Exploring History
Exploring History with Ray Notgrass offers background on what you hear in the news, shares stories from history that will enlighten and inspire you, and provides encouragement about homeschooling, family life, and your walk with God.
Episodes
77 episodes
Secret Soviet Documents Revealed!
The former Soviet Union had a project to map the entire world. They produced over one million distinct maps of places around the world. On his latest Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass discusses this amazing project and the amazing detail ...
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9:31
The Letters of Julia Sand
One woman's letters to a president may have changed his thinking and may have helped bring about needed reforms in our country. On the next Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass tells how the letters of one woman might have affected the presi...
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17:42
When Riding a Streetcar Turned Into a Battle
A little known incident in 1854 was part of the struggle for equal rights for all Americans. It reminds us today of our need to be done with prejudice and scapegoating. In the latest Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass tells how a standoff ...
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9:01
Fighting Two Wars at Once: The Tuskegee Airmen
During World War II, the American military and American society were marked by segregation and prejudice. Many Americans believed that black persons were not capable of flying airplanes. But a training program at Tuskegee Institute showed that ...
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10:02
The Hiss Case
Seventy-five years ago, Whittaker Chambers accused highly respected U.S. government official Alger Hiss of being a Communist. Hiss denied the accusation. Who was telling the truth? In his latest podcast, Ray Notgrass examines the controversy, t...
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12:17
The Overcomer: The Story of Mabel Fairbanks
Mabel Fairbanks was an African American ice skater who overcame poverty, prejudice, and a host of other hardships to become an international skating star. In his latest podcast, Ray Notgrass tells Mabel's story to inspire us all to overcome the...
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5:42
The Music of Christmas
One of the special aspects of Christmas is hearing and singing the same songs, even though we have heard them year after year. Perhaps it is the memories that these songs bring to mind, or the beautiful music these songs contain, or perhaps it ...
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12:08
Thankful for Our Country
On the Exploring History podcast for Thanksgiving, Ray Notgrass tells the true story of a man who escaped Poland in 1938, came to the United States, and lived with gratitude for the country that gave him freedom and opportunity.Read the...
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6:51
The Little Rock Nine
In 1957 nine brave teenagers showed remarkable courage and conviction as they integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. On his latest Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass shares the story of this remarkable group and how they ...
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13:53
The Great War and Its Greatest Hero
World War I brought unprecedented loss of life and destruction. But it also provided stories of amazing heroism. In the latest Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass examines the causes of the war, how the war progressed to a bitter end, and t...
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23:38
What Can You Learn from History?
Why should anyone, especially our students, bother to learn history? In his latest Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass offers six specific things we can gain from a study of history that can enrich our lives and help us make a positive cont...
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12:10
The Faith of a President
Ronald Reagan was a man of faith: faith in God, and faith in the strength of our country. In the latest Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass looks at the life and presidency of Ronald Reagan, focusing especially on his faith in God and his a...
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18:10
The Cool History of Air Conditioning
Hot enough for you? We can be thankful that we can do something about it, but it hasn't always been this way. In this podcast, Ray Notgrass traces the history of attempts to produce conditioned air, from awnings to fans blowing over ice to the ...
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16:46
And the Fall of That House Was Great: Richard Nixon and Watergate
Richard Nixon resigned the office of president of the United States fifty years ago, on August 9, 1974. This was the result of the Watergate scandal and other failings of the Nixon administration. On the latest Exploring History podcast, Ray No...
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26:01
Running to Win the Prize: The Story of Eric Liddell
As the Summer Olympics in Paris, France, take place this year, we hearken back one hundred years to another Paris Olympics, and the accomplishments of a man of faith, Eric Liddell, both in the Olympics and in his later life. Ray Notgrass shares...
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14:38
National Political Party Nominating Conventions
It’s time for that quadrennial exercise in American democracy, when thousands of people spend millions of dollars and take several days to make a decision that’s already been made. Of course I’m talking about our national political party presid...
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26:01
From Jail to the Supreme Court: The Career and Citizenship of Fred Vinson
Fred Vinson's life went from being born in a jailer's house in Eastern Kentucky to serving as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was a key player in American government during and after World War II. In this podcast, Ray Notgrass tells...
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21:32
Juneteenth: America's Second Independence Day
On June 19th, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger announced in Galveston, Texas, that all enslaved persons were free. Slavery was ended. On the latest episode of the Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass tells how slavery ended in the United S...
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23:20
The War (World War II)
June 6, 2024, marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when Allied forces invaded Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. On the latest Exploring History podcast, Ray Notgrass explains the causes of World War II, gives a brief history of the war ...
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49:21
Irving Berlin and "God Bless America"
In 1938, as war clouds built in Europe, the popular American singer Kate Smith debuted a song written by the successful songwriter Irving Berlin. That song was "God Bless America," which has become an American classic. On the latest Exploring H...
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10:56
The Great Stone Face
Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 short story "The Great Stone Face" is the fictional account of how the geological formation of the Old Man of the Mountain in New Hampshire inspired a boy to pursue the worthy and noble things of life. In the latest E...
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51:34
In the Presence of Soldiers: The Tennessee Maneuvers During World War II
During World War II, over a million soldiers trained for combat in Europe by taking part in maneuvers in Tennessee. In his latest podcast, Ray Notgrass discusses how the maneuvers took place and what they meant for the soldiers and for the resi...
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10:58
Helping a Continent Be Strong and Free
Following World War II, the nations of Europe lay devastated. The threat of Communist invasion was real. Just as the United States came to the aid of Europe during World War II, the U.S. provided assistance to the Europeans after the war to hel...
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21:50
"For Such a Time as This": The Story of Esther
God places a beautiful young woman in a position of influence. She risks her own life to save her entire people group from merciless execution. The book of Esther in the Old Testament gives the background for the Jewish feast of Purim, which ta...
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28:04