State & Local

Discover the remarkable life of George Armstrong Custer... George Armstrong Custer is remembered for his last stand—that fateful day at the Little Bighorn when he and his unit were caught in an ambush that would end their lives. But Custer's story was much more than that single moment of catastrophe. From a mischievous farm boy in Ohio to a struggling West Point cadet, Custer lived a life of constant drama. He became the Union's youngest general, a daring Civil War hero who rode fearlessly into battle with his signature golden locks flowing behind him.

The bullet that pierced the heart of Patrolman Joe Zanella in a small Pennsylvania town was the opening moment of a crime story with few parallels. It wasn't the robberies, rapes, the daring escape or even the cop killing that catapulted Stanley Barton Hoss to the FBI's most wanted man, but it was the broad daylight kidnapping of the lovely young mother and her child. In a nearly unprecedented step, J. Edgar Hoover enlisted the army to assist in a nationwide manhunt.

While doing research for his ninth-grade civics class in 1976, Mike Marshall found an article in Time magazine about William Moore, a thirty-five-year-old postman from Binghamton, New York. In 1963, Moore arrived at the Chattanooga bus station from Washington, DC, where he strapped on his protest signs. He planned to walk to the governor's mansion in Jackson, Mississippi, and hand-deliver a letter to Governor Ross Barnett. On the third day of his walk as he pushed his cart through Keener, Alabama, he saw a car parked under a walnut tree, its headlights and motor off.

The History of American Railways: Kansas and Beyond is a book for both railroad enthusiasts and history buffs. In this fascinating history, Tammy Hammond describes how early steam locomotives like “The Tom Thumb” operated on short lines just a few miles long. But America was expanding according to Manifest Destiny, a belief that the United States should gain all territories from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. And it did – through railroads! This book explains how small lines merged into larger ones that completed the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 at Promontory Summit, Utah.

In collaboration with JVL Media -- A captivating exploration of why many high-performing Black business leaders attribute their transformational leadership qualities to their experiences growing up in the Black Church and how we can foster these skills in younger generations despite waning...

The early days and inexorable rise of the young Bernie Sanders, the one-of-a-kind visionary who changed American politics forever, told by a son of the People’s Republic of Burlington, Vermont In this symphonic origin story of an era-defining politician, Dan Chiasson, a Burlington native who...

Lakes, Labor, and Long Memory traces the real history beneath the politeness, from Indigenous governance and broken treaties to logging camps, iron mines, labor movements, cities shaped by paperwork, and a political culture built on memory rather than myth. This is not a brochure and it is not an apology. It is an irreverent, unsentimental look at how people in Minnesota learned to survive through cooperation, argue without disengaging, and build systems because isolation failed them again and again. Niceness here was never softness. It was strategy.

El Paso’s story is one of resilience, reinvention, and the enduring power of connection. In A Brief History of El Paso, author Derek Monaghan brings the Sun City to life through a sweeping, cinematic narrative that spans centuries—from ancient Indigenous settlements to the modern binational metropolis.

Delaware: the First State, the Forgotten State, and the strangest little powerhouse you never paid attention to. This is not your high school history textbook. From Lenape fishing villages to Dutch and Swedish turf wars, from Caesar Rodney’s wheezing midnight ride to the explosive rise of DuPont, Delaware has been shaping America while pretending to be invisible. Along the way it perfected the art of being indispensable without being noticed: chickens, chemicals, corporations, and boardwalks all rolled into one.

Deep in the Louisiana bayou, where Spanish moss drapes ancient cypress trees and mist rises from dark waters, a creature stalks the night. Neither fully wolf nor man, the rougarou has haunted Cajun Country for over two centuries—but this is no Hollywood monster story.

Illinois never waited to be admired. It made itself necessary. This book tells the story of a state that learned early how to move things, reroute systems, and survive contradiction without apology. Illinois didn’t rise on speeches or symbolism. It rose on rivers, railroads, deals, and decisions that kept everything else running. Illinois: Prairie, Power, and the Audacity to Reverse a River is an unsentimental history of power built through connection, adaptation, and stubborn refusal to collapse.

In the hallowed halls of academia, where tradition and mystery often intertwine, few organizations have maintained such a steadfast commitment to secrecy and social advocacy as the LSV society at the University of Missouri. Founded in 1908, this elusive sisterhood emerged during a period of significant social upheaval, providing a clandestine platform for women to challenge the patriarchal structures of higher education.

