One of the oddest cases of World War II espionage involved a woman, Velvalee Dickinson, who spied on Northwest shipyards for the Japanese. How did she do it? By writing coded letters about dolls.

Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger told this story in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more left to examine.

In this episode of Mossback, Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to discuss Dickinson’s remarkable story, how she was ultimately caught by the U.S.’s first female cryptanalyst and the Northwest’s unique role in international spy games throughout the 20th century.

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at knute.berger@cascadepbs.org. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today.

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editors: Sarah Menzies, Adam Brown

Studio recording: Roger Basquette

Why did the U.S. buy Alaska from Russia? It wasn’t for gold or fur, it turns out. It was for fish. And it was a politician from the Washington Territory who lobbied the hardest for the purchase.

Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explored some of this history in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more left to discuss.

In this episode of Mossback, Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to dig into the geopolitical events that set the stage for the Alaska Purchase, the far-sighted Washington clerk who helped make it happen and how all of that ultimately transformed the Pacific Northwest and its fishing industry.

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at knute.berger@cascadepbs.org. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today.

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editors: Sarah Menzies, Adam Brown

Studio recording: Roger Basquette

Seattle once hosted a summer celebration called The Golden Potlatch. But in July 1913, political tensions mixed with revelry erupted into a riot, resulting in a brief period of martial law and intense battles over freedom of speech.

Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explained what happened in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more left to unpack.

In this episode of Mossback, Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to explore the differing accounts of why the riot took place, the political undercurrents at play at the time, the enduring power of the press and how so much of what happened then resonates eerily with our world today.

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at knute.berger@cascadepbs.org. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today.

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editors: Sarah Menzies, Adam Brown

Studio recording: Roger Basquette