News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Old Kentucky Tales
Podcast

Old Kentucky Tales: Quirky history stories from Kentucky’s past plus Brent and Jason (and guests) have a laugh at old (fake) commercials and real life characters.

Ways To Subscribe
Stay Connected
Latest Episodes
  • Jason and Brent examine the memoir of Dr. Daniel Drake, Pioneer Life in Kentucky, with a tale of local customs, ad hoc whiskey sales and who has to milk the cows. The Fake History Sponsors include an ad for a mid-century Electric Clothes Dryer sponsored by a Kentucky power company and an ad for The Boyd-White Private Surgical Hospital in 1896. And we learn how to make Todd's namesake drink in more Producer Appreciation Month. Share comments here or on the Apple Podcasts app, iTunes or NPROne. Old Kentucky Tales is produced by sound engineer Todd Birdsong at Paducah School of Art and Design on the campus of West Kentucky Community and Technical College.
  • Brent and Jason recount the story of 19th century Kentucky artist Joel Hart, his marble sculpture Woman Triumphant and how it was destroyed. The History Sponsors are ads for a 1954 Method To Cure Bedwetting and Munsingwear's Horizontal-Fly Knit Briefs, with even more from Producer Appreciation Month. Share comments here or on the Apple Podcasts app, iTunes or NPROne. Old Kentucky Tales is produced by sound engineer Todd Birdsong at Paducah School of Art and Design on the campus of West Kentucky Community and Technical College.
  • Jason and Brent discuss the backstory of the invention of chewing gum as Dr. Colgan's Taffy Tolu Gum. The History Sponsors are ads for Vacuums For Kids and Hardney and Landhoffer's Ladies Restaurant, with more from Producer Appreciation Month. Share comments here or on the Apple Podcasts app, iTunes or NPROne. Old Kentucky Tales is produced by sound engineer Todd Birdsong at Paducah School of Art and Design on the campus of West Kentucky Community and Technical College.
  • Brent and Jason (plus Todd, again) dive into the illustrious firsthand account of the 1862 Battle of Perryville, Kentucky. Told from the perspective of a common soldier with gruesome-ish details, the recollection has its moments of uncertainty, exhaustion, levity and cooperation. The Fake History Sponsors are ads for Mother's Friend Makes Childbirth Easy and Dr. Vanderveer's Genuine Schiedam Schnapps. And they 'celebrate' Producer Appreciation Month. Share comments here or on the Apple Podcasts app, iTunes or NPROne. Old Kentucky Tales is produced by sound engineer Todd Birdsong at Paducah School of Art and Design on the campus of West Kentucky Community and Technical College.
  • Jason and Brent (plus Todd) discuss how people reacted to the Bubonic Plague in the mid-1300s, otherwise known as the Black Death, contrasting that with the 2020 pandemic.
  • Brent and Jason investigate the 1806 duel between a young Andrew Jackson and accomplished duelist Charles Dickinson. Their complex feud led to a tense, bloody duel just over the border from Tennessee, the details of which are compelling and decisive. They are joined by political consultant Daniel Hurt.
  • Brent and Jason discuss the the World War II story of wives and mothers working in a munitions factory in Kentucky and how that pivotal role they played for the war effort would change how many Americans saw work opportunities they never imagined.
  • Brent and Jason discuss prohibitionist Carry Nation, a Kentucky native who traveled the country to crusade against alcohol, and her physical confrontation with a 1904 saloon keeper.
  • Brent and Jason hear the story that drove famed frontiersman Simon Kenton into Kentucky in his youth. The Fake History Sponsors are the Royal Worchester…
  • Brent and Jason look at old slang terms, especially those that soldiers in World War II brought back after serving overseas. The Fake History Sponsors are…