The Explosion That Changed Everything - February 15, 1898

On February 15, 1898, the USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, killing 266 sailors and launching America toward war with Spain. But a century of investigations suggests the explosion was probably an accident, not an attack. This episode explores how grief, media sensationalism, and national ambition combined to create a war based on a misunderstanding and established patterns of American behavior that echo through history to this day.