How easy it is to see someone well-known for a skill and to say, “They were born with it,” or we assume, ”They must have it so easy.” However, we know that isn’t always true. For many talents and abilities, we struggle and strive to master it, and sometimes we never see the fruits of our labors. Other times, our efforts bring us to places we could never have imagined for ourselves. Now, imagine you are born with the exact deficits to hold you back from succeeding at a specific goal - what would you do? How would you try to overcome it? Or would you simply give up? Today, we follow the story of such a man, born with a severe speech impediment, who went on to accomplish something they never thought he could. Join us as we take a breath of dead air with an orator of ancient Greece, Demosthenes.

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Demosthenes-Greek-statesman-and-orator

https://medium.com/thrive-global/how-7-people-overcame-huge-obstacles-to-become-famous-4ae0386f4ee1

https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=resources&s=char-dir&f=demosthenes2

https://catholicbiblestudent.com/2022/01/two-ways-to-calculate-the-value-of-a-talent.html#:~:text=The%20value%20of%20ten%20talents%20of%20silver,in%20comparative%20American%20wages%20of%202006%2C%20$6%2C000%2C000

https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=read&author=lemon&book=greek&story=demosthenes

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Demosthenes*.html#:~:text=3%20However%2C%20at%20the%20age,force%20him%20to%20do%20so.

https://www.vaia.com/en-us/explanations/greek/greek-literature/greek-oratory/#:~:text=Greek%20oral%20tradition.-,Classical%20Period,Greek%20oratory%20with%20local%20practices.

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Intro: Before Tony the Tiger, Dig’em Frog, Snap, Crackle, and Pop, breakfast was a very different meal. For the wealthy it included large spreads of meats, eggs, and breads. For the poor, breakfast usually consisted of a daily bowl of porridge. But all of that changed just before the turn of the 20th century, when two brothers discovered something new. Join us as we take a breath of dead air with the Kellogg brothers.

Sources:

“Almanac: Graham Crackers.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, www.cbsnews.com/news/almanac-graham-crackers/.

“Cereal: Accidental Invention That Changed American Breakfast.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Aug. 2025, www.history.com/articles/cereal-breakfast-origins-kellogg.

Gross, Terry. “How the ‘battling’ Kellogg Brothers Revolutionized American Breakfast.” NPR, NPR, 8 Aug. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/08/08/542145177/how-the-battling-kellogg-brothers-revolutionized-american-breakfast.

“Our Story & Timeline - WK Kellogg Co.” Our Story & Timeline - WK Kellogg Co®, www.wkkellogg.com/who-we-are/our-story. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.

“Sylvester Graham: History: Research Starters: EBSCO Research.” EBSCO, www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/sylvester-graham. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.

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During a time when tensions were high and grudges were rampant, the city of Berlin had been caught in the crossfire of former allies now at odds. The newly established United States Airforce was called on to bring food and necessities to these people who had, until very recently, been considered enemies. It was a great humanitarian effort for those who were in dire straits, but would it be enough to sustain the West Berliners while they held out to build their own democratic and free government? Tune in to learn how two sticks of gum changed history, as we take a breath of dead air with Gail Halvorsen.

Sources:

Cherny, Andrei. The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America’s Finest Hour. CNIB, 2014.

Halvorsen, Gail S., and Denise H. Williams. The Candy Bomber. Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, 2022.

Tunnell, Michael O. Candy Bomber. Charlesbridge, 2014.

She was a true prodigy in every sense of the word. Her fingers flew over the black and white keys, nimble with grace surprising for such a young lady. The melody flowing from her hands matched her movements as the enraptured audience held their breath. It was enchanting. Her brother had indeed awed them before with his performance, but she captivated them just as well. While her brother would become a name famously known throughout her country, and the world, she continued to feed her love of music even when she couldn’t perform as she once did. Join us as we take a breath of dead air with Maria Anna Mozart.

