Its stated missions were "exploring the complexities of historical mysteries, searching out the facts, myths and conundrums that connect local folklore, family legends and interesting objects.

"[2] Over its first decade, the series featured a team of several "detectives": originally Wes Cowan, Elyse Luray, Gwen Wright, and Tukufu Zuberi, later joined by Eduardo Pagán.

Following a hiatus, the program returned in summer 2014 in a different format, with hosts Zuberi and Cowan joined by Kaiama Glover, as History Detectives: Special Investigations.

The rest of the segment involved an investigation of the item's history, focusing particularly on the questions asked by the person who presented them with the case.

When tracking down specific people the investigators engaged in archival research using such resources as biographies, histories, newspapers, and city directories.

Often, experts were asked to provide their opinion on the plausibility of a story attached to the item, or to explain why a specific historical event happened in a particular way.

The investigator then returns to the person who brought them the case and informs them of what he has learned, including rolling clips of revealing statements from the final expert consulted.

[citation needed] For example, a segment which dealt with desegregation in Major League Baseball, the interstitial material discussed the World War II service of several black ballplayers.

In contrast to previous seasons, each episode of "History Detectives: Special Investigations" focuses on a single subject such as the Austin "Servant Girl Annihilator", the Sultana disaster, or the death of band leader Glenn Miller.

During an online chat with the Washington Post in 2005,[citation needed] Elyse Luray stated that each segment took approximately six weeks to complete.