Stuff You Missed in History Class

Behind the Scenes Minis: Blood Banks and Lady C

02 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy and Holly talk about Charles Drew’s marriage and the impact of the early HIV/AIDS crisis on blood donation. They also discuss all the aspects ...

Lady Chatterley’s Obscenity Trial

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Thirty years after D.H. Lawrence died, his book "Lady Chatterley's Lover," which had been banned for decades in many countries, was central to a trial...

Charles Drew & Blood Banks

28 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Charles Drew was once described as “one of the most constructively active figures in the medical profession.” His work as a key figure in the ...

SYMHC Classics: P.T. Barnum's Biggest Stars

26 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2012 episode from previous hosts Sarah and Deblina covers some of the performers he worked with, including General Tom Thumb. Swedish singer Jenn...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Robert-Houdin's Legacy

25 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holly and Tracy talk about why Robert-Houdin has been lauded as the father of modern magic. They also discuss dangerous aspects of his work, and the l...

Robert-Houdin, The Father of Modern Magic, Part 2

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After the 1844 Paris expo, Robert-Houdin turned his efforts to creating his own stage show. He created automata tricks that still delight today, and q...

Robert-Houdin, The Father of Modern Magic, Part 1

21 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Robert-Houdin was the magician that Houdini named himself after, his story is hard to pin down, because even his own memoir is written to be entertain...

SYMHC Classics: P.T. Barnum

19 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2012 episode from prior hosts Sarah and Deblina covers P.T. Barnum the circus man, museum entrepreneur, and freak show runner. Barnum attracted p...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Mancinis and Tragedy

18 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy and Holly talk about how the Mancini sisters episode shifted focus as Tracy was researching it, and divorce not being an option in France during...

The Cocoanut Grove Fire

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The tragedy at Boston’s Cocoanut Grove in 1942 is still the deadliest nightclub fire in history. The cause of the fire is still unknown; in its wake...

Hortense and Marie Mancini

14 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hortense and Marie Mancini tried to make a place for themselves in 17th-century Europe, defying all kinds of conventions along the way. Their lives we...

SYMHC Classics: Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz

12 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2019 episode covers a woman who was the Spanish empire's most widely published poet of her time. Her work has survived until today, but not her o...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Worms, Hikes and Tekahionwake

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy and Holly talk about animated shows, camping, and the items that didn't make it into the most recent Unearthed! episode. They then discuss the l...

E. Pauline Johnson, Tekahionwake

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Emily Pauline Johnson, also known as Tekahionwake, made a career writing poetry and prose and performing it onstage in the late 19th and early 20th ce...

Unearthed! Autumn 2022, Part 2

07 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The second part of our autumn list of things that were unearthed in the recent past includes potpourri, repatriations, shipwrecks, medical finds, Viki...

SYMHC Classics: Gunpowder Plot

05 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2011 episode covers the discriminatory laws English Catholics faced under Queen Elizabeth I and King James I, which led a group of Catholics to a...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Mansions and Coin Hoards

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holly and Tracy talk about the multiple homes called the Redpath Mansion and how that confuses the story in press sometimes. They also discuss the ebb...

Unearthed! Autumn 2022, Part 1

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Fall is here and so is the latest two-part edition of Unearthed! Part one includes updates, oldest things, books and letters, and a late entry into ou...

Redpath Murders

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On June 13, 1901, Ada Maria Redpath, and her son Jocelyn Clifford were found shot to death in their home. What exactly happened between the two of the...

SYMHC Classics: History Mystery Double Feature

29 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2015 episode features two troubling tales from the 1920s. First, newlyweds that vanished on what would have been a historic boating trip. Second,...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Ouija, Ouija!

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holly and Tracy talk about the many products that have been made with licensed (and sometimes unlicensed) Ouija board imagery. They also discuss the s...

Spirit Boards and the Rise of the Ouija, Part 2

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In addition to being the focus of corporate machinations, the Ouija board has also been invoked in many legal cases and has been featured in pop cultu...

Spirit Boards and the Rise of the Ouija, Part 1

24 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The rise of the Ouija board in North America involves corporate intrigue, family betrayal, a lot of litigation, and very little spiritualism. Today’...

SYMHC Classics: Disappearance of Joseph Force Crater

22 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2014 episode covers the 1930 vanishing of Joseph Force Crater. His missing person cases has fueled decades of speculation about what exactly happ...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Rose and Mamie

21 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holly and Tracy talk about the prediction of Houdini's death, and Rose Mackenberg's abundant bravado. They also discuss the long road the movie 'Till"...

