American Tales with Dustin Bass

About American Tales with Dustin Bass

American Tales is a podcast designed to explore the world through American history. This podcast will unearth the things you know, the things you thought you knew, the things you’ve forgotten, and the things you were never told. This is a podcast about great American stories. About American adventures and the adventurers. It’s not just about the political and military leaders — but it’s about the architects, the painters, the scientists, the engineers, the baseball players, singers, writers, fighters, tinkerers, and everyone else in between.

Publisher

The Sons Of History

Category

history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Nov 2024

Latest episode

14 Apr 2025

Latest episodes

21 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Apr 2025

   Dutch Subversion, British Aggression, and the First US Ambassador

   The Dutch began their colony 400 years ago, but it would not last long. While other imperial powers accumulated colonies, the Dutch found power through a different method, and it was one that would greatly assist the new country of America. The incidental arrival of one statesman ensured the United States received what it needed, while also establishing a first for the nation. Recommended reading: Papers of John Adams: Volume 13 - May to October 1782 Cited sources: Date of recognition - https://history.state.gov/countries/netherlands#:~:text=Dutch%20Recognition%20of%20U.S.%20Independence,Adams%20on%20April%2019%2C%201782 (https://history.state.gov/countries/netherlands#:~:text=Dutch%20Recognition%20of%20U.S.%20Independence,Adams%20on%20April%2019%2C%201782). Brief on Adams - https://nl.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulate/the-hague/history/ (https://nl.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulate/the-hague/history/) Adams and Dutch - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/john-adams-was-united-states-first-ambassador-well-its-second-president-180962891/ (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/john-adams-was-united-states-first-ambassador-well-its-second-president-180962891/) Dutch colony - https://www.nps.gov/mava/learn/historyculture/new-netherland.htm#:~:text=The%20first%2031%20families%20arrived,Amsterdam%E2%80%9D%20began%20to%20be%20formed (https://www.nps.gov/mava/learn/historyculture/new-netherland.htm#:~:text=The%20first%2031%20families%20arrived,Amsterdam%E2%80%9D%20began%20to%20be%20formed). Adams revisits Netherlands 1786 - https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-18-02-0228 (https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-18-02-0228) The Adams in Dutch Republic - https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/en/dutch-american-stories-johnny-goes-dutch (https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/en/dutch-american-stories-johnny-goes-dutch) Adams Hague info - https://www.masshist.org/publications/adams-papers/index.php/view/ADMS-01-03-01-0005 (https://www.masshist.org/publications/adams-papers/index.php/view/ADMS-01-03-01-0005) Early Dutch - https://academic.oup.com/book/11024/chapter-abstract/159364830?redirectedFrom=fulltext (https://academic.oup.com/book/11024/chapter-abstract/159364830?redirectedFrom=fulltext) Amsterdam finance capital - https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/financial-history-review/article/abs/amsterdam-and-london-as-financial-centers-in-the-eighteenth-century1/8B23F8D271B1BCD05594064523600E85 (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/financial-history-review/article/abs/amsterdam-and-london-as-financial-centers-in-the-eighteenth-century1/8B23F8D271B1BCD05594064523600E85) Dutch in the Am Revolution - https://blog.dar.org/dutch-influence#:~:text=On%20May%2017%2C%20Adams%20secured,million%20guilders%2C%20or%20%2412%20million (https://blog.dar.org/dutch-influence#:~:text=On%20May%2017%2C%20Adams%20secured,million%20guilders%2C%20or%20%2412%20million). Dutch in the Am Rev - https://www.amrevmuseum.org/the-netherlands-and-the-american-revolution (https://www.amrevmuseum.org/the-netherlands-and-the-american-revolution) 80 Years War - https://historischmuseumdenbriel.nl/en/collection/stories/eighty-years-war/ (https://historischmuseumdenbriel.nl/en/collection/stories/eighty-years-war/) Dutch Republic map - https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/dutch-navy-of-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centuries/map-of-the-dutch-republic/623E8313B8AC2DF0C9D67841F2775B7F (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/dutch-navy-of-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centuries/map-of-the-dutch-republic/623E8313B8AC2DF0C9D67841F2775B7F) New Amsterdam surrender - https://www.mcny.org/petrus-stuyvesant (https://www.mcny.org/petrus-stuyvesant) Richard Nicoll - https://history.nycourts.gov/figure/richard-nicoll/ (https://history.nycourts.gov/figure/richard-nicoll/) Adams diplomacy - https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/adams-diplomatic-missions/ (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/adams-diplomatic-missions/) Treaty of Alliance - https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/treaty-of-alliance-with-france#:~:text=According%20to%20this%20first%20military,behalf%20of%20the%20American%20Colonies (https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/treaty-of-alliance-with-france#:~:text=According%20to%20this%20first%20military,behalf%20of%20the%20American%20Colonies). Adams influence - https://www.mass.gov/guides/john-adams-architect-of-american-government (https://www.mass.gov/guides/john-adams-architect-of-american-government) Charles Gravier - https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/charles-gravier (https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/charles-gravier) Adams appointed Dutch minister - https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-10-02-0258 (https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-10-02-0258) Proposed Treaty of Amity and Commerce - https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-10-02-0260 (https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-10-02-0260)

