Stuff You Missed in History Class

This 2019 episode covers the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, which was part of the Women’s Army Corps during World War II. The 6888th was the only battalion of black women from the U.S. to serve in Europe during World War II.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy shares how she learned about Maria Gertrudis Barceló, and then the hosts DO talk about Bruno, and his know-it-all behavior.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bruno was a mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, occultist, and according to the Catholic church of 16th-century Italy, a heretic. He met a bad end because of his views, but he started out as a friar. Research:  Aquilecchia, Giovanni. "Giordano Bruno". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Feb. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giordano-Bruno “Giordano Bruno.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. May 30, 2018. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bruno/ Martinez, Alberto A. “Burned Alive: Bruno, Galileo and the Inquisition.” Reaktion Books. 2018. Rosenthal, Erwin I.J.. "Averroës". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Averroes Alberto A. Martinez Giordano Bruno and the heresy of many worlds, Annals of Science. 73:4, 345-374. 2016. 10.1080/00033790.2016.1193627 Rowland, Ingrid D. “Giordano Bruno Philosopher, Heretic.” Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 2008. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Doña Maria Gertrudis Barceló was a professional gambler and card dealer in New Mexico in the early 19th century. But the details of her life are all over the place, depending on the source.  Research:  New Mexico History Museum. “The Gambling Queen of Santa Fe.” Press Release. 8/20/2009. https://media.newmexicoculture.org/release/91/the-gambling-queen-o Dominguez, Orae. “Maria Gertrudis Barceló, Doña Tules.” New Mexico History. State Records Center and Archives. https://newmexicohistory.org/2013/10/24/maria-gertrudis-barcelo-dona-tules/ New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative. “Maria Gertrudis Barcelo.” https://www.nmhistoricwomen.org/location/maria-gertrudis-barcelo/  National Park Service. “La Tules, María Gertrudis Barceló.” 3/11/2021. https://www.nps.gov/people/maria-gertrudis-barcelo.htm\ Thwaites, Reuben Gold. “Early Western Travels 1748-1846, Volume XX - Part II of Gregg's Commerce of the Prairies, 1831-1839.” Cleveland, Ohio. The Arthur H. Clark Company. 1905. Magoffin, Susan Shelby, and Stella Madeleine Drumm. “Down the Santa Fe Trail and into Mexico : the diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin, 1846-1847.” New Haven : Yale University Press, 1962. Lecompte, Janet. “La Tules and the Americans.” Arizona and the West , Autumn, 1978, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Autumn, 1978). https://www.jstor.org/stable/40168728 Kendall, George Wilkins. “Narrative of the Texan Sante Fé Expedition.” New York : Harper and Brothers. 1846. Brewerton, G. Douglass. “Incidents of Travel in New Mexico.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. April 1854. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924080772092&view=1up&seq=599&skin=2021&q1=april Nogar, Anna M. et al. “Nuevomexicano Cultural Memory and the Indo-Hispana Mujerota.” Journal of the Southwest, Vol. 58, No. 4 (Winter 2016). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26310186 Chávez, Fray Angélico. “Doña Tules, Her Fame and Her Funeral.” From “Santa Fe Nativa: A Collection of Nuevomexicano Writing.” University of New Mexico Press. 2009. Cook, Mary J. Straw. “Doña Tules: Santa Fe’s Courtesan and Gambler.” University of New Mexico Press. 2007. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2010 episode from previous hosts Katie and Sarah covers Scott and Amundsen launching rival expeditions to the South Pole. knowing only one group could be the first to reach the pole. Each believed his strategy would prevail, but which explorer won?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy talk about Eugen Weidmann's executioner, public fixation on the case, and the availability of the images and footage of most gruesome details of the murders and beheading. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once Eugen Weidmann was in police custody, he confessed to Jean's murder as well as several others. As the trial and execution played out, public interest grew to such a frenzied state that authorities immediately reconsidered the practice of performing executions publicly.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In July 1937, 22-year-old Jean De Koven vanished while visiting Paris with her aunt. It seemed doomed to be an unsolved missing person case, until an accidental connection revealed a series of murders, and a ring of criminals with Eugen Weidmann at the center. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2019 episode is about the man often described as the person who coined the term genocide. He was also the driving force behind the existence of the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy discuss Mary Sidney Herbert and the debate about whether she wrote works attributed to Shakespeare, as well as her late-in-life party period. On a more serious note, they talk about Holodomor as an example of the long and complicated relationship of Ukraine with Russia and the U.S.S.R.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Holodomor” is a name that was coined in the 1980s to describe a famine that struck Ukraine in the early 1930s. There were food shortages taking place in other parts of the Soviet Union at the same time, but Soviet policies toward Ukraine specifically made the situation there much, much worse.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

