History for Kids / History's Not Boring: The Kids History Podcast

How did New Amsterdam become New York?

Have you ever wondered how the giant, towering city of New York got its start? Prepare to have your mind blown! Long before it was filled with soaring skyscrapers and yellow taxis, New York was a tiny, muddy Dutch village called New Amsterdam. Join Mira and Finn as they travel back to the 1600s to discover how a small trading post famous for making beaver hats transformed into one of the greatest cities on Earth! You'll find out why the world-famous "Wall Street" was actually named after a literal 12-foot-tall wooden wall built to keep out invaders. We'll explore streets filled with roaming pigs, clunky windmills, and a buzzing melting pot of people speaking 18 different languages. Then, hold your breath as four massive English warships sail into the harbor, pointing their heavy cannons right at the town! Will the fierce Dutch governor, Peter Stuyvesant—famous for his shiny silver peg leg—decide to fight back against the English? Discover the wild, true story of how New Amsterdam officially became New York without a single shot being fired!

Who was Medusa?

Are you ready to meet the most famous monster in ancient history? Journey back to Ancient Greece to uncover the spine-tingling legend of Medusa! Imagine a terrifying creature with living, hissing snakes instead of hair, whose icy stare could turn any human into a solid stone statue in exactly one second. Yikes! How could anyone possibly defeat her? Enter Perseus, a brave young hero sent on an impossible quest. But he can't do it alone! Discover how Perseus gets magical help from the Greek gods, including super-fast winged sandals, an invisibility helmet, and a gleaming bronze shield from the goddess Athena. Along the way, you'll meet the hilariously gross Grey Sisters—who share exactly one eyeball and one single tooth!—and learn how looking at a simple reflection saved the day. Plus, find out what majestic, magical flying animal sprang out of Medusa at the very end of the story! Join Mira and Finn on an epic adventure filled with monsters, magic, and totally wild mythology!

Who was Boudicca?

Imagine standing in a muddy field in ancient Britain when suddenly, the ground starts to shake! You hear the thundering hooves of horses and see a massive wooden war chariot speeding toward you. Riding inside is a terrifying warrior queen with bright red hair flying in the wind! Her name is Queen Boudicca, and she is leading a massive army to take on the most powerful military in the ancient world: the Roman Empire! In this exciting episode of History's Not Boring, Mira and Finn travel back to 60 CE to uncover the incredible true story of Boudicca's Rebellion! When the Romans break their promises and treat her family terribly, Boudicca refuses to back down. Instead, she unites the Celtic tribes and builds a colossal army of 230,000 warriors! You won't believe what happens when she marches on the Roman town of Londinium (which we now call London), or the bizarre, spiky "hair gel" her Celtic warriors used to look extra scary in battle! Get ready to learn about epic chariot tricks, incredible battles, and the legacy of one of history's fiercest heroines!

Who were the Dam Busters?

Imagine trying to skip a 9,000-pound rock across a lake! It sounds completely impossible, but in 1943 during World War 2, a brilliant British engineer named Barnes Wallis figured out how to do exactly that. The Allies needed to stop enemy factories from making weapons, but the factories were powered by massive, unbreakable dams. Normal bombs couldn't scratch them, and heavy underwater nets stopped torpedoes. So, what was the solution? A top-secret giant bomb that literally bounced right over the water! Join Mira and Finn as they dive into the unbelievable true story of the Dam Busters! You will meet the brave pilots of 617 Squadron, led by 24-year-old Guy Gibson. To pull off this super dangerous mission, nineteen giant Lancaster bombers had to fly in the pitch black of night, dodging trees and power lines. They had to fly just sixty feet above the dark water at exactly 232 miles per hour to drop their spinning bombs perfectly! Did the wild bouncing bomb invention actually work? Tune in to discover one of the most daring and clever aviation missions in all of history!

What is the history of ink?

Have you ever wondered what is actually inside your pen? Today, we are time-traveling to uncover the messy, wild, and incredibly sticky story of ink! Without this humble liquid, we would have forgotten almost everything humans ever did. Join Mira and Finn as we travel back 4,500 years to ancient Egypt and China, where the very first ink was made out of scraped chimney dirt and tree sap! Then, shiver in a freezing medieval monastery where monks spent whole years hand-copying books using a magical ink made from wasp nests and oak apples that changed colors right before their eyes. You won't believe what people did for a pop of color! Discover how ancient kings crushed 10,000 predatory sea snails just to make a single drop of purple dye, and how ancient Romans chased octopuses to use their defensive spray to write things down! Finally, meet Johannes Gutenberg in the 1400s, who boiled up a sticky, oily recipe that made his famous printing press work and changed the world forever. Grab your favorite pen and get ready for a colorful history adventure!