In April 1865, just days after the Civil War ended, thousands of Union soldiers believed they were finally going home. Instead, their journey ended abruptly. The explosion of the steamboat USS Sultana on the Mississippi River became the deadliest maritime disaster in American history, killing an estimated 1,800 people—most of them recently freed prisoners of war.

In this episode, we tell the full story of the USS Sultana disaster: the overcrowded vessel, the known boiler damage, the greed and corruption that packed men aboard beyond capacity.

This is the story of survival, neglect, and the cost paid by men who survived the war—only to perish on their way home.

Content Warning: This episode contains descriptions of mass casualty events, injury, and death related to a historical disaster. Listener discretion is advised.

Source: Disaster on the Mississippi: The Sultana Explosion, April 27, 1865 by Gene Eric Salecker.

Episode cover image: Explosion of the steamer SULTANA, April 28, 1865.
Wood engraving, 1865. Public domain.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Image accessed via Wikimedia Commons.

In 1851, Olive Oatman’s family journey west ended in tragedy when she and her sister were taken captive by a Native American tribe. Branded with a striking tattoo, Olive would grow up stuck living between two worlds—forever changed by her ordeal. In this episode of End of Story, we explore her story of survival, resilience, and identity on the American frontier.

Warning: This story includes descriptions of violence, loss, and trauma.

Sources

• Image: Olive Oatman, c. 1860s. Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
• The Blue Tattoo by Margot Mifflin (book)
• Captivity of the Oatman Girls by R.B. Stratton (available online at Project Gutenberg)

During the Holocaust and World War II, a Polish social worker, Irena Sendler, risked her life to rescue more than 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto. In this episode, we explore how she built a secret resistance network, worked with Żegota, and defied Nazi occupation to save lives. This is a powerful Holocause and Jewish history story of courage, survival, and compassion in the face of unthinkable danger.

Content Warning: This episode discusses the Holocaust, including violence, death, and the persecution of Jewish families, as well as children in extreme danger. Please listen with care.

Sources

• Mazzeo, Tilar J. Irena’s Children: The Story of Irena Sendlerand the Children She Rescued from the Warsaw Ghetto. Simon & Schuster, 2016.

• Kansas Historical Society. Kansas History Day – Holocaust and Life in a Jar. https://www.kansashistory.gov/p/kansas-history-day-holocaust-and-life-in-a-jar/14874

• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (n.d.). Warsaw. Holocaust Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/warsaw

A child’s diary became one of the most haunting records of wartime survival.

This episode examines the forgotten history of the almost 900 day Siege of Leningrad through the words of an eleven-year-old girl.

Trigger Warning This episode discusses extreme human hardship, including instances of cannibalism during times of famine. Listener discretion is advised.

Sources & References

• ​Werth, Alexander. Leningrad 1943: Inside a City Under Siege
• ​Reid, Anna. Leningrad: Tragedy of a City Under Siege, 1941-1944
• ​Peri, Alexis. The War Within: Diaries from the Siege of Leningrad
• ​Soka University Russia Center, "Tanya Savicheva Diary and the Life of Olga Berggolts. https://www.soka.ac.jp/en/special/berggolts/tanya/

When the plague came to Eyam, a small English village made an unthinkable choice.

Rather than flee and risk spreading death to the surrounding countryside, the villagers of Eyam chose to seal themselves off—knowing many would not survive.

In this episode, we tell the true story of the 1665–1666 plague quarantine at Eyam: the faith, sacrifice, and quiet heroism of ordinary people who chose the lives of others over their own. Through firsthand accounts and historical records, we explore what really happened, who survived, and why Eyam is remembered not for how many died—but for what they chose to do.

Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of death, disease, and historical suffering related to the bubonic plague.

Source:

• ​The History and Antiquities of Eyam, William Wood