History for Cocktail Parties

Nashville, Part Two: the Athens of the South gets a university, a murder trial, and a full-scale Greek temple. First, the surprising truth about Vanderbilt University: Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt never set foot on campus, and the story of how his name ended up on the gates involves his wife, Frank, a Southern Methodist bishop, and one very large check. Then, a whodunit. Big Bill Powell, a former Commodores football star, is indicted for the murder of Haynie Gourley, and the trial that follows has everything: shaky evidence, courtroom theatrics, a defense that rewrites the story, and a verdict that left Nashville talking for years. Along the way, we find out how the American flag got the nickname “Old Glory” (a Tennessee connection), and why Nashville is home to a full-size replica of the Parthenon. Pour something strong and settle in for Part Two.Key TopicsThornton Kennedy and James Ottley explain how Bishop Holland McTyeire helped secure Cornelius Vanderbilt’s endowment for a struggling Methodist university, despite the Commodore never visiting Nashville or its campus.Cornelius Vanderbilt’s rise from a Staten Island ferry business included borrowing $100 at age 16 after earning his mother’s backing by clearing and planting an eight-acre field.The hosts trace the 1968 killing of Chevrolet dealer Haney Gurley, the suspicious details in Big Bill Powell’s account, and Powell’s acquittal after a dramatic, evidence-shifting trial.A late-arriving Smith & Wesson and testimony linking it to Powell complicated the prosecution’s case, but the murder remains officially unsolved and no other suspect has been arrested.William Driver’s flag, named Old Glory, was reportedly hidden inside a quilt during the Civil War and later flown over Nashville’s state capitol after Union forces captured the city.Nashville’s full-scale Parthenon began as a centerpiece of the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition and was later rebuilt in concrete; its Athena statue holds a spear made from a reused McDonald’s flagpole.The episode opens with a Dirt Road Martini inspired by Dolly Parton’s cookbook, and closes with a recap of Nashville trivia from French Lick to the Grand Ole Opry.TakeawaysThe Commodore never set foot on the campus.The future Commodore started working on his father's ferry and quit school at the age of 11.He borrowed $100 from his mother and purchased a small two masted sailboat.Classes began in 1875.The girlie murder has never been officially closed.All twelve jurors come back and say no.Driver's flag is so important to this.Nashville has a ton of nicknames, but it's also known as the Athens of the South.The city spent a million dollars restoring this thing.there's a full size Parthenon in Tennessee because nobody could stand to take down the party decorations.Sound Bites"The Commodore never set foot on the campus.""All twelve jurors come back and say no.""There's a full size Parthenon in Tennessee."Chapters00:00Part two: Nashville’s people, places, and cocktail-party history02:02The Dirt Road Martini and today’s Nashville stories03:29Vanderbilt’s real origins and the $24 billion economic anchor05:26Cornelius Vanderbilt’s unlikely road from ferry operator to tycoon07:24How Bishop Holland McTyeire secured the university endowment08:50The Vanderbilt family’s other legacy: Biltmore10:41Why Vanderbilt is dropping the bishop’s name from a campus building11:09Big Bill Powell and the killing of Haney Gurley15:17A business dispute, a car ride, and a shooting18:21The suspect who couldn’t have committed the robbery20:08Why investigators began doubting Big Bill’s story24:31A murder trial turns on a disputed crime-lab expert31:06A recovered Smith & Wesson and testimony about the gun34:04Powell is acquitted, but the murder remains unsolved36:15How William Driver’s flag became Old Glory39:45Nashville’s Parthenon and its recycled McDonald’s flagpole43:24The cocktail-party recap and final recommendationsPartner: If you enjoy drinks history told with the facts intact, you should check out Distillate: The Hidden History of Cocktails, Spirits, and Drink Culture. Host Shawn Spitaleri follows one drink or ingredient through the centuries, exploring the history, science, and human connection. This season covers topics that include Oktoberfest and the Bavarian brewing calendar, the women who built brewing, Japanese whisky, and the Dry Martini and the 1950s cocktail party, and more. New episodes arrive every Tuesday. Find Distillate wherever you listen, or at thealchemistsbar.com/distillate.Host/Creator, Distillate Podcasthttps://thealchemistsbar.com/distillate/Founder/Alchemist, The Alchemist's Barhttps://thealchemistsbar.com/about/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nashville: Music City, the Athens of the South. Before the rhinestones, there was a hotel brawl, and one wild night when Andrew Jackson’s bar fight nearly changed the course of American history by just a few inches (and a baby named John C. Frémont, the future “Pathfinder,” may owe his entire legacy to it). Then we follow the improbable rise of the Grand Ole Opry, born from a radio station called WSM, which stood for “We Shield Millions,” the slogan of an insurance company. It’s the story of how a life insurance pitch became the launching pad for Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Minnie Pearl, Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton, and how the grand dame of country music landed at the Ryman Auditorium in 1943. Pour some Tennessee whiskey and settle in for Part One. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Texas joined the Union in 1845, but the real drama came after. Hack historians James Ottley and Thornton Kennedy explore how a poorly placed semicolon could have split Texas into five states, handing it ten senators and sparking a constitutional crisis. Then we follow Mexican General Santa Anna to his modest Staten Island home, where he accidentally launched the billion-dollar chewing gum industry. Plus: the hurricanes that devastated the Texas coast, and one of the most bizarre and brazen murders in American history, which left a lasting mark on the Lone Star State. So grab a margarita, press play, and enjoy! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Before it was the 28th star on the American flag, Texas was its own country — complete with a president, a navy, and foreign embassies. In this episode, hosts James Ottley and Thornton Kennedy dig into how a Mexican land-settlement scheme backfired into a full-blown revolution, how a 17-year-old girl from Georgia ended up designing the first Texas flag, and why the newborn Republic spent nearly a decade knocking on America's door only to get turned away.It's a story of accidental settlers, political brinkmanship, and one wild "what if" — a Texas with ten U.S. senators instead of two. Pour yourself a Ranch Water and settle in for the first half of the saga. Part 2 picks up where the cannons — and the Congress — left off. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when kidnapping becomes an American epidemic—and no one feels safe? Thornton Kennedy and James Ottley explore the terrifying wave of kidnappings that swept the country during the Great Depression, beginning with the “Crime of the Century”: the abduction of Charles Lindbergh’s infant son. But the story takes a startling turn when James reveals that his own great-grandfather, Atlanta banker John K. Ottley, was kidnapped in 1933 in what is believed to have been the nation’s first executive kidnapping. Two notorious kidnappings, separated by thousands of miles but connected by the same dark chapter in American history—and one of them hits very close to home. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

