Eugene Bullard would not let America diminish him. So he left to find a place that would let him live free — and found freedom in the skies.

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 us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.

VERY SPECIAL CREDITS
Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason English
Special Thanks to Zaron's Pops
Written by Zaron Burnett
Produced by Josh Fisher
Story Editors are Marisa Brown and Ryan Murdock
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs and Josh Fisher
Additional Editing by Emily Marinoff
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Voice Actors are Jonathan Washington and Chris Childs
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Research and Fact Checking by Zaron Burnett and Austin Thompson
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Very Special Episodes, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com. 

Eugene Bullard would not let America diminish him. So he left to find a place that would let him live free — and found freedom in the skies.
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 us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.
VERY SPECIAL CREDITS Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason English Special Thanks to Zaron's Pops Written by Zaron Burnett Produced by Josh Fisher Story Editors are Marisa Brown and Ryan Murdock Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs and Josh Fisher Additional Editing by Emily Marinoff Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier Voice Actors are Jonathan Washington and Chris Childs Original Music by <a href="http://www.elisemccoy.com">Elise McCoy</a> Research and Fact Checking by Zaron Burnett and Austin Thompson Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla Executive Producer is Jason English
Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Very Special Episodes, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com.

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

Zaron Burnett’s dad didn’t want slavery to be his son’s only image of Black people in American history. So every night, he filled Zaron’s dreams with these incredible stories of Black cowboys. Despite what Hollywood taught us, one-in-four cowboys were Black. Their stories tell a bigger, braver, more honest history of America.

Black Cowboys

George White ran the CIA brothel. He watched from a hidden room while men were dosed with LSD — and he convinced himself the fate of the nation depended on it.

Operation Midnight Climax

Onscreen, Bruce Willis dodged bullets and explosions in Die Hard and countless action films, making him the biggest movie star of the ‘90s. Offscreen, he dodged the tabloid press and became so determined to live a private life he moved to one of the smallest towns in Idaho. But he didn’t just want to live in Hailey — he wanted to transform it. Soon, this sleepy old mining town was home to a culture clash between Hollywood spectacle and small-town values, with real-life secret rooms, car chases, and betrayal worthy of a Willis thriller. Welcome to Haileywood. Host Dana Schwartz will be your guide.

Haileywood

Eugene Bullard: Freedom in the Skies

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/bc3187f2-059c-48f6-9bab-b218017a3a3a/transcript

ACT I 

ACT II

ACT III

Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. But her biggest mystery unfolded outside the pages of her books. Today Dana examines the 11 days in 1926 when the beloved author went missing, and the rollicking media circus inspired by her disappearance.

Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. But her biggest mystery unfolded outside the pages of her books. Today Dana examines the 11 days in 1926 when the beloved author went missing, and the rollicking media circus inspired by her disappearance.

The Case of the Missing Novelist

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/5585fceb-ca96-4034-b5b2-b21f0177faa4/transcript

In 1834, the Three Kichis were on a routine journey to deliver rice to Tokyo. But when a typhoon interfered, they were swept out into the Pacific for 5,000 miles — and became the first Japanese people in the Pacific Northwest. But that was only a single moment in one of history’s most amazing journeys.

The trio would end up going halfway around the world and back again, seeing things they never could have imagined, accidental pioneers in a world on the precipice of being transformed.

*

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 us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.

VERY SPECIAL CREDITS
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason English
Written by Bess Lovejoy
Produced by Josh Fisher
Story Editor is Marisa Brown
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 Meredith Danko, Bess Lovejoy, and Austin Thompson
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Very Special Episodes, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com. 

In 1834, the Three Kichis were on a routine journey to deliver rice to Tokyo. But when a typhoon interfered, they were swept out into the Pacific for 5,000 miles — and became the first Japanese people in the Pacific Northwest. But that was only a single moment in one of history’s most amazing journeys.
The trio would end up going halfway around the world and back again, seeing things they never could have imagined, accidental pioneers in a world on the precipice of being transformed.
*
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 us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.
VERY SPECIAL CREDITS Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason English Written by <a href="https://linktr.ee/besslovejoy">Bess Lovejoy</a> Produced by Josh Fisher Story Editor is Marisa Brown Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington and Josh Fisher Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier Original Music by <a href="http://www.elisemccoy.com">Elise McCoy</a> Research and Fact Checking by Meredith Danko, Bess Lovejoy, and Austin Thompson Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla Executive Producer is Jason English
Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Very Special Episodes, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com.

The Amazing Journey of the Three Kichis

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/bcbc752f-1f1d-4671-9773-b21100dce7e6/transcript

In late 1998, a furry, nonsense-babbling creature arrived on the toy scene. The Furby could squeal, snore, sneeze, and … learn to speak English? Immediately upon release, thousands were backordered. Fights broke out in stores. The early internet lit up with conspiracy theories. And Furby was actually banned from the National Security Agency for its alleged potential for espionage. For today’s episode, we partnered with Celia Aniskovich’s Dial Tone Films to tell the ultimate toy story. 

In late 1998, a furry, nonsense-babbling creature arrived on the toy scene. The Furby could squeal, snore, sneeze, and … learn to speak English? Immediately upon release, thousands were backordered. Fights broke out in stores. The early internet lit up with conspiracy theories. And Furby was actually banned from the National Security Agency for its alleged potential for espionage. For today’s episode, we partnered with Celia Aniskovich’s <a href="https://www.dialtonefilms.com">Dial Tone Films</a> to tell the ultimate toy story.

The Furby Files

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a624e160-9f8f-4fee-9cdf-b20b0022f41f/transcript

Eugene Bullard: Freedom in the Skies

Haileywood

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