America: Facts vs. Fiction

1. 

   E1. World War 2

   Jan 21, 2017 · 22m

   The war waged by America's greatest generation is obscured by myth. Few remember that an American admiral played a pivotal role in showing Japan how to attack Pearl Harbor or that the German army was not the mechanized wonder it's reputed to be.

2. 

   E2. Smoking, Drinking and Gambling

   Jan 21, 2017 · 22m

   Myths obscure the real facts about our favorite vices: smoking, drinking and gambling. You won't believe which nation had the first anti-smoking campaign, what those three X's on a jug of moonshine mean, or where our first slot machines appeared.

3. 

   E3. Liberty, Leprechauns and Lounging

   Jan 28, 2017 · 22m

   Myths taint our knowledge of the 4th of July, St. Patrick's Day, and our favorite mini-holiday, the weekend. We should celebrate Independence Day on July 2nd, St. Patrick wasn't Irish, and the idea of a fun weekend is a recent creation.

4. 

   E4. The Real West

   Jan 28, 2017 · 22m

   Much of what we know about the old west is myth, not fact, drawn from movies and TV. Gunfights never started with a quick draw, cowboys weren't all white, and Native Americans feared enemies more menacing than settlers and soldiers.

5. 

   E5. Secret Societies

   Feb 4, 2017 · 22m

   Much of what we know about America's secret societies is myth, not truth. The Freemasons have no evil agenda, the Mafia took root not in New York, but the South, and Harvard's Skull and Bones does not control a sinister shadow government.

6. 

   E6. Space: The Final Frontier

   Feb 4, 2017 · 22m

   Myths eclipse the real facts about NASA's dramatic rescue of three astronauts aboard the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft; and Hollywood movies have a hit-and-miss track record of depicting the realties of interstellar exploration.

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