Hey folks, Aaron here. I'm thrilled to bring to your ears a bonus episode from my newest

audiobook, Cabinets of Curiosity's. This audiobook isn't just a treasure trove of stories from the

podcast, though, which many of you have enjoyed, but it also includes new tales never before

shared. Plus, the audiobook also features an exclusive series of conversations

between me and fellow history podcaster and author Dana Schwartz from the show Noble Blood.

In our conversations, we dive deep into the process of researching and crafting these stories,

share our own personal perspectives on storytelling, and discuss why certain stories from the cabinet

of curiosities stand out to us. To wet your appetite for the full audiobook experience, I'm pleased

to share a preview of one of the stories, along with a bit of our behind-the-scenes discussion

right now. So kick back and enjoy.

Music right now. So kick back and enjoy. Pony Up

Its legacy is as American as baseball and apple pie.

Its writers were fast, famous, and fearless.

It has been the subject of over a dozen films and television shows,

and it became the foundation of one of the largest banks in the world.

When it came to speed and reliability in the 1860s,

you couldn't beat the Pony Express.

As California began to boom from the gold rush,

business owners and settlers needed a faster way to communicate with folks farther east.

At the time, letters and packages took roughly 25 days to travel by stagecoach, even longer,

if going by ship. The Pony Express more than halved that time with an average delivery window of about

10 days.

...