Were the Robber Barons America's greatest philanthropists?

In 1944, a small town in Illinois was gripped with fear that someone was spraying a toxic gas into their homes as they slept. And while there have been several explanations, there isn’t any one that’s recognized or accepted as the truth.  Research: “‘Anesthetic Prowler’ Covers City.” Journal Gazette. Sept. 5, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/93681179/?terms=%22Urban%20Raef%22%20&match=1 “‘Anesthetic Prowler’ on Loose.” Journal Gazette. Sept. 2, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/93681104/?terms=%22%27Anesthetic%20Prowler%27%20%22%20%20Loose.%22&match=1 “At Night in Mattoon.” Time. Sept. 18, 1944. https://web.archive.org/web/20080306220348/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,796678,00.html “Carbon Tetrachloride Poisoning.” Centers for Disease Control. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/carbon_tetrachloride/docs/Carbon_Tetra_Patient_Ed_Sheet-508.pdf Chaplin, James Patrick. “Rumor, Fear, and the Madness of Crowds.” Ballantine Books. New York. 1959. Accessed onling: https://archive.org/details/rumorfearmadness00chap/page/10/mode/2up Fopay, Dave. “’Mad Gasser’ Author Points Finger at ‘Brilliant’ Chemistry Student.” Journal Gazette. June 30, 2003. https://www.newspapers.com/image/84792181/?terms=%22Farley%20Llewellyn%22%20&match=1 “History of Coles County.” Coles County, Illinois Homepage. https://www.co.coles.il.us/genInfo.html#:~:text=Mattoon%20was%20founded%20as%20a,Stephen%20Doles%20and%20Ebenezer%20Noyes. “’Hysterical Mistake,’ Police Say of Mattoon’s Gas-Spraying.” Sun-Telegram (Richmond, Indiana). Sept. 13, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/253218677/?terms=%22Atlas%20Imperial%20Diesel%22%20Engine&match=1 “Intensify Hunt For Paralysis Gas Prowler” Mattoon Orders Police on 24 Hour Watch.” Chicago Tribune. Sept. 7, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/370374182/?terms=%22anesthetic%20prowler%22%20&match=1 “Is ‘Madman od Mattoon,’ Who Gasses Victims, Real or Result of Comic Book Imagination?” Press and Sun Bulletin. Sept. 8, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/260955754/?terms=Beulah%20Cordes&match=1 Johnson, Brooke. “Author Claims to have solved ‘Mad Gasser.’” Journal Gazette. March 22, 2003. https://www.newspapers.com/image/84639401/ “Mad Anesthetist Keeps Town Awake.” Independent. Sept 8, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/718770228/?terms=Beulah%20Cordes&match=1 “Madman of Mattoon: 2 More are Victims of Phantom Prowler.” The Times Herald. Sept. 9, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/209765891/?terms=%22%27Anesthetic%20Prowler%27%20%22%20%20Loose.%22&match=1 Maruna, Scott. “ The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: Dispelling the Hysteria.” Swamp Gas Book Company. 2003. Hereford, Robert A. “Mattoon Argues Over Denial That Prowler Exists.” St. Louis Star and Times. Sept. 13, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/205455415/?terms=%22Atlas%20Imperial%20Diesel%22%20Engine&match=1 “Police Get Two False Alarms During Night.” Journal Gazette. Sept 13, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/93681538/?terms=%22Police%20get%20two%20false%20alarms%20during%20night%22&match=1 “Prowler Sprays Fumes Which Cause Paralysis.” Times-Tribune. Sept. 7, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/534404923/?terms=%22anesthetic%20prowler%22%20&match=1 “Some Say ‘Madman of Mattoon’ Is Hoax.” The Dispatch. Sept 8, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/340095570/?terms=Beulah%20Cordes&match=1 Waters, Dustin. “The mystery of the ‘Mad Gasser of Mattoon’ who terrorized an Illinois town.” Washington Post. Oct. 30, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/10/30/mad-gasser-mattoon-illinois-mystery/ “Wave of Hysteria Hits Mattoon; Police Watch Amateur Chemist.” The Palladium-Item. Sept. 12, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/253218459/?terms=%22Aline%20Kearney%22%20&match=1 “We face the future knowing we have won … Staunch Friends.” Journal Gazette. Sept 26, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/93682148/?terms=atlas%20diesel&match=1 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 Jul 202330min

This two-parter from 2012 covers William Chester Minor, whose life was tumultuous. Medical school, mental health issues, and murder are all part of the story of this prolific contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1 Jul 202342min

Tracy and Holly discuss the high volume of work produced by both Webster and Worcester, the inconsistencies in Webster's work, and learning languages.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

