Get the inside story of the duck hunt that birthed the Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve Act's foundation was laid in a secretive meeting at the world's most prestigious club

Republican Sen. Nelson Aldrich of Rhode Island organized a highly secretive meeting of the minds at the world’s most prestigious club on Jekyll Island, Georgia, where a who’s who in the financial world hashed out details over the course of a week.

Early Americans hated the idea of a central bank

After a series of economic panics induced by a lack of reserve cash at regional banks, the architects of today’s Federal Reserve opted to emphasize the goal of the bank as a reserve at the federal level—thus creating the lasting name.

How much power does the Federal Reserve really have?

Although mechanisms for transparency exist, it wouldn’t be difficult for the incredibly powerful institution to go rogue in the wrong hands. In this podcast episode, analysts game out how such a scenario would go.

The best (and worst) Federal Reserve chairs since 1914

Dive into the fascinating journey of a Federal Reserve note

Ever wondered how long an individual dollar bill lasts? After cash is designed and produced, money circulates in the economy, with $100 bills staying in use for the longest on average—roughly 15 years—and the $10 lasting just less than five.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

The Federal Reserve didn't institute an official no comment period before meetings until 2011

Although Fed governors have largely practiced some version of a blackout period before Federal Open Market Committee meetings where the board decides where interest rates should be since the 1980s, the official blackout period wasn't formalized until 2011. During the blackout, members of the Federal Reserve generally aren't allowed to speak publicly on macroeconomic or monetary policy in order to avoid any confusion over the board's decisions.

Harry Dexter White outmaneuvered Keynes to make the dollar the center of the new global monetary system

The chief US Treasury economist at the conference, White, advocated for a dollar-centered exchange rate system over Keynes' competing idea of a new global currency, shaping the postwar economic order for decades.

The world's most famous case of deflation happened after Black Thursday

While the details are not fully agreed upon, many economists point to the Federal Reserve's tightening of the money supply as a prime culprit, leading to a significant deflationary spiral.

From bartering to banking, temples to electronic transactions, here’s banking has evolved significantly since ancient times

A few historical facts about banking (like that one day, not long ago, certificates of deposit were physical pieces of paper) may not surprise you. But did you know that the church was the original lender? And that Julius Caesar himself invented foreclosure?

Hear about the secret room where your rights are decided

A court designed to be the least powerful branch became one of the most influential institutions in history. 1440 Explores host Sony Kassam dives inside the Supreme Court of the United States, with help from Yale law professor Akhil Reed Amar, to uncover how it gained extraordinary authority, what really happens behind closed doors, and why its power has become one of the most fiercely contested questions in modern democracy.

The mysterious Fort Knox houses much of America’s gold reserves

This fortified vault, built in 1936, is part of the US Mint, but it doesn’t create any currency. Only a presidential order can open Fort Knox—there has not been an audit of its contents since 1953.

Ridiculous documents released via the Freedom of Information Act

In addition to being a massive asset to journalists and eager members of the public, FOIA has also shed light on some of the weirder corners of America’s functioning democracy. Here are 10 choice documents.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Meet Alphonse Desjardins, a credit union pioneer

The first credit union opened in Germany in 1864, but the bank alternative didn’t reach North America until 1901. That’s when Canadian journalist Alphonse Desjardins introduced the concept to his hometown with a starter 10-cent deposit. Desjardins helped launch the first US credit union just eight years later. This engaging timeline highlights Desjardins, his contributions to credit unions, and how the institutions have evolved over the last 100-plus years. Scroll through the timeline here.

Hear why the Continental Congress decided to declare independence—and how the text took shape

In this episode of "Ben Franklin's World," historians Danielle Allen, Patrick Spero, and Peter Onuf examine why Congress pursued a declaration, how Congress chose the drafters, and how Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin shaped its language and Revolutionary intent.

The Foolkiller: The mysterious submarine at the bottom of the Chicago River

In November 1915, a submarine was found at the bottom of the Chicago River. It had been there for at least 10 years, was 40 feet long, and contained the remains of a man and his dog. To this day, no one knows who built it.

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Reexamine the Thanksgiving story through this interactive game

This interactive experience casts you as a high school journalist uncovering how the Thanksgiving narrative has become simplified. Through animations, maps, primary sources, expert interviews, and text-message riddles, the game turns historical investigation into an engaging, hands-on mystery.

The story of Wall Street's Charging Bull statue

In New York City's Financial District, there's a bronze statue of a bull that attracts tourists from all over the world. But how did it get there, and what is it about the statue that makes people line up for photographs, day after day? Journalist PJ Vogt dives into the Charging Bull statue's origin story in a podcast episode (warning: some mature language).

See checks signed by US presidents

One bank has made it a point to conserve checks from US presidents. Peruse this gallery of signed checks from Washington, FDR, JFK, Lincoln, and more.

Often dubbed the 'king of bank robbers,' George Leonidas Leslie stole an estimated $7M (equivalent to $200M today) and charged other criminals a $20K fee to evaluate their heist plans

Leslie studied architecture and used blueprints of safes and banks to execute meticulously planned bank heists across the Northeast between 1869 and 1878. Although Leslie was an infamous bank robber by night, he posed as a member of high society by day, providing critical intel on the institutions he'd rob and helping conceal his crimes. Months before his largest planned heist, where he planned to turn on his gang, Leslie's body mysteriously washed up along the Hudson River. His killer remains a mystery.

Soybean oil fraud almost decimated American Express in 1963

A New York commodities trader who had defrauded the American government over uninspected meat for school lunches, Anthony "Tino" De Angelis, used American Express warehouses to sell soybean oil. However, Angelis had actually filled the tanks with water and placed just enough soybean oil on top of the tanks to pass inspection. American Express was liable for many of the tanks and its stock faced a huge downturn, opening the door for a then 33-year-old Warren Buffett to make his first purchase in the company.

Actors on 'All the President's Men' immersed themselves in real-world reporting

Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford spent months shadowing the real Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward—working at The Washington Post, living with Bernstein's family, and studying their mannerisms—to bring authentic nuance to their portrayals of Watergate's investigative journalists.

One pop-culture historian fooled the nation with a fake origin story of April Fools' Day

In 1983, Joseph Boskin, a professor at Boston University, was interviewed by the Associated Press to discuss the history of April Fools'. Boskin shared a made-up story about a jester who took over Rome for a day and proclaimed that April 1 would henceforth serve as 24 hours of silliness. AP published the fib about "King Kugel," creating buzz and confusion for news outlets around the country.

The stock market, explained in 3 minutes

Curious about the inner workings of the stock market? 1440's got your breakdown of how it works.

The forgotten campaign to replace the Teddy Bear with 'Billy Possum'

After a 1909 pre-inauguration dinner for incoming President William Howard Taft featured possums and potatoes as the main course, Susie W. Allgood wanted to produce and market an alternative to the Teddy Roosevelt-inspired teddy bear: Billy Possum. Kids thought it looked too much like a rat.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace