Part Two. Columbus discovered America. The Liberty Bell rang out on July 4th, 1776. The defenders of the Alamo were freedom-loving heroes who chose to die rather than surrender. And Pocahontas fell in love with a brave English soldier and saved his life with the power of nature and music.

These are the stories that made it into the movies, the federal holidays, the theme parks, and the history books. They’re taught to every American child as fact. And in this episode, Eric, Jorge, and Sean are asking the question nobody wants to ask: what if most of them aren’t true?

From the real history of Christopher Columbus and the colonization of the Americas, to the origin of the Liberty Bell’s name, to what the Texas Revolution was actually fought over, to the true story of the real woman behind the Pocahontas myth — the guys dig into who built these legends, when, and why.

Some of these myths are embellished. Some are invented. And at least one is considerably darker than the version you grew up with.

Eight American myths. Two weeks. Happy 250th America.

In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, Eric, Jorge, and Sean are taking on some of the most famous stories in American history — and asking a simple question: are they actually true?

Paul Revere’s midnight ride. Betsy Ross and the first American flag. George Washington and the cherry tree. Benjamin Franklin flying a kite in a lightning storm. These are the stories every American learns as a kid, the legends that show up on murals and coins and every Fourth of July without fail.

But what if most of them were invented? Not exaggerated — invented. By poets, booksellers, and loyal grandsons who needed a good story and weren’t above making one up. The real versions are messier, stranger, and in at least one case involved two men in Europe who didn’t survive trying to replicate the experiment.

The guys dig into who actually built these myths, when, and why — and what the real stories look like underneath them. Turns out 250 years of American history comes with a lot of fine print.

Part Two drops next week.