Interview: The Makers of 'Till'

19 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The movie "Till" tells the story of Mamie Till-Mobley and her son Emmett. Actor Jalyn Hall and director Chinonye Chukwu talked with the podcast about ...

‘The Rev’ Rose Mackenberg

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rose Mackenberg spent decades working to uncover fraud taking place in the name of Spiritualism, first working for Houdini, and then on her own. In he...

SYMHC Classics: Harry Houdini, Master Mystifier

15 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2009 episode from previous hosts Katie and Sarah covers Harry Houdini, once known as the world's greatest magician. Houdini's reputation still re...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Psychics and Serpents

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy and Holly discuss WWII submarine warfare as it related to Helen Duncan’s story. Tracy also shares her experience visiting the Mütter Museum w...

Edward May's Strange Monster

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In 1639, doctor Edward May published a 40-page text about a serpent he found in the heart of a 21-year-old man during a post-mortem examination. We do...

Helen Duncan, (Not) Scotland’s Last Witch

10 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Helen Duncan is sometimes described as Scotland’s last witch, or the last person imprisoned for witchcraft in Britain, or the last person to be trie...

SYMHC Classics: Matthew Hopkins

08 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2019 episode covers England’s largest and deadliest set of witch trials. They were largely influenced by one man, Matthew Hopkins, who was know...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Robeson and Schrepfer

07 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy and Holly talk about how racism stripped Paul Robeson of his career, and Robeson’s support of the communist Soviet Union. They also discuss wh...

The Necromancy of Joann Georg Schrepfer

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Johann George Schrepfer’s life story is clouded by his embellished and falsified tales of his necromancy and spiritualism. And both his followers an...

Paul Robeson and the Peekskill Riots

03 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Peekskill Riots surrounded a concert by singer and activist Paul Robeson. His stances on political and civil rights issues and his communist affil...

SYMHC Classics: The Hagley Woods Murder

01 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2016 episode covers a skeleton found in a tree near Birmingham, England in 1943. More than 70 years later, it's still unknown who the deceased wa...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Oh, Charles

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holly and Tracy discuss the difficult nature of Chapin's personality. They also talk about the ways that the rivalry between Pulitzer and Hearst playe...

Charles Chapin’s Complicated Life, Part 2

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Chapin's successful journalism career crumbled as stress chipped away at his mental health, and he committed a terrible crime. But there were still su...

Charles Chapin’s Complicated Life, Part 1

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Chapin built a life people envied, and had a great deal of power. His entire biography is full of noteworthy achievements and awards. As a newsman, he...

SYMHC Classics: General Slocum Disaster

24 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2019 episode covers the burning of the P.S. General Slocum in the East River in New York on June 15, 1904. It had been chartered for a group outi...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Eugene

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy and Holly talk about hunting for sources for Eugene Jacques Bullard's story, and his unpublished memoir. They also talk about wanting to return ...

Eugene Jacques Bullard and the Paris Jazz Age (Pt. 2)

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After World War I ended, Eugene Jacques Bullard returned to Paris. He worked as a jazz drummer and nightclub owner, and as the tensions that led to Wo...

Eugene Jacques Bullard, Combat Pilot (Pt. 1)

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bullard is often described as the first Black American fighter pilot – which is true – but he also had a full and fascinating life beyond that. Th...

SYMHC Classics: Jack Johnson

17 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2012 episode from previous hosts Sarah and Deblina discusses how during Jack Johnson's time, the heavyweight championship was unofficially a whit...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Lavinia and Imogene

16 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holly and Tracy talk about the gossip surrounding two of Livinia Fontana Zappi's paintings. They also discuss the degree to which people ignored Imoge...

Imogene Rechtin’s ‘Kiss Not’ Campaign

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 1900s, Imogene Rechtin started a crusade to get people to stop kissing socially as a way to stop disease spread. Her argument was sound, ...

Lavinia Fontana Zappi

12 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lavinia Fontana was taught painting by her father, and became one of the earliest examples of a woman with an independent career in art that supported...

SYMHC Classics: Polio, The Dread Disease

10 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2011 episode from prior hosts Sarah and Deblina covers polio, a threat in the early 20th century that often left victims paralyzed or dead. Vacci...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Mold and Monarchs

09 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy and Holly talk about school science fairs and their performance in them. They then discuss the interesting aspect of Field of Cloth of Gold prep...

