Podcast
It’s History
Hosted by Ryan Socash · EN
IT’S HISTORY is a ride through history – join us in discovering the world’s most important eras, the minds that changed everything, and the most important inventions of our time through weekly tales of Urban Decay.
This podcast is distributed and operated by Video Brothers Music.
73episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Why San Francisco was built on Hundreds of Shipwrecks
Yesterday00:14:15Tap to summarizeIn the wake of the California Gold Rush in 1848, San Francisco faced an influx of vessels, many of which were abandoned by their crews. With no one to sail them home, these ships were left to deteriorate in Yerba Buena Cove. To manage the rapid growth, San Francisco made the drastic decision to sink these ships and build over them, creating a unique urban landscape. Today, it's estimated that between 50 and 200 ships, including the illustrious Niantic—once the finest hotel in San Francisco—remain buried beneath the city streets. #SanFrancisco #GoldRush #ItsHistory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Chicago's FORGOTTEN "L" Lines- The History of Chicago Elevated Trains - IT'S HISTORY
4d ago00:25:12Tap to summarizeDating back over 150 years, the "L" train lines have captivated Chicago, serving numerous lines throughout the 20th century. This video explores the history of Chicago's public transportation systems, including: - The Omnibus, intercity stagecoach, steam train, and cable cars. - The transport system during the Great Chicago Fire. - The introduction of electric streetcars to Chicago. - The evolution of elevated train systems, including the Southside rapid transit line, the Lake Street elevated railway, and the MET West L. - The history and consolidation of the Chicago Loop and CTA. - The decline and lost lines of the Chicago "L." #ChicagoL #PublicTransport #UrbanHistory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Why America Abandoned Arecibo Telescope
5d ago00:15:45Tap to summarizeFor 57 years, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico was the most powerful radio telescope ever built. It was instrumental in discovering the first planets outside our solar system, providing indirect proof of gravitational waves, and serving as Earth's primary radar defense against asteroid impacts. The facility also became a cultural icon, appearing in films such as James Bond and Carl Sagan's Contact. On December 1, 2020, it collapsed into a jungle ravine in under 15 seconds—a demise resulting from decades of underfunding, deferred maintenance, and a series of structural failures. This video narrates the story of the United States' greatest scientific instrument, its neglect, and ultimate loss before a replacement was ever planned. #Arecibo #RadioTelescope #ItsHistory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Why Chicago's Route 66 is Totally Forbidden | Joliet Road
6d ago00:12:44Tap to summarizeJust outside Chicago, a mile-long stretch of historic Route 66 is barricaded and crumbling above two massive quarry pits. Once called Joliet Road, this corridor carried twenty thousand drivers a day through the southwestern suburbs, lined with diners, gas stations, and family businesses. Today, it is off-limits to the public. The story of this segment of America's iconic highway involves industrial ambition and legal battles. Decades of aggressive limestone quarrying by Vulcan Materials eroded the bedrock beneath the road, causing it to become suspended on a crumbling ridge. By 1998, the pavement was buckling and shifting, leading to its permanent closure by the Illinois Department of Transportation. A subsequent $40 million legal settlement led Illinois to opt not to rebuild, resulting in lost businesses and disrupted communities. #Route66 #ChicagoHistory #ItsHistory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Why California Built Fake Islands to Hide an Oil Field
1w ago00:16:22Tap to summarizeOff the coast of Long Beach, California, the THUMS Islands serve as both resort-like structures and active oil extraction facilities on artificial land. This video explores their design, which serves to conceal oil platforms from public view, as an example of industrial camouflage. The Wilmington Oil Field beneath Long Beach is one of the largest in the continental United States, having produced over 2.5 billion barrels of crude oil since the early twentieth century. In the 1960s, engineers developed this creative solution to prevent visible offshore rigs near the California coastline, collaborating with a consortium of oil companies and a public university. The islands feature leisure destinations with towers and artificial waterfalls to disguise the machinery. #ItsHistory #LosAngelesHistory #OilHistory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →What's Below Chicago's Hole
