Retropod is a show for history-lovers, featuring stories about the past, rediscovered. Host Mike Rosenwald introduces you to history’s most colorful characters - forgotten heroes, overlooked villains, dreamers, explorers, world changers.
Latest episodes
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12 min
The presidential inauguration that made everyone sick
The Post's new Retropolis columnist, Petula Dvorak, introduces herself and reintroduces you to what can be uncovered with a good look at history. Petula shares her Retropolis colum…
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5 min
Earthrise
On Christmas Eve in 1968, the Apollo 8 astronauts captured an image that symbolizes hope and inspired environmentalism.
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6 min
Hair peace. Bed peace.
On March 25, 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono were a few days into their marriage when they invited the press to join them at their honeymoon suite at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel.
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7 min
The jazz queen who chose home over fame
Jazz singer Ethel Ennis’s voice wowed audiences and won praise from critics. But when she was faced with the opportunity to become a superstar, Ennis chose a different path.
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7 min
Clara Barton, America's most famous nurse, broke boundaries to treat Civil War victims
The nurse who founded the American Red Cross had no formal training in medicine. She tended to countless wounded soldiers.
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6 min
The military's famous Santa Tracker began with a wrong number
In the 1950s, a child trying to call Santa Claus accidentally called NORAD and changed Christmas Eve forever.
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6 min
The 'Toy King' who never aspired to the throne.
Toys R Us founder Charles Lazarus had no idea how big the toy industry would become.
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7 min
Last Seen Ads
After the Civil War, formerly enslaved people placed notices in black-owned newspapers across the country to find their loved ones.
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7 min
How 'Broadway Joe' redefined the NFL
A few days before his team took the field as huge underdogs in Super Bowl III, New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath made what was seen as an insane prediction at the time: "The Jet…
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7 min
The game show contestant who cheated his way to fame
In the 1950s, Charles Van Doren, a quiet professor in New York City, became wrapped up in one of the biggest television quiz show scandals in history.
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6 min
How food found its way into the freezer
While on a research trip to the Arctic in the early 20th century, scientist Clarence Birdseye — a name you might recognize from the frozen food aisle — made an observation that wou…
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7 min
The day before the Chernobyl disaster
Disasters don’t just happen. Like anything in life, there’s usually a buildup. In the case of the Chernobyl disaster, the series of failures stretched back more than a decade. But…
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6 min
The most difficult job Robert Mueller ever had
Serving as special counsel is probably only the third hardest job Robert Mueller has held. His life in public service started when he just 23 years old, as a Marine lieutenant in t…
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7 min
Queen Arawelo
Growing up in Somalia, a country where stories are handed down through generations, one of the first tales that children are told is about an ancient queen who fought to give women…
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4 min
The nurse who picked up a rifle
During World War I, British nurse Flora Sandes put down her nurses bag to fight with the Serbian Army.
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6 min
George Taliaferro, the first black player drafted to the NFL
He thought being drafted into the National Football League was so unlikely that he signed with an African American league team. Then, the NFL called.
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5 min
The summer men rebelled against their shirts
It doesn't seem like a big deal today, but 1930s America lived in fear of the male nipple.
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5 min
America’s forgotten Iranian hostage
Nine months before the Iran hostage crisis, Kenneth Kraus was held hostage in Iran for eight days.
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5 min
A bridge of ice at Niagara Falls
Once upon a time, people walked between the U.S. and Canada over a frozen Niagara Falls. But one day, that all changed forever.
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5 min
The Soviet officer who stopped World War III
In 1983, Stanislav Petrov, a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Union’s Air Defense Forces, trusted his gut and averted a global nuclear catastrophe.