Alger Hiss worked in high-level roles in the U.S. government during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. And then he was accused of using his access to spy for the Soviets.

Research:
“Alger Hiss.” FBI. https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/alger-hiss
“A Byte Out of History, the Alger Hiss Story.” FBI. Jan. 25, 2013. https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/a-byte-out-of-history-the-alger-hiss-story
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Alger Hiss". Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Jul. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alger-Hiss
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Whittaker Chambers". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Jul. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Whittaker-Chambers
Chambers, Whittaker. “The Ghosts on the Roof.” Time. 5, 1948. https://time.com/archive/6784924/the-ghosts-on-the-roof/
Mark, Eduard. “In ReAlger Hiss: A Final Verdict from the Archives of the KGB.” Journal of Cold War Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, 2009, pp. 26–67. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26923052
Fox, John F. Jr. “In the Enemy’s House: Venona and the Maturation of American Counterintelligence.” FBI.gov. Oct. 27, 2005. https://www.fbi.gov/history/history-publications-reports/in-the-enemys-house-venona-and-the-maturation-of-american-counterintelligence
Hadley, David. “The Long Controversy Over Alger Hiss.” Teaching American History. Jan. 21, 2020. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/blog/the-long-controversy-over-alger-hiss/
“KGB interviews GRU agent and net controller name ALES 30 March 1945.” https://media.defense.gov/2021/Aug/01/2002818545/-1/-1/0/30MAR_KGB_INTERVIEWS_GRU_AGENT.PDF
Rowe, Daniel, and Sarah Fagg, ed. “Alger Hiss and American Anti-communism.” New Histories. Vol. 3, Issue 5. https://newhistories.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/volumes/2011-12/volume-3/issue-5-crime-punishment/alger-hiss-and-american-anti-communism
Sander, Gordon F. “Microfilm hidden in a pumpkin launched Richard Nixon’s career 75 years ago.” New York Times.  Dec. 2, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2023/12/02/pumpkin-papers-richard-nixon/
“Secrets, Lies, and Atomic Spies: Alger Hiss.” NOVA. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/venona/dece_hiss.html
“The Yalta Conference.” U.S. State Department, Office of the Historian. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/yalta-conf#:~:text=At%20Yalta%2C%20Roosevelt%20and%20Churchill,of%20influence%20in%20Manchuria%20following

Alger Hiss worked in high-level roles in the U.S. government during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. And then he was accused of using his access to spy for the Soviets.
Research:
<ul>
<li>“Alger Hiss.” FBI. https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/alger-hiss</li>
<li>“A Byte Out of History, the Alger Hiss Story.” FBI. Jan. 25, 2013. https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/a-byte-out-of-history-the-alger-hiss-story</li>
<li>Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Alger Hiss". Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Jul. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alger-Hiss</li>
<li>Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Whittaker Chambers". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Jul. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Whittaker-Chambers</li>
<li>Chambers, Whittaker. “The Ghosts on the Roof.” Time. 5, 1948. https://time.com/archive/6784924/the-ghosts-on-the-roof/</li>
<li>Mark, Eduard. “In ReAlger Hiss: A Final Verdict from the Archives of the KGB.” Journal of Cold War Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, 2009, pp. 26–67. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26923052</li>
<li>Fox, John F. Jr. “In the Enemy’s House: Venona and the Maturation of American Counterintelligence.” FBI.gov. Oct. 27, 2005. https://www.fbi.gov/history/history-publications-reports/in-the-enemys-house-venona-and-the-maturation-of-american-counterintelligence</li>
<li>Hadley, David. “The Long Controversy Over Alger Hiss.” Teaching American History. Jan. 21, 2020. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/blog/the-long-controversy-over-alger-hiss/</li>
<li>“KGB interviews GRU agent and net controller name ALES 30 March 1945.” https://media.defense.gov/2021/Aug/01/2002818545/-1/-1/0/30MAR_KGB_INTERVIEWS_GRU_AGENT.PDF</li>
<li>Rowe, Daniel, and Sarah Fagg, ed. “Alger Hiss and American Anti-communism.” New Histories. Vol. 3, Issue 5. <a href="https://newhistories.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/volumes/2011-12/volume-3/issue-5-crime-punishment/alger-hiss-and-american-anti-communism">https://newhistories.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/volumes/2011-12/volume-3/issue-5-crime-punishment/alger-hiss-and-american-anti-communism</a></li>
<li>Sander, Gordon F. “Microfilm hidden in a pumpkin launched Richard Nixon’s career 75 years ago.” New York Times.  Dec. 2, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2023/12/02/pumpkin-papers-richard-nixon/</li>
<li>“Secrets, Lies, and Atomic Spies: Alger Hiss.” NOVA. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/venona/dece_hiss.html</li>
<li>“The Yalta Conference.” U.S. State Department, Office of the Historian. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/yalta-conf#:~:text=At%20Yalta%2C%20Roosevelt%20and%20Churchill,of%20influence%20in%20Manchuria%20following</li>
</ul>

