#90 - Mini-Myth: George Washington Crossing the Delaware
The painting Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze is one of most iconic images in the American cultural consciousness. But how accurate a depiction is it? By standing up in the ...
25 Feb 20163min
#89 - Atomic Bomb Myths
Was there an actual decision whether or not to use atomic bombs in World War II? If not, what were the questions and issues about using the bomb? Why did the US choose Hiroshima and Nagasaki as target...
23 Feb 201658min
#85 - Mini-Myth: Droit du Seigneur
Droit du Seigneur (French: “right of the lord”) refers to the “right” of a feudal lord to sleep with the bride of one of his vassals on their wedding night. While this “right” appears as early as the ...
5 Feb 20162min
Professor Buzzkill #41 - Whackadoodle Presidential Candidates
Hey you Buzzkillers and backfillers, you listeners and glisteners! Did you think The Sarah was the first whackadoodle presidential candidate? Distinguished historians join me to discuss "fringe" candi...
2 Feb 20161h 8min
#83 - Mini-Myth: Levi Strauss, Jacob Davis, and Blue Jeans
We call them “Levis,” no matter what brand they are. But maybe we should call them “Jacobs.” Blue jeans weren’t invented by Levi Strauss, but by Jacob Davis, a fellow European immigrant and tailor. Wa...
28 Jan 20165min
Professor Buzzkill #40 - British Secularism
We interview Professor Michael Rectenwald of NYU about his new book, Nineteenth-Century British Secularism (2016). We learn how diverse non-religious philosophies were and what the real meaning of sec...
26 Jan 201639min
#80 - The Molly Maguires
This episode looks at the dramatic combination of advancing industrialization, and the dirty business of coal mining both from the miners’ side and from the operators’ side. Specifically we’re going t...
12 Jan 201644min
#79 - Mini-Myth: New Year’s Eve/Day
How did New Year’s Day end up in the middle of winter in the northern hemisphere (and the middle of summer in the southern hemisphere)? Wouldn’t a day in spring be more fitting? Find out how people ce...
31 Dec 20155min
