Stuff You Missed in History Class

This 2016 episode covers a piece of Scottish and English history that's often simultaneously romanticized and oversimplified. It's a great deal more complicated than any one event, and is instead the result of many contributing factors. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly discuss their memories of nursery rhymes, and their experiences with women's health care. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the U.S., the idea that people should know about the risks involved with the drugs that they are taking is tied directly to the complicated and often troubling history of oral contraceptives. Tracy's Research: Gutierrez, Kirsten. “Health experts: Blood clots from J&J vaccine and birth control are very different.” WRAL. 4/13/2021. https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/health-experts-blood-clots-from-j-j-vaccine-and-birth-control-are-very-different/19625592/ American Experience. “Senate Hearings on the Pill.” https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-senate-holds-hearings-pill-1970/ Thomas, Robert Mcg. Jr. “Hugh J. Davis, 69, Gynecologist Who Invented Dalkon Shield.” New York Times. 10/26/1996. https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/26/us/hugh-j-davis-69-gynecologist-who-invented-dalkon-shield.html Time. “Medicine: The Pill on Trial.” 1/26/1970. http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,878746-1,00.html Gura, Trisha. “Opening Eyes.” Oberlin Alumni Magazine. Spring 2004. https://www2.oberlin.edu/alummag/spring2004/feat_eyes.html Jewish Women's Archive. "Barbara Seaman." (Viewed on April 14, 2021) <https://jwa.org/feminism/seaman-barbara>. Knowles, Jon. “The Birth Control Pill – A History.” Planned Parenthood. 2013. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/1213/9611/6329/pillhistory.pdf Watkins, Elizabeth Siegel. “On the Pill: A Social History of Oral Contraceptives, 1950-1970.” Johns Hopkins University Press. 1998. Fitzpatrick, Jane Brodsky. "Seaman, Barbara." The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, edited by Arnold Markoe, et al., vol. 8: 2006-2008, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2010, pp. 440-441. Gale In Context: Biography, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX1347100261/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=GPS&xid=3f70d978. Accessed 14 Apr. 2021. Watkins, Elizabeth Siegel. “Expanding Consumer Information: The Origin of the Patient Package Insert.” Advancing the Consumer Interest Volume 10 Number 1 / Spring 1998. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23862430 Junod, Suzanne White and Lara Marks. “Women’s Trials: The Approval of the First Oral Contraceptive Pill n the United States and Great Britain.” Journal of the History of Medicine. Vol. 57, April 2002. Oxford University Press. O’Donnell, Kelly. “Our Doctors, Ourselves: Barbara Seaman and Popular Health.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine. Vol. 93, No. 4, Winter 2019. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/744905 Sigal, Regina. “politics of the pill.” Off Our Backs. 2/27/1970. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25770946 Blair, Sandra. “Liability of Birth Control Pill Manufacturers.” Hastings Law Journal. Vol. 23, Issue 5. 1/1972. https://repository.uchastings.edu/hastings_law_journal Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A number of English-language poems are generally lumped together as “Mother Goose" poems. But was there an actual Mother Goose? And do any of these poems have historical references in them? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2016 episode covers the London Match Girls Strike of 1888. This was an important labor rights event, when factory workers protested hazardous and unfair working conditions. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly speculate about the kitsch of historical cultures, and how we interpret historical objects. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part two of our spring 2021 Unearthed! coverage includes exhumations, books and letters, and some other favorites! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part one of our early 2021 edition of Unearthed! covers updates, cute animals and their pictures, edibles and potables, and shipwrecks. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we revisit a 2013 episode. In 1900, a shipwreck was discovered near the island of Antikythera, including an assortment of luxury goods: statues, silver coins, vases ... and what turned out to be an amazing 2,000-year-old mechanism. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly discuss the difficulty in researching the life of Chae Chan Ping, and exclusionary immigration legislation in U.S. history. Talk also covers the lore around the Tacoma Narrows bridge wreckage and the anxiety of driving over bridges. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The drama of the first Tacoma Narrows bridge is hardly relegated to its turbulent end. There’s more to the story – from its inception to financing issues to some surprising legal happenings, and how it spawned entirely new approaches to bridge design. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Chinese Exclusion Act was the United States’ first major immigration law, and as its name suggests it specifically targeted people from China. It led to Supreme Court cases that set the stage for later restrictions. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2018 episode covers Annie Edson Taylor, the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Taylor's whole barrel trip was part of a much bigger story of daredevils at this natural wonder, which is tied to its industrialization and commercialization Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly talk about the care needed when exploring the biographies of people in history who offer representation, but won't reflect the experience of everyone like them. They also talk about Sonora Webster Carver's autobiography and what an enjoyable read it is. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Atlantic City performer Sonora Carver was the most famous horse diver of her time, and probably ever. It was an entertainment that was incredibly dangerous, particularly for the riders. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Teresa de Cartagena was a woman who was deaf, chronically ill, and from a Converso family. In spite of the things working against her, she wrote two treatises that have survived until today, which represent several firsts in Spanish history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2017 episode covers Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, a vocal activist who spoke out for civil rights despite the danger in doing so. White supremacists bombed The Temple in Atlanta in a direct reaction to Rothschild's work for equality. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly discuss how the Rum Rebellion is less harrowing than other similar incidents that have been covered on the show. They then discuss the Images of America book series and how Jeremy Katz's book about Atlanta's Jewish history connects the past to the present. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly sits down with Jeremy Katz, the director of archives at The Breman Museum to talk about his new book "The Jewish Community of Atlanta," his career in history, and the expansive archives at The Breman. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Rum Rebellion overthrew William Bligh, governor of New South Wales, in 1808. It was Australia’s only military coup and was only given that nickname much later. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this 2010 episode, previous hosts Sarah and Katie take a closer look at the legendary mutiny on the HMS Bounty -- and figure out whether William Bligh deserves his terrible reputation. