Intro: Before Tony the Tiger, Dig’em Frog, Snap, Crackle, and Pop, breakfast was a very different meal. For the wealthy it included large spreads of meats, eggs, and breads. For the poor, breakfast usually consisted of a daily bowl of porridge. But all of that changed just before the turn of the 20th century, when two brothers discovered something new. Join us as we take a breath of dead air with the Kellogg brothers.

Sources:

“Almanac: Graham Crackers.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, www.cbsnews.com/news/almanac-graham-crackers/.

“Cereal: Accidental Invention That Changed American Breakfast.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Aug. 2025, www.history.com/articles/cereal-breakfast-origins-kellogg.

Gross, Terry. “How the ‘battling’ Kellogg Brothers Revolutionized American Breakfast.” NPR, NPR, 8 Aug. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/08/08/542145177/how-the-battling-kellogg-brothers-revolutionized-american-breakfast.

“Our Story & Timeline - WK Kellogg Co.” Our Story & Timeline - WK Kellogg Co®, www.wkkellogg.com/who-we-are/our-story. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.

“Sylvester Graham: History: Research Starters: EBSCO Research.” EBSCO, www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/sylvester-graham. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.

Music was obtained through Riverside.

During a time when tensions were high and grudges were rampant, the city of Berlin had been caught in the crossfire of former allies now at odds. The newly established United States Airforce was called on to bring food and necessities to these people who had, until very recently, been considered enemies. It was a great humanitarian effort for those who were in dire straits, but would it be enough to sustain the West Berliners while they held out to build their own democratic and free government? Tune in to learn how two sticks of gum changed history, as we take a breath of dead air with Gail Halvorsen.

Sources:

Cherny, Andrei. The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America’s Finest Hour. CNIB, 2014.

Halvorsen, Gail S., and Denise H. Williams. The Candy Bomber. Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, 2022.

Tunnell, Michael O. Candy Bomber. Charlesbridge, 2014.

She was a true prodigy in every sense of the word. Her fingers flew over the black and white keys, nimble with grace surprising for such a young lady. The melody flowing from her hands matched her movements as the enraptured audience held their breath. It was enchanting. Her brother had indeed awed them before with his performance, but she captivated them just as well. While her brother would become a name famously known throughout her country, and the world, she continued to feed her love of music even when she couldn’t perform as she once did. Join us as we take a breath of dead air with Maria Anna Mozart.

Sources

https://www.ritacharbonnier.com/mozarts-sister-q-a/

https://herhalfofhistory.com/2025/02/20/14-8-nannerl-mozart-sister-of-wolfgang-amadeus/

https://interlude.hk/maria-anna-mozart-the-bittersweet-story-of-mozarts-prodigy-sister/

https://robertgreenbergmusic.com/music-history-monday-the-other-mozart-kid/#:~:text=Leopold%20Mozart%20%E2%80%93%20Dad%20%E2%80%93%20was%20born,to%20actually%20earn%20his%20salary).

https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/visit-child-mozart-1763-1764#:~:text=Key%20Dates,and%20everyone%20flocked%20after%20him.

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/anibal-seminara/los-juegos-de-brian

License code: JN6FVYTX4BTDCTQT

In 2008, a newspaper man, named Wil Haygood, was on a mission to interview a very specific person. After spending a multitude of hours making calls and searching, he finally was able to make contact with the man who had seen more history happen than Wil had even hoped for. This man had not been a politician, a musician, or a rich statistician. Nope! This man had been a butler. A butler to presidents of the United States, to be exact. What was it like to be a butler in the most distinguished household in the country? Join us as we discuss this and take a breath of dead air with Eugene Allen.

Sources

Daniels, Lee, director. The Butler. 2013.

Haygood, Wil. “A Butler Well Served by This Election.” Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/a-butler-well-served-by-this-election/2019/01/02/b2a805a6-07b1-11e9-88e3-989a3e456820_story.html. Accessed 22 Dec. 2025.

Haygood, Wil. The Butler: A Witness to History. 2018.

Nagle, Bethany. “The Life of Eugene Allen.” White House Historical Association, www.whitehousehistory.org/the-life-of-eugene-allen. Accessed 22 Dec. 2025.

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/ben-mcelroy/pocket-watch

License code: ADO7J0RJHQ50S6B8

While starting from humble origins, born on a small farm in a small town in Texas, this boy would go on to be not only a household name known for his warm voice, his upright character, and his beloved shows, but he would also become a great businessman with investments in a variety of things. From airplane schools to baseball teams, from television and radio shows to hotels, his business spanned across many fields. However, we remember him most for his voice and his warmth. Join us as we get “Back in the Saddle Again”, and take a breath of Dead Air with America’s Singing Cowboy, Gene Autry.

Sources

https://www.geneautry.com/geneautry/geneautry_biography.php

https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=AU004

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUK2PUwrz9Y (Biography TV Series - Gene Autry)

https://spclarke.com/?page_id=139#:~:text=Gene%20then%20returned%20to%20New,forty%2Dfive%20years%20of%20age.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23905-pellagra

https://library.uab.edu/locations/reynolds/collections/regional-history/pellagra/history#:~:text=Joseph%20Goldberger%20(1874%2D1929),a%20deficiency%20in%20the%20diet.

https://www.normantranscript.com/news/lifestyles/inside-gene-autry/article_9d7aa572-5efb-5f2c-b843-658cd52737fd.html

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/jacob-taylor-armerding/shes-gone

License code: CZPU2CWHV6AMBH9T

Soccer, known as football in most parts of the world, has made its mark on the lives of many generations. Today more than 250 million people play the sport and it has been a unifying game in many instances for people across cultures. Throughout time, soccer has evolved as countless players have changed the game by how they choose to play it. One such athlete was a Dutchman. Join us today as we discuss the beginnings of soccer and take a breath of dead air with Johan Cruyff.

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/drummr/gameday

License code: BRA4FFL9DQTMAVIX

Mary, Mary, quite contrary

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockleshells

And pretty maids all in a row.

Mary, Mary, not so wary

Of hearts and darkness bleak

With spirits fraught, creatures new

She was never meek

Mary, Mary, like a fairy

Drawn to mists and deep

She calls a message to us all -

Know what to give and keep.

Join us as we take a breath of dead air with the mother of science fiction - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Wollstonecraft-Shelley

https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/mary-shelley

https://www.centralsquaretheater.org/2018-19-season/articles/mary-shelley-and-frankenstein-a-personal-history/

https://osborneeighteenthcenturychildrensliterature.wordpress.com/2017/01/14/mounseer-nongtongpaw-by-mary-godwin-shelley/

https://www.historythroughfiction.com/blog/love-and-tragedy

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/1816-the-year-without-summer.htm

https://historicipswich.net/2020/06/25/1816-the-year-without-summer/

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2005/aug/hand-other-woman-shelleys-life

https://www.historyhit.com/culture/facts-about-mary-shelley-the-woman-behind-frankenstein/
https://annamazzola.com/did-mary-shelley-keep-percys-heart/

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/brandon-hopkins/neighborhood

License code: FGSZT2GSUUUNFVA1

Enjoy hearing of how radio and podcasts came to be, as well as celebrate a full year of Dead Air Time Podcast with us in this off the rails episode!

Sources

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/rescue-development-radio/

https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/a-short-history-of-radio.pdf

https://study.com/academy/lesson/video/radio-wave-definition-spectrum-uses.html#:~:text=Examples%20and%20Applications%20of%20Radio,in%20body%20scanners%20in%20airports.

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/airstream/everybody-dance

License code: 74X3ZJRYVKFBKHA7