Posts Tagged ‘History’
Julia Ward Howe: a Biographical Discussion with Professor Elaine Showalter
Julia Ward Howe led one of the most significant lives in US history. She was a poet, feminist, political reformer, champion of international pacifism, and much more. Dr. Elaine Showalter joins us to discuss Julia Ward Howe’s life, and the various civil wars she witnessed and had to fight. From composing “The Battle Hymn of…
Read MoreJulia Ward Howe and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” Week: Intro Episode
We’re doing something entirely different this week. A whole week of shows dedicated to Julia Ward Howe and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” As many of you may know, Julia Ward Howe was the author of the poem that became the most famous song of the American Civil War era, and perhaps the most…
Read MoreJustice in Kelly Country: Laws and Outlaws in 19th Century Australia
Ned Kelly is Australia’s most famous outlaw. A mix of frontier bandit, murderer, and gang leader, Kelly has gone down in Australian lore as an anti-establishment hero. Dr. Lachlan Strahan tells the story of his great-great-grandfather, Anthony Strahan, who was one of the Australian policemen who helped hunt down Ned Kelly. Listen to this fascinating…
Read MoreCode Name Puritan: Norman Holmes Pearson, Super Spy Professor
Norman Holmes Pearson actually did what a great many professors dream about doing. He was an expert in his field, but he also worked as an Intelligence Officer for the US military during World War II and the Cold War. And he wasn’t a desk jockey, but an active spy. Despite a major physical disability,…
Read MoreUnderstanding the Cuban Missile Crisis: 2024 Encore
Buzzkill Genius Dr. Philip Nash brings us a fabulous (and very relevant) show on the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. There’s so much more to those events than the standard “eye-ball-to-eye-ball” story would have us believe. Among many other things, we learn why the Cold War was so cold. You’ll understand so much more after…
Read MoreBattle of Stalingrad, Part 2
Professor Philip Nash continues his excellent analysis of the famous Battle of Stalingrad. The grim complications in the details of the history of this battle give us perfect insight into the nature of warfare during this period. Dr. Nash finishes up by explaining how the Battle of Stalingrad fits into the larger period of late…
Read MoreBattle of Stalingrad, Part 1
Stalingrad. Even just the name of the city conjures up images of a brutal, months-long battle that helped change the course of the war. Professor Nash discusses the background of the battle, Hitler’s intent in attacking that part of the Soviet Union, and how the Red Army defended the area and built up the resilience…
Read MoreGerman POWs in the USSR
German soldiers were kept in the Soviet Union until the late 1950s. Professor Grunewald explains why the Soviets kept the POWs after the war, what they did with them, and why they were incarcerated for so long. Was it retribution for the millions of Soviet war dead? Were the German POWs used as a necessary…
Read MoreBirthright Citizenship: 2024 Election Special
Crikey. I used to think that no American presidential election could be more strange than the ones in 2016 and 2020. Donald Trump would just throw out random, fact-free statements, and they would be taken as gospel by his followers. That part of the electorate, essentially, turned his falsehoods into their own reality. That’s happening…
Read MoreImage and the Nixon-Kennedy 1960 Election Debates
It’s September 3rd, and we’ve been told that there’s going to be a debate between the Republican candidate for President, Donald Trump, and the Democratic candidate for President, Kamala Harris, on September 10th. Given all the changes that have taken place during this tumultuous campaign, and the frankly unhinged nature of one of the candidates,…
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