Offbeat History: The Crash at Crush and Other Train Wreck Spectacles

In this 2011 episode, prior hosts Sarah and Deblina talk about privateer Alexander Selkirk, who became a buccaneer in 1695. In 1704, after a fight with his captain, Selkirk was put ashore on an uninha...

19 Sep 202028min

Holly and Tracy delve into the unverifiable parts of James Forten's life and the problematic idea of respectability. Tracy also talks about her geographical connection to the Lawson family murders whi...

18 Sep 202010min

These are episodes that we’d love to do as a full-length episode, and we’ve gotten listener quests for most of them. But there’s a book that’s so central to the subject that the book is really the pla...

16 Sep 202035min

As a child and young man, James was part of the British colonies that rebelled against rule from the throne. As an adult, he made his fortune in sail making, and turned his influence to the causes of ...

14 Sep 202043min

In this 2015 episode, prior hosts Sarah and Deblina covered a poet's romance. Robert Browning's early work wasn't as well-received as Elizabeth Barrett's poetry. Yet Barrett mentioned his work in one ...

12 Sep 202026min

Holly and Tracy discuss the story of Croesus and how disabilities are represented in the writing of Herodotus. The topic then turns to the Igbo women's practice called sitting on a man, and how the We...

11 Sep 202012min

The Women’s War was a response to British colonialism in Nigeria. British authorities described the group as a “hostile mob” because they didn’t recognize that the so-called mob was largely a long-est...

9 Sep 202033min

The story of the ridiculously wealthy Croesus, which was fictionalized in a number of ways, becomes a cautionary tale about pride and hubris, and what really has value in life.  Learn more about your...

7 Sep 202032min