Portrait of a male author with glasses standing against a concrete wall, wearing a green shirt and jacket.

Edward C.

Kealakekua Bay: The Death of Captain Cook and the Beginning of the End for Hawaiʻi

Captain Cook sailed into Kealakekua Bay and was welcomed as a god. Four weeks later, Hawaiians killed him on the same shore. What went wrong?

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Kealakekua Bay: The Death of Captain Cook and the Beginning of the End for Hawaiʻi

USA

Ghost towns, gang territories, nuclear test sites, and Cold War bunkers. America's dark history is as vast and varied as the country itself.

Wounded Knee: The 1890 Massacre That Ended the American Indian Wars

Tragedies & Disasters

Wounded Knee: The 1890 Massacre That Ended the American Indian Wars

In 1890, the U.S. Army fired cannons into a camp of starving families on a South Dakota creek. Twenty soldiers got the Medal of Honor for it. What happened at Wounded Knee.

Portrait of a female author standing against a brick wall, wearing a green jacket and grey shirt.

Alcor Life Extension Foundation: Inside the Facility Where the Dead Wait for the Future

Since 1972, Alcor has frozen 248 legally dead people in a Scottsdale office park — betting that future science will bring them back to life.

Edward C.

Ford's Theatre: The Site of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination

Tragedies & Disasters

Ford's Theatre: The Site of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln during a comedy at Ford's Theatre. The president died across the street. The theatre still stands — and still stages plays.

Gettysburg: The Bloodiest Battle in American History

Over three days in July 1863, 50,000 men fell on Pennsylvania farmland in the deadliest battle in American history. What happened — and what it still means.

Sophia R.

Danvers State Hospital: The Birthplace of the Lobotomy and the Inspiration behind Arkham Asylum

Tragedies & Disasters

Danvers State Hospital: The Birthplace of the Lobotomy and the Inspiration behind Arkham Asylum

Built in 1878 to cure mental illness through sunlight, Danvers State Hospital inspired Arkham and became synonymous with ice-pick lobotomies. What went wrong?

Slauson Avenue and the Rollin' 60s: LA's Largest Crip Gang

A single street in South Los Angeles produced the largest Crip gang in the city, a war that split every gang in LA in two, and a rapper who tried to undo all of it.

Portrait of a male author wearing a cap and backpack, smiling with a city skyline at sunset in the background.

Hart Island: NYC's Secret Cemetery for a Million Forgotten Dead

For 150 years, New York City buried its unclaimed dead in mass trenches on a restricted island — dug by prisoners, closed to families. Who lies beneath Hart Island?

Rikers Island: The Jail New York City Cannot Close

Rikers Island holds thousands of unconvicted New Yorkers on a jail island no one can see from shore. They've been promising to close it for decades. It's still open.

Piru Street, Compton: The Block That Founded the Bloods

A residential block in Compton with no plaque, no monument — and a 1972 meeting that created one of America's largest street gang networks. Why here?

Howland Island: The Tiny Speck That Doomed Amelia Earhart’s Final Flight

In 1937, the US built an airstrip on a tiny Pacific coral island for one purpose: Amelia Earhart's landing. She never arrived.

Portrait of a female author smiling in warm evening light on a city street.

The Lost Colony of Roanoke: Inside the Disappearance That Has Haunted America for Four Centuries

In 1587, 117 colonists vanished from Roanoke Island. The only clue: the word CROATOAN carved into a post. Most people know the myth. No one knows what actually happened.

North Brother Island: New York City's Forbidden Island of Quarantine, Disaster, and Decay

The most infamous quarantine prisoner in history died here alone. The island has been locked, abandoned, and unreachable ever since. Learn about NYC's darkest 20 acres.

Edward C.

Kealakekua Bay: The Death of Captain Cook and the Beginning of the End for Hawaiʻi

USA

Wounded Knee: The 1890 Massacre That Ended the American Indian Wars

Alcor Life Extension Foundation: Inside the Facility Where the Dead Wait for the Future

Ford's Theatre: The Site of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination

Gettysburg: The Bloodiest Battle in American History

Danvers State Hospital: The Birthplace of the Lobotomy and the Inspiration behind Arkham Asylum

Slauson Avenue and the Rollin' 60s: LA's Largest Crip Gang

Hart Island: NYC's Secret Cemetery for a Million Forgotten Dead

Rikers Island: The Jail New York City Cannot Close

Piru Street, Compton: The Block That Founded the Bloods

Howland Island: The Tiny Speck That Doomed Amelia Earhart’s Final Flight

The Lost Colony of Roanoke: Inside the Disappearance That Has Haunted America for Four Centuries

North Brother Island: New York City's Forbidden Island of Quarantine, Disaster, and Decay

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