30 Jun 202317min

Noah Webster Jr. and Joseph Emerson Worcester were both born in New England, both went to Yale, and both compiled multiple dictionaries during their lifetimes. But they were very different men, and those differences led to a lot of conflict.  Research: "Joseph Emerson Worcester." Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2310000221/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=28ed0fad. Accessed 13 June 2023. "Joseph Emerson Worcester." Oxford Reference. . . Date of access 13 Jun. 2023, https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803124726182 Amherst College Library. “An Exhibit Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of Noah Webster’s Birth October 16, 1758.” Archives and Special Collections Department. https://www.amherst.edu/library/archives/exhibitions/webster Bartels, Paul S. "Webster, Noah." American Governance, edited by Stephen Schechter, et al., vol. 5, Macmillan Reference USA, 2016, pp. 291-293. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3629100736/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=3724fc61. Accessed 13 June 2023. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Joseph Emerson Worcester". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Emerson-Worcester. Accessed 13 June 2023. Cassedy, Tim. “’A Dictionary Which We Do Not Want’: Defining America against Noah Webster, 1783–1810.” The William and Mary Quarterly , Vol. 71, No. 2 (April 2014). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5309/willmaryquar.71.2.0229 Cmiel, Kenneth. "Dictionaries." Dictionary of American History, edited by Stanley I. Kutler, 3rd ed., vol. 3, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003, pp. 22-23. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3401801214/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=b1842afb. Accessed 13 June 2023. Dobbs, Christopher. “Noah Webster and the Dream of a Common Language.” Connecticut History. 5/28/2021. https://connecticuthistory.org/noah-webster-and-the-dream-of-a-common-language/ Garner, Bryan A. "Under an Orthographic Spell: Part I." National Review, vol. 75, no. 2, 6 Feb. 2023, p. 50. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A734881576/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=705eb3a3. Accessed 13 June 2023. Garner, Bryan A. "Under an Orthographic Spell: Part II." National Review, vol. 75, no. 4, 6 Mar. 2023, p. 46. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A737639557/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=59f8ff8f. Accessed 13 June 2023. McDavid, Raven I.. "Noah Webster". Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 May. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Noah-Webster-American-lexicographer. Accessed 14 June 2023. McHugh, Jess. “The Nationalist Roots of Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.” The Paris Review. 3/30/2018. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/03/30/noah-websters-american-english/ Merriam-Webster. “Noah Webster and America's First Dictionary.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/about-us/americas-first-dictionary Micklethwait, David. “Ghost-hunting?: The Search for Henry Bohn's First Worcester Dictionary.” Dictionaries: Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America, Volume 38, Issue 1, 2017, pp. 47-66. https://doi.org/10.1353/dic.2017.0001 Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society. “Noah Webster History.” https://noahwebsterhouse.org/noahwebsterhistory/ Skinner, David. “Noah Webster, Chronicler of Disease.” HUMANITIES, Spring 2021, Volume 42, Number 2. https://www.neh.gov/article/noah-webster-chronicler-disease Yazawa, Melvin. “Webster, Noah.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/68670 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

28 Jun 202343min

The conflict between Noah Webster and Joseph Emerson Worcester, and their dictionaries came to be known as the Dictionary Wars. To set the scene, part one covers the biographies of the two men. Research: "Joseph Emerson Worcester." Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2310000221/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=28ed0fad. Accessed 13 June 2023. "Joseph Emerson Worcester." Oxford Reference. . . Date of access 13 Jun. 2023, https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803124726182 Amherst College Library. “An Exhibit Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of Noah Webster’s Birth October 16, 1758.” Archives and Special Collections Department. https://www.amherst.edu/library/archives/exhibitions/webster Bartels, Paul S. "Webster, Noah." American Governance, edited by Stephen Schechter, et al., vol. 5, Macmillan Reference USA, 2016, pp. 291-293. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3629100736/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=3724fc61. Accessed 13 June 2023. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Joseph Emerson Worcester". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Emerson-Worcester. Accessed 13 June 2023. Cassedy, Tim. “’A Dictionary Which We Do Not Want’: Defining America against Noah Webster, 1783–1810.” The William and Mary Quarterly , Vol. 71, No. 2 (April 2014). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5309/willmaryquar.71.2.0229 Cmiel, Kenneth. "Dictionaries." Dictionary of American History, edited by Stanley I. Kutler, 3rd ed., vol. 3, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003, pp. 22-23. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3401801214/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=b1842afb. Accessed 13 June 2023. Dobbs, Christopher. “Noah Webster and the Dream of a Common Language.” Connecticut History. 5/28/2021. https://connecticuthistory.org/noah-webster-and-the-dream-of-a-common-language/ Garner, Bryan A. "Under an Orthographic Spell: Part I." National Review, vol. 75, no. 2, 6 Feb. 2023, p. 50. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A734881576/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=705eb3a3. Accessed 13 June 2023. Garner, Bryan A. "Under an Orthographic Spell: Part II." National Review, vol. 75, no. 4, 6 Mar. 2023, p. 46. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A737639557/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=59f8ff8f. Accessed 13 June 2023. McDavid, Raven I.. "Noah Webster". Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 May. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Noah-Webster-American-lexicographer. Accessed 14 June 2023. McHugh, Jess. “The Nationalist Roots of Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.” The Paris Review. 3/30/2018. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/03/30/noah-websters-american-english/ Merriam-Webster. “Noah Webster and America's First Dictionary.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/about-us/americas-first-dictionary Micklethwait, David. “Ghost-hunting?: The Search for Henry Bohn's First Worcester Dictionary.” Dictionaries: Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America, Volume 38, Issue 1, 2017, pp. 47-66. https://doi.org/10.1353/dic.2017.0001 Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society. “Noah Webster History.” https://noahwebsterhouse.org/noahwebsterhistory/ Skinner, David. “Noah Webster, Chronicler of Disease.” HUMANITIES, Spring 2021, Volume 42, Number 2. https://www.neh.gov/article/noah-webster-chronicler-disease Yazawa, Melvin. “Webster, Noah.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/68670 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

