{"podcast":{"title":"History Dispatches","slug":"history-dispatches-7236148","podcast_index_feed_id":7236148,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/ARML6613457202","website_url":"https://historydispatches.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/1607f9de-dabb-11ef-a28f-837d166c2ed7/image/2311d0d11b0bdda63fef19e10a34c43c.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Matt and McKinley Breen","episode_count":371,"summary":"History Dispatches is a daily history show hosted by father and son duo Matt and McKinley Breen. The show covers people, places, events and even objects from throughout history. While any topic is fair game, Matt and McKinley hold a soft spot for the offbeat and wacky stories that most people don’t know about.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-06T04:21:47.994387+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-dispatches-7236148"},"episode":{"title":"How Star Wars almost never happened - Part 1","slug":"how-star-wars-almost-never-happened-part-1","published_at":"2026-08-24T07:10:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-dispatches-7236148/how-star-wars-almost-never-happened-part-1","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-dispatches-7236148","url":"https://pdrl.fm/ccb7c9/rss.pdrl.fm/ccb7c9/tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML9257630079.mp3","audio_url":"https://pdrl.fm/ccb7c9/rss.pdrl.fm/ccb7c9/tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML9257630079.mp3","summary":"In the summer of 1977 the film Star Wars was released - igniting a global phenomenon that continues to this day. But the Star Wars that we know and love almost never happened. It was rejected by almost every major studio. In Part 1 of our story about the creation of Star Wars - we talk about the roots of the film, its creator - George Lucas - and the struggles with the script and financing. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_(film) https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/george-lucas-star-wars-facts https://everything-everywhere.com/the-history-of-star-wars/ Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Star_wars2.svg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"In the summer of 1977 the film Star Wars was released - igniting a global phenomenon that continues to this day. But the Star Wars that we know and love a…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":964,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/history-dispatches-7236148/episodes/how-star-wars-almost-never-happened-part-1/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-dispatches-7236148/how-star-wars-almost-never-happened-part-1.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}