Enjoyable History

On Thursday, a federal appeals panel unanimously rejected President Trump’s move to reinstate the ban on travel from seven largely Muslim nations into the United States. The restriction, put into effect by executive order on Jan. 27, is commonly believed to be a ban on Muslims. So, on this episode of BackStory, Ed, Brian, and Joanne look back at sweeping immigration restrictions in the 19th and 20th centuries, and how immigrant communities navigated these changing rules.

Victor Sebestyen @Victorsebby has worked as a journalist for numerous British newspapers, including The London Evening Standard, T‍he Times and T‍he Daily Mail and many American publications, including T‍he New York Times. He reported widely from Eastern Europe when Communism collapsed and t‍he Berlin Wall came down in 1989. He covered t‍he wars in former Yugoslavia and t‍he breakup of t‍he Soviet Union. At T‍he London Evening Standard he was foreign editor, media editor and chief leader writer. Victor's new book is Lenin the Dictator, an Intimate Portrait, a full-scale biography of the man who led the Russian Revolution and created the world’s first Communist State. Producer: Dan Morelle Subscribe, rate and review on iTunes and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram....moreCopy Link

This week — a new technology falls into the wrong hands.Pope Brock's book, CharlatanPenny Lane's documentary, Nuts!

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm SPOILERS BELOW Notes * Much of what I read about Florence was pulled from old newspaper articles. * The biography in Notable American Women: Volume 5 does a nice, thorough job with Florence story. * I first stumbled on Florence Chadwick in a photo in a restaurant in Santa Barbara and was struck by, as the photo suggested, she went on a world tour, swimming local channels. Music * First up is Solitude, from (delightfully named) Janis Crunch. * Then we’ve got Like a Bell to a Southerly Wind, by Chequerboard. * Modular Body #7 by Machinefabriek. * After Catalunya by Ephemetry and Richard J. Birkin. * Finishing up on The Old Favourite by The Gloaming....moreCopy Link

What happens if human beings can't handle the power of their own weaponry? This show  examines the dangerous early years of the Nuclear Age and humankind's efforts to avoid self-destruction at the hands of its own creation.

The entire 4 part series Blueprint for Armageddon is tantamount to an audiobook, at least in terms of length. Dan Carlin's enthusiasm and the breadth of his knowledge on the subject will draw you in immediately, as he walks you through the fascinating, horrible places and events that played out during World War I.

Trace the history of one of the Queen Mary, a cruise ship turned military transporter during WWII, and hear unbelievable first-hand accounts of the how the ship continues to re-tell its stories...

On this episode of More Perfect, we talk about why this case was so important; important enough, in fact, that it pushed one Supreme Court justice to a nervous breakdown, brought a boiling feud to a head, put one justice in the hospital, and changed the course of the Supreme Court — and the nation — forever.

Revisionist History is a new podcast from Malcolm Gladwell and Panoply. In this episode: In the early 1960s, the Pentagon set up a top-secret research project in an old villa in downtown Saigon.

Podcast hosts Peter, Ed and Brian take apart the Hamilton phenomenon by considering who Alexander Hamilton was, his legacy (and how it was remade) and why a white migrant from the British West Indies appeals to so many Americans in 2016.