Family Lore

The granddaughter of a prolific Jewish art collector who fled Europe during World War II embarks on a quest to recover the looted art.

A Dutch retiree never knew what his father experienced in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam.  But when he finds his father's journal, he discovers some unfinished business.  

Author Bruce Feiler discusses the fascinating links between family stories and the elusive concept of happiness.

During World War II, posters featuring a brash and beautiful woman inspired others to take up factory jobs and support America's war effort. "Rosie The Riveter" would become a symbol of American gumption. But was Rosie a real person?

A love triangle between ranching families in the Texas Panhandle has fatal consequences.  Over a 100 years later, the killer's great-niece revives the story. 

Did a family man's backyard invention change the world of outdoor sports?

A Louisiana man born into slavery designs an airship with hopes to take flight. Those plans are interrupted, but maybe not forever. 

The margarita is arguably the most famous cocktail in the world. But have you ever stopped to wonder who was the first to make it?

All families tell stories about themselves. Those stories are passed down, and like an intergenerational game of telephone, the details sometimes change from fact to fiction. But have you ever wondered how much of the lore is actually true? Welcome to Season 1 of Family Lore, a weekly narrative podcast that celebrates and investigates the tales we hear at home.

Jeanne Marie and Erin are closing in on a year in Donora. At Twinkle Bright Night they face existential questions: Will the new mayor save council? Is the community college going to come? What’s gonna happen to this town, anyway? But first things first: will Jeanne Marie and Erin ever leave?

It’s the general election! Yancey vs. Ed! The future of Donora is on the line, and ballot tampering and election denialism are in the air.

Other towns have apples. Or pumpkin festivals. Donora has smog. Mayor Piglet sees this as an opportunity, and Donora is totally transformed — if only for a day.

Donora to the rescue!... of itself. Jeanne Marie and Erin discover the intricacies of Donora self-provided, self-maintained, totally improvised safety net.

There’s trouble everywhere. Jeanne Marie and Erin realize what the town has always known: This town isn’t on anyone’s radar. No one is coming in to help.

Indictments! Scandal and intrigue! The s***show on council is worse than anyone could have imagined. 

It’s Election Day. A ragtag group of rookies is promising change and looking for a clean sweep. Jeanne Marie sees a potential hero and falls hard.

It’s gridlock on council and nothing’s getting done. An upcoming election feels like the only ray of hope.

Donora has no banks, no gas stations, no schools. Jeanne Marie and Erin discover the one thing that could bring the town back to life.

Jeanne Marie and Erin wander off the highway into Donora, Pa, a dying town with a dark secret. They decide to buy a house. A solid concrete house. In a neighborhood called Cement City.

Two journalists stumble into a dying rust belt town with a Smog Museum and a mayor named Piglet… and not a whole lot else. They have one burning question: What’s it like to live here? In a town left for dead. But it’s not dead. Donora, PA will not go down without a fight.

A violent attack on peaceful marchers in Selma, Alabama fuels the fires of progress, leading to a monumental victory for voting rights.

As World War erupts in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson follows public opinion and stays out of the international conflict. But when a merchant ship carrying American passengers is attacked by a German U-boat, the United States begins to emerge from isolation and establishes itself as a source of possibility in the world. 

In the midst of a devastating humanitarian crisis, President George W. Bush announces a bold, international plan to turn the tide against HIV/AIDS. 

Abraham Lincoln arrives in Gettysburg to consecrate a battlefield, and to commit America to fulfilling its original promise that all men are created equal.

At the onset of World War II, Franklin Roosevelt contends with a fierce and at times virulent isolationsist movement in America while Winston Churchill pleads with President Roosevelt to join the fight against Axis forces.

Welcome back to a new season of the C13Originals critically acclaimed Hope, Through History documentary limited series. Narrated and written by Pulitzer Prize Winning and Best Selling Historian, Jon Meacham, Season Two explores some of the most historic and trying times in American History, how this nation dealt with the impact of these moments, and how we came through these moments a more unified nation. Season Two, presented by C13Originals, in association with The HISTORY® Channel, will guide you through the Battle of Gettysburg and its impact on the future of the country, the relationship between FDR and Churchill and America’s slow walk to war, the plan for AIDS relief, the sinking of the Lusitania and events impact on the future of America, and Bloody Sunday and the Voting Rights Act. As Winston Churchill once remarked, “The future is unknowable, but the past should give us hope”—the hope that human ingenuity, reason, and character can combine to save us from the abyss and keep us on a path, in another phrase of Churchill’s, to broad, sun-lit uplands. Welcome to Season Two.  

In 1917, as President Woodrow Wilson prepared the nation for World War, an even deadlier crisis was hiding in plain sight. An influenza virus flourished on European battlefields and rapidly spread among civilians, paralyzing the globe with illness and fear. The 1918 flu pandemic serves as a poignant reminder that science, cooperation, transparency and leadership can help clear a path to recovery. 

It is known as the most dangerous moment in human history. In late October of 1962, American spy planes discovered Soviet missile bases with nuclear capabilities on the island of Cuba. Normalcy was put on indefinite pause as millions of Americans grappled with terrifying idea that at any moment, without warning, their communities and loved ones could be decimated by an atomic bomb. While military leaders and hardliners clamored for aggressive action, it was the patience and poise of a president that saved the world from mass destruction.

From the late 19th to mid 20th centuries, the nation lived in fear of the polio virus. Often handicapping or paralyzing its victims, sometimes resulting in death, the disease was made all the more frightening by the fact that it preyed on young children. Generations of Americans were affected by this incurable illness until a brilliant young medical researcher, empowered by the coordinated efforts of public and private institutions, developed a miraculous vaccine. The expert knowledge and first-hand experiences of Walter Isaacson, David Oshinsky and Geoff Ward, assist Jon Meacham in telling a story which begins with debilitating fear and ends with everlasting hope.  

In May of 1940, Great Britain was in the crosshairs of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi war machine. As nations on mainland Europe fell prey to fascism, Winston Churchill seized the moment in dramatic fashion, ultimately winning a permanent place in the pantheon of heroic leaders who have single-handedly shifted the course of history. Churchill believed that “the only safe way” forward “was to convince Hitler that he couldn’t beat us.” And the only safe way to do that was to fight on. Accompanied by award-winning authors Erik Larson, Evan Thomas and Andrew Roberts, Jon Meacham revives one of the most consequential days of World War II, and creates a portrait of a man who used courage, candor and cooperation to protect the future of democracy. 

Following a decade of roaring prosperity in America, something invincible was proving vulnerable. The Great Depression was ravaging the economy and destroying lives, creating a dire need for bold, honest leadership. With the help of Pulitzer Prize-winners Doris Kearns Goodwin and David M. Kennedy, along with Allida Black, the Director of The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Jon Meacham delivers a vivid and intimate look at a President who countered depression with action, and who conquered fear with hope. 

Welcome to Hope, Through History with Jon Meacham. This limited series explores some of the most historic and trying times in American History, and how this nation dealt with these moments, the impact of these moments and how we came through these moments a unified nation. Season One takes a look at critical moments around the 1918 Flu Pandemic, the Great Depression, World War II, the polio epidemic and the Cuban Missile Crisis.