Story of Miami

With Miami’s prehistory complete, Paul and Nick discuss what we’ve learned about how our city’s roots still impact us today, and share some interesting tidbits that didn’t make the final cut.

A city is born.

A colossus appears in Florida, and with stunning proficiency, conjures a brand new economic model out of the forgotten coast, reaching the very doorstep of Biscayne Bay.

As the world is transformed by steel and oil, one industrious man pockets the wealth of a nation, and one fearless woman makes a bold investment in Biscayne Bay.

In the final days of the last frontier of Florida, we dive into what life was really like for those who blazed the trail.

Through steady and uninterrupted growth, Biscayne Bay finally reaches critical mass, as Miami's oldest neighborhoods - one for leisure, and one for work - appear along the waterfront.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, a new beginning for Miami is led by an unscrupulous politician, and an array of influential figures who find their homes on these promising shores.

The miserable toll of centuries of slavery finally comes due, tearing the nation asunder and throwing Biscayne Bay into a desperate purgatory.

A growing need for infrastructure and order brings new innovations to Biscayne Bay, as visions of immense engineering efforts begin to germinate.

While the nation strides boldly into a prosperous future, the vexing forces and halting pace of progress in Florida continue to perplex.

Paul and Nick share some thoughts about Miami, the podcast, and what to expect next season.

Determined to tame the unruly Florida peninsula once and for all, the United States brings its full might to bear against the Seminoles, in a grueling all-out conflict that will change Miami forever.

American expansionism plunges Florida into total war. As violence engulfs the peninsula, dramatic events unfold at Biscayne Bay, including a harrowing ordeal atop a towering inferno.

Now US territory, South Florida begins attracting a whole new type of character - the American Capitalist. Under the watchful eye of a young nation, a booming business develops out of an age-old trade, bringing prosperity…and competition.

They dominated Florida, making a home and a life for themselves in the deserted hammocks of the peninsula. But a fledgling nation, and a ruthless general, will refuse to let them live in peace.

We take a moment to examine one of Biscayne Bay's oldest characters, a man who escaped a lifetime of bondage and lived an extraordinary life amid the waters of South Florida. Was he a real person, or is he only a legend?

Through the eyes of the man sent to map Cape Florida for England, an intimate picture of South Florida emerges. On the cusp of major settlement, a little rebellion in the North upends everything once again.

Funneled into Florida by the crush of colonialism, a whole new population arrives in South Florida, bringing trouble to the Tequesta's doorstep. The final cataclysm follows close behind.

While more than a century passes for the Tequesta in relative isolation, powerful forces swirl on the horizon in every direction. A storm is closing in on Biscayne Bay.

In The Harsh Frontier, Florida develops a bit of a reputation, and the Spanish Empire develops a bit of an addiction, as the treasures of the New World are carried away past Miami's shores by the boatload.

The New World sees the appearance of an alien people on South Florida's shores. It tells the story of these invaders' first attempts to claim this ancient territory, and the harsh lesson that the land will not be so easily conquered.

The Three Souls tells the story of South Florida's first people, from the earliest ice-age hunters to step foot on the desolate oolite ridge, to the eventual rise of the great Calusa and Tequesta peoples, whose indelible marks remain etched into the very bedrock of Miami.

Groundwork tells the story of the ground beneath our feet. We describe the formation of Florida, the Everglades, the Miami River, and Biscayne Bay, and discuss some of the implications of our local geologic history, not only for our past, but for our future as well.