Field of Cloth of Gold

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Field of Cloth of Gold was a summit and celebration that was held to start what was hoped to be a long-term alliance between France and England. A...

Penicillin: More than a Moldy Petri Dish

05 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The development of penicillin started – but definitely did not end – with the chance discovery of some mold in a petri dish. There is so much more...

SYMHC Classics: Elizabeth Jennings Graham

03 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The subject of this 2018 episode is sometimes called a 19th-century Rosa Parks. When Elizabeth boarded a Manhattan streetcar in 1854, a chain of event...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Dishwashers and Desmond

02 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holly speculates about how one article about Josephine Cochrane got so many details wrong. Tracy then talks about the details of Canada's currency fea...

Viola Desmond

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Desmond was convicted after refusing to leave her seat in a segregated movie theater in Nova Scotia in 1946. But she also established the first beauty...

Invention of the Dishwasher

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There is one woman in particular who normally gets the credit for inventing the dish washer. But there were other inventors trying to come up with way...

SYMHC Classics: Great London Smog

27 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2014 episode covers why when the Great London Smog descended in December of 1952, nobody initially realized anything unusual was going on. At its...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Lowry and Midgley

26 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy and Holly discuss resources for learning more about the Lumbee and the unique nature of North Carolina's outdoor historical dramas. Additionally...

Thomas Midgley Jr.’s Deadly Inventions

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Midgley was a deeply respected researcher and chemist who received multiple awards. He also developed both leaded gas and freon, two substances banned...

The Lowry War

22 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Lowry Gang fought back against Confederate authorities during the U.S. Civil War and during Reconstruction they came to be viewed as either Robin ...

SYMHC Classics: Alice Hamilton and Occupational Medicine

20 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2019 episode covers a trailblazer in science and medicine. Hamilton dedicated her life to improving the workplace standards for laborers in an ef...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Butterflies and Photos

19 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holly and Tracy discuss the ways they encountered butterflies in their childhoods and how people can help conservation efforts at home. They also talk...

Weegee the Famous

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Weegee is often cited as having been an influence on artists like Diane Arbus and Andy Warhol. He also influenced the world in how New York was viewed...

The Developing History of Monarch Butterflies

15 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Monarch butterflies are still in the middle of their story – and it’s one that is precarious. Humans are still trying to figure out a lot about th...

SYMHC Classics: Giorgio Vasari

13 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2018 episode covers an artist and architect from 16th-century Italy. But what really made him famous was his writing. He penned biographies of fa...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Diesel and Ibn Khaldūn

12 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holly and Tracy talk about the gossipy nature of press coverage about men like Rudolph Diesel. The gap between Ibn Khaldūn's life and the time when a...

Ibn Khaldūn

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ibn Khaldūn was a Muslim writer who covered history, economics and sociology. He lived during a time of chaos and strife, and his life was mired in t...

The Life and Disappearance of Rudolf Diesel

08 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have enough pieces of the story of Rudolf Diesel’s life that remain consistent that we can fairly confidently construct his biography. But the wa...

SYMHC Classics: Tamerlane and the Battle of Ankara

06 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2011 episode from previous hosts Sarah and Deblina covers Timur the Lame (Tamerlane to Westerners) conquering areas from Persia to Russia through...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Blood Pressure and Zippers

05 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy and Holly talk about blood pressure and Diuril man. Holly then shares a story of how early fastener sales worked and how zippers have become spe...

Zippers!

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The development of the zipper was oddly arduous, with many fastener versions tried out before the zipper we know today and have on our clothes, handba...

Hypertension: A History

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ancient cultures all over the world used the pulse as a diagnostic tool. And eventually, we figured out how to measure blood pressure, and hypertensio...

SYMHC Classics: Unearthed! USS Indianapolis

30 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2017 episode covers the U.S.S. Indianapolis, known today for its crew's horrifying wait for rescue after being torpedoed following a secret missi...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Gustave and Griswold

29 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holly and Tracy talk about Courbet's arrogance and some gossip about his life. They also discuss the legal loopholes that enable inanimate objects to ...

Griswold v. Connecticut

27 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Griswold v. Connecticut was the U.S. supreme court decision that overturned laws banning contraception – at least, for married couples. It wasn’t ...

Gustave Courbet

25 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Courbet was iconic even in his own lifetime. He flew in the face of artistic convention, turned down awards, and ushered in a new movement of Realism ...