She was a patron of the arts, the first woman to publish an English-language play, and the first woman to publish pastoral poetry. Mary Sidney Herbert was also incredibly wily when it came to navigating the limitations and possibilities of being a woman in 16th century England.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2017 episode covers the life of Aphra Behn, but there's really not a lot concretely known about the her. In addition to being a spy, was a dramatist, poet, novelist, translator, and the first woman in English literature known to have made her living as a writer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly talk about Tracy’s research process for the William Apess episodes, and how much of his writing she wanted to include in the episode. And that’s because his work is still deeply relevant.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apess’s religious work and writing consistently stressed the inherent humanity and worth of Indigenous people, but in the later years of his career he also became involved in more direct activism in Mashpee, Massachusetts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Minister William Apess is often described as the first Native American to publish their own, book-length autobiography. But that is a reductive way to describe a man who wrote a great deal more than that, and also became an advocate for Indigenous people. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy share interviews with some of the cast and crew behind the new film "Cyrano" to talk about their thoughts on history and historical spaces, as well as why the Rostand play has such an enduring appeal. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2017 episode covers an American sculptor who was a celebrated artist in her day, but receded from the spotlight; her final years remained a mystery for quite some time. Her marble works are striking examples of the neoclassical style popular at the end of the 19th century. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy talk about some of stories of Egerton that didn't make it into the episode. Then discussion of the Nika Riots touches on modern sports riots, and the writings of Procopius, Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Large-scale rioting and mass violence were fairly common in Constantinople when this riot – and then massacre – took place in the year 532. But we have more documentation of the Nika Riots than many of the others. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 8th Earl of Bridgewater’s life is a hodgepodge of privileged eccentricity. From deeply spoiled pets to shoes used as a diary to a whole lot of writing about his relatives, it seems that Egerton was always guided by whim. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This classic episode from 2018 covers a 1917 event with elements of a labor strike, a wartime hysteria, a vigilante mob, and a mass propaganda effort, all rolled into one. It took place in Bisbee, Arizona, southeast of Tucson and close to the U.S. border with Mexico. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy talk about the angry-making aspects of the Millar will's aftermath, and discuss the only Black participants in the derby. They also discuss the intriguing life of Lucy Parsons, including her very complicated identity and behaviors. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parsons was an activist focused on improving the lives of workers, poor people, immigrants, and people who were unemployed or homeless. The Chicago Police Department described her as more dangerous than a thousand rioters. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Toronto’s Great Stork derby of the 1920s and 1930s is often reported with a bit of whimsy. But classism, right to privacy, exploitation, the role of women in society, racial superiority, eugenics, and reproductive rights have been left out of the discussion. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2018 episode covers what's often held up as one of history's great love stories - Plutarch wrote that Pericles kissed Aspasia every single day. And that's very sweet and romantic, but their high-profile relationship was central to a key period in Greek history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly discuss the difficulty in examining sociological texts as part of research. They also recount their first encounters with the work of Moms Mabley, and her incredible timing in telling jokes that were often incredibly daring for their time. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moms Mabley’s career lasted more than six decades. She was hugely influential, and inspired so many comedians and other performers who came after her. But outside of her work, a lot of the details of her life are a mystery, and there are some contradictory accounts of a particularly traumatic part of her early life. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early 18th century, Britain needed money. In 1711, the South Sea Company was established to try to manage this debt, and the heart of the debt consolidation the company arranged was a debt-for-equity swap that did NOT keep the nation from incurring more debt. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2018 episode Shirley Chisolm, who was politically active starting during her college years. Her drive and desire to make positive change led her to many political firsts, including being the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy discuss their relationships with the various foods from our third eponymous foods episode. They also discuss the surprising aspects of Peter Roget's life story, including some which didn't make it into his episode. . Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peter Roget was a doctor and scientist who really liked putting things into classification systems. His life was very dramatic well before he came up with the book that is his legacy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we’re covering a super yummy comfort food from Italy, and two dishes with debate as to their origin, one on the U.S. East Coast, and one on the West Coast. All are delicious! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Riots are a distressingly common part of human history, and the strangest events can trigger widespread violence. In this 2011 episode, previous hosts Deblina and Sarah take a closer look at one of history's strangest riots. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy discuss the woman who Breckinridge hired to spy on Madeline Pollard, and horror of Madeline's writing being read in court. They also discuss how unicorn lore shows up in pop culture, and Tracy's disappointment at seeing a "real" unicorn. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You probably know exactly what animal we mean when we say “unicorn,” but descriptions and depictions of unicorns have shifted over the millennia. Some lore has roots in sightings of real animals that people have found difficult to describe, or that have been misinterpreted. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The story of Madeline Pollard’s relationship with Congressman William C.P. Breckinridge became a national story when it went from a romance to a bitter and dirty court battle. To some, Madeline emerged as an icon of the women’s movement. But to others, she became a cautionary tale. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2014 episode covers the 1925 diphtheria outbreak in Nome, Alaska that put a community in grave danger -- without the proper supplies to fight the disease. A daring sled-dog relay was mounted to deliver needed medicine to small community and their only doctor. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy talk about the ire that comes about when examining the press coverage of the Goolds when they were murder suspects. They then discuss the artwork plundered from Benin in 1897, and how that comes with its own biases when looking at contemporary accounts. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many cultural objects and works of art were taken from the Kingdom of Benin in western Africa in 1897, in what is typically described as a punitive raid or a punitive expedition by the British. In the last few years, some nations and institutions have committed to returning these pieces, but only a few have actually been returned at this point. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The violent Monte Carlo Trunk Murder is fascinating as a terrifying crime, and its connection to wealth and fame made it global news. But the way it was covered in the papers offers an unsettling glimpse into bias and privilege. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2015 episode delves into carousels. They're part of childhood, but they were originally billed as an entertainment for adults and children alike. And even further back than that, it's believed that they were used to train horsemen. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy shares the logistics of assembling her lists for Unearthed!, and she and Holly talk about criteria for leaving details out of the show on purpose. They also discuss confusion over days off, and Holly's excitement about Dutch Golden Age paintings. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second part of the year-end edition of Unearthed! the show covers necropolises and art, and edibles and potables, shipwrecks, and potpourri. But there are also a few last-minute additions to the list before the potpourri! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's time for what was unearthed in the last quarter of 2021! Part one this time includes lots of updates to previous episodes, as well as books and letters, exhumations and and repatriations. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2014 episode discusses Jules Verreaux and his two brothers, who collected an impressive array of flora and fauna specimens from around the world for placement with museums and collectors. They also did some really unsavory things that had long-term ramifications. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly discuss the natural tendency to find the platypus suspect as an animal. They also talk about some of the tangential pieces of the Cyrano story that didn't make it into Wednesday's episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cyrano de Bergerac is often called a man of letters, a philosopher, a soldier, a duelist, a playwright and many more things. But what he may have been best at was self-invention. His real story is blurry to begin with, and he contributed to that blur, but it’s been even more obscured obscured over the centuries by the fictionalized versions of his life. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When European naturalists saw a platypus for the first time, they found it so bizarre that they thought it was fake, and then argued about how to classify it for almost a century. This happened in tandem with similar discussions about another Australian animal – the echidna, or spiny anteater – and discussions of scientific taxonomy in general. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2016 episode covers the Piltdown Man, which is one of the world's most infamous instances of scientific fraud. It derailed the study of evolution for decades. How exactly did scientists in 1912 fall so completely for a hoax? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.