Flashback: History's Unintended Consequences

Reena Ruparelia has lived with psoriasis since she was in high school. But she didn’t start sharing about her experience until 20 years later. Stigma played a role in her hesitancy to speak out, but a major factor was the difficulty in finding a doctor who really listened, and a treatment that worked. Until patients find treatment, it can feel like their life is on hold–but Reena has a message of hope for anyone still looking. Reena’s story ties in perfectly to the history in this episode, which goes step by step through the evolution of psoriasis treatment, from ancient times to our modern medicines today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Very Special Episodes, we tell one incredible story each week. Stranger-than-fiction tales about normal people in extraordinary situations. Stories that make you say, “this should be a movie.” Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday. Listen here or on the iHeartRadio app. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After the horrific violence of Election Day, 1920, in Ocoee, Florida, hundreds of Black families fled the town, never to return. White farmers took ownership of their lands. And the crimes of the mobs of white vigilantes - lynching, murders, arson, theft - were covered up for almost a century. Until now.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before the presidential election of 1920, the Klan marched through Florida to warn Black citizens not to vote. Newspapers across the state issued the same warning. When a prominent Black resident, Mose Norman, tried to cast his vote in the town of Ocoee, a mob of white vigilantes descended on the community. They exacted a terrible vengeance, starting with the family of a local Black leader, July Perry. Photo credit: Orange County Regional History Center Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The worst incident of election violence in American history happened a century ago on Election Day, 1920 in the town of Ocoee, Florida. The victims were hundreds of Black residents. The perpetrators were their white neighbors. And the reason was that Black citizens had gone to the polls and tried to vote. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did President Ronald Reagan authorize selling arms to Iran while still recovering from major surgery in 1985? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a 23-year-old Elvis Presley submitted to an Army barber in March 1958, rock and roll, and American life, were never quite the same. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1955, actress Grace Kelly journeyed to the Cannes Film Festival, setting in action a chain of events that would find her trading her Hollywood throne for a real one.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The tragic death of Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman in 1920 would help shape the future of baseball. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ludwig Bemelmans rode his bike down the wrong side of the road and into literary history when he dreamed up the beloved children’s book Madeline. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If not for the fateful inaction of a single Washington, DC police officer, Watergate might never have happened. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When a newspaper mistakenly proclaimed Alfred Nobel dead in 1888, the inventor of dynamite set out to reinvent his legacy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flashback listeners send us examples of the unexpected results of some historical events -- from two World Wars to an unfortunate landscaping trend.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why the story of human flight begins on a frozen pond in Dayton, Ohio…and why there was only one Wright Brother with the Right Stuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The birth of Hollywood owes a surprising amount to the untimely demise of a single Frenchman. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tale of rugged frontier individualism gone corporate, and how the Ingalls’ family farm led to the Koch brothers’ political machine. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The discovery of one of the most hazardous elements on earth helped spark the greatest underdog story in the history of human labor relations. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gypsy moths and the invasive vine kudzu were supposed to be solutions. Instead they’re problems that seem to grow … and grow. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The backlash to a 19th century chastity law ended up sparking a far more controversial new freedom for women. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did one dictator’s chronic flatulence wind up causing needless suffering for millions? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Jordan’s famous sabbatical from professional basketball might have lasted much longer had Major League Baseball not experienced the worst strike in its history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cooler homes transformed Americans’ lives — and eventually their government as well.Check out this episode's "Lecture Notes" at https://www.ozy.com/flashback/ Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The YMCA provided American soldiers with billions of cigarettes during World War I — and smugglers and terrorists with billions of new incentives to evade the law. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hate speech is also something that can be mass-produced, and with disastrous consequences. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each of us handles social distancing in our own way. Some are doing virtual yoga classes. Others are turning to art. And then there are those truly rare birds... like Sir Issac Newton. He once turned his time in quarantine into an opportunity to change the way we understand the world around us. Learn about history’s unintended consequences on Flashback, a new podcast from OZY and iHeart Radio Podcast Network. Find out how some of the best-laid plans can go horribly wrong or prove unexpectedly magnificent.   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our first season connects the dots on 10 incredible tales of unintended consequences that changed history, from Henry Ford’s role in the Oklahoma City bombing to the home appliance that changed the landscape of American politics. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.