In this episode of History You Didn’t Know But Should, Chris and Ray sit down with Dr. Denver Brunsman, Department Chair and Associate Professor of History at The George Washington University. We explore how George Washington approached executive power and how his character, military experience, and political instincts shaped the presidency. Dr. Brunsman also considers whether Washington unintentionally set the stage for what some call the imperial presidency. He shares insights from his forthcoming book George Washington and His World. It is an insightful and energizing conversation with one of the leading scholars of early America.

On this episode of History You Didn’t Know But Should, Chris and Ray head into the mountains of North Carolina to chase the legend of Grandfather Mountain’s Phantom Hiker, the silent, ghostly figure who passes travelers on the trail before fading into the trees. Along the way, they follow the breadcrumbs of other ghostly wanderers, from prophetic vanishing hitchhikers warning that “Jesus is coming” to lone spirits keeping to their favorite paths long after death. Pull up a chair and settle in. This one’s a spooky good time.

Down a lonely dirt road outside Whiteville, North Carolina, lies a bridge with a heartbeat. Locals call it Heartbeat Bridge, a place where legend says a masked killer once claimed his victim, cutting out her heart and tossing it into the swamp below. Stop your car on the bridge at midnight, kill the engine, and listen closely, some say you’ll hear a pulse echoing from the darkness.

In this episode of History You Didn't Know But Should, Chris and Ray dive into the eerie lore of Heartbeat Bridge, explore the swampy landscape that feeds the fear, and uncover why stories like this thrive in rural North Carolina. Is it just the wind and frogs…or something darker keeping time in the woods?