Shows
Outrageous History!The disappearance of the most famous woman of the twentieth centuryFor most of her life, Anna Rosenberg served the United States at the highest levels of government, a close advisor to four presidents as well as running a successful public and labor relations business. Immigrating with her family from Hungary, she became a media darling at a young age, eventually becoming one of, if not, the most admired female government officials of the 20th century. Among many other accomplishments, she had a direct impact in the implementation of two of the most important policies in U.S. history: the 1935 Social Security Act and the 1944 G.I. Bill of Rights...
2026-02-0255 min
Outrage Overload: Rethinking politics, division, and mediaOutrage on the Mic, Part 2: Outrage Has Always Been With UsIn Part 2 of our special series Outrage on the Mic, we go back in time to explore how public outrage has shaped societies long before the digital age. David Beckemeyer is joined by Outrageous History! host Ernest Granson, who brings his journalist’s eye to scandals, uprisings, and media-fueled conflicts from the French Revolution to the Spanish-American War.Whether you're a history nerd, media critic, or just trying to make sense of today’s outrage culture, this episode is for you.Text me your feedback and leave your contact info if you'd like a re...
2025-07-0933 minOutrageous History!The complicated and messy birth of the legendary JeepWhy is it called the Jeep? Depends on who you ask. Who first designed and developed this workhorse of the US military? Again, not a simple question to answer. Decades after thousands of these historic and vital vehicles were shipped all over the world to transport American soldiers and cargo, its true origins were still shrouded in obscurity. Those shrouds have been lifted by author Paul Bruno, whose comprehensive and illuminating book, The Original Jeeps, should be considered the definitive history of the extraordinary process which led to the creation of the Jeep.
2025-04-151h 16Outrageous History!In the footsteps of T.E. Lawrence - a quest for understanding in the Middle EastThe bitter and destructive struggle in the Levant has a lengthy, complex and grievous history. No doubt the region has experienced its share of territorial bloodshed from ancient times. However, much of the conflict and hostility which has plagued it over the last century or so can be traced to the pacts made between European powers during and after the First World War. In that war, the Arab world fought together with British forces to overthrow the oppressive Ottoman Empire in exchange for the right to self-governance of its territory. Instead, Britain and other European countries divided the region i...
2025-03-0357 minOutrageous History!T.E. Lawrence: the archeologist turned desert warriorMany of our images of the First World War emanated from the trenches at the European front lines. But the war was not limited to those deplorable conditions. In the Mideast, another conflict seethed as the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire along with the Allied Powers of the British Empire, France, Russia, Italy and others fought to impose their spheres of influence. It was in this boiling cauldron, that a young Welsh archaeologist by the name of Thomas Edward Lawrence found himself. Lawrence was already intimately familiar with Arab customs and the language having p...
2025-02-241h 04Outrageous History!Jeep Shows: dodging bullets and bombs while entertaining on World War II front linesWorld War II soldiers had to endure the grind of pushing through rough terrain in extreme cold and heat and to witness comrades dying in front of their eyes, sometimes for years. To help alleviate those hardships, even temporarily, soldiers stationed at military bases were treated to entertainment of all kinds, but those stage shows were not practical at the front lines. To reach those soldiers, entertainers such as Mickey Rooney were sent out with two others by jeep, sometimes performing only a short distance from the fighting. Author Robert O'Connor's historical novel, "Jeep Show - A Trouper at t...
2024-12-2344 minOutrageous History!The legacy of Wyatt Earp - respected lawman, vigilante, gambler, pimpA few years before his death, Wyatt Earp wrote to a friend, saying, "Notoriety has been the bane of my life. I detest it." As perhaps the most famous lawman in the United States, Earp and his brothers are well known for the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral, but those few minutes of gunfire are really only a slice of the Earps' struggle to tame the lawlessness in the town of Tombstone and other parts of the Western territories in the late 1800s. It didn't help that Wyatt and his brothers were not exactly model citizens themselves. But...
2024-12-0949 minOutrageous History!The Germans and the Vikings - Hitler's Norwegian fantasyThe year is 1940. The German army occupies Norway and begins construction of superhighways, a polar railroad and a glistening new German city in northern Norway. The Nazi party encourages German soldiers and Norwegian women to produce babies - all to create Hitler's vision of a super race of German/Norwegian Vikings. These master plans to rule the expected German empire were largely unknown until architecture professor and historian, Despina Stratigakos unearthed them from numerous public and private archives. Join Ernest Granson as Professor Stratigakos discusses her book - Hitler and the North: How Nazi Architects and Planners in Occupied...
