Prohibition: How it Happened, Why it Failed, and How it Still Affects America Today
America has a strange relationship with alcohol. Certain drinks represented the darkest parts of the national psyche. Rum was once associated with slavery because sugar cane plantations that made rum ...
17 Jul 20181h 5min
What Did People Eat in the Middle Ages?
Welcome to an anthology episode where I ask six short questions about the Middle Ages from you, the listener. Here they are in order of appearance:What Did People Eat in the Middle Ages?How Did You Co...
12 Jul 201850min
Almost Everything in American Politics has Happened Before, Even Donald Trump—Bruce Carlson from My History Can Beat Up Your Politics
Cable news pundits tell you everything is “breaking news.” TV pundits discuss politics in a vacuum. But in nearly every case, the politics of today have long roots in history. This includes media cele...
10 Jul 201858min
The Quest to Make Information Free Forever: Copyright Battles From Venetian Printers in the Renaissance to 21st Century Hackers
The © symbol (or "Copyright") is a completely forgettable character ignored by all but lawyers. It is buried at the bottom of legal notices that your brain reflexively skips over. But this little symb...
5 Jul 201857min
How a Rivalry Between Two Cherokee Chiefs Led to the Trail of Tears and the Collapse of Their Nation
A century-long blood feud between two Cherokee chiefs shaped the history of the Cherokee tribe far more than anyone, even the reviled President Andrew Jackson. They were John Ross and the Ridge. Today...
3 Jul 20181h 13min
If It Weren't For Two Iowans, Billions Would Have Died of Starvation or Been Left in a Technological Dark Age
Norman Borlaug and Robert Noyce aren't household names. But these two Iowans influenced the 20th century more than anyone else on Planet Earth. Borlaug created drought and disease-resistant varieties ...
28 Jun 20181h
Introducing the History Unplugged Membership Program
Learn how to get access to bonus episodes of History Unplugged (including a multi-part series on Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in WW2), the entire History Unplugged back catalogue, and even...
27 Jun 20185min
Life After Auschwitz: How European Jews Attempted to Assimilate in America After Unspeakable Tragedy
What happened to Jews after they were liberated from concentration camps? Some tried to return to their homes, only to find them occupied by neighbors who thought them dead and refused to give up thei...
26 Jun 201833min