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Alger Hiss

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/8e29b314-1fe2-48b9-8e54-b1fd014eef0a/transcript

Journalist and writer Elizabeth Bisland was sent on a trip around the world in 1889, in a sort of race against Nellie Bly. But that was not something she wanted to be known for.

Research:
Bisland, Elisabeth. “At the Sign of the Hobby Horse.” Houghton, Mifflin and Co. Riverside Press. 1910. https://archive.org/details/atsignofhobbyhor0000eliz/page/n12/mode/1up
Bisland, Elizabeth, 1861-1929. “A Candle of Understanding: a Novel.” New York and London: Harper & brothers, 1903.
Bisland, Elizabeth. “In Seven Stages: A Flying Trip Around the World.” New York. Harper & Brothers. 1891. https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bisland/stages/stages.html
Bisland, Elizabeth. “Societies for Minding One's Own Business.” The North American Review. 11/1/1910.
Bisland, Elizabeth. “The Art of Travel.” From The woman's book, dealing practically with the modern conditions of home-life, self-support, education, opportunities, and every-day problems. 1894. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_LBEhBEGmUq4C/
Bisland, Elizabeth. “The Truth About Men and Other Matters.” New York. Avondale Press. 1927.
Britannica Editors. "Lafcadio Hearn". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Sep. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lafcadio-Hearn. Accessed 18 February 2026.
Codrescu, Andrei. “The Many Lives of Lafcadio Hearn.” The Paris Review. 7/2/2019. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/07/02/the-many-lives-of-lafcadio-hearn/
“Foley, Alethea "Mattie",” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed February 19, 2026, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/300004770.
Goodman, Matthew. “Elizabeth Bisland’s Race Around the World.” Public Domain Review. 10/16/2013. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/elizabeth-bislands-race-around-the-world/
Harrison-Kahan, Lori and Karen E. H. Skinazi. “The Girl Reporter in Fact and Fiction: Miriam Michelson's New Women and Periodical Culture in the Progressive Era.” American Quarterly , Jun., 2002, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Jun., 2002). https://www.jstor.org/stable/30041927
Heitman, Danny. “Lafcadio Hearn in New Orleans.” HUMANITIES, May/June 2012, Volume 33, Number 3. https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2012/mayjune/feature/lafcadio-hearn-in-new-orleans
New York Times. “MRS. E.B. WETMORE, AUTHOR, DIES IN SOUTH; Former Elizabeth Bisland of This City to Be Buried in Woodlawn Today.” 1/19/1929. https://www.nytimes.com/1929/01/09/archives/mrs-eb-wetmore-author-dies-in-south-former-elizabeth-bisland-of.html
Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc. “Historical and Archaeological Investigations of Fort Bisland and Lower Bayou Teche, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.” June 1991. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA242489.pdf
Roggenkamp, Karen. “Dignified Sensationalism: ‘Cosmopolitan,’ Elizabeth Bisland, and Trips around the World.” American Periodicals , 2007, Vol. 17, No. 1 (2007). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20770967
Rose, Alex. “Elizabeth Bisland: Around the World in 76 Days.” Science Museum Group. 1/30/2023. https://blog.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/rare-globe-celebrates-elizabeth-bislands-voyage-around-the-world/
Science Museum Group. “Elizabeth Bisland 1861-1929.” https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/people/cp172999/elizabeth-bisland
Tutwiler, Julia R. “The Southern Woman in New York.” The Bookman: A Magazine of Literature and Life. February, 1904. https://archive.org/details/the-bookman-1895-1933/1900-1909/1904/The%20Bookman%20v18n06%20%281904-02%29%20%28unz%29/page/624/mode/1up
Tutwiler, Julia R. “The Southern Woman in New York: Part 2.” The Bookman: A Magazine of Literature and Life. March, 1904. https://archive.org/details/bookmanareviewb05unkngoog/page/50/mode/1up
Vatican Apostolic Library. “Elizabeth Bisland.” En Route Project. https://enrouteproject.com/en/the-research/the-female-travelers/elizabeth-bisland/
Williams, Susan Millar. “L’enfant Terrible: Elizabeth Bisland and the South.” The Southern Review; Oct 1, 1986; 22, 4; ProQuest pg. 680.