2024-10-1751 minOutrageous History!Napoleon - the film. When history and entertainment clash.The Ridley Scott- directed film "Napoleon" is a big film. Big battle scenes. Moscow going up in flames. Napoleon facing down his detractors. The over-the-top coronation of the emperor. But according to the noted Oxford Napoleonic historian, Michael Broers, the film's emphasis on Napoleon's relationship with Josephine is as important as those other "big" elements. Broers, who acted as film consultant for Scott, says the director was correct to focus on the relationship because it was the most important part of Napoleon's personal life. Listen in as Michael Broers discusses reaction to the film and Napoleon's fateful decisions to i...
2024-04-3048 minOutrageous History!Surfing the Time Capsule: Are architects doomed for tragedy?Frank Lloyd Wright, Antoni Gaudi, Adolf Loos, Louis Sullivan; why were their lives such a mess?Maybe it's the Jekyll and Hyde conundrum. In this episode of Surfing the Time Capsule, we'll take a look at this puzzling condition that seems to bedevil some architects.
2024-01-2940 minOutrageous History!Surfing the Time Capsule - Buying up the brightest stars in the art universeIs the Leonardo da Vinci painting entitled "Salvator Mundi" worth almost half a billion dollars? For Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, that's chump change. Join journalist Ernest Granson as he examines the motivation behind the astronomical values of the world's most expensive paintings.
2024-01-1720 min
The Most Accurate PodcastYour ULTIMATE Fantasy Football WAIVER WIRE Guide for Week 3Unlock the secrets to Week 3's Fantasy Football with our ultimate waiver wire guide! Dive deep into expert analysis and discover why Josh Reynolds is the top waiver wire pickup of Week 3 you shouldn't miss. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned player, this guide offers valuable insights to elevate your game. Whether you're a seasoned fantasy football veteran or just starting out, this fantasy football waiver wire guide for Week 3 of the 2023 NFL season is tailored to help you make the best decisions for your team. Is Roschon Johnson a must-add? Can we trust Jayden Reed a...
2023-09-1917 minOutrageous History!Surfing the Time Capsule - John Dean cushions his behind in Poshinaya foam; John Galt slams volunteerismWas Richard Nixon really a snivelling crook? Was Ayn Rand really a condescending, selfish snob? In this initial episode of Surfing the Time Capsule from Outrageous History, journalist Ernest Granson suggests that the two notorious personalities shared a common attribute - greed. You would think their colleagues and followers would consider that to be an undesirable trait, but turns out, colleagues and followers share the same belief.
2023-07-2809 minOutrageous History!Da Vinci's Salvator Mundi - The Bargain of the MilleniumIn 2017, a painting of Jesus Christ holding a crystal orb became the world's most expensive painting when Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) paid $450 million for the piece which was auctioned off by Christie's in London. MBS purchased the painting based on its attribution to the Renaissance painter and all around genius, Leonardo da Vinci. But did Leonardo actually paint this picture? Maybe, maybe not. Authenticating Old Masters paintings is not a perfect science and, especially, if 500 years of the painting's history is missing. Through exhaustive research, art critic, documentary film maker and visiting fellow at the...
2023-07-1348 minOutrageous History!The Evolution of SpinPropaganda, publicity, public relations, spin. These words are really interchangeable but for many, they all evoke somewhat negative connotations. For politicians, the presidents of the United States especially, that's a problem. From the publicity-hungry Theodore Roosevelt to the media-obsessed Richard Nixon to the "no-spin" Barrack Obama, the chief executives have sought to put the appropriate spin on their message to the American people. Listen in as Ernest Granson interviews Rutgers journalism professor, David Greenberg and author of "The Republic of Spin; An Inside History of the American Presidency."
2023-05-241h 25Outrageous History!We are the real monsters!The Anglo-Saxons of pre-England Britannia lived in a world of real monsters where walking through the unsettled areas outside of town could mean being scorched by dragons or gobbled up by terrifying, giant humanoids. Were these monsters real and why were the medieval Anglo-Saxons so fearful of them? Join journalist Ernest Granson as his guest, author and historian, Tim Flight, examines the powerful forces that not only helped to shape the lives of these proto-Britons but that play a significant role in our contemporary world.
