Insights Into History: Episode 5 "America's Flagship" (AUDIO)

From the glittering Art Deco salons of the SS Normandie to the roaring turbines of the RMS Mauretania, this episode traces the golden age of ocean liners—where speed, luxury, and national pride raced across the North Atlantic for the coveted Blue Riband.

We follow the technological and cultural arc that made liners icons, spotlighting the SS United States: a government‑backed, record‑breaking superliner built for speed and wartime readiness, whose long, uncertain post‑service life now heads toward an unexpected final chapter as an artificial reef.