The Whole Truth
<p>Court witnesses have promised to tell ‘the whole truth’ since the 13th century; but, on 19th August, 1992, the U.S. Appeals Court permitted Wallace Ward to stand trial under his <em>own</em> oath - pledging not ‘truth’, but ‘fully integrated honesty’.</p><br><p>Ward, the president of a Nevada-based mail order company, had coined the phrase himself when he devised Neothink, a cultish belief system structured around charging hundreds of dollars for self-help advice.</p><br><p>In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly weigh up whether Ward’s bizarre convictions really were equivalent to religious faith; trace back the origins of oath-taking in English-speaking courtrooms; and uncover the surprising history of raising your hand when swearing to tell the truth…&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>• ‘United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Wallace Ward, Defendant-appellant, 973 F.2d 730 (9th Cir. 1992)’ (Justia): <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/973/730/386559/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/973/730/386559/</a></p><p>• ‘How the courtroom got its oath’ (Slate, 2004): <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/04/how-the-courtroom-got-its-oath.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/04/how-the-courtroom-got-its-oath.html</a></p><p>• ‘Secret society mailing mysterious invitations’ (Good Morning Maryland, 2020): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZvdfabaIOo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZvdfabaIOo</a></p><br><p>… And, if you enjoyed this episode, there’s an additional three-and-a-half minutes of material about oath-taking available to our supporters, in which the Retrospectors discuss the strangest books that have been used as a prop, and reveal the times when it wasn't a book at all, but a saucer, a candle, a dog, or a chicken! To unlock this content - and a bonus bit like it each week - subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, or <strong>support our Patreon</strong>: <a href="https://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://patreon.com/Retrospectors</a></p><br><p><strong>We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.</em>&nbsp;</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
Today In History with The Retrospectors
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Show Notes
Court witnesses have promised to tell ‘the whole truth’ since the 13th century; but, on 19th August, 1992, the U.S. Appeals Court permitted Wallace Ward to stand trial under his own oath - pledging not ‘truth’, but ‘fully integrated honesty’.
Ward, the president of a Nevada-based mail order company, had coined the phrase himself when he devised Neothink, a cultish belief system structured around charging hundreds of dollars for self-help advice.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly weigh up whether Ward’s bizarre convictions really were equivalent to religious faith; trace back the origins of oath-taking in English-speaking courtrooms; and uncover the surprising history of raising your hand when swearing to tell the truth…
Further Reading:
• ‘United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Wallace Ward, Defendant-appellant, 973 F.2d 730 (9th Cir. 1992)’ (Justia): https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/973/730/386559/
• ‘How the courtroom got its oath’ (Slate, 2004): https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/04/how-the-courtroom-got-its-oath.html
• ‘Secret society mailing mysterious invitations’ (Good Morning Maryland, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZvdfabaIOo
… And, if you enjoyed this episode, there’s an additional three-and-a-half minutes of material about oath-taking available to our supporters, in which the Retrospectors discuss the strangest books that have been used as a prop, and reveal the times when it wasn't a book at all, but a saucer, a candle, a dog, or a chicken! To unlock this content - and a bonus bit like it each week - subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, or support our Patreon: https://patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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