2023-05-0854 minOutrageous History!The van Gogh You Never KnewImagine becoming a young widow with a baby boy and being entrusted with the priceless legacy of one of the world's most famous painters. That is the situation in which Johanna van Gogh-Bonger found herself when her beloved husband of only two years passed away. That husband was Theo van Gogh, brother of Vincent van Gogh. The two brothers died within a year of each other leaving Johanna or Jo, as she was known, to assume the responsibility of exposing the world to Vincent's ground breaking, post-Impressionist paintings. Jo was not an art dealer and Vincent's paintings had yet...
2023-02-0131 minOutrageous History!The Ambiguity of Stan LeeJust who was Stanley Martin Lieber - or as millions of superhero fans know him - Stan Lee? Sure, Stan Lee has been credited by those fans as the creator of Spiderman, The Avengers, The X Men and a whole universe of superheroes that dominate not only the comic book industry but to a large extent, the film industry. He was a writer, a self-promoter, a husband, a father and considered himself "a true believer," in the Marvel universe. But there is so much more to the life of Stan Lee, and unfortunately, much of it did not live...
2023-01-2053 minOutrageous History!The last man who might know all there is to be knownCould there be such a person? That is how scientist J.B.S. Haldane has been described. He is credited with laying the foundations of genetics but his knowledge spanned far beyond that and until he passed away he constantly strove to inform the public about all aspects of science. Some of his knowledge he gained through self-experimentation, for instance, drinking hydrochloric acid and breathing in carbon dioxide. But it wasn't science alone for which he was known. As an avowed British Communist Party member and buoyed by his bulldog-like personality, Haldane stirred up controversy as he publicly skewered B...
2022-08-0142 minOutrageous History!Martha Was RightThe Watergate scandal in the 1970s turned U.S. politics upside down, creating skepticism, cynicism and pessimism throughout the country. For those involved in both the burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at Washington D.C.'s Watergate hotel/apartment complex and the burglary coverup, it meant jail time and a loss of reputation. For southern socialite Martha Mitchell , wife of John Mitchell, President Richard Nixon's Attorney General and campaign manager for the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, it became a nightmare. Painted as a neurotic alcohol and pill addict, Martha, nevertheless, stood firm in her...
2022-07-2036 minOutrageous History!John Galt Lives!The life story of Ayn Rand reads much like one of her block buster novels, except for the unhappy ending. In "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged", the main female and male characters, one of whom is John Galt, become heroines and heroes, rhapsodizing with spectacular literary, political and philosophical statements. In real life, Ayn Rand, the queen of extreme capitalism, passed away with lung cancer while surviving on social assistance. But, according to Lisa Duggan, a professor at New York University and author of "Mean Girl: Ayn Rand and Neoliberal Greed", Rand's cultural and political influence should not be...
2022-07-0548 minOutrageous History!The Vengeance of the Shot Blue MarilynArt dealer and former gallery owner, Richard Polsky, spent a career trying to become the owner of an Andy Warhol silk screen. As a passionate admirer of Warhol's works, Richard eventually achieved his goal of purchasing, not one but two pieces, at separate times. But circumstances resulted in his move to sell both. Although he always believed in a growing monetary value of Warhol's pieces, little did Richard realize just how much that value would sky rocket into the stratosphere in the following years. Richard Polsky and journalist Ernest Granson discuss the magnetic appeal of Warhol and the eccentric...
2022-06-1350 minOutrageous History!The Bricklin: automotive fantasy or lost opportunity for prosperity?When American automotive entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin and the Province of New Brunswick's Premier Richard Hatfield sat down for coffee at the Lord Beaverbrook Hotel in Fredericton in 1973, little did they realize the bumpy road they would soon ride together. At that meeting, Bricklin, ever the salesman, convinced Hatfield to commit to a joint venture between the province and Bricklin's company to manufacture a futuristic, cutting edge, high-performance sports car in New Brunswick. It wasn't that Hatfield had been swindled. If anything, Hatfield was just as enthusiastic as Bricklin about the proposal. Both men had put their reputation on the...
2022-04-2745 minOutrageous History!The Peculiar World of Prime Minister Mackenzie KingIf you're taking part in contemporary politics, you had better board up your closet to prevent any skeletons from being revealed. It wasn't necessarily so 100 years ago. The private lives of politicians, were for the most part, kept private, even by publicity-seeking media outlets. If that weren't the case, then the longest serving Canadian prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, would surely have been ridiculed and harassed to death. His voluminous amount of diaries and personal files exposed not just the man's eccentricities but certain practices like his belief that he could communicate with the dead. Even so, King i...
