1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast

Dr. John Pemberton's "cure" wqas a patent medicine created in 1886 to treat morhine addiction, nerve pain, headaches, and hangovers. His remedy consisted of Bordeaux wine mixed with coca leaves and kola nuts, with the coca leaves providing  6mg of cociane. His cure and his company went through a number of changes through the years becoming one of the most recognized brands in the world= this is the story-which was "Found In The Footnotes"  JH 1001 Heoes, Legends, Histories & Mystyeries Podcast every Wednesday at 4pm ET.

Beginning in the late 1950's our government's CIA, feeling that our enemies were leading us in the science of mind control, began a program of experimentation  on both volunteer and unknowing subjects using the hallucinatory drug LSD. The program grew out of control quickly, one result being their manufacturing and distributing free LSD throughout San Francisco and other cities , using CIA safehouses as distribution points, performing experimentts on unknowing prisoners and soldiers and on their own people. Some died and the deaths were covered up. In San Francisco and New York the "hippie" counterculture  bloomed  with the drug craze as a result. When a CIA snalyst threatened to expose the program he was "neutralized" by being tossed out of a hotel window in New York City to his death, which the CIA called suicide. .  In part two we'll let the victims tell their story, and we will reveal the results of the Congressional hearings which took place in 1974-5. Had it not been for journalists who actaully investigated the crimes without fear we would probably never have known. One of those men who told truth to power was my friend Dr.Stanton Friedman, Nuclear Physicist and staunch UFO advocate whom I interviewed here at 1001 Heroes, and to whom this story is dedicated.

Does Bigfoot really exist?  We'll give you all the known science and let you decide!
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The Ballad of Davy Crockett begins this way "Born on a mountaintop in Tennessee, Greenest state in the land of the free...", but Tennessee wasn't always Tennessee... actually it was named Franklin when the independent thinking people there decided that Carolina didnt even know they existed. So they got together and named their own state with its own boundaries.  This is their story...
My footnote: I grew up in Pasadena CA and in my neighborhood Mrs Tobin always held a big back yard Christmas show where the kids were invited to perform.I was 5 or 6 and when my turn came I was supposed to render a tried and true Christmas song. But before the performance dad pulled me aside and asked me to sing my favorite song instead, which happened to be the Ballad of Davy Crockett .(I was a coonskin cap wearing Crockett fan back then). So when my turn came I sang 'Born on a mountaintop in Tennessee...."with lots of energy. Mom had a look of shock on her face. Dad was laughing and slapping his knee, which he did when he was really pleased. Mom eventually forgave me. Whether she ever forgave dad or not I never knew. But I'll never forget Mrs. Tobin's Chriastmas parties in Pasadena.

The True Story That Inspired 'The Count of Monte Cristo' — A Four‑Part Special at 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries
Fresh off our full narration of Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo at 1001 Stories for the Road, we turn to the true story behind the novel — a story every bit as dramatic, heroic, and heartbreaking as the fiction it inspired. And with PBS MASTERPIECE releasing its sweeping new eight‑episode adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo starring Sam Claflin as Edmond Dantès and Jeremy Irons as Abbé Faria, there has never been a better moment to explore the real history behind the legend.
This four‑part series uncovers the extraordinary life of General Thomas‑Alexandre Dumas, father of the novelist and the real inspiration behind both The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. Born enslaved in Saint‑Domingue, he rose to become one of the most celebrated generals of the French Revolution — only to be betrayed, imprisoned, and forgotten by the nation he served. His suffering, courage, and moral conviction shaped the imagination of his son and became the emotional foundation of Dumas's greatest works.
Summary of the Series
•     Part One traces Dumas's origins in the Caribbean, his rise from enslavement to freedom, and his meteoric ascent through the French military.
•     Part Two follows his legendary Alpine campaigns, his rivalry with Napoleon, and the political tensions that set the stage for his downfall.
•     Part Three enters the fortress where Dumas was imprisoned for two years — a harrowing ordeal that directly parallels Edmond Dantès's suffering in the Château d'If.
•     Part Four explores his final years, his early death, and the way his son resurrected his legacy through literature, transforming tragedy into timeless adventure.
This is the story of a man whose real life was larger than fiction — a hero whose courage shaped a literary masterpiece and whose legacy still resonates today.
And as you enjoy the new PBS MASTERPIECE adaptation — beautifully filmed, richly acted, and faithful to the spirit of Dumas's novel — remember that nothing compares to experiencing the original words of Alexandre Dumas, with all their nuance, history, and emotional depth. You can hear the full narrated novel at 1001 Stories for the Road.
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