Myths
WWII in the Pacific: Guadalcanal to the Philippines, 1942-44
The brutality of World War II in the Pacific continued from Guadalcanal to the Aleutians, from China to the Solomon Islands, and was also a propaganda war at home in Japan and in Allied countries. Professor Nash comes back to tell us about these middle years in the Pacific War, and explain how the power…
Read MoreWWII in the Pacific: Pearl Harbor to Midway, 1941-42
Superstar historian, Professor Nash, joins us to talk about the opening years of American involvement in Pacific during World War II. From Pearl Harbor to Midway, it’s a brutal chess match across the Pacific – a chess match that includes massive battles, massive casualties, and massive war crimes. And that’d only through 1942! So this…
Read MoreQuote or No Quote: “Let Them Eat Cake”
You know how we are about quotes, Buzzkillers. The vast majority of the famous quotes and quips from historical figures have no basis in evidence. Most of them come from hearsay, were actually said by other people, or invented and written by biographers, playwrights, and screenwriters 100 years after the original events or lifetime. Sometimes,…
Read MoreThe Many Myths about the Declaration of Independence
Every July, American Buzzkillers get inundated with chain emails, Facebook posts, and Tweets that spread more myths about the Declaration of Independence. No matter how many times they’ve been disproved, the seem to crop up every year. John Hancock signing his name so large that “King George can read it without his spectacles.” And “The…
Read MoreRoe v. Wade
In 1969, a 21-year-old Texas woman named Norma found herself sitting across a restaurant table from two young Dallas attorneys, Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington. Norma was more than down on her luck: ward of the state as a child, married and divorced by age sixteen, and hated by her family after coming out as…
Read MoreThe US and the Treaty of Versailles
Why did Woodrow Wilson get the rock star treatment in Paris in 1919? He arrived to help negotiate the Treaty of Versailles that was supposed to settle World War I. Did he deserve his rock star reputation? Did he get the treaty approved by the US Congress? How did the treaty finally get approved by…
Read MoreThe Treaty of Versailles and the World
How did World War I end, and what led to the Paris Peace Conference? How did the Conference proceed, how were the various national demands handled? What territorial changes resulted? And was it a purely European Conference? How did it affect other parts of the world? We discuss all these things and more! —Buzzkill Bookshelf…
Read MoreLoving Day
It’s June 12th! Loving Day! Loving Day is being celebrated world-wide. You might think that Loving Day is Valentine’s Day, February 14th, but it’s not, it’s today, June 12th. If you don’t know what Loving Day is, let me tell you a story, a love story, in this brief episode. In the 1950s, a 17-year-old…
Read MoreHarriet Tubman on the Currency
The Trump Administration has announced that the plans to replace Andrew Jackson’s portrait on the $20 bill will be delayed yet again, and may not appear until 2028. Since the early days of the Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill movement, this show (and the Buzzkill Institute) has been calling for, and supporting other efforts…
Read MoreViolence and Terrorism in American Slavery
Prof Craig Hammond joins us to discuss the violence used in maintaining slavery, both on the farm/plantation, and in broader society before the Civil War. The violence and terror inflicted on slaves is horrific by our 21st standards. Yet, slave-owners did not consider themselves sadistic torturers. But how did they justify the punishments inflicted on…
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