Journalist and writer Elizabeth Bisland was sent on a trip around the world in 1889, in a sort of race against Nellie Bly. But that was not something she wanted to be known for.
Research:
<ul>
<li>Bisland, Elisabeth. &ldquo;At the Sign of the Hobby Horse.&rdquo; Houghton, Mifflin and Co. Riverside Press. 1910. https://archive.org/details/atsignofhobbyhor0000eliz/page/n12/mode/1up</li>
<li>Bisland, Elizabeth, 1861-1929. &ldquo;A Candle of Understanding: a Novel.&rdquo; New York and London: Harper &amp; brothers, 1903.</li>
<li>Bisland, Elizabeth. &ldquo;In Seven Stages: A Flying Trip Around the World.&rdquo; New York. Harper &amp; Brothers. 1891. https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bisland/stages/stages.html</li>
<li>Bisland, Elizabeth. &ldquo;Societies for Minding One's Own Business.&rdquo; The North American Review. 11/1/1910.</li>
<li>Bisland, Elizabeth. &ldquo;The Art of Travel.&rdquo; From The woman's book, dealing practically with the modern conditions of home-life, self-support, education, opportunities, and every-day problems. 1894. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_LBEhBEGmUq4C/</li>
<li>Bisland, Elizabeth. &ldquo;The Truth About Men and Other Matters.&rdquo; New York. Avondale Press. 1927.</li>
<li>Britannica Editors. "Lafcadio Hearn". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Sep. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lafcadio-Hearn. Accessed 18 February 2026.</li>
<li>Codrescu, Andrei. &ldquo;The Many Lives of Lafcadio Hearn.&rdquo; The Paris Review. 7/2/2019. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/07/02/the-many-lives-of-lafcadio-hearn/</li>
<li>&ldquo;Foley, Alethea "Mattie",&rdquo; Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed February 19, 2026, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/300004770.</li>
<li>Goodman, Matthew. &ldquo;Elizabeth Bisland&rsquo;s Race Around the World.&rdquo; Public Domain Review. 10/16/2013. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/elizabeth-bislands-race-around-the-world/</li>
<li>Harrison-Kahan, Lori and Karen E. H. Skinazi. &ldquo;The Girl Reporter in Fact and Fiction: Miriam Michelson's New Women and Periodical Culture in the Progressive Era.&rdquo; American Quarterly , Jun., 2002, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Jun., 2002). https://www.jstor.org/stable/30041927</li>
<li>Heitman, Danny. &ldquo;Lafcadio Hearn in New Orleans.&rdquo; HUMANITIES, May/June 2012, Volume 33, Number 3. https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2012/mayjune/feature/lafcadio-hearn-in-new-orleans</li>
<li>New York Times. &ldquo;MRS. E.B. WETMORE, AUTHOR, DIES IN SOUTH; Former Elizabeth Bisland of This City to Be Buried in Woodlawn Today.&rdquo; 1/19/1929. https://www.nytimes.com/1929/01/09/archives/mrs-eb-wetmore-author-dies-in-south-former-elizabeth-bisland-of.html</li>
<li>Christopher Goodwin &amp; Associates, Inc. &ldquo;Historical and Archaeological Investigations of Fort Bisland and Lower Bayou Teche, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.&rdquo; June 1991. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA242489.pdf</li>
<li>Roggenkamp, Karen. &ldquo;Dignified Sensationalism: &lsquo;Cosmopolitan,&rsquo; Elizabeth Bisland, and Trips around the World.&rdquo; American Periodicals , 2007, Vol. 17, No. 1 (2007). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20770967</li>
<li>Rose, Alex. &ldquo;Elizabeth Bisland: Around the World in 76 Days.&rdquo; Science Museum Group. 1/30/2023. https://blog.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/rare-globe-celebrates-elizabeth-bislands-voyage-around-the-world/</li>
<li>Science Museum Group. &ldquo;Elizabeth Bisland 1861-1929.&rdquo; https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/people/cp172999/elizabeth-bisland</li>
<li>Tutwiler, Julia R. &ldquo;The Southern Woman in New York.&rdquo; The Bookman: A Magazine of Literature and Life. February, 1904. https://archive.org/details/the-bookman-1895-1933/1900-1909/1904/The%20Bookman%20v18n06%20%281904-02%29%20%28unz%29/page/624/mode/1up</li>
<li>Tutwiler, Julia R. &ldquo;The Southern Woman in New York: Part 2.&rdquo; The Bookman: A Magazine of Literature and Life. March, 1904. https://archive.org/details/bookmanareviewb05unkngoog/page/50/mode/1up</li>
<li>Vatican Apostolic Library. &ldquo;Elizabeth Bisland.&rdquo; En Route Project. https://enrouteproject.com/en/the-research/the-female-travelers/elizabeth-bisland/</li>
<li>Williams, Susan Millar. &ldquo;L&rsquo;enfant Terrible: Elizabeth Bisland and the South.&rdquo; The Southern Review; Oct 1, 1986; 22, 4; ProQuest pg. 680.</li>
</ul>