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly discuss their relationships with language learning, and then discuss the ways that historical sites and museums have offered information for the public that would normally only be seen on-site. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This castle is unique in its design and the extent to which the ground surrounding it are part of that design. It’s also closely tied to the turbulent period in England’s history that runs from the Hundred Years War, through the Wars of the Roses. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Esperanto was developed by a Jewish man living in the Russian Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It’s a story linked to both persecution and profound hope. Zamenhof hoped to bring the world together through a shared second language. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2016 episode examines a Christian mystic of medieval Europe who was way, way ahead of her time. If she had lived a few hundred years later, and been male, people probably would have called her a renaissance man. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly talk about the trickier aspects of researching a story like Arsinoë's, as well as women trying to find agency in Arsinoë's time. Discussion of Sissieretta focuses on how the press covered her appearances, and how many of the issues and racist treatment she faced still persist for Black performers today. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sissieretta Jones was a Black operatic and popular music singer in the early 20th century. And she was famous in her day, but then kind of vanished from the papers when she retired. Her last years were lived in relative obscurity. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ptolemies were a Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt during the Hellenistic period. And in a lot of ways Arsinoë II really set the standard for the generations of Ptolemaic queens that followed her. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2015 episode covers a landmark legal moment. The ruling in this infamous U.S. Supreme Court case stated that segregation was legal as long as the separate facilities were equal. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy talk about the appeal of Duke Kahanamoku, his story being illustrative of the problematic nature of cultures being subverted in an effort to get along with others, and his love of naps. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part 2 of our coverage of Duke Kahanamoku's life delves into about what happened to Duke after that sudden onslaught of Olympic fame, and how it wasn’t really what Duke expected. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kahanamoku became world-famous as an Olympic swimmer, and his love for sports of all kinds started from his childhood on Oahu. Part one covers his early life, up through his first Olympics and the start of becoming a global surfing icon. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we revisit a December 2017 episode about Skellig Michael. This small island off the west coast of Ireland recently became a film star, but Skellig Michael has a rich history all its own. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly discuss where they're at a year into the pandemic. Tracy also talks about how frustrated she was researching this week's episodes, and how exhausting it is to see the same things repeating. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The comparison of the modern pandemic to the 1918 pandemic continues in part two. This time, the show covers ventilation, supply shortages, and vaccines. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now that we’ve lived through a year of a global pandemic, our approach to looking at the 1918 flu pandemic had shifted. We’re revisiting the events of 1918 with new perspective, comparing then to now. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a revisit of our 2013 episode on the often avante-garde French designer Paul Poiret. He got rid of corsets, introduced the concept of lifestyle branding, and used draping rather that tailoring to create his dramatic designs. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy talk about what a jerk Cornelius Vanderbilt was, trivia about the Grand Central story, and Tracy’s first visit to Grand Central Terminal. Then they discuss the myriad levels of confusion possible regarding names in the story of Zoe and Theodora. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over almost 30 years in 11th-century Constantinople, sometimes Zoë ruled alongside one of her husbands, sometimes she and Theodora ruled together, and in the end, Theodora ruled alone. All against a backdrop of distrust and intrigue and possibly murder. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grand Central's story starts with one of the wealthiest names in U.S. history, but it also is in many ways the story of the city itself since the 1800s, because Grand Central was such a pivotal element in the growth of Manhattan. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2014 episode covers the incident in 1959, in which nine students ventured into the Ural mountains for a ski hiking trip, and never returned. While much speculation has swirled for more than half a century, no one knows for certain what caused them to abandon their camp to die in the cold. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy talk about Holly's childhood perceptions of Isadora Duncan and how the famous dancer broke convention. They also talk about the peccadillos of Duncan's autobiography, and her relationship with sexuality. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The comforts afforded by fame were forever clouded for Duncan by an ongoing series of tragedies, leading right up to the famous – and horrifying – way her life ended. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duncan, often called the mother of modern dance, had an unconventional upbringing, and a VERY unconventional life. Her early life was full of struggle but seemed overall quite happy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2012 episode covers the 1936 Berlin Olympics and African-American sprinter Jesse Owens, as well as the games as Nazi propaganda. More nations than ever participated, and the Olympic torch was used for the first time. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly talk about how young everyone had been during the Mississippi Freedom Summer, voter suppression, and Holly's trick to stop crying when recording. There's also talk of how topics get added to phone lists. and Cobb's violin playing. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

W. Montague Cobb was the first Black person in the U.S. to earn a PhD in physical anthropology, worked to debunk racist theories in the field, was an activist for desegregation and Medicare, and was an anatomy professor at Howard University. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Mississippi Summer project of 1964, now known as Freedom Summer, was a in part a voter registration project that was met with an extremely violent and deadly backlash. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2018 episode covers Gertrude Stein, an icon in the world of modernist literature. Alice B. Toklas is often described as her partner and assistant, but she was also a published writer, and "assistant"really doesn't cover how important she was to Stein's life and work. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly talk about Spain's effort to spread the smallpox vaccine, and how Balmis handled things. They also discuss fear about vaccines, bodily autonomy, and what does and doesn't gross them out. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.