Battle of Iwo Jima

If you've ever watched a Voodoo scene in a horror movie, you might be forgiven for envisioning zombies, dolls and witchcraft when asked what it is. But in this episode of American History Hit, Don speaks to Elizabeth James to find out the truth about the New Orleans strand of this misunderstood religion and spiritual practice.Where does Voodoo come from? How has it been practised over the years? And who was Marie Laveau?Elizabeth James is a programme associate for Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan. She had the practises of Voodoo passed on to her by her grandmother in Louisiana.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Okt 202339min

The seventh person to hold the position of President is arguably one of the most divisive.A strong-willed military hero, whilst President from 1829-1837, Andrew Jackson pushed American democracy forwards. But his policies on Native American removal remain some of the darkest in US history.To untangle this presidential history, Don is joined by David Brown. David is Professor of History at Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania, and author of seven books including 'The First Populist: The Defiant Life of Andrew Jackson'.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Okt 202338min

Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, John Wayne. We've seen them roping and wrangling and defeating their enemies, all by the time the credits role.But what was the role of cowboys in the real wild west? What was the role of black men in this industry? And how have they been erased in popular culture?In this episode, Don speaks first with Roger Hardaway, professor of history at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Roger has written and researched extensively on the American West, and is the co-editor of African Americans on the Western Frontier.Don is then joined by Tony Warner, founder of Black History Walks and co-founder of the African Odysseys programme, to talk about how the inclusion of black people on the screen has evolved.Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Okt 202338min

From 800 to 1300 CE, a great religious movement swept Mesoamerica, the Southwest, and the Mississippi valley. This Medieval Warm Period was one of the most consequential eras in North American history. In this era, the continent was shaped by climate change or – as its peoples then believed – controlled by gods of wind and water.In this episode of our History Hit sister podcast, Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis talks to archaeologist Dr. Timothy Pauketat, author of Gods of Thunder: How Climate Change, Travel, and Spirituality Reshaped Precolonial America. He has followed the footsteps of priests, pilgrims, traders and farmers led by the weather to migrate long distances to new lands.This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Okt 202326min

A 13 day siege. 90 minutes of fighting. An almost 200 year legacy and the most popular tourist site in the state of Texas.The 1836 Battle of the Alamo has become a symbol of Texan pride and independence, and also a springboard for conversations about Texas' relationship with slavery.To find out more about the battle, the site and what really happened to David Crockett, Don spoke with Kolby Lanham, Senior Researcher and Historian at the Alamo.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Siobhan Dale. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Okt 202333min

John Quincy Adams didn't just share a name with his father. He also followed in his footsteps to take the Presidency, and then lose it after one term.In this episode of our series on the Presidencies of the United States, we're onto the sixth commander-in-chief.Don is joined once again by Christopher Young. Chris is a Professor of History at Indiana University Northwest and among his many publications wrote “Serenading the President: John Adams, the XYZ Affair, and the 18th-Century American Presidency” for Federal History.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Siobhan Dale. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Okt 202341min

What if the Civil War had ended differently, with the South seceding from the Union? Would slavery have continued? Would the southern states have continued as a whole? Would any other states have followed suit?To explore this hypothetical history, Don spoke to Aaron Sheehan-Dean, Department Chair of history at Louisiana State University. Aaron specialises on the Civil War and reconstruction and is the author of 'The Calculus of Violence: How Americans Fought the Civil War', 'Reckoning with Rebellion: War and Sovereignty in the Nineteenth Century' and 'Why Confederates Fought'.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Siobhan Dale. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Okt 202342min

In 1969, at the height of US presence, there were over half a million Americans in Vietnam.But why were they there in the first place? When did the conflict in Vietnam begin and how did it escalate towards US involvement?Pierre Asselin is the author of A Bitter Peace: Washington, Hanoi, and the Making of the Paris Agreement and Hanoi’s Road to the Vietnam War, 1954-1965. He and Don discuss the origins of the Vietnam war in domestic and international relations.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Siobhan Dale. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribeYou can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Okt 202334min