The Steagles

The story of one of jazz's most influential musicians, the eccentric pianist Thelonious Monk.

In October of 1969, a man boarded Trans World Airlines Flight 85 In Los Angeles, a late-night flight bound for San Francisco. In his bag was an M1 rifle. What was meant to only be an hour and a half flight, would become the longest hijacked flight in history.

In 1857, the SS Central America sunk while in route to New York City. After 131 years at the bottom of the ocean, the ship would be rediscovered.

In 1857, a steamship bearing hundreds of passengers and loaded with three tons of Californian gold disembarked from Panama destined for New York City. However, the vessel would never reach its destination; its voyage ending at the bottom of the ocean.

On March 27th, 1964, the second largest earthquake ever recorded shattered the coast of southcentral Alaska; causing numerous tsunamis as seismic waves vibrated around the globe. Archival audio clips courtesy of: Genie Chance papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.

In the midst of America’s involvement in World War II, the National Football League was facing a massive player shortage. Thus, the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, out of necessity, merged their two teams into one to represent Pennsylvania as the 8th and final team for the 1943 NFL season.

It was your typical summer day on July 9th of 1918. The sun had risen over the bustling city of Nashville within the last hour. That morning, the Number 4 train, overcrowded with passengers, departed Nashville heading for Memphis. At the same time, the Number 1 train, was heading inbound towards the city from Memphis. At roughly 7:20 in the morning, the two trains crashed into one another in a head on collision just miles outside Nashville at a place called Dutchman’s Curve.

In 1942, as America entered World War II, Glenn Miller, the famous trombonist and bandleader, disbanded his civilian orchestra at the height of its popularity to join the Army. For two years, he led the Army Air Force Band, performing for the Allied troops in Europe. On a foggy afternoon in December of 1944, Miller boarded a small aircraft in England destined for Paris. Miller, and the aircraft carrying him, were never seen again.

On August 20th, 1977, Voyager Two is launched from Kennedy Space Center on the greatest exploration of space in history. Sixteen days later, Voyager One will follow its twin into the void. Their mission is to explore our solar system's four gas giants: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Join me, and see what they discovered. *Editor’s Note: In this episode, at the 2:30 minute mark, I mistakenly refer to “Voyager’s rings” instead of “Jupiter’s rings”. Additionally, at the 10:58 minute mark, the year 2020 is mistakenly referenced. The data that is provided is actually for April, 2021. Please excuse these errors as I strive to do better.*

In January of 1971, the African nation of Uganda was thrust into chaos as the commander of the Ugandan army staged a successful military coup. Over the next eight years, hundreds of thousands died at the hands of him and his regime.