Rediscover the remarkable true story of Second Lieutenant Elbert S. Wood, Jr, a young navigator whose final mission over Schweinfurt in 1943 became one of the most devastating air battles of World War II. We retrace his final flight, the crash, and the long journey home through the 1995 Nebraska History Magazine article, “Or Go Down in Flame: A Navigator’s Death of Schweinfurt,” written by his brother, W. Raymond Wood.

Nebraska is the birth state of one U.S. President. In this episode, we revisit the remarkable story of President Gerald Ford, born Leslie King, Jr., in a grand Omaha mansion and shaped by a turbulent family history. We explore how a twist of fate carried him from a wealthy but troubled Omaha legacy to a loving adoptive family through the 1987 Nebraska History Magazine article, "President Gerald R Ford's Roots in Omaha," written by Edward L and Frederick H Schapsmeier.

Today, we ride back into the real history of Nebraska’s open‑range cowboys; hard‑working, underpaid young men who helped shape the frontier long before Hollywood myths took hold. In this episode, we explore their lives on horseback, the dangers they faced, and the communities they built through the 2013 Nebraska History Magazine article, “A Peculiar Set of Men: Nebraska Cowboys of the Open Range,” written by James E. Potter.

When travelers on the Oregon, Mormon, and California Trails passed through the panhandle of Nebraska, Chimney Rock was the most documented landmark on the journey.

However, two other iconic landmarks helped guide travelers westward, Courthouse and Jail Rock. Today, we explore these two formations and how they captured the imaginations of pioneers through the 1962 Nebraska History Magazine article, “Courthouse and Jail Rocks: Landmarks on the Oregon Trail,” written by Earl R. Harris.

In the spring of 1890, a group of determined young Black waiters defied the odds, stepped onto a Lincoln ballfield, and briefly reshaped baseball on the Great Plains. Their talent, grit, and improbable rise caught the attention of early historian Solomon White, who later honored them as the first Black professional team in the West and praised their place in the game’s evolution. On this episode, we relive the story of this influential and forgotten team through the 2015 Nebraska History Magazine article, “The 1890 Lincoln Giants: Professional Baseball’s Unlikely Return to Nebraska’s Capital City,” written by Kent Morgan.

In 1928, when aviation was still wild and new, Nebraskan Ethel Tillotson chased her dream of becoming the first woman pilot in the state. Today, we learn about her bold story through the 1982 Nebraska History Magazine article, “Nebraska’s First Aviatrix: Ethel Ives Tillotson,” written by Darlene Ritter.

March 1st is statehood day in Nebraska, and in 2026, the state will celebrate 159 years as a state of the union. This bonus episode of the podcast takes a brief look at the history behind the Nebraska state motto through the 2010 Nebraska History Magazine article, “Equality Before the Law: Thoughts on the Origin of Nebraska’s State Motto,” written by James E. Potter.

Through the pages of the Omaha Star, Mildred Brown didn’t just report the news, she ignited a movement of boycotts and collective activism that predated the national stage. In this episode, we explore her work with the De Porres Club and their crusade through the 2010 Nebraska History Magazine article, “Mildred Brown and the De Porres Club: Collective Activism in Omaha, Nebraska’s Near North Side, 1947-1960,” written by Amy Helene Forss.