There aren’t many myths about New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day celebrations, Buzzkillers. But most of us don’t give any thought to how the standard Western calendar came about, and how we ended up with those celebrations. So I thought we could end the year, and look forward to next year, with a little…
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It’s that time of year, Buzzkillers, when we ring out the old and ring in the new. This is the end of another year of busting myths and taking names. We couldn’t be more pleased with the way the old show has developed, and we couldn’t be more stoked about the new things we’ve got…
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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 to talk about…
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This week, we examine a history myth that gets a lot of “air time” during the holidays: the supposedly religious origins of the candy cane. The story (seen mostly in emails from your nutty uncle) goes something like this: In the early 20th century, a confectioner in Indiana created the candy cane as a symbol…
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The film “Amadeus” was a huge hit in the mid-1980s. It depicted Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri as musical rivals in the Austrian court in the late 18th century, which ultimately ends with Mozart’s early death. But was anything in the film accurate? Did Salieri plot to kill Mozart? Was jealousy over musical genius…
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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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Imagine being tortured by wartime memories. Explosions, death, mutilated bodies (some of them friends of yours), all the screaming. Now, imagine them coming from a very confined and dangerous place. I’ve always thought that being in a warplane or submarine would add the extra stress of being trapped, and not even being able to contemplate…
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Released in 1946, The Best Years of Our Lives became an immediate success. Life magazine called it “the first big, good movie of the post-war era” to tackle the “veterans problem.” Today we call that problem PTSD, but in the initial aftermath of World War II, the modern language of war trauma did not exist.…
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Did FDR know about the attack ahead of time? And who was the attack more devastating for – the United States or Japan? Professor Phil Nash joins us to explain the myths and misconceptions about the December 7th, 1941 attack, as well as the complexities of the cultural importance of the attack since then. You’ll…
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When thinking of campus protests, most Americans think of left-wing students marching and shouting. Dr. Lauren Lassabe Shepherd shows, however, that right-wing students and groups have protested very frequently on college campuses, even if they haven’t received as much attention from the media. In part, right-wing student protests in the 60s and 70s were a…
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