Who's the artificial Christmas tree king? Meet Si Spiegel, a Jewish kid from New York with a remarkable, improbable Christmas story. Si's story was first brought to light by Laurie Gwen Shapiro in her 2021 New York Timesfeature, "He Bombed the Nazis, Outwitted the Soviets, and Modernized Christmas."

Laurie Gwen Shapiro kindly shared her extensive notes for this episode. Her next book, The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage That Made an American Icon, will be published by Viking in July 2025. Learn more at LaurieGwenShapiro.com.

ANOTHER VERY SPECIAL THANKS

Kevin C. Fitzpatrick is author of World War One New York and 7 other books tied to New York City history. Kevin's also a public historian and veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Learn more at FitzpatrickAuthor.com.

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VERY SPECIAL CREDITS 
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Dave Roos
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington and Josh Fisher
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Research and Fact Checking by Dave Roos and Austin Thompson
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English


Want to listen to other VSEs written by Dave Roos? Check out 'The Shot' (episode 16) and 'The Pledge' (episode 4). If you're enjoying the show and want to do something nice this holiday season, leave us a rating or review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com. 

Who's the artificial Christmas tree king? Meet Si Spiegel, a Jewish kid from New York with a remarkable, improbable Christmas story. Si's story was first brought to light by Laurie Gwen Shapiro in her 2021 New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/17/nyregion/bomber-pilot-christmas-trees.html">feature</a>, "He Bombed the Nazis, Outwitted the Soviets, and Modernized Christmas."
Laurie Gwen Shapiro kindly shared her extensive notes for this episode. Her next book, The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage That Made an American Icon, will be published by Viking in July 2025. Learn more at <a href="LaurieGwenShapiro.com">LaurieGwenShapiro.com</a>. ANOTHER VERY SPECIAL THANKS
<a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffitzpatrickauthor.com%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CJasonEnglish%40iheartmedia.com%7Cd96d1d791d784de5cc2808dd212d05ec%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C638703199449515518%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Tp70ybxMQQ5yX4sroOZhhgsoUX2QIWkFeGnBiR3s%2F0k%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-outlook-id="9bb19f8e-3545-4514-a8dc-ab92c93a5085">Kevin C. Fitzpatrick</a>&nbsp;is author of <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffitzpatrickauthor.com%2Fbooks%2Fworld-war-i-new-york-a-guide-to-the-citys-enduring-ties-to-the-great-war%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CJasonEnglish%40iheartmedia.com%7Cd96d1d791d784de5cc2808dd212d05ec%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C638703199449538539%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=jZgenGtHKYCHKLkIIaMK3Wwh3d0uBaf7fylr9WhqlrA%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-outlook-id="c00066fd-ed12-4e58-ab76-e09fc0fb2a60">World War One New York</a> and 7 other books tied to New York City history. Kevin's also a public historian and veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Learn more at <a href="FitzpatrickAuthor.com">FitzpatrickAuthor.com</a>.
*&nbsp;
VERY SPECIAL CREDITS&nbsp; Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English Written by Dave Roos Produced by Josh Fisher Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington and Josh Fisher Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier Original Music by&nbsp;<a href="http://www.elisemccoy.com">Elise McCoy</a> Research and Fact Checking by Dave Roos and Austin Thompson Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla Executive Producer is Jason English 
Want to listen to other VSEs written by Dave Roos? Check out 'The Shot' (episode 16) and 'The Pledge' (episode 4). If you're enjoying the show and want to do something nice this holiday season, leave us a rating or review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach us at <a href="mailto:veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com">veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com</a>.&nbsp;

On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Stranger-than-fiction tales about normal people in extraordinary situations. Stories that make you say, “this should be a movie.” Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.

On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Stranger-than-fiction tales about normal people in extraordinary situations. Stories that make you say, “this should be a movie.” Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.

Very Special Episodes

An Artificial Christmas

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7efa5787-3fcb-4c1a-ac5f-b24c0004da7b/transcript

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