2022-04-0747 minOutrageous History!Tsar Nicolas' Game of Russian RouletteRussia's Tsar Nicolas and his family died a gruesome death, executed by the Bolsheviks, after Nicolas was forced to abdicate following the Russian Revolution of 1917. King George V of Great Britain was Nicolas' cousin and agonized over offering the Romanov family refuge in England. George never made that offer. The irony is that Nicolas and George were all part of Queen Victoria's huge European royal family. In fact, she was known as "The Grandmother of Europe." Author and historian Nancy Bilyeau explains the intricacies and destinies of these ruling families.
2022-03-2254 minOutrageous History!Rhea Clyman: the Canadian Bourgeois TroublemakerRhea Clyman, born in Poland and raised in Canada, jostled her way into becoming an foreign correspondent for the Toronto Evening Telegram in the 1920s. One of the few women journalists during that era, she managed to land an assignment to cover the newly emerging Communist U.S.S.R. Her epic trips to Siberia and other parts of the famine ravaged country, changed her view of the Communist concept and landed her in hot water with Soviet government officials, and soon after, on a one way ticket out of the country. Not to be deterred, Clyman made her...
2022-03-0837 minOutrageous History!The Scientist Explorer who Died a Viking's DeathAlfred Wegener's life as a scientist in the early 1900s spanned numerous fields including astronomy and meteorology. But his theory of continental drift or displacement sparked a furor amongst geologists, many of whom branded him a scientific outsider, a reckless mischief maker ignorant of geological methods and given to wild speculations. As if that aspect of his life wasn't controversial enough, Wegner was also a driven polar explorer, who died on top of a Greenland glacier and whose remains are still buried in the ice. Mott Greene, Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology, & Society, for the University of Puget Sound i...
2022-02-1534 minOutrageous History!Maximilien Robespierre: Hero or Monster of the French Revolution?The French Revolution is considered one of the most important events in the history of civilization. When it ended in the late 1700s, the feudal system, the French Catholic Church as it then existed and the French monarchy had been dismantled. For the French common people that was the upside. The downside: thousands of deaths by fighting and execution, betrayals and destruction. Much of that mayhem has been laid at the feet of small-town lawyer, Maximilien Robespierre, a major figure of the revolution. But was it his fault? Listen as journalist Ernest Granson chats with Peter McPhee, professor emeritus...
2022-02-0236 minOutrageous History!The Movie Star PresidentIn American politics, you could say that there have been two Presidents elected with movie star quality - one of them is Ronald Reagan, who parlayed his movie and teleivsion career into the highest office in the land. The other is a man who never actually had any role in a film. His name: John F. Kennedy. But, as author John Hellmann writes in his book The Kennedy Obsession: The American Myth of JFK, "Never appearing in an actual film, but rather turning the television apparatus into his screen, he became the greatest movie star of the twentieth century." L...
2021-12-0854 minOutrageous History!The Honeymoon From HellThe womanizing, gambling and boozing George, Prince of Wales, had one thing in mind in April of 1795 when he agreed to marry his smelly, stout and somewhat coarse first cousin, Caroline, Princess of Brunswick - to pay off his £600,000 (US$74 million in today's dollars) royal debt. George's father, King George III, had agreed to pay down the debt if his insufferable heir would agree to marry a legitimate Protestant bride. It all seemed to be coming together - until the future groom and bride actually met each other. Disgust would be too weak a word to describe the reaction t...
2021-12-011h 01Outrageous History!Architect of MayhemSuperstar architect Frank Lloyd Wright was as well known for his scandalous personal life as he was for his revolutionary architectural designs. Even Wright seemed to recognize he was a flawed man, but as biographer Paul Hendrickson argues, underneath Wright's arrogance existed a "fundamental soulfulness" that resulted in some of the world's most innovative structures. Hendrickson, Senior Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania and author of "Plagued by Fire: The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright" discusses the life of FLW with journalist Ernest Granson.
2021-11-2439 minOutrageous History!Help wanted: For position of sovereign in mid-19th century, self-exploding MexicoWe require a young, idealistic European royal couple to lead transition of Mexico from republic to monarchy. Experience living in Mexico not necessary. Some financing for military support is available. Please note, there is a high chance of violence during the transition as well as a substantial risk of death by firing squad. Please apply to Napoléon III, Emperor of France. For more information, listen to journalist Ernest Granson as he chats with M.M. McAllen, author of "Maximilian and Carlota: Europe's Last Empire in Mexico."
