American History Tellers is a podcast by Wondery hosted by Lindsay Graham—not to be confused with U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham. Twice a week, Graham releases episodes recognized for their cinematic qualities. Through incorporating a mix of sound effects, dialogue, and narration, Graham emphasizes an immersive storytelling experience. The show premiered at #1 on the Apple Podcast charts and consistently ranks in the Top 20 U.S. history podcasts on Spotify and Apple Music.
Background Lindsay Graham is an American podcast host best known for American History Tellers and American Scandal (also by Wondery and consistently featured on the top podcast history charts). Although his background is in marketing—he worked in Southern Methodist University's marketing department and later in insurance—he lost his job in 2015 . With a little extra time on his hands, Graham began working on his first project, Terms, a political audio drama featuring Dallas-based actors . The production gained some traction, and in 2017, Wondery approached him to host a podcast. Podcasts were experiencing exponential growth in popularity, and CEO Hernan Lopez wanted to produce a historical series. On January 3, 2018, Wondery released Season 1: The Cold War, which was written by historian Audra Wolfe and produced by Graham. As of 2025, there have been 83 seasons and 395 episodes.
Format and Production In alignment with Wondery's character-driven storytelling, the show features a POV narration style, telling stories through the perspectives of average and notable people. The podcast alternates between Graham providing background information, setting the scene, and acting as different real and hypothetical historical figures. By doing so, Graham portrays the effects of historical events on ordinary citizens' everyday lives. Graham and his team spend about one week conducting research and writing each episode, along with an additional two weeks spent in post-production.
Seasons to date The show has covered the following topics to date:
Season One | The Cold War | January 2018 Season Two | Prohibition | February 2018 Season Three | The Age of Jackson | March 2018 Season Four | The Space Race | May 2018 Season Five | American Revolution | June 2018 Season Six | National Parks | August 2018 Season Seven | Civil Rights | October 2018 Season Eight | Political Parties | November 2018 Season Nine | The 1968 Chicago Protests | January 2019 Season Ten | Great Depression | February 2019 Season Eleven | J. Edgar Hoover's FBI | April 2019 Season Twelve (Sponsored) | American Epidemics | May 2019 Season Thirteen | Tulsa Race Massacre | May 2019 Season Fourteen | The Bastard Brigade | July 2019 Season Fifteen | Dutch Manhattan | September 2019 Season Sixteen | The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire | October 2019 Season Seventeen | Kentucky Blood Feud | December 2019 Season Eighteen | California Water Wars | January 2020 Season Nineteen | What We Learned from the Spanish Flu | March 2020 Season Twenty | Rebellion in the Early Republic | March 2020 Season Twenty-One | The WWII Home Front | May 2020 Season Twenty-Two | Encore: The Space Race | May 2020 Season Twenty-Three | Stonewall | June 2020 Season Twenty-Four | The Gilded Age | July 2020 Season Twenty-Five | Encore: Political Parties | September 2020 Season Twenty-Six | The Supreme Court | October 2020 Season Twenty-Seven | Coal Wars | December 2020 Season Twenty-Eight | Presidential Inaugurations: Traditions, Crisis, and Unity | January 2021 Season Twenty-Nine | The Great Chicago Fire | January 2021 Season Thirty | America's Monuments | February 2021 Season Thirty-One | Bleeding Kansas | April 2021 Season Thirty-Two | The Mystery of D.B. Cooper | May 2021 Season Thirty-Three | Encore: Tulsa Race Massacre | May 2021 Season Thirty-Four | Lost Colony of Roanoke | June 2021 Season Thirty-Five | The Walker Affair | June 2021 Season Thirty-Six | The Fight For the First U.S. Olympics | July 2021 Season Thirty-Seven | Encore: National Parks | August 2021 Season Thirty-Eight | Roaring Twenties | September 2021 Season Thirty-Nine | Traitors | November 2021 Season Forty | Philippine-American War | December 2021 Season Forty-One | Billy the Kid | January 2022 Season Forty-Two | The Plot to Steal Lincoln's Body | February 2022 Season Forty-Three | The Fight for Women's Suffrage | March 2022 Season Forty-Four | Lewis and Clark | April 2022 Season Forty-Five | The Great Mississippi Flood | May 2022 Season Forty-Six | Encore: The Age of Jackson | June 2022 Season Forty-Seven | The Manson Murders | June 2022 Season Forty-Eight | Civil War | July 2022 Season Forty-Nine | Encore: The Walker Affair | September 2022 Season Fifty | The Age of Pirates | October 2022 Season Fifty-One | Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 | November 2022 Season Fifty-Two | Presidential Assassinations | December 2022 Season Fifty-Three | California Gold Rush | January 2023 Season Fifty-Four | Insurrection of Aaron Burr | February 2023 Season Fifty-Five | Hawaii's Journey to Statehood | March 2023 Season Fifty-Six | Boston Molasses Disaster | April 2023 Season Fifty-Seven | United Farm Workers | May 2023 Season Fifty-Eight | Reconstruction Era | May 2023 Season Fifty-Nine | Encore: Supreme Court Landmarks | July 2023 Season Sixty | Encore: The World War II Home Front | September 2023 Season Sixty-One | Salem Witch Trials | September 2023 Season Sixty-Two | 1906 San Francisco Earthquake | October 2023 Season Sixty-Three | Great American Authors | November 2023 Season Sixty-Four | The Manhattan Project | January 2024 Season Sixty-Five | Underground Railroad | February 2024 Season Sixty-Six | Encore: Lewis and Clark | March 2024 Season Sixty-Seven | World War I | April 2024 Season Sixty-Eight | The Pinkerton Detective Agency | May 2024 Season Sixty-Nine | The Hidden History of the White House | June 2024 Season Seventy | Benjamin Franklin | June 2024 Season Seventy-One | First Ladies | June 2024 Season Seventy-Two | Encore: Presidential Assassinations | August 2024 Season Seventy-Three | The Titanic | September 2024 Season Seventy-Four | Jamestown | October 2024 Season Seventy-Five | Transcontinental Railroad | November 2024 Season Seventy-Six | FDR & Churchill | December 2024 Season Seventy-Seven | Encore: Boston Molasses Disaster | December 2024 Season Seventy-Eight | The Wright Brothers | January 2025 Season Seventy-Nine | The Irish Famine Relief Mission | January 2025 Season Eighty | Buffalo Soldiers | February 2025 Season Eighty-One | Encore: The Fight for Women's Suffrage | March 2025 Season Eighty-Two | The Carter Years | April 2025 Season Eighty-Three | The Progressive Era | May 2025 Season Eighty-Four | Typhoid Mary | June 2025 Season Eighty-Five | Evolution on Trial | July 2025 Season Eighty-Six | Encore: Insurrection of Aaron Burr | August 2025 Season Eighty-Seven | Encore: California Gold Rush | August 2025 Season Eighty-Eight | Daring prison escapes | September 2025 Season Eighty-Nine | Shootout at the OK Corral | October 2025 Season Ninety | The Mayflower | November 2025 Season Ninety-One | The Ice King | December 2025 Season Ninety-Two | Conquering Polio | January 2026 Season Ninety-Three | St. Valentine's Day Massacre | February 2026 Season Ninety-Four | 1900 Galveston Hurricane | April 2026 Season Ninety-Five | Edison vs. Tesla | April 2026 Season Ninety-Six | American Revolution | June 2026
Seasons Listed in Rough Chronological Order/Topical Seasons Season Topic Rough Start Date34Lost Colony Of Roanoke158774Jamestown160790The Mayflower162015Dutch Manhattan162561Salem Witch Trials169250The Age of Pirates 170070Benjamin Franklin170612American Epidemics 17215American Revolution177539Traitors177626The Supreme Court 178928Presidential Inaugurations178959Encore: Supreme Court Landmarks178971First Ladies179020Rebellion in the Early Republic 179051Yellow Fever Epidemic of 179317938Political Parties179625Encore: Political Parties 179630America's Monuments180069The Hidden History of the White House180091The Ice King180144Lewis and Clark180466Encore: Lewis and Clark180454Insurrection of Aaron Burr18073The Age of Jackson182946Encore: The Age of Jackson182965Underground Railroad183079The Irish Famine Relief Mission184753California Gold Rush184843The Fight for Women's Suffrage 184881Encore: The Fight for Women's Suffrage184835The Walker Affair185049Encore: The Walker Affair185063Great American Authors185068The Pinkerton Detective Agency185031Bleeding Kansas 1854 41Billy the Kid185948Civil War186175Transcontinental Railroad 186388Daring Prison Escapes186458Reconstruction Era186517Kentucky Blood Feud186552Presidential Assassinations186572Encore: Presidential Assassinations 186580Buffalo Soldiers186624The Gilded Age187029Great Chicago Fire187137Encore: National Parks187242The Plot to Steal Lincoln's Body187689Shootout at the O.K. Corral188083The Progressive Era189055Hawaii's Journey to Statehood 189840Philippine-American War189918California Water Wars190278The Wright Brothers190336The Fight for the First U.S. Olympics1904621906 San Francisco Earthquake190684Typhoid Mary190616The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire191173The Titanic191227Coal Wars191367World War I191419Spanish Flu191856Boston Molasses Disaster 191977Encore: Boston Molasses Disaster 19192Prohibition192038Roaring Twenties 192012Tulsa Race Massacre192133Encore: Tulsa Race massacre 192192Conquering Polio192111J. Edgar Hoover's FBI192485Evolution on Trial192545The Great Mississippi Flood192710The Great Depression192921The WWII Home Front194160Encore: WWII Home Front 194176FDR and Churchill 194164The Manhattan Project19421The Cold War19477Civil Rights19544The Space Race195722Encore: The Space Race 195757United Farm Workers19629The 1968 Chicago Protests 196823Stonewall 196947The Manson Murders196932The Mystery of D.B. Cooper197182The Carter Years1977
Reception American History Tellers has received mostly positive reviews. Many have noted the podcast's ability to go deeper into history, beyond what is taught in traditional U.S. history classrooms. The podcast is consistently featured on top charts and has even been referenced by celebrities such as George Clooney and Ryan Reynolds — who voiced a character for an April Fools' episode.
See also
List of history podcasts 1865
References
External links