

History Dispatches
Matt and McKinley Breen
History Dispatches is a daily history show hosted by father and son duo Matt and McKinley Breen. The show covers people, places, events and even objects from throughout history. While any topic is fair game, Matt and McKinley hold a soft spot for the offbeat and wacky stories that most people don’t know about.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 12, 2026 • 14min
Stockholm Bloodbath
In November of 1520 the king of Sweden and Denmark, King Christian II, betrayed the Swedish nobility. After a feast, he imprisoned dozens of nobles and clergymen and then proceeded to execute 82 of them in the town square of Stockholm for heresy. This is the story of the Stockholm Bloodbath.
Sources
https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2021/11/the-stockholm-bloodbath-of-november-1520/
https://www.britannica.com/event/Stockholm-Bloodbath
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_Bloodbath
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stockholm_Bloodbath.jpg
History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com
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Feb 11, 2026 • 17min
Rachel Wall - America's First Female Pirate
In 1781, Rachel Wall and her husband desperate for a better life - turned to piracy. Over a two-year period, their small band of marauders captured a dozen ships - and murdered 24 men. This is the story of Rachel Wall - America’s first female pirate.
Sources
https://pastispresent.org/2025/good-sources/in-her-own-words-the-life-and-death-of-rachel-wall-massachusetts-female-pirate/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Wall
https://www.annebonnypirate.com/famous-female-pirates/rachel-wall/
History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com
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Feb 10, 2026 • 17min
Discovery of Insulin
Diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world, affecting over 500 million people. Today it is very manageable, and thanks to modern medicine most people can live a long, normal life. But that was not always the case. Before the 1920s diabetes was often a death sentence. At least until Frederick Banting and Charles Best found a way to isolate insulin from dog pancreases. This is the story of the discovery of insulin.
Sources
https://diabetes.org/blog/history-wonderful-thing-we-call-insulin
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6205949/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666970621000494
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:C._H._Best_and_F._G._Banting_ca._1924_Insulin_P10103_0001.jpg
History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com
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Feb 9, 2026 • 21min
Assassination of Lord Mountbatten
On the morning of August 27, 1979, a bomb exploded on a fishing boat off the coast of Ireland. Two children were amongst the dead, as was British statesman and naval officer Lord Mountbatten. The bombing was one of the most polarizing moments in the conflict simply known as ‘The Troubles’. This is the story of the Assassination of Lord Mountbatten.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Lord_Mountbatten
https://www.history.com/articles/mountbatten-assassination-ira-thatcher
History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com
Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com
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Feb 6, 2026 • 16min
Adam's Peak
On the island of Sri Lanka there is a mountain that is sacred to multiple religions. For thousands of years people have made pilgrimages to the summit of this peak to see the great rock formation that some say is the footprint of Adam - or Buddha - or St. Thomas the Apostle - or Shiva. This the story of Sri Pada - or Adam’s Peak.
Sources
https://sacredland.org/sri-pada-sri-lanka/
https://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/sri-pada/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam%27s_Peak
History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com
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Feb 5, 2026 • 23min
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison became the 9th president of the United States on March 4, 1841, and served out his presidency admirably. He generated no scandals, entered no wars, and caused no economic crisis. Of course that was helped by the fact that he served for one month before his untimely death. This is the story of William Henry Harrison, the shortest serving U.S. president.
Sources
https://millercenter.org/president/harrison
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/william-henry-harrison
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Henry_Harrison_crop.jpg
History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com
Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 4, 2026 • 14min
Lonnie Johnson - Inventor of the Super Soaker
Lonnie Johnson is an accomplished aerospace engineer who has worked for NASA and the United States Air Force. He worked on the Stealth Bomber, and owns three tech companies. He has many awards, prizes, and patents. But Johnson is most famous for inventing one of the most beloved toys in history - the Super Soaker.
Sources
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37062579
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonnie_Johnson_(inventor)
Image courtesy of Office of Naval Research: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:160202-N-PO203-046_%2824659795822%29.jpg
History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com
Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 3, 2026 • 19min
Project Azorian
In 1968 a Soviet nuclear submarine was lost beneath the waves of the Pacific Ocean, at a depth of over 15,000 feet. It was considered unattainable. Unless you are the CIA, who contracted with Howard Hughes, the famed Hollywood director and mega inventor, to specially construct a vessel to dredge the sub from the bottom of the ocean - all under the utmost secrecy. This is the story of Project Azorian.
Sources
https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb305/doc01.pdf
https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb305/
https://www.cia.gov/legacy/museum/exhibit/project-azorian/
Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Azorian#/media/File:USNS_Glomar_Explorer_(T-AG-193).jpg
History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com
Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 2, 2026 • 14min
Cat Island
Japan is home to many unique places, but one of the most fascinating is Aoshima - aka - Cat Island. At its height, the tiny island of Aoshima was home to hundreds of cats - outnumbering humans by more than 35-1. This is the story of Cat Island.
Sources
https://japanswitch.com/ultimate-guide-to-aoshima-aka-cat-island-2/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/27/japans-cat-island-falls-victim-to-demographic-crisis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aoshima,_Ehime
History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com
Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 30, 2026 • 13min
Jimmy Carter Rabbit Attack
It was a normal spring afternoon on April 20, 1979, when president Jimmy Carter, while visiting his home in Georgia, was attacked by a rabbit. This is the story of the Jimmy Carter rabbit incident, and the media storm it created.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter_rabbit_incident
"The Other Side of the Story" by Jody Powell
History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com
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