Myths
Arleen Lorrance “Be the Change…” Special Episode!
Our Quote or No Quote episodes come roaring back with the most important person we’ve ever interviewed — Arleen Lorrance, the teacher and social innovator who created the “be the change you want to see happen” idea. As “be the change you want to see in the world,” this idea is usually attributed to Gandhi,…
Read MoreThe Fuse that Helped Win World War II
The “proximity fuse” was a technological marvel of its time. Produced under enormous time pressure and urgency to save lives, it is often called one of the three most important technological advances that helped win World War II. Award-winning author Jamie Holmes talks to us about it and his new book, 12 Seconds of Silence:…
Read MoreHitler and Gun Control
Did Hitler disarm the German citizenry as a way to make it easy to control them? Were Jews and other minorities targeted for gun confiscation so that they could be exterminated? Professor Philip Nash explains this _very_ complicated issue, and busts many myths about Hitler and “gun control.”—Buzzkill Bookshelf Robert Gellately, Backing Hitler: Consent and…
Read MoreAnte Pavelic – Piece of Sh*t Saturday
It’s hard to be a bigger POS than Ante Pavelic, the fascist ultranationalist and dictator who was one of the worst war criminals in Europe during the 1930s and 1940. The Nazi SS even tried to rein in his excesses! Professor Nash explains all! BTW, it’s a brutal episode, so don’t let the Buzzlings listen.…
Read MoreIdeological Exclusion and Deportation in US History
Dr. Julia Rose Kraut explains the history of American laws used to bar or expel foreigners based on their beliefs and associations. Immigration history is more complicated than most of us think. Listen and learn! —Buzzkill Bookshelf Julia Rose Kraut, Threat of Dissent: A History of Ideological Exclusion and Deportation in the United States In…
Read MoreEuropean Nationalists and the Confederacy
Professor Ann Tucker explains that white American southerners closely analyzed European nationalist movements 1830-1860. This led them to conceive of a separate southern nation, and helped them try to defend and legitimize the Confederacy. This great episode presents a new angle on Confederate nationalism, and refutes the myth that southern enslavers were intellectually isolated and…
Read More1918 Pandemic Second Wave
This show is coming out on July 7th, 2020. Of course, we don’t yet know what the immediate (or even the long-term) effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and worldwide will be. Protests against having to wear masks and living with other restrictions are getting lots of media attention. Many anti-maskers are…
Read MoreLucy Stone – Unapologetic Warrior for Women’s Rights
Professor Sally McMillen explains why Lucy Stone should be restored to her rightful place at the center of the nineteenth-century women’s rights movement. Stone did not relish the limelight the way Elizabeth Cady Stanton did, nor did she gain the many followers whom Susan B. Anthony attracted through her extensive travels and years of dedicated…
Read MoreThe Irish Slaves Myth
All of you know the depth of my love/hate relationship with the internet. On the one hand, I love the internet and the crazy history stories that fly around it via email and blog posts. They provide grist for the Buzzkill Institute mill, and, of course, keep us floated financially, as well as emotionally. And…
Read MoreHong Kong’s Complex History
The protests and demonstrations in Hong Kong in recent months may have been overwhelmed by other world news. Many listeners have been asking us how Hong Kong came to have its special status over the last couple of centuries. Professor James Carter explains the immense complications in Hong Kong’s history, the difficult period between British…
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