Professor Buzzkill History Podcast

The first Biden-Trump debate was called "a sh*t show" immediately when it was over. And the "Kennedy image" myth from the first 1960 Presidential debate was brought up over and over in the pre-debate,...

30 Sep 202010min

"A Lie Can Travel Halfway Around the World Before the Truth Puts On its Shoes" has been attributed to Mark Twain (and almost everyone else). But who first said it, and why is the quote's history so im...

30 Sep 20208min

Professor Richard Toye explains the background and context of Winston Churchill's famous World War II speeches, from how they were written, to how they were delivered, to how the public reacted. It's ...

29 Sep 202031min

One of the greatest athletes of all time, Babe Didrikson Zaharias has been somewhat forgotten in the 21st Century. An Olympic gold medalist, she excelled in track and field, basketball, baseball, and ...

23 Sep 202034min

Professor Steven Fielding explains Churchill myths in film and television from Mission to Moscow (1943) to Darkest Hour (2017), and everything in between! The new book, “The Churchill Myths” is availa...

22 Sep 202032min

Bob Woodward's new book about Trump, entitled "Rage," has reminded Buzzkillers of Woodward's journalism in the early '70s. This Flashback Friday encore episode busts myths about Watergate, Woodward an...

18 Sep 202019min

Professor Bill Schwartz explains the relationship between Churchill worship, Brexit, and Boris Johnson’s rise to the office of Prime Minister. This crucial episode also explains how “wartime nostalgia...

15 Sep 202026min

Debates about the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution (“right to bear arms”) never seem to address the 18th-century meaning and importance of “militias” (included in the amendment’s first clause). Pr...

10 Sep 202036min