The Skeptics Guide #989 - Jun 22 2024

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The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe 1h 50m 6 speakers 8 chapters transcribed 2 months ago
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What is the history and significance of Juneteenth explained?

Bruno Satin 0:03
You're listening to The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.
Dr. Steven (Steve) Novella 0:10
Hello and welcome to The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe. Today is Wednesday, June 19th, 2024, and this is your host, Stephen Novella. Joining me this week are Bob Novella. Hey, everybody. Cara Santamaria. Howdy. Jay Novella. Hey, guys. And Evan Bernstein.
Evan Bernstein 0:25
I love these long summer nights. Do you? That's right. Oh, my gosh. Two more days. I know. It'll be the longest.
Dr. Steven (Steve) Novella 0:32
Even under the heat dome?
Evan Bernstein 0:34
Even under the heat dome, yes. I get it that it's warm out there, very hot in some places, and fires in New Mexico and some terrible things going on. However, it does not – maybe it should, but it doesn't diminish the fact that I like – You're living in air conditioning.
Bob Novella 0:50
Look, Ed, there's always something bad going on somewhere. I mean you got to enjoy your own life for crying out loud.
Evan Bernstein 0:55
I get that. But for some reason, I'm very in tune with how much light there is outside. I think about it daily. I really do.
Cara Santa Maria 1:01
Yeah, because you've got a brain and a suprachiasmatic nucleus.
Evan Bernstein 1:04
Well, just, you know, I don't know. I probably think about it. It should be background sort of thoughts, but for me, it's not.
Dr. Steven (Steve) Novella 1:10
Yeah, I like the light.
Cara Santa Maria 1:10
I do as well. It's also, it's Juneteenth, everyone. It is Juneteenth. Yes. Juneteenth.
Evan Bernstein 1:14
Happy Juneteenth.
Cara Santa Maria 1:15
Happy Juneteenth.
Evan Bernstein 1:16
Happy Juneteenth.
Dr. Steven (Steve) Novella 1:17
I don't know if we've had a show on Juneteenth before. If we did, I didn't notice. I don't recall. Yeah. So for those of you who may not know, Juneteenth celebrates the day when the last slaves were finally freed. So the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, but did not instantaneously take effect all over the United States at that time. There were some locations that were still, even though the war was over, they were still under Confederate control. specifically the state of Texas. It wasn't until June 19th, 1865, two years later, that 2,000 Union troops showed up in Galveston Bay, Texas, and finally said, you have to free your slaves. And so that was the last of the slaves were freed.
Cara Santa Maria 2:04
Yep, Emancipation Day is what they call it in parts of Texas.
Bob Novella 2:07
So did those slaves that were not initially released, do they know that they should be released?
Dr. Steven (Steve) Novella 2:14
I don't know. I mean, they probably were not given up-to-date information.
Cara Santa Maria 2:17
Well, and I don't think – obviously, it's not a function of – I know and now I – and now I can't. Obviously, there was deeply coercive practices going on, even after Juneteenth. It was not an easy time to be an easy place.
Evan Bernstein 2:30
No, it was not the end of the suffering.
Cara Santa Maria 2:32
And we know, too, that Lincoln was really pushing for a lot of, what could we call them? Reforms? Yeah, reforms and resources, so that after emancipation, there wasn't mass chaos, and so that people who had been wholly, sadly, dependent... These enslaved people didn't have anything to their name, and so they were really pushing for giving property to each individual for ensuring that there was access. But then a lot of that was undermined when Lincoln died.
Dr. Steven (Steve) Novella 3:03
I mean things were going okay for a while under Reconstruction, but then basically they basically completely undermined and ended in a political deal, ended effectively Reconstruction, and then the South was able to basically – have all but slavery you know i mean they tried to do everything they could to return things to the way they were under slavery even though it wasn't technically slavery yeah johnson was not a good guy
Cara Santa Maria 3:28
Let's be honest. Lincoln was really pushing for like all of these reforms during Reconstruction and Johnson undid a lot.
Evan Bernstein 3:35
Only when Grant came along did really some of the Reconstruction things actually start to take effect and be enforced and Grant would send the army into places where the army needed to be to help enforce it.

How will the Sun’s 11‑year magnetic field flip affect Earth and technology?

Dr. Steven (Steve) Novella 3:44
Imagine how – I mean we think about – we think we have a lot of political strife today but imagine that. I mean obviously nothing worse than an actual civil war but then having to deal – that was – talk about upheaval, social upheaval and political upheaval.
Bob Novella 3:57
Right.

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