Episode details

Sounds,14 Aug 2026,46 mins,
100 Objects #13: The Sand Letters
A History of the United States in 100 ObjectsAvailable for over a year
On his deathbed, President Chester Arthur ordered that all of his personal and professional papers be burned. Three barrels of documents went up in flames. But 23 letters survived, initialed only "J.I.S." Comedian Elliott Kalan joins Roman Mars to tell the story of how a politician who owed so much to a corrupt government system became the one to dismantle it, thanks to one woman: Julia Isabella Sand. It’s the story of how a woman no one had ever heard of helped transform a president few remember, and in the process created the American government as we know it. Host: Roman Mars Producers: Priscilla Alabi, Brenna Daldorph, Isaac Fisher, Ellie Lightfoot EPs: Annie Brown, Courtney Harrell, Kathy Tu
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