SYMHC Classics: 5 Shipwreck Stories

23 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2011 episode from previous hosts Sarah and Deblina covers the sinking of Black Sam's Wydah, the Medusa's disastrous accident off the African coas...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Unearthed! Wrap-up

22 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy and Holly discuss the ways that events in the real-world impact choices of what goes into the show. They also discuss the anonymous purchase of ...

Unearthed! in July 2022, Part 2

20 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The second installment of things literally or figuratively unearthed that appeared in the news in the the second quarter of 2022 includes some animal ...

Unearthed! in July 2022, Part 1

18 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for the July 2022 edition of Unearthed! Part one this time includes updates, some jewelry, some auctions, some books and letters, and some s...

SYMHC Classics: The Discovery of 'Planet' Ceres

16 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2016 episode delves into the search for a planet lurking in the gap between Mars and Jupiter, resulting in the finding of Ceres. This object's st...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Busy Emily

15 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy and Holly talk about aspects of Emily Hobhouse's work that make them feel conflicted, as well as the most moving parts of her life story. See o...

Emily Hobhouse and the First World War, Pt. 2

13 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hobhouse's work in South Africa continued after the second Anglo-Boer War was over, and her work as a humanitarian and peace activist continued during...

Emily Hobhouse and the Boer War, Pt. 1

11 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hobhouse was a pacifist and humanitarian all her life. Part one covers her work exposing terrible conditions at the concentration camps that Britain e...

SYMHC Classics: The Cuyahoga River's Last Fires

09 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2017 episode covers the Cuyahoga River catching fire for the last time in 1969. This event is often credited with helping pass the Clean Water Ac...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Deborah and Bibb

08 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy and Holly discuss Deborah Sampson’s disguise as Robert Shurtlliff and women who were camp followers in the Revolutionary War. They also discus...

Lettuce, Slavery, and the Bibb Legacy

06 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

John Bibb is credited with cultivating Bibb lettuce. But his family’s legacy, good and bad, is all tied to having enslaved people build their famili...

Deborah Sampson Gannett, aka Private Robert Shurtlliff

04 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Deborah Sampson could count William Bradford and Myles Standish in her family tree. That tree didn’t include Robert Shurtlliff; that was the alias D...

SYMHC Classics: Lucretia Mott

02 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode revisits the studio version of our live show the 2018 Seneca Falls Convention Days at Women's Rights National Historical Park. Lucretia M...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Laocoön and Lucy

01 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holly and Tracy talk about part of the Laocoön's story that didn't make it into the episode, and the ongoing debate about the sculpture. They also ta...

Dr. Lucy Hobbs Taylor

29 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lucy Hobbs, later Lucy Hobbs Taylor, pursued a career in dentistry before that was recognized as an acceptable vocation for a woman. She got told no a...

Laocoön and His Sons

27 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Laocoön is a figure in Greek legend, and the inspiration for a beautiful sculpture in the Vatican Museums. And that work of art has been on quite a j...

SYMHC Classics: The Cato Street Conspiracy

25 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2017 episode delves into urbanization and mechanization, and all the downsides they brought with them in Great Britain in the years after the Lud...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Cosplay and Shakers

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holly and Tracy reminisce about the use of the word cosplay in costuming groups and how much controversy it initially stirred up. They then discuss t...

Mother Rebecca Cox Jackson

22 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mother Rebecca Cox Jackson was an outlier among Shakers for a number of reasons, including that she established a community in the city of Philadelphi...

Interview: Andrew Liptak and the History of Cosplay

20 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holly speaks with author Andrew Liptak about his upcoming book "The History of Cosplay," and the way that humans have used costume to play, tell stori...

SYMHC Classics: Vincent van Gogh

18 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2011 episode from prior hosts Sarah and Deblina covers the artist's life and work. It also examines long-held beliefs about Vincent van Gogh and ...

Behind the Scenes Minis: Danger Doge and Time Zones

17 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy and Holly talk about Falieri's strange shift from respectability to treason, all that slapping, and the city of Venice. They then discuss time z...

Sir Sandford Fleming and the Creation of Time Zones

15 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Humans have understood how to calculate the length of a day pretty accurately for a long time. But there wasn’t a standard way to approach time ...

Marino Faliero, the Beheaded Doge

13 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Faliero was the 55th Doge of Venice, a man who was, at least for a time, well respected. But his legacy is that he was the only doge decapitated for t...

SYMHC Classics: The Daring Imposter Cassie Chadwick

11 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This 2018 episode covers the fraud career of Cassie Chadwick. Her biggest con was convincing banks that she was the daughter of Andrew Carnegie.See om...