American History Hotline with Bob Crawford
American History Hotline with Bob Crawford
Bob Crawford searches for the best historians and experts to answer listener questions about American history — from the Revolutionary War to rock & roll feuds. Got a question? Send it to AmericanHistoryHotline@gmail.com.Social links:
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Why Do We Spring Forward?
No, Benjamin Franklin did not invent Daylight Saving Time. But he did muse about its practicality in a 1784 essay. So, if Franklin didn't invent DST, where did all this springing forward come from? Bob calls up Chad Orzel (A Brief History of Timekeeping: The Science of Marking Time, from Stonehen…
24:50
Was Disney’s Balto a True Story?
Was the Disney movie Balto actually based on a true story? A listener wants to know if this heroic snow dog was real—or just a Hollywood invention. To get answers, Bob calls up Dr. Nicole Burt of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. It turns out, the real Balto is actually IN her museum. What…
26:06
Did Willy Wonka’s Creator Spy on America?
Roald Dahl is a beloved children’s author. Turns out, he was also a British spy during WWII! So how does one transition from seducing prominent Americans’ wives to writing Matilda? Well, we’re glad you asked! We called up the creator of a new docu-series called The Secret World of Roald Dahl to g…
41:55
A Washington & Lincoln Birthday Special!
In honor of President's Day, we're sharing some of the best conversations we've had about Honest Abe and General Washington. We speak with historian Alexis Coe (You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington) about George Washington myths, including whether or not his teeth were ma…
51:27
Are the Olympics an Appropriate Place for Protest?
You gotta keep 'em separated. That's a lot of people's opinion about mixing sports and politics. But as the world turns its eyes to Italy for the 2026 Winter Games, you have to wonder if this is the ideal place to make a political statement. To understand how acts of political activism have playe…
35:40
Who Integrated the NFL?
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. That's a well known piece of history. But who integrated the NFL? Well, it's an amazing story with lots of binge drinking, miraculous comebacks and hot dog eating. Seriously. Just in time for the Super Bowl, we're calling up David Fleming, au…
42:18
Can the President Tear Down the White House?
Who owns the White House? Is it the American people or the person who lives inside of it — AKA, the president? If the President of the United States of America controls the White House, does ANYONE have say over what he does with it (we're looking at you, preservation societies and Congress)? He…
42:55
Abraham Lincoln Before the Presidency: What He Learned as a Lawmaker
Before he became president, Abraham Lincoln spent just one term in Congress. So how did "the best known two-time Senate loser in the country" become one of the greatest presidents in American history? Bob calls up historian and author Chris DeRose (Congressman Lincoln: The Making of America’s Gre…
24:21
Did Montezuma Surrender? Debunking the Myth of the Spanish Conquest
For centuries, the story has been told the same way: Montezuma surrendered to Hernán Cortés, and a small band of Spaniards conquered the Aztec Empire. But that story has always seemed a bit ... fishy. To get the TRUE story, Bob calls up historian Matthew Restall to debunk one of the most endurin…
32:08
America Loves Trains. Why Can’t We Build Them Anymore? Inside NYC’s Second Avenue Subway
It takes decades to build a new subway line in the United States. Meanwhile, China is building entire high-speed rail networks in just a few years. So, how did America's once-great love of trains get derailed? We use New York City’s Second Avenue Subway as a test case to answer this bigger questi…
34:34