The 12 Days of Christmas – a Secret Song?

21 December 2021 Many of you Buzzkillers already know that most Christian churches celebrate Christmas over a period of 12 days. Depending upon the denomination, it lasts from December 25th to January 5th, or December 26th to January 6th. There are lots of theological reasons for celebrating the 12 days of Christmas, but we’re here…

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Christmas: Commercialism, FDR, the Nazis, and Beyond!

Professor Philip Nash explains the complexities of the celebration and commercialism of Christmas — from the Roman holiday of Saturnalia to the Victorian era to the Nazi period and beyond! Listen to the best explanation of the history of modern Christmas that you’re gonna find this side of Bethlehem! Episode #397 — Buzzkill Bookshelf Gerry…

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“It’s a Wonderful Life” 1947 Radio Drama

Listeners have asked me to post the 1947 Lux Radio Drama version of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. Enjoy this great story in a different format! — Buzzkill Bookshelf Michael Willian, The Essential It’s a Wonderful Life – 75th Anniversary Edition: A Scene-by-Scene Guide to the Classic Film To celebrate…

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Americans “Bailing Out” the French Myth

A black and white photo of soldiers standing next to a woman with a sign in the background that reads "Vive L'Amerique"

Did the United States really “bail the French out in two world wars,” or is it a blustering, bigoted myth? Professor Phil Nash joins us to discuss what actually happened in World Wars I and II, and whether the United States was “bailing out” the French or repaying a major debt from the American Revolution.…

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The Myth of Colorblind Christians

A headshot of a man next to a book titled The Myth of Colorblind Christians

Dr. Jesse Curtis shows us how white evangelicals in the 20th century US grew their own institutions and created an evangelical form of whiteness, infusing the politics of colorblindness with sacred fervor. They deployed a Christian brand of colorblindness to protect new investments in whiteness. While black evangelicals used the rhetoric of Christian unity to…

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Myth of Global Cooling

A penguin chick in the Antarctic with a team of scientists behind it

The Global Cooling “evidence” of the 1970s is a “zombie myth” that has plagued public understanding of climate change ever since. Dr. Andrew Ramey from Carnegie Mellon University explains how this myth started, how the media reported it at the time, and how it has been revived and repeated endlessly ever since. It’s one of…

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The Equal Rights Amendment

A group of women standing in front of a sign that reads Equal Rights Envous to President Coolidge -- National Woman's Party

Dr. Rebecca DeWolf explains the complicated, yet compelling, history of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and lays out possibilities for its eventual inclusion in the US Constitution. She also tells us why the ERA’s history has included a long-standing debate over “gendered citizenship.” This is the most comprehensive examination of the ERA in podcast history!…

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Venus de Milo

It’s all fun and games until someone loses their arms It’s the 8th of April 1820. On the Greek Aegean island of Milos, a man named Yorgos Kentrotas was collecting stones from an ancient ruin near his farm. He came across a small niche in a wall in that ruin. It caught his attention because…

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