Dave Roos

Dave Roos

Dave Roos is a journalist and podcaster based in the U.S. and Mexico. He's the co-host of Biblical Time Machine, a history podcast, and a writer for the popular podcast Stuff You Should Know. Learn more at daveroos.com.

Latest from this author

Convalescent Plasma history

Doctors first tried injecting patients with blood plasma in the early 1900s. The method has been used against diphtheria, the 1918 flu pandemic, measles and Ebola.

Evel Knievel mid-jump during a successful attempt to jump over a row of 19 cars, a record at the time, on February 28, 1971.

There have always been daredevils. But never has there been such a variety of creative ways to defy death—and break a few world records along the way.

Civilian Conservation Corps camp (CCC)

On the heels of the Great Depression, the federal government under FDR hired young people to work on projects across the country. Here’s what the Corps got done.

How One Italian City Fended Off the Plague in the 17th Century

The town of Ferrara managed to avoid even a single death from the widespread contagion. How did they do it?

Congress has the constitutional power to "declare war," but U.S. presidents have long initiated military action without it.

Key People Who Shaped George Washington's Life: John Adams

The 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts called for deportation of people from 'hostile' nations and made it a crime to criticize the government.

Aerial view of Manhattan looking south over Central Park in July 2007 in New York City.

Building New York City's 843-acre park involved sledgehammers, pickaxes, gunpowder and thousands of plantings. The project also forced out a community of African American residents.

M1A1 Abrams tank

Tanks—particularly the M1A1 Abrams—proved critical for U.S.-led coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War.

The Boston Massacre

Printed just weeks after British troops opened fire on an unarmed crowd of Bostonians, Revere’s depiction of the melee likely stoked anti-British sentiment throughout the colonies.

The Founding Fathers had just broken free from one empire, and the idea that foreign power could influence their young democracy was a prominent source of anxiety.

The official declarations of war occurred during five separate military conflicts, starting in 1812 and, most recently, in 1942.

Prohibition Organized Crime

Kingpins like Al Capone were able to rake in up to $100 million each year thanks to the overwhelming business opportunity of illegal booze.

Admiring a Bristlecone Pine in the San Luis Valley

The exact location of the ancient, gnarled bristlecone pine is kept secret for its protection.

The Infamous 1956 Olympic Water Polo Match Known as ‘Blood in the Water’

Just weeks before the match, Soviet tanks and troops brutally crushed the short-lived Hungarian Revolution.

ITALY-DIVING-TOURISM-ARCHAEOLOGY-CULTURE

Sunk by earthquakes or swallowed by rising tides, these five underwater settlements hold artifacts and clues to ancient life.

Troops Enforcing Desegregation in Little Rock

From desegregation at Little Rock to MLK's Selma-to-Montgomery march to the Cuban refugee crisis, these are major moments when U.S. presidents have deployed troops in America.

Reinforcements disembarking from a landing barge at Normandy during the Allied Invasion of France on D-Day.

On June 6, 1944, more than 156,000 American, British and Canadian troops executed the largest amphibious landing in history. Five veterans share their stories from that day.

5 of History's Deadliest Bear Attacks

Hungry bears—whether grizzly, black, brown or polar—can be shockingly brutal.

In April 1896, Thomas Edison rented a New York Vaudeville hall to show a film—an event that many consider to be America's first movie theater experience.

President John Quincy Adams

These presidential candidates didn't need to secure more popular votes to win election, due to the Electoral College.

Fishing in Montana

These storied rivers have played a big part in American agriculture, ecosystems—and history.

The origin story of the first iPhone reveals that Jobs was just trying to make a really cool phone.

The explorers not only produced maps from their 1804-1806 expedition to the American West, they also recorded some 122 animals new to science.

Kissinger, October 1972.

When scandalous news emerged in the final weeks of these presidential campaigns, election outcomes were at stake.

At the close of the Civil War, people recently freed from slavery in Charleston honored fallen Union soldiers.

Vanderbillt The Breakers mansion ornate facade in Newport, Rhode Island, USA

Elite Gilded Age families competed for status by building extravagant summer 'cottages' in Newport and throwing lavish parties.

1908: Apsaroke woman on horseback, packhorse beside her.

Horses were first introduced to Native American tribes via European explorers. For the buffalo-hunting Plains Indians, the swift, strong animals quickly became prized.

Lewis and Clark Expedition: Timeline

In 1804, Lewis and Clark set off on a journey filled with harrowing confrontations, harsh weather and fateful decisions as they scouted a route across the American West.

The Harrowing Rescue Missions to Save the Donner Party Survivors

As the Donner Party fought to survive in the snowy Sierra Nevada mountains, four brave rescue missions ensured some traumatized members made it out alive.

How Many Times Has the U.S. Landed on the Moon?

Among seven Apollo moon landing missions, only one did not land men on the moon.

On Echo River (Boat With Tourists)

At the turn of the 20th century, there was life-changing money to be made in operating a “show cave.” Those prospects fueled fierce competition. 

Aerial view of the San Andreas Fault.

Eyewitnesses of the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake described fissures tearing open in the earth, rivers changing course, trees being swallowed up by liquefaction and solid ground rolling like waves in the ocean.

When a small, scrappy Mexican force handed the French army a surprise defeat in 1862, the Confederacy was denied a potential ally.

How Stalin and the Soviet Union Helped Launch the Korean War

Communist North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 with the approval of Joseph Stalin and the promise of backing from China.

Pope Francis opens a "Holy Door" at St Peter's basilica to mark the start of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, on December 8, 2015 in Vatican.

The ancient office of the pope is rich in symbols and insignia. Here are some of the most visible and meaningful of the papal symbols.

The 1969 Raid That Killed Black Panther Leader Fred Hampton

Details around the 1969 police shooting of Hampton and other Black Panther members took decades to come to light.

The Allied invasion of Normandy was among the largest military operations ever staged.

Opportunity in the United States beckoned—but first immigrants from Europe had to endure a grim journey.

Why the 1918 Flu Pandemic Never Really Ended

After infecting millions of people worldwide, the 1918 flu strain shifted—and then stuck around.

1918 FLu

The first strain of the 1918 flu wasn’t particularly deadly. Then it came back in the fall with a staggering death toll that eclipsed even the casualties of World War I.

Sylvia Mendez

Mexican American families in California secured an early legal victory in the push against school segregation.

President Andrew Jackson

In the 1820s, no one had heard about an anti-establishment candidate—until Andrew Jackson's campaign invented it.

Thomas Jefferson and the Insurrection Act

With his political career in ruins after killing Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr set off to claim lands in the Southwest—and President Jefferson intended to stop him.

What is Federalism and Why Did the Founding Fathers Create It?

Federalism, or the separation of powers between state and federal government, was entirely new when the founders baked it into the Constitution.

Two of Christopher Columbus’ ships were so small that men had no refuge to sleep and poor food storage led to wormy meals.

"I am not the Catholic candidate for president,” JFK declared in 1960. “I am the Democratic Party's candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic."

Vacuum cleaning a carpet.

Early versions of a carpet cleaning device were pulled by a horse, but it was a janitor who came up with a portable model you could plug in.

History of U.S. Recessions

From post-war recessions to the energy crisis to the dot-com and housing bubbles, some slumps have proven more lasting—and punishing—than others.

This April 1968 file photo shows the first sergeant of A Company, 101st Airborne Division, guiding a medevac helicopter through the jungle foliage to pick up casualties suffered during a five-day patrol near Hue.

Gifted photographers and reporters captured images that conveyed the agony and violence of the Vietnam war, and the deep divisions it drove in American society.