Posts Tagged ‘Myth Busted’
Ronald Reagan “Most Terrifying Words – ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” Quote or No Quote?
At a press conference on August 12th, 1986, US President Ronald Reagan said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” So many short statements, quotes, and even off-hand phrases and jokes become engraved in stone as wisdom when they’re uttered by someone whom…
Read MoreOtto and Elise Hampel: “Ordinary” Resisters to Hitler’s Regime
Otto and Elise Hampel were a working-class German couple who wrote postcards denouncing Hitler’s government and left them in public places around Berlin during World War II. Professor Philip Nash explains their significance in a combined Man Crush Monday/Woman Crush Wednesday! Episode 415 —Buzzkill Bookshelf Hans Fallada, Alone in Berlin Alone in Berlin takes place…
Read MoreThe Historical Novels of Anna Lee Huber – Fiction Friday!
Historical novelist Anna Lee Huber gives us a glimpse of what it’s like to be a historical novelist. She discusses her famous Verity Kent series (set in Britain during the WWI period) and her Lady Derby series (set in 1830s Britain). It’s a Fiction Friday and let’s have fun!! Episode 414 —Buzzkill Bookshelf: Check out…
Read MoreMary Ware Dennett – Woman Crush Wednesday!
Mary Ware Dennett was an American women’s rights activist, pacifist, and pioneer in the areas of birth control, sex education, and women’s suffrage. Yet, she is largely unknown to the general public. So, she’s our Woman Crush Wednesday this week! Listen as historian Sharon Spaulding explains Mary’s important life and work! Episode 413. Click here…
Read MoreMother’s Day
Mother’s Day is nearly here. The holiday has a fascinating history of its own, but the ways people have thought about the origins and history of Mother’s Day provides us a great opportunity here at the Buzzkill Institute to talk about the complications of history and memory. But it also gives us the chance to…
Read MoreMan Crush Monday – Tommy Flowers
June 5th, 1944. An undisclosed location in southern England. The planned Allied invasion of Normandy has been delayed by weather, and by concerns over German troop deployments on the northern French coast. A grumpy American general is weighing all the options. A courier rushes in and hands him an urgent notification of a decrypted German…
Read MoreMother’s Day
Mother’s Day is nearly here. The holiday has a fascinating history of its own, but the ways people have thought about the origins and history of Mother’s Day provides us a great opportunity here at the Buzzkill Institute to talk about the complications of history and memory. But it also gives us the chance…
Read MoreAmericans Bailing Out the French
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…
Read MoreEdith Hamilton Woman Crush Wednesday!
Alice Hamilton was a pioneer in occupational medicine and industrial toxicology. And it’s not an exaggeration to say that she was the most important person in helping to make the American workplace safer. She also campaigned for women’s rights, social and economic reform, and international peace. There are very few people who need more…
Read MoreRobert Kennedy’s 1968 Speech about Martin Luther King
Historian Ray Boomhower joins us to analyze the famous speech given by RFK in Indianapolis, on hearing about the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968. It’s one of the most famous and touching speeches in modern American history, and is usually credited with keeping Indianapolis calm in the wake of that horrible tragedy.…
Read More