2021-07-2848 minOutrageous History!Kelly Johnson: Master of the SkiesWhat were those strange lights zipping around Groom Lake at Area 51 through the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond? Millions have been mystified. Chances are most of them were produced by the most advanced aircraft in the world taking off from and landing at Groom Lake on experimental flights. And most of those aircraft were designed and developed by Kelly Johnson, a genius aeronautical engineer who headed the Lockheed Martin secret division, "Skunk Works." Johnson and Skunk Works were responsible for building breakthrough aircraft like the P-80 Shooting Star, the first operationally used U.S. jet fighter, along with...
2021-07-201h 19Outrageous History!Lee Miller: From Vogue model to Hitler's bathtubLee Miller is considered of the top photographers of her time, not to mention one of the first supermodels. But she was also one of the original and restless "free spirits," travelling the world, keeping company with celebrities and the avant garde, mixing and matching numerous lovers, even becoming an award winning chef. Yet it seemed as if she could not satisfy her restlessness. Was that a result of a dark childhood event or because of her intense experiences documenting the horrors of the Second World War? Journalist Ernest Granson interviews author and art critic Carolyn Burke who examines...
2021-07-1445 minOutrageous History!Evil Roman Empire? Brutality - check; Debauchery - check; Corruption - check. Hold on. Not so fast.The Romans were ruthless, right? That's how the Roman Empire became the dominant nation of its time. Its military forces stomped on other states, its leaders set the bar for weirdness and deviance while its citizens thrived on bloodthirsty entertainment. And yet, the Romans were responsible for astonishing technological and cultural achievements. Outrageous History! enlists the help of historian and author, Dr. Jerry Toner, to explain the perplexity of this preindustrial society.
2021-06-2926 minOutrageous History!English big game hunter William Baillie-Grohman's absurd waterways diversion schemeDuring the late 1800s, English big game hunter, William Baillie-Grohman concocted an outlandish scheme to dig a two kilometre long canal between the headwaters of the Mighty Columbia River and the Kootenay River at Canal Flats, British Columbia. Or was it outlandish? Journalist Ernest Granson and Tammy Hardwick, manager of the Creston & District Museum & Archives discuss Baillie-Grohman's bizarre plan to divert water from the Kootenay into the Columbia by building a canal between the two rivers - with the consent of the Government of B.C. In the end, only three small boats managed to ma...
2021-06-2219 minOutrageous History!Searching for "The Dief"John George Diefenbaker, or "the Dief", as his supporters called him, is known as one of Canada's most unforgettable and provocative Prime Ministers, serving as the country's 13th leader in the late 1950s and early 1960s, a volatile period of Canadian history. Diefenbaker's fiery campaign speeches and stinging political rebukes could strike fear in the hearts of opponents. During the early stages of his first term in government, he rode a huge wave of popularity. But the Dief was a political animal, a self-described lone wolf, and his obsession with politics eventually resulted in personal and career turmoil. Journalist...
2021-06-1429 minOutrageous History!The Importance of Being Oscar (Wilde)"There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about," proclaimed Oscar Wilde. The writer and playwright died in 1900, but like other deceased celebrities, he's become his own enterprise. But, as a once living person, where does he stand? Is he an influential literary figure, an important gay icon? What about someone who became a pioneering celebrity/personality who exploited the existing social platforms of the late 1800s? Join Ernest Granson as he chats with Heather Marcovitch, a professor at Red Deer College, in Red Deer, Alberta. Heather, who teaches...
2021-06-0737 minOutrageous History!Caravaggio - Rabble rouser, criminal, misunderstood artist?Before he died at the young age of 38 years, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio turned the art world upside down using "chiaroscuro," a lighting technique that created dramatic contrasts of light and darkness in his paintings. But that wasn't all that captivated Italian church goers who ogled his religious works. As models, Caravaggio used peasants, prostitutes, the poor and other citizens of questionable repute, scandalizing his contemporaries. He scandalized too, in the way he lived and died. Join Ernest Granson as he interviews Andrew Graham-Dixon, journalist, author and art critic, whose biography, "Caravaggio - A Life Sacred and Profane", paints a...
2021-05-3134 minOutrageous History!The Deadliest ChemistSidney Gottlieb, born in the Bronx, New York, was a trained chemist who spent his career as one of the most secretive employees of the CIA. During the Cold War years, Gottlieb almost singlehandedly created MK-ULTRA, a program intended to research and develop the secret to mind control. Join Ernest Granson as he interviews Stephen Kinzer, journalist and author of Poisoner in Chief, who reveals the mind boggling and disturbing secrets behind this most deadly chemist.
2021-05-2431 min