Audio

International Games: Field of Cloth of Gold and 1904 Marathon July 29, 2024
Episode 95 covers two great stories of international competition: the Field of Cloth of Gold and the 1904 Olympic Marathon.

Episode 89: What Time Is It? February 25, 2024
Daylights Saving Time? Time Zones? How did these things come to be? Why did we think they were a good idea? What do bugs and train crashes have to do with it?

Meatshower Day 2025 Live Reading! February 4, 2024
Monday, March 3rd 2025 – 7pm EST – Link to LiveFeed In honor of the anniversary of the Kentucky Meatshower of 1876, Mick Sullivan of The Past and The Curious will read his book The Meatshower on a Youtube Livestream. Tune in and hang out for a while! This will be the sixth year for... [keep reading]

Fourth Annual Live Reading of The Meatshower on Youtube Live 3/3/23 and 3/4/23 February 16, 2023
In honor of the anniversary of the Kentucky Meatshower of 1876, Mick Sullivan of The Past and The Curious will read his book The Meatshower on a Youtube Livestream. Tune in and hang out for a while! This will be the fourth year for the reading and celebration of the Meatshower. This year there is... [keep reading]

Episode 59: Safety with Books August 30, 2021
The 1939 World's Fair brought a special visitor from England: an original copy of Magna Carta, but with World War II in full swing, America couldn't send it back. So the had to babysit the priceless document, which got more complicated than they expected. ALSO Marie Curie's books will not be safe to touch for another 1500 years, so librarians in Paris have to keep people safe from the documents. Learn about Marie, her discoveries, and plenty more in this episode!

The Meatshower Book! March 22, 2019
UPDATE: The Presale is over, So you can buy it from our publisher Here’s a link to purchase: www.earlyworkspress.com/shop We’re so excited about the release of our new picture book about the day in 1876 when meat fell from the sky! No one knows the answer to why, and that’s a beautiful thing in our... [keep reading]

You Have 30 Seconds! January 12, 2019
Here’s how to create your own “You Have 30 Seconds” segment! We might feature it on the show!

Support us on Patreon March 9, 2017
Support The Past and The Curious!

Hazards of The Wild: George Shannon, Rattlesnake Kate and more! October 3, 2026
George Shannon was the youngest member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and his inexperience showed itself a time or two. He did get lost once for 16 days, the longest span of time anyone was separated from the expedition party.  In the 1920s, a woman named Rattlesnake Kate captured imaginations after an encounter with... [keep reading]

Bunion Derby and Route 66 September 1, 2026
November of 2026 will mark the 100th Anniversary of Route 66, a highway that inspired road trips, neon signs, writers, singers, and even a movie about talking cars.  But first, the Bunion Derby was a publicity stunt for attention on Route 66 and it was America’s first cross-country ultra-marathon.

Episode 120 – War and Pigs August 12, 2026
The Pig War of 1859 and Danish Protest Pigs

Mary Katharine Goddard, Independence Hall, and The Declaration of Independence July 1, 2026
Episode 119 looks at some key moment inside Indepedence Hall (and the time they almost tore it down). Likewise, we’ll meet Mary Katharine Goddard, who published the first version of the Declaration to contain the names of all the signers. If you look closely, you can find her name on the important document too! And... [keep reading]

Important Animals in History Vol. 4
An escaping cow, Operation Beaver Drop, and a migration mystery solved by a bird with a spear - all on this episode of Important Animals From History - Volume 4!

Episode 118: Lost Woods and Found Amendments June 8, 2026
The story of the Lost 40 – an old growth forest in Minnesota that got lost for nearly a century thanks to a surveying error. We’re talking lumberjacks, old growth trees, and silly mistakes. Also, the 27th Amendment which was brought back from the dustbin of history thanks to a college student who didn’t get the... [keep reading]