Sources

https://www.ritacharbonnier.com/mozarts-sister-q-a/

https://herhalfofhistory.com/2025/02/20/14-8-nannerl-mozart-sister-of-wolfgang-amadeus/

https://interlude.hk/maria-anna-mozart-the-bittersweet-story-of-mozarts-prodigy-sister/

https://robertgreenbergmusic.com/music-history-monday-the-other-mozart-kid/#:~:text=Leopold%20Mozart%20%E2%80%93%20Dad%20%E2%80%93%20was%20born,to%20actually%20earn%20his%20salary).

https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/visit-child-mozart-1763-1764#:~:text=Key%20Dates,and%20everyone%20flocked%20after%20him.

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In 2008, a newspaper man, named Wil Haygood, was on a mission to interview a very specific person. After spending a multitude of hours making calls and searching, he finally was able to make contact with the man who had seen more history happen than Wil had even hoped for. This man had not been a politician, a musician, or a rich statistician. Nope! This man had been a butler. A butler to presidents of the United States, to be exact. What was it like to be a butler in the most distinguished household in the country? Join us as we discuss this and take a breath of dead air with Eugene Allen.

Sources

Daniels, Lee, director. The Butler. 2013.

Haygood, Wil. “A Butler Well Served by This Election.” Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/a-butler-well-served-by-this-election/2019/01/02/b2a805a6-07b1-11e9-88e3-989a3e456820_story.html. Accessed 22 Dec. 2025.

Haygood, Wil. The Butler: A Witness to History. 2018.

Nagle, Bethany. “The Life of Eugene Allen.” White House Historical Association, www.whitehousehistory.org/the-life-of-eugene-allen. Accessed 22 Dec. 2025.

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While starting from humble origins, born on a small farm in a small town in Texas, this boy would go on to be not only a household name known for his warm voice, his upright character, and his beloved shows, but he would also become a great businessman with investments in a variety of things. From airplane schools to baseball teams, from television and radio shows to hotels, his business spanned across many fields. However, we remember him most for his voice and his warmth. Join us as we get “Back in the Saddle Again”, and take a breath of Dead Air with America’s Singing Cowboy, Gene Autry.

Sources

https://www.geneautry.com/geneautry/geneautry_biography.php

https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=AU004

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUK2PUwrz9Y (Biography TV Series - Gene Autry)

https://spclarke.com/?page_id=139#:~:text=Gene%20then%20returned%20to%20New,forty%2Dfive%20years%20of%20age.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23905-pellagra

https://library.uab.edu/locations/reynolds/collections/regional-history/pellagra/history#:~:text=Joseph%20Goldberger%20(1874%2D1929),a%20deficiency%20in%20the%20diet.

https://www.normantranscript.com/news/lifestyles/inside-gene-autry/article_9d7aa572-5efb-5f2c-b843-658cd52737fd.html

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Soccer, known as football in most parts of the world, has made its mark on the lives of many generations. Today more than 250 million people play the sport and it has been a unifying game in many instances for people across cultures. Throughout time, soccer has evolved as countless players have changed the game by how they choose to play it. One such athlete was a Dutchman. Join us today as we discuss the beginnings of soccer and take a breath of dead air with Johan Cruyff.

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Mary, Mary, quite contrary

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockleshells

And pretty maids all in a row.

Mary, Mary, not so wary

Of hearts and darkness bleak

With spirits fraught, creatures new

She was never meek

Mary, Mary, like a fairy

Drawn to mists and deep

She calls a message to us all -

Know what to give and keep.

Join us as we take a breath of dead air with the mother of science fiction - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Wollstonecraft-Shelley

https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/mary-shelley

https://www.centralsquaretheater.org/2018-19-season/articles/mary-shelley-and-frankenstein-a-personal-history/

https://osborneeighteenthcenturychildrensliterature.wordpress.com/2017/01/14/mounseer-nongtongpaw-by-mary-godwin-shelley/

https://www.historythroughfiction.com/blog/love-and-tragedy

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/1816-the-year-without-summer.htm

https://historicipswich.net/2020/06/25/1816-the-year-without-summer/

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2005/aug/hand-other-woman-shelleys-life

https://www.historyhit.com/culture/facts-about-mary-shelley-the-woman-behind-frankenstein/
https://annamazzola.com/did-mary-shelley-keep-percys-heart/

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