26 Jun 202342min

This 2018 episode features Julian Eltinge, one of the highest-paid and most famous actors of the early 20th century. He acted alongside Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Rudolph Valentino, and became. famous as a female impersonator.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

24 Jun 202336min

Holly and Tracy talk about Barbette's identity and speculation about his life. They also share stories of square dancing in school as kids. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

23 Jun 202326min

Square dancing has very old roots and has endured as a pastime to present day. Its history, though, comes with some thorns, and scholars don’t even agree on its exact origin.  Research:         Anderson, Virginia C. “It All Began Anew: The Revival of Folk Dancing.” Western Folklore , Apr., 1948, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Apr., 1948). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1497379         Blakemore, Erin. “The Slave Roots of Square Dancing.” JSTOR Daily. 6/16/2017. https://daily.jstor.org/the-slave-roots-of-square-dancing/         Burger, Hans, complier. “History and Heritage of Modern American Square Dancing.” Phantom Promenaders Munich. European Association of American Square Dance. Via archive.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20040409113940/http://eaasdc.de/history/shehisto.pdf         Dallal, Jenine Abboushi. "French Cultural Imperialism and the Aesthetics of Extinction." The Yale Journal of Criticism, vol. 13 no. 2, 2000, p. 229-265. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/yale.2000.0016.         Damon, S. Foster. “History of Square Dancing.” Barre, Mass. 1957.         Gifford, Paul M. “Henry Ford’s Dance Revival and Fiddle Contests: Myth and Reality.” Journal of the Society for American Music (2010) Volume 4, Number 3, pp. 307–338.         Hunt, Tracie. “Birdie in the Cage.” Produced by Annie McEwen, Tracie Hunte, and Matt Kielty. Radiolab. 10/23/2019. https://radiolab.org/podcast/birdie-cage         Jamison, Philip A. “Square Dance Calling: The African-American Connection.” Journal of Appalachian Studies , Fall 2003, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Fall 2003). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41446577         Lovett, Benjamin B. and Henry Ford. “’Good Morning’: After a Sleep of Twenty-five Years, Old-fashioned Dancing is Being Revived by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford.” Dearborn Publishing Company. January 1926.         Mangin, Julianne. “The State Folk Dance Conspiracy: Fabricating a National Folk Dance.” Originally published in the Old-Time Herald, v.4(7) p.9-12, Spring 1995. http://juliannemangin.com/the-state-folk-dance-conspiracy/         MasterClass. “All About Square Dance: A Brief History of Square Dance.” https://www.masterclass.com/articles/square-dance-explained         Miller, Rebecca S. "Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean." American Music, vol. 28, no. 4, winter 2010, pp. 501+. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A401215265/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=5ce2f07f. Accessed 1 June 2023.         Nelson, Kevin. "Square Dancing." Encyclopedia of Recreation and Leisure in America, edited by Gary S. Cross, vol. 2, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004, pp. 305-307. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3434800241/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=eed3a8c4. Accessed 1 June 2023.         Optimist Daily. “The history of square dancing in America—part I of True American.” 8/12/2022. https://www.optimistdaily.com/2022/08/the-history-of-square-dancing-in-america-part-i-of-true-american/         Optimist Daily. “The square dancers of today—part II of True American, a mini-series.” 8/19/2022. https://www.optimistdaily.com/2022/08/the-square-dancers-of-today-part-ii-of-true-american-a-mini-series/         Quigley, Colin. “Reflections on the Hearing to "Designate the Square Dance as the American Folk Dance of the United States": Cultural Politics and an American Vernacular Dance Form.” Yearbook for Traditional Music , 2001, Vol. 33 (2001). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1519639         Sabatella, Matthew. “Southern Appalachian Square Dance: A Brief History.” Ballad of America. https://balladofamerica.org/southern-square-dance/         Szwed, John F. and Morton Marks. “The Afro-American Transformation of European Set Dances and Dance Suites.” Dance Research Journal , Summer, 1988, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Summer, 1988). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1478814         U.S. House of Representatives. “Can I have This Dance?” Whereas: Stories from the People’s House. 4/29/2020. https://history.house.gov/Blog/2020/April/4-29-squaredance/         Warnock, Emery C. “The Anti-Semitic Origins of Henry Ford's Arts Education Patronage.” Journal of Historical Research in Music Education , Apr., 2009, Vol. 30, No. 2. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40215355  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

21 Jun 202341min