The history of the Yale University landscape is often characterized by its Gothic spires and the cloistered nature of its senior societies; however, few organizations occupy a space as unique as the Aurelian Honor Society. Established in 1910, the society was born from a desire to bridge the gap between the disparate factions of the student body, specifically within the Sheffield Scientific School.

The Seven Society stands as the most enigmatic and enduring secret organization within the University of Virginia. While many collegiate secret societies across the United States, such as Yale’s Skull and Bones or Princeton’s Ivy Club, have allowed their histories to be parsed through public records or published memoirs, the Seven Society remains shielded by a veil of strict anonymity and profound silence.

In the dense fabric of American history, the Rollin's Society re-mains one of the most enigmatic organizations to have navigated the shadows of political and social upheaval. While often mistaken for contemporary fraternal orders or civic clubs, this clandestine circle operated with a level of intentionality that bridged the gap between radical Reconstructionist activism and esoteric philosophy.

Beneath the arched elms of New Haven, a tradition of deliberate exclusion and quiet fraternity took root in the late nineteenth century; it shaped the minds of future leaders behind closed doors. The St. Elmo Society, known colloquially as Elmo's, stands as one of the "Ancient Eight" senior societies at Yale University. Founded in 1889, it emerged not as a direct rival to the established "tombs" of Skull and Bones or Scroll and Key, but as a specific refuge for students of the Sheffield Scientific School.

The history of the Porcellian Club is not merely the story of a collegiate social group; it is a narrative woven into the very fabric of the American elite. Founded in the late eighteenth century at Harvard University, this institution represents one of the old-est and most exclusive secret societies in the United States. Its longevity is a testament to the enduring power of tradition, social standing, and the bonds of brotherhood that transcend generations.

For three centuries, New Orleans has harbored dark secrets in its shadowy streets and atmospheric courtyards. While tourists flock to ghost tours and vampire fiction, locals whisper about something far more real—and infinitely more dangerous.Fangs of the French Quarter exposes the documented encounters, unexplained disappearances, and chilling testimonies that reveal the truth behind New Orleans' vampire legends.

For listeners of the Ninth House series looking to discover the real history behind the Mace & Chain secret society... The architectural landscape of Yale University is famously punctuated by windowless, fortress-like structures that house some of the most secretive organizations in the Western world. These tombs, as they are colloquially known, represent a lineage of power and privilege that stretches back to the early nineteenth century.

Experience Sacramento blends immersive storytelling with practical travel insights, taking listeners beyond the Capitol dome and into the neighborhoods, parks, river-fronts, and dining experiences that make this city truly one-of-a-kind.

The history of the Anak Society at the Georgia Institute of Technology is a narrative woven into the very red clay of Atlanta. To understand this organization, one must first understand the environment of the early twentieth century American South, a time when collegiate identity was being forged through a mixture of Victorian fraternal ideals and a burgeoning sense of industrial progress. Founded in 1908, the Anak Society was not merely a social club; it was designed as a vanguard of student leadership, intended to guide the campus through its formative decades.

Step behind the heavy iron doors of America’s most exclusive collegiate orders. For nearly two centuries, the "Ancient Eight" senior societies of Yale University have operated as a shadow government within the Ivy League, cultivating the future leaders of industry, law, and politics. This comprehensive volume offers an unprecedented look into the windowless tombs of New Haven, providing a meticulous examination of the rituals and legacies that define these institutions.

In the fall and winter of 1863, Union General Ambrose Burnside and Confederate General James Longstreet vied for control of the city of Knoxville and with it the railroad that linked the Confederacy east and west. The generals and their men competed, too, for the hearts and minds of the people of East Tennessee. Often overshadowed by the fighting at Chickamauga and Chattanooga, this important campaign has never received a full scholarly treatment. In this landmark book, award-winning historian Earl J. Hess fills a gap in Civil War scholarship.

In the autumn of 1890, the wind sweeping across the gorges of Ithaca, New York, carried with it the whispers of a new era. Cornell University, then a young but rapidly ascending institution founded on the principles of egalitarianism and practical education, was becoming a fertile ground for a different kind of tradition. While the university’s founder, Ezra Cornell, had famously declared an intent to found an institution where "any person can find instruction in any study," a group of ambitious seniors sought to create a more exclusive echelon within that democratic framework.

The history of secret societies is often a tapestry of myth, conjecture, and fragmented records, but few organizations carry the weight of mystery associated with the Sphinx Society. Founded on the principle that ancient architectural wonders were not merely monuments but repositories of pre-diluvian knowledge, the Society has operated in the shadows of academia and theology for centuries. To understand the Sphinx Society, one must first understand the symbol from which it takes its name.