As a student at St. Mark’s in Preston Hollow, Lindsay Graham aka “Not the Senator” was just another geeky guy with a penchant for listening to, writing and making music. His appreciation for the gamut of genres meant Beatles, Stones, Zepplin, Jeff Beck, Miles Davis and Tom Waits all were featured in the soundtrack of his youth, and he started producing a local music podcast even before Ira Glass and Sarah Koenig made the medium mainstream.

He got into podcasts about history at the optimal time, a time when both things were becoming hip. He spoke of a societal shift that made previously lame-stream activities more popular.

“The acceptance of nerd culture” happened at some recent point, he told The Advocate in 2018. “You can be as geeky as you want today. People have license to publicly show enthusiasm for history.”

Today the East Dallas resident is also part of an audio production company called Airship that produces five well-known podcasts, and whose founders, Steve Walters and Erik Archilla, also live in Dallas.

A recent Airship production, 1865, starts at the moment President Lincoln is assassinated and follows Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, as he begins the hunt for Lincoln’s assassin.

The Atlantic magazine last week plugged 1865 as one of five podcasts its staff loves.

Notes staff writer Clint Smith, “1865‘s first fantastic season has actors taking on the lives of those at the center of American politics following the assassination … is completely riveting. It’s like a prestige limited series on television, but for your ears. I can’t say enough good things about it.”

Since the beginning Graham and his relatively small team of researchers, writers, editors have been turning lessons about the Cold War, the space race, prohibition, Andrew Jackson, elections and other historical figures and events into dramas with complex characters and binge-worthy plots.

1865 — created by Erik Archilla and Steven Walters and executive produced by Graham — is no different. Graham even voices some of the characters.

Catch up with Graham and his shows here on airship’s website.