15-Minute History

New Season starting on Monday, October 6th! During the break, the 15-Minute History team will be republishing some of your favorite episodes. This episode originally aired on May 5, 2025.
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It was still dark. The group of men felt the breeze getting warmer as the eastern horizon began to show signs of light. One of the men, tall with no expression, watched as final preparations were made to a large object in front of the group.
The others saw the anxiety in his face in a way that only those had had been around him could discern. The man walked forward, spoke with some of the technicians, and watched them haul it away. It was going to a tower, visible in the distance. Conversations around him continued, but only because it seemed like they had to. Somehow, the silence would have been louder.
Not long after, notifications came from the tower; an all clear was given. At 5:29 a.m., a flash of light that was so brilliant it could be seen from 200 miles away blossomed in the desert. The mushroom cloud rose 40,000 feet into the air, and the shock wave was felt 100 miles from ground zero. The man who all that morning had worn no expression, would later recall remembering a Hindu scripture in that moment: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."
Another man who witnessed the test described the overwhelming impression it left: "A new thing had just been born; a new control; a new understanding of man, which man had acquired over nature." Another observer said, "The lighting effects beggared description. The whole country was lighted by a searing light with the intensity many times that of the midday sun."
Humanity had crossed a threshold.
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Join us as we show you the Manhattan Project, the reason behind the development of nuclear weapons, and the ethical implications of such an invention.

Can conservatives promote the "common good" and public virtue using the power of government?
This will be our last new pop quiz before the start of Season 10 in a few short weeks. We hope you've enjoyed these quizzes as much as we've enjoyed having these conversations!

During the summer break, the 15-Minute History team will be republishing some of your favorite episodes. This episode originally aired on February 12, 2024.
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As we look at villains in history, we want to look at actions and their effects. The policies of Lyndon Baines Johnson and Ho Chi Minh were the reflection of two leaders operating in different contexts. Though the method by which they exercised their intentions was different, the root of their “why” is in question.
Join us as we look at both the intention and result from each leader by examining comparisons of policy during their tenure. The context of culture may require different methods for enacting said policies, but the intentions and subsequent outcomes show the result. We examine those today.

Joe asked a perfectly legitimate question about the definition of prosperity, and within minutes Jon was ranting about other podcasters. The conversation then turned to the national debt's real impact on American life. Fun times!!

During the summer break, the 15-Minute History team will be republishing some of your favorite episodes. This episode originally aired on April 22, 2024.
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"In the chill of a drizzling rain on an October morning, I saw them loaded like cattle or sheep into six hundred and forty-five wagons and started toward the west.
One can never forget the sadness and solemnity of that morning. Chief John Ross led in prayer, and when the bugle sounded and the wagons started rolling, many of the children rose to their feet and waved their little hands goodbye to their mountain homes, knowing they were leaving them forever. Many of these helpless people did not have blankets and many of them had been driven from home barefooted." - From the Journal of Private John Burnett, 2nd Regiment.
Join us as we teach you about the Trail of Tears, its root causes, and its effects.