2. 

   7 Apr 2025

   A Physicist, Telephotography, and the Advent of Television

   As Alexander Graham Bell’s company continues to grow, its research and development division continues to draw scientists from around the country to innovate and invent. One young optical physicist has an idea that will transform the way the world communicates. A high-profile American is selected to demonstrate history altering technology. Recommended reading: The Columbia History of American Television by Gary R. Edgerton Cited sources: Phone patent - https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-telephone-invention (https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-telephone-invention) Phone patent - https://www.marquette.edu/news-center/2020/marquette-professor-settles-144-year-controversy-on-invention-of-the-telephone.php (https://www.marquette.edu/news-center/2020/marquette-professor-settles-144-year-controversy-on-invention-of-the-telephone.php) Phone patent image - https://www.docsteach.org/activities/teacher/patent-analysis-alexander-graham-bells-telephone (https://www.docsteach.org/activities/teacher/patent-analysis-alexander-graham-bells-telephone) Patent SCOTUS - https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/128/315/ (https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/128/315/) Centennial Exhibition - https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/stories/history-making-event-west-philadelphia (https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/stories/history-making-event-west-philadelphia) Herbert Ives - https://www.bairdtelevision.com/Ives.html (https://www.bairdtelevision.com/Ives.html) Herbert Ives - http://waywiser.rc.fas.harvard.edu/people/9098/herbert-eugene-ives;jsessionid=77D7B248F7CA3DB32C275AA48BCF3219 (http://waywiser.rc.fas.harvard.edu/people/9098/herbert-eugene-ives;jsessionid=77D7B248F7CA3DB32C275AA48BCF3219) Ives bio - https://www.optica.org/history/biographies/bios/herbert-e--ives/ (https://www.optica.org/history/biographies/bios/herbert-e--ives/) Bell Labs - https://www.nature.com/articles/s42254-022-00426-6 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s42254-022-00426-6) Bell Labs - http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~gelman/research/published/bell.pdf (http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~gelman/research/published/bell.pdf) TV History - https://www.cs.cornell.edu/~pjs54/Teaching/AutomaticLifestyle-S02/Projects/Vlku/history.html (https://www.cs.cornell.edu/~pjs54/Teaching/AutomaticLifestyle-S02/Projects/Vlku/history.html) TV demo - https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2015/today-in-media-history-in-1927-newspapers-introduced-television/ (https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2015/today-in-media-history-in-1927-newspapers-introduced-television/) TV demo - https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/22/hoover-made-speech-on-television-in-1927.html (https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/22/hoover-made-speech-on-television-in-1927.html) TV demo - https://www.edn.com/hoover-joins-1st-american-demo-of-long-distance-tv-april-7-1927/ (https://www.edn.com/hoover-joins-1st-american-demo-of-long-distance-tv-april-7-1927/) TV demo - https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?entryid=3986 (https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?entryid=3986) Hoover as comm sec - https://library.doc.gov/digital-exhibits/hoover-digital-exhibit/aviation (https://library.doc.gov/digital-exhibits/hoover-digital-exhibit/aviation) Air Commerce Act - https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/about/history/people/First_AGC1.pdf (https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/about/history/people/First_AGC1.pdf) ATT History - https://www.pbs.org/transistor/background1/corgs/att.html (https://www.pbs.org/transistor/background1/corgs/att.html) Halftone - https://gallery.lib.umn.edu/exhibits/show/pre-separated-art/press-halftone (https://gallery.lib.umn.edu/exhibits/show/pre-separated-art/press-halftone) Ives Airplane Photography book - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/53508/53508-h/53508-h.htm (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/53508/53508-h/53508-h.htm) Western Electric history - https://www.westernelectric.com/company-history (https://www.westernelectric.com/company-history) Telephotography example - https://www.amazon.com/HistoricalFindings-Photo-Herbert-telephotograph-Explain/dp/B0844RWFZ3 (https://www.amazon.com/HistoricalFindings-Photo-Herbert-telephotograph-Explain/dp/B0844RWFZ3)

