Collecting Historical Evidence,
Busting Myths,
Taking Names.
Collecting Historical Evidence, Busting Myths, & Taking Names.
The Professor Buzzkill podcast is a weekly romp through some of the history myths that are most deeply embedded in our culture.
Latest Episodes
The Wild West
“The Wild West” is one of the strongest conceptions in American history. But “where” was the west? How “wild” was it? “Who” settled it? Did settlers build the west with their hands? And how many of the stories about settlers and Native Americans are myths or misconceptions? Professor Edward O’Donnell helps us explain it all,…
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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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Americans Bailing Out the French
Donald Trump talks about Americans being “suckers” to their allies. Is Uncle Sam really “Uncle Sucker”? Did the United States really “bail the French out in two world wars,” or is it a blustering, bigoted myth? Professor Philip Nash joins us to discuss what happened in World Wars I and II, and whether the United…
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British Dandies: Engendering Scandal and Fashioning a Nation
Well-dressed men have played a distinctive part in the cultural and political life of Britain over several centuries. But unlike the twenty-first-century hipster, the British dandies provoked intense degrees of fascination and horror in their homeland and played an important role in British society from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. Dr. Dominic Janes reveals…
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Once a King: The Lost Memoir of Edward VIII
Jane Marguerite Tippett discusses her new book about Edward VIII, the English king who abdicated the throne in 1936 for the woman he loved, the American socialite Wallis Simpson. She describes the complexity of his life and the almost innumerable myths about his political views, his hopes for the British monarchy, and his famous meeting…
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The False Cause: Fraud, Fabrication, and White Supremacy in Confederate Memory
Professor Adam Domby explains why the Lost Cause of the Confederacy is full of fraud, fabrication, and white supremacy. And he analyzes how it is expressed in statuary, memory, and commemoration in the American South in the Jim Crow era. This is a complete examination of the Lost Cause and its destructive effect on American…
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Meet Your Host
Professor Buzzkill
Historian for the Public
In real life, “Professor Buzzkill” is Dr. Joseph Coohill, a historian of Britain and Ireland. Coohill’s first experience with the audio realm occurred while studying modern history at Oxford. He hosted “The History Show” on Oxford Student radio, which lasted almost four episodes; “The History Show” was an instant failure and Coohill feels shame.
Yet, the spark of enthusiasm for history and the desire to inform remained, and the Professor Buzzkill podcast was born. Coohill works tirelessly to explain complicated yet compelling historical analysis to diverse audiences. By explaining how misunderstanding history hurts public discourse and policy decisions, he offers clear and concise solutions to such problems, using examples from history.
A Word from Our Listeners
Great history podcast!
Love the detail and complexity that the host goes into–so many popular history podcasts flatten the past for an easy story but this one shows that the reality is always more interesting.
—Mr.Gal, Submitted via Apple Podcasts
I'm hooked!
Great mix of historical facts and pop culture. Prof Buzzkill delivers a well-paced informative podcast.
—sixfloors, Submitted via Apple Podcasts
It's that good.
It’s not everyday you come across a podcast that has great information that you can relate to from someone who is so passionate about sharing it with the world. So glad to have discovered Professor Buzzkill and to learn a little bit more of something I didn’t really know a lot about.
—Dependent_Nick, Submitted via Apple Podcasts
Won’t kill your buzz, history lovers!
—FrenchTurk, Submitted via Apple Podcasts
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