Journalist and writer Elizabeth Bisland was sent on a trip around the world in 1889, in a sort of race against Nellie Bly. But that was not something she wanted to be known for.

Elizabeth Bisland, Beyond the Trip Around the World

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/4023386f-52b1-43c8-8cc4-b4050074d881/transcript

This 2019 episode explores the difficult-to-study work of Laurencin. In addition to her work not quite falling in line with the artists who were her contemporaries, her personal papers are difficult to access, are censored, and have strict limitations put on their use. 

This 2019 episode explores the difficult-to-study work of Laurencin. In addition to her work not quite falling in line with the artists who were her contemporaries, her personal papers are difficult to access, are censored, and have strict limitations put on their use.&nbsp;

SYMHC Classics: Marie Laurencin

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a0801995-dd2c-49f1-9544-b404012ed4bb/transcript

Tracy talks about how the show's recording schedule meant that this week's Monday episode got revised repeatedly to reflect current events. Holly talks about the way theater performances during portions of heavy censorship in France incorporated audience participation.

Tracy talks about how the show's recording schedule meant that this week's Monday episode got revised repeatedly to reflect current events. Holly talks about the way theater performances during portions of heavy censorship in France incorporated audience participation.

Behind the Scenes Minis: Censorship Cats

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d51329f7-35c0-4bb5-9512-b4020058d15c/transcript

Alger Hiss

In 1 playlist(s)

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips