers, builders, organizers, entrepreneurs, and all visionaries. They contributed to the war effort in myriad ways: they operated railroads, designed repeating firearms, condensed milk, sawed lumber, cured meat, built warships, purified medicines, forged iron, made horseshoes, constructed wagons, and financed a war. And some of their names and companies have endured—Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Deere, McCormick, Studebaker, Armour, and Squibb.The eclectic group includes Henry Burden, a Scottish immigrant who invented a horseshoe-making machine in the 1830s, who refined the process to be able to forge a horseshoe every second, supplying the Union army with 70 million horseshoes during the four years. John Deere’s plows “sang through the rich sod, portending bountiful harvests for a Union in peril.” And Jay Cooke emerged from the war as the most famous banker in America, earning a reputation for trustworthiness with his marketing of government bonds.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3101278/advertisement

In late December 1776, the American War of Independence appeared tobe on its last legs. General George Washington’s continental forces hadbeen reduced to a shadow of their former strength, the British Armyhad chased them across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, andenlistments for many of the rank and file would be up by month’s end.Desperate times call for desperate measures, however, and GeorgeWashington responded to this crisis with astonishing audacity. OnChristmas night 1776, he recrossed the Delaware as a nor’easterchurned up the coast, burying his small detachment under howlingsheets of snow and ice. Undaunted, they attacked a Hessian brigade atTrenton, New Jersey, taking the German auxiliaries by completesurprise. Then, only three days later, Washington struck again, crossingthe Delaware, slipping away from the British at Trenton, and attackingthe Redcoats at Princeton—to their utter astonishment. The British, now back on their heels, retreated toward New Brunswickas Washington’s reinvigorated force followed them north into Jersey.Over the next eight months, Washington’s continentals and the statemilitias of New Jersey would go head-to-head with the British in amultitude of small-scale actions and large-scale battles, eventuallyforcing the British to flee New Jersey by sea. In this narrative of the American War of Independence, today’s guest Jim Stempel, author of “The Enemy Harassed: Washington's New Jersey Campaign of 1777” brings to life one of the most violent, courageous, yet virtually forgotten periods of the Revolutionary War.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3101278/advertisement

The Middle Ages are seen as a bloodthirsty time of Vikings, saints and kings: a patriarchal society which oppressed and excluded women. But when we dig a little deeper into the truth, we can see that the “dark” ages were anything but.Oxford and BBC historian Janina Ramirez, today’s guest author of the new book “Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It,” has uncovered countless influential women's names struck out of historical records, with the word FEMINA annotated beside them. Only now, through a careful examination of the artefacts, writings and possessions they left behind, are the influential and multifaceted lives of women emerging. Femina goes beyond the official records to uncover the true impact of women, such as: · Jadwiga, the only female King in Europe · Margery Kempe, who exploited her image and story to ensure her notoriety · Loftus Princess, whose existence gives us clues about the beginnings of Christianity in EnglandThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3101278/advertisement

In this snippet from Josh Cohen's "Eyewitness History," Vietnam War veteran & "tunnel rat" Nick Sanza discusses his experience overseas, what it's like coming from a long lineage of military service, and what he learned from the tunnels in this interview from the Eyewitness History podcast. Continue listening to Eyewitness History: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/44jShCiSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3LPfaXdDiscover more episodes of Eyewitness History: Podcasting Inventor Adam Curry: https://apple.co/44kEfQV / https://spoti.fi/410f3MFEx Double Agent & Nelson Mandela Spy Bradley Steyn: https://apple.co/3LN9EEp / https://spoti.fi/3oZtqUiHolocaust Survivor Gene Klein: https://apple.co/3EhOIQK / https://spoti.fi/3g7VGQAWWII Veteran Vince Speranza: https://apple.co/3gh33VN / https://spoti.fi/3tAxTM2Queen Keyboardist Spike Edney: https://apple.co/3Ocx6dR / https://spoti.fi/3OhXLGgThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3101278/advertisement