3. 

   31 Mar 2025

   How a US Naval Officer Opened the Closed Nation of Japan

   Immediately after the Revolution, America makes its first trade agreement in Asia with China. Attempting to do the same with the closed country of Japan looks to be impossible. A timely opportunity and the right naval officer enables America to do what no other western power could. Recommended reading: Narrative of the Expedition to the China Seas and Japan by Commodore Matthew Perry Cited sources: Opening Japan - https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/opening-to-japan#:~:text=The%20Japanese%20grudgingly%20agreed%20to,American%20ships%3A%20Shimoda%20and%20Hakodate (https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/opening-to-japan#:~:text=The%20Japanese%20grudgingly%20agreed%20to,American%20ships%3A%20Shimoda%20and%20Hakodate). Opening Japan - https://www.jstor.org/stable/30209385 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/30209385) Sakoku - http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/tokugawa_edicts_foreigners.pdf (http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/tokugawa_edicts_foreigners.pdf) Sakoku - https://users.wfu.edu/watts/w03_Japancl.html (https://users.wfu.edu/watts/w03_Japancl.html) Christianity in Japan - https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/christianitys-bloody-history-japan (https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/christianitys-bloody-history-japan) Christianity in Japan - https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00597/a-timeline-of-christianity-in-japan.html (https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00597/a-timeline-of-christianity-in-japan.html) Trade with China - https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/history-of-the-u-s-and-china/ (https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/history-of-the-u-s-and-china/) Perry bio - https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/research-guides/z-files/zb-files/zb-files-p/perry-matthew-c.html (https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/research-guides/z-files/zb-files/zb-files-p/perry-matthew-c.html) Perry bio - https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/education/educational-resources/to-the-ends-of-the-earth/commodore-perry-and-japan/biography--matthew-calbraith-perry.html (https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/education/educational-resources/to-the-ends-of-the-earth/commodore-perry-and-japan/biography--matthew-calbraith-perry.html) Perry bio - https://library.brown.edu/cds/perry/people_Perry.html (https://library.brown.edu/cds/perry/people_Perry.html) Hideyoshi - https://www.worldhistory.org/Toyotomi_Hideyoshi/ (https://www.worldhistory.org/Toyotomi_Hideyoshi/) Warring States - https://www.worldhistory.org/Sengoku_Period/ (https://www.worldhistory.org/Sengoku_Period/) David Conner - https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/us-people/c/conner-david.html (https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/us-people/c/conner-david.html) Mail ships - https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1939/september/navy-and-first-u-s-ocean-mail-ships (https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1939/september/navy-and-first-u-s-ocean-mail-ships) John Aulick - https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/aulick-john-h-ca-1791-1873/ (https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/aulick-john-h-ca-1791-1873/) Webster quote and other islands - https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1952/march/commodore-perry-and-bonin-islands (https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1952/march/commodore-perry-and-bonin-islands) Treaty of Kanagawa - https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/treaty-of-kanagawa#:~:text=On%20March%2031%2C%201854%2C%20the,forbidding%20commerce%20with%20foreign%20nations (https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/treaty-of-kanagawa#:~:text=On%20March%2031%2C%201854%2C%20the,forbidding%20commerce%20with%20foreign%20nations)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

163,178

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

14 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

11 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 72 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

89

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

51

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Guest appearances

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