Posts Tagged ‘History’
Christmas: Commercialism, FDR, the Nazis, and Beyond!
Professor Philip Nash explains the complexities of the celebration and commercialism of Christmas — from the Roman holiday of Saturnalia to the Victorian era to the Nazi period and beyond! Listen to the best explanation of the history of modern Christmas that you’re gonna find this side of Bethlehem! Episode #397 — Buzzkill Bookshelf Gerry…
Read More“It’s a Wonderful Life” 1947 Radio Drama
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…
Read More“It’s a Wonderful Life” Myths and Urban Legends: 2021 Encore!
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…
Read MoreRichard Tregaskis: Reporting under Fire from Guadalcanal to Vietnam
Historian Ray Boomhower, one of our most popular guests, tells us the story of war correspondent Richard Tregaskis, who put his life on the line many times to bring Americans the stories of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Listen and learn how important war correspondents are to our history! Episode #429 — Buzzkill Bookshelf…
Read MoreThe 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…
Read MoreMyth of Global Cooling
The Global Cooling “evidence” of the 1970s is a “zombie myth” that has plagued public understanding of climate change ever since. Dr. Andrew Ramey from Carnegie Mellon University explains how this myth started, how the media reported it at the time, and how it has been revived and repeated endlessly ever since. It’s one of…
Read MoreThe Equal Rights Amendment
Dr. Rebecca DeWolf explains the complicated, yet compelling, history of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and lays out possibilities for its eventual inclusion in the US Constitution. She also tells us why the ERA’s history has included a long-standing debate over “gendered citizenship.” This is the most comprehensive examination of the ERA in podcast history!…
Read More“Nazi” “Socialist”: What’s in a Name?
Marjorie Taylor Greene has brought up the Nazi-Socialist thing to defame certain left-wing American politicians in 2021. Obviously, she doesn’t know history. But why was Hitler’s fascist party named the “National-Socialist German Workers’ Party”? “Socialist” and “Fascist” usually have totally different, indeed opposite, meanings. How did they get combined and what did the “National Socialist”…
Read MoreAbraham Lincoln “Government of the people, by the people, and for the people…” Quote or No Quote?
Voting rights are being taken away in 2021. So we should listen again to Honest Abe. Right? But did he actually say, “…government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”? Was it his phrase originally? The background of the quote will fascinate you. Listen and learn, Buzzkillers!…
Read MoreThe Filibuster in the United States Senate
The filibuster, and the practice of filibustering in the United States Senate, is a raging topic in American politics these days. And, of course, the abuse of history has been rampant when current politicians attack or defend the filibuster. Professor Sarah Binder (_the_ expert!) explains it to you Buzzkillers! Episode 421 — Buzzkill Bookshelf Sarah…
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