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Yesterday in Travel

A podcast focused on fascinating moments in travel history

Trotsky is Exiled (and murdered) in Mexico Yesterday In Travel

Today we discuss the Soviet Revolutionary Leon Trotsky’s exile in Mexico, his relationship with artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, and his ultimate murder by ice pick at the hands of an agent of Stalin’s secret police.
  1. Trotsky is Exiled (and murdered) in Mexico
  2. The Transcontinental Railroad is Completed
  3. Sputnik Orbits Earth
  4. Fidel Castro goes to Harlem
  5. Medellin's MetroCable

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Leon Trotsky Goes To Mexico City (And Is Assassinated)

For the final episode of our second season, we go to Mexico City — where, in 1940, Leon Trotsky was assassinated by an agent of his political rival, Joseph Stalin. This is a story of travel, intrigue, spying, love affairs, and the international power of an idea. In other words, a great topic to wind…

The Transcontinental Railroad

In this very special episode of Yesterday in Travel, we discuss the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The railroad connected the East Coast and the West Coast in the United States, completely transforming travel. We were also thrilled to talk to Dr. Sean Fraga, a transcontinental railroad expert, about how this…

Sputnik Orbits Earth

For this episode, we’re going all the way to space. On October 4, 1957, Sputnik — a Soviet satellite — took the skies. The tiny satellite emboldened the Soviets, terrified the Americans, and marked the official beginning of the “Space Race.” Space might be the next frontier of travel. We get into how it all…

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