Showing results by narrator "Dan Gallagher" in All Categories

Harriet Tubman is one of the most famous women in American history, and from an early age, every American learns of her contributions to abolition and the Underground Railroad. The woman who became known as the Moses of her people personally led more than 13 expeditions to free slaves in the South, and she was so integral in helping escaped slaves achieve freedom that her name is practically synonymous with the Underground Railroad today.

Osman I is one of history’s most important leaders; the founder of the Ottoman Empire, which conquered Asia Minor, most of the Middle East, North Africa, and the Balkans before reaching the very walls of Vienna. Even after its demise, the politics of the Balkan states are very much influenced by the Ottoman past, and Muslim populations remain in the European lands once occupied by the Ottomans. The Middle East’s politics and conflicts trace back to the dissolution of the empire, and in Turkey, the Ottoman legacy remains a topic of national debate.

The IRGC is notable for its involvement in conflicts around the Middle East, particularly in supporting Shi'a groups through military training and finance, as well as backup support on the battlefield. This is not to say the IRGC enters into conflicts for the sake of being involved, but rather, they see these particular situations as serving the interests of Iran and furthering their brand of Shi'ism, a sect of Islam.

The most seminal event of the last millennium might also be its most controversial. As schoolchildren have been taught for over 500 years, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” In October of that year, the Italian Christopher Columbus immortalized himself by landing in the New World and beginning the process of European settlement in the Americas for Spain, bringing the Age of Exploration to a new hemisphere with him.

In 1988, a recently organized militant group issued its charter, which called upon Muslims to "raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine". The group, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, declared, "Allah is its goal, the Prophet is the model, the Qur'an its constitution, jihad its path, and death for the sake of Allah its most sublime belief."

Over the centuries, the West has become fascinated by the Vikings, one of the most mysterious and interesting European civilizations. In addition to being perceived as a remarkably unique culture among its European counterparts, what’s known and not known about the Vikings’ accomplishments has added an intriguing aura to the historical narrative. Were they fierce and fearsome warriors? Were they the first Europeans to visit North America? It seems some of the legends are true, and some are just that, legend.

The Weimar Republic has become a byword for a failed, tragic political experiment. The official period of its existence, 1919-1933, marked the inter-war years in Germany and their related uncertainty, chaos, and the state’s ultimate collapse. Historians have found the roots of Nazism embedded in the Weimar years and that in the final analysis, Weimar politicians voluntarily handed over power to the man who wrought destruction on an epic scale, Adolf Hitler.

The notorious Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century, the subject of multiple documentaries, movies, and other pop culture mediums, is remembered for its oppression, barbarous torture, and religious tyranny. It was roughly around this time that a period of European exploration began.

North Korea has long been the butt of jokes, and it has been a longstanding target of international criticism, but the startling satellite image was anything but amusing, for it demonstrated the truly catastrophic conditions North Koreans find themselves in. Statistics show that the average South Korean uses up to 10,162 kilowatt hours of power per year, whereas their neighbors in the north consume only 739. This is only one amongst a slew of stumbling blocks affecting the state, impeding it from proper progress. The mismatching network of sprawling, yet lifeless cities and squalid, poverty-stricken provinces stands eerily silent next to the bustling metropolises on either side of it. North Korea is trapped in an impenetrable, soundproof bubble, the entire state frozen in time.

A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, listeners can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. In 1969, things were looking up for one of Hollywood's most marketable actresses.

Suleiman the Magnificent: The Life and Legacy of the Ottoman Empire’s Most Famous Sultan chronicles Suleiman’s life and accomplishments and the massive impact he had on his empire and the world around him.

Few figures in Hollywood's history have been as acclaimed and controversial as director Roman Polanski, whose legendary films would stand out if not for the fact that they're often eclipsed by the turbulent life he's led.

Abydos: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Egyptian Holy City and Burial Site examines the history of the city, and what life and death were like there. You will learn about Abydos like never before.

Hank Hammond, ink hardly dry on his private investigator business cards, never anticipated that a chance encounter with a pair of suspicious characters and a mysterious crate would change his life forever. But it did, and nearly ended his life...also very much forever. And the deeper Hank gets into his investigation, the more the danger spreads until ultimately imperiling other innocent - and not so innocent - people, including his client, wealthy octogenarian Walter Tompkins, the client's favorite grandson Richard, and Hank's reluctant investigating partner, legal assistant Lori Reed.

It is the dreamland of most children in Europe and the Americas, and the mysterious home of the mythical Santa Claus, his devoted wife Mrs. Claus, the reindeer, and the many elves who make Christmas toys each year. In many ways, the North Pole is the first geographical location many kids learn, if only because children over the age of 3 can manage to tell any interested adult that Santa Claus lives there. In reality, of course, the North Pole proved to be as elusive for many brave explorers as jolly old Santa has been for children who wait up at night by the chimney.

Today, the world is in the midst of the transformative and ever-developing digital age, otherwise referred to as the “age of Information.” It has been an unprecedented, remarkable, and explosive era marked by social media and computer-generated imagery (and with it, deep fakes), among other novel, previously unimaginable concepts.

Today, every American is taught about watershed moments in the history of minorities' struggles for civil rights over the course of American history: the Civil War, Brown v. Board of Education, Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Indeed, the use of the phrase "Civil Rights Movement" in America today, almost invariably refers to the period of time from 1954-1964.

Why is North Korea so starkly different from its neighbors when nothing more but mere borders separate them? A tyrannical lineage secured by nepotism. An entire nation indoctrinated by chilling, mindboggling propaganda, molded by fear and forced ignorance. Mass purges doled out seemingly on whims, without fair trials. Unparalleled paranoia and cold-blooded assassinations left and right. An impoverished sphere of barren wastelands inhabited by malnourished masses.

North Korea would be horrific enough if it was a fictional place, but its nuclear weapons program is all too real. Meanwhile, rumors regarding Iran's nuclear capabilities have understandably left many nations on the edges of their seats. Experts insist that the Iranian propaganda program is chiefly responsible for entrenching into its masses a resentment of the West, unlike North Korea, which proudly walls itself off from the rest of civilization.

Over the centuries, the West has become fascinated by the Vikings, one of the most mysterious and interesting European civilizations. In addition to being perceived as a remarkably unique culture among its European counterparts, what’s known and not known about the Vikings’ accomplishments has added an intriguing aura to the historical narrative. Were they fierce and fearsome warriors? Were they the first Europeans to visit North America? It seems some of the legends are true, and some are just that, legends.