James Ottley and Thornton Kennedy dig into the story of Phil Walden — the young white promoter who partnered with Otis Redding in the middle of the Jim Crow South to build the first integrated business in central Georgia. From there, the line runs straight through Little Richard, who lit the fuse in Macon, Georgia, to the Allman Brothers Band, who Walden's Capricorn Records would turn into one of the defining rock labels in America. It's a story of the Chitlin' Circuit colliding with long-haired hippies chasing a new hybrid of R&B, jazz, and rock and roll — and somehow, out of one midsized Georgia city, it produced platinum records that still resonate today. Grab a drink — this one's got characters.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Revolutionary War's final chapter wasn't written in New England — it was written in the Carolinas and Virginia. In this series finale, James Ottley and Thornton Kennedy trace how the momentum shifted decisively south, starting with patriot militias routing the British at Kings Mountain and Cowpens. Then comes Guilford Courthouse — a battle General Nathanael Greene technically lost, but one that bled Cornwallis's army so badly it never recovered. A few months later, that damage caught up with the Crown at Yorktown, the last major battle of the war. The premise driving this whole series: ask most Americans where independence was won, and they'll say the Northeast. The real answer is the Carolinas and Virginia. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

James Ottley and Thornton Kennedy dig into the Southern Strategy, the brutal, often-overlooked campaign which decided the Revolutionary War: the sieges of Savannah and Charleston, the enslaved individuals who altered the course of battles, and the Polish nobleman, who gave his life for a cause not his own. This episode zeroes in on the man the Patriots learned to fear and rally against in equal measure — Banastre Tarleton, the Terror of the Carolinas — and the massacre at Waxhaws that made his name a battle cry. It's a story of discipline lost, mercy denied, and a civil war fought by neighbors who'd stopped playing by the rules. Press play, and tell us in the comments: is "the South won the Revolution" the hottest take in Revolutionary War history, or just the truth nobody taught? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

North Carolina's Halifax Resolves and its significance The delay between Lexington and the Declaration of Independence The role of Pennsylvania and John Adams in the revolution The false story of Mecklenburg's Declaration of Independence The importance of Delaware's Caesar Rodney in the vote The political strategy behind the independence movement Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Explore the lesser-known stories behind the American Revolution, focusing on Georgia's unique role, George Washington's early military career, and the pivotal rice boat crisis that marked Georgia's independence. Key Topics Georgia's initial reluctance to join the revolution George Washington's early military career and mistakes The rice boat crisis and Georgia's independence The impact of the French and Indian War on colonial debt The role of Georgia in the Continental Congress Titles Georgia's Reluctance and the Rice Boat Crisis: Hidden Stories of the American Revolution How George Washington's Early Mistakes Sparked a Global War Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Hidden Stories of the American Revolution 01:57 Georgia's Initial Reluctance to Join the Revolution 08:01 George Washington's Early Military Adventures 11:49 The Incident at Jumonville Glen and Fort Necessity 16:03 The Impact of the French and Indian War on Colonial Debt 22:09 The Rice Boat Crisis and Georgia's Independence 26:49 The Significance of Georgia's Break from British Rule 28:04 Conclusion and Next Steps in American History Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.