1w ago00:19:55Tap to summarizeFor nearly two decades, a 110-foot hole has remained at one of the most coveted addresses on Chicago's lakefront—the only remnant of what would have been the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, the Chicago Spire. Designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, this 2,000-foot twisting tower was funded with $500 million but was halted by the 2008 financial crisis. This patch of ground has been central to Chicago's ambitions since before the city existed, from the fur-trading post that sparked its founding to the apartment tower that inspired the Burj Khalifa. This video traces every generation that impacted this site and explores why Chicago, known for its ability to reinvent itself, has left its most prized real estate empty for nearly 20 years. #ItsHistory #ChicagoHistory #ChicagoSpire Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Why Roosevelt Island Has a Secret Pneumatic Trash System
2w ago00:15:39Tap to summarizeOn a narrow strip of land in New York City's East River, Roosevelt Island features an advanced residential waste system that operates without garbage trucks. Beneath its streets, 20-inch steel tubes transport thousands of tons of waste each year at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour to a central collection facility, making it one of only two such systems in the United States, alongside Walt Disney World. This video explores the history of Roosevelt Island, which once served as a dumping ground for prisons, asylums, and hospitals. It discusses the development of its unique waste management system in response to a 1960s garbage crisis, a visionary plan for a car-free community, and the innovative thinking of a Swedish hospital engineer, all tied together with decades of underground engineering largely unknown to most New Yorkers. This is the story of Roosevelt Island's Automated Vacuum Collection system and the island's hidden history beneath it. #RooseveltIsland #WasteManagement #AutomatedVacuumCollection Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →How The Erie Canal Transformed America - IT'S HISTORY
2w ago00:22:43Tap to summarizeEurope deemed it impossible, and President Thomas Jefferson called it “nothing short of madness,” yet New York persevered and constructed the largest canal in the world: the Erie Canal. This video delves into the canal's history, detailing the engineering challenges, land carving, and the permissions required for construction. Chapters: 0:00 - The History of the Erie Canal 0:37 - The Roads and Rivers of Early American Infrastructure 6:55 - Senator DeWitt Clinton 10:39 - The Biggest Ditch in the World (The Erie Canal) 14:40 - The Difficulties of Finishing the Erie Canal 17:59 - The Success of the Erie Canal 19:59 - The Erie Canal in Modern-Day CREDITS Scriptwriter: Gregory Back Editor: Rishi Mittal Host: Ryan Socash #ErieCanal #AmericanHistory #UrbanDecay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The Controversial Truth about Capone's Chicago Tunnels
2w ago00:30:54Tap to summarizeIn 1986, 30 million Americans witnessed Geraldo Rivera opening a vault beneath Chicago's Lexington Hotel, the former home of Al Capone, expecting to find cash and weapons but uncovering only dirt and old bottles. This episode delves into Chicago's historical battle over alcohol, highlighting events from the Lager Beer Riot of 1855 to the underground networks that fueled Prohibition-era crime. The discussion includes the tunnels connecting venues such as the Green Mill and Aragon Ballroom, as well as urban myths about the city's secret freight tunnels. The truths behind Al Capone's operations illustrate that he didn't rely on hidden railways; rather, he maintained control of the city above ground. However, the hidden depths below remain an intriguing subject for exploration. #Chicago #AlCapone #Prohibition Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Why New York’s Secret Government Island Has No Inhabitants
2w ago00:15:04Tap to summarizeGovernors Island is a small island off the southern tip of Manhattan, New York City, with a rich history dating back to the 1600s as a Dutch colonial settlement. It has served various purposes over the centuries, including a military base, a quarantine station, and a dumping ground for trash. In 1996, the island transformed into a public park. This video explores the history of Governors Island and its evolution into a public space. IT’S HISTORY features weekly tales of American Urban Decay presented by host Ryan Socash. CREDIT: Scriptwriter - Brandon Evans, Editor - Sebastian Ripoll, Host - Ryan Socash. #GovernorsIsland #History #UrbanDecay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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