Latest Buzzkill Podcast Episodes
Lawyers in Japanese-American Concentration Camps during World War II
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - July 18, 2023 07:15 - 38 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsThe US government placed white lawyers at Japanese-American concentration camps during World War II. These lawyers were given contradictory instructions: provide legal counsel to the prisoners, and keep the place running. Within that job description are a vast array of tasks, and an enormous amou...
Absalom Markland and Freedom's Mail
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - July 17, 2023 07:30 - 30 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDuring the Civil War, his movements from battlefield to battlefield were followed in the North and in the South nearly as closely as those of generals. He was Absalom Markland, special agent of the United States Post Office, and his work was crucial to morale in the US military. He was also an im...
All the Beauty in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Patrick Bringley Interview
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - July 11, 2023 07:05 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsPatrick Bringley’s new book, All the Beauty in the World: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me, is one of the most popular books of the year. In this episode, he tells us about his experiences as a guard at the Met and his interactions with visitors there. Their reactions to the art on display, ...
Julius Streicher: Piece of Sh*t Saturday
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - July 08, 2023 07:05 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsJulius Streicher was the founder and publisher of the virulently antisemitic newspaper “Der Stürmer” – a central element of the Nazi propaganda machine. He was such a Piece of Sh*t that many Nazis thought he was too extreme. Professor Philip Nash explains why Steicher was so vile, and why he was ...
Symbols of Freedom: Slavery and Resistance Before the Civil War
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - July 04, 2023 08:05 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsIn a time when the US flag, the Fourth of July, and historical sites have never been more contested, Professor Matthew Clavin reminds us that symbols are living artifacts whose power is derived from the meaning with which we imbue them. And he shows us in great detail how American symbols inspire...
The Many Myths About the Declaration of Independence: 4th of July Special!
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - July 03, 2023 07:15 - 37 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsEvery 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, they seem to crop up every year. John Hancock signed his name so large that “King George can ...
How the South Won the Civil War: Heather Cox Richardson Interview
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - June 27, 2023 05:35 - 30 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. Heather Cox Richardson explains the historical issues that have underpinned oligarchy, democracy, and the continuing fight for the soul of America. She traces the story of the American paradox – the competing claims of equality and subordination woven into the nation's fabric and identity. On...
Charlie Brown's America: the Popular Politics of Peanuts
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - June 20, 2023 07:05 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsProfessor Blake Scott Ball discusses his new book on the history of the Peanuts comic strip! Despite--or perhaps because of--its huge popular culture status, Peanuts enabled cartoonist Charles Schulz to offer political commentary on the most controversial topics of postwar American culture throug...
Native Americans in Film, 1941-1960
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - June 13, 2023 07:25 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsProfessor Liza Black enlightens us about her new book, Picturing Indians: Native Americans in Film 1941-1960. She examines many misunderstandings and misconceptions about Native Americans working in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Encore Episode!
Loving Day: 2023
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - June 12, 2023 07:15 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsJune 12th is Loving Day! Loving Day is now celebrated around the world. If you don’t know what Loving Day is, listen to the story we tell you in this brief, special encore episode. And go to lovingday.org to find out more!
The American South and Country Capitalism
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - June 06, 2023 07:05 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsWhy do so many big and iconic American corporations come from the US South, a region traditionally considered a backwater? Dr. Bartow Elmore explains how Coca-Cola, WalMart, and FedEx used “country capitalism” to change the United States and the planet. Fascinating listening, and very illuminatin...
Mourning the Presidents
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - May 30, 2023 04:44 - 46 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsPresidential funerals have become major cultural moments in American history. But were they always this important? Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky explains how different presidential funerals have been over the centuries, starting with George Washington’s death and funeral in 1799. Each funeral she analyz...
The Nuremberg Trials: Justice for Humanity?
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - May 23, 2023 07:05 - 34 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDid the Nurenberg Trials provide justice for humanity after the horrors of World War II? In order to address this question, Professor Philip Nash explains what happened during the trials, how well they adhered to international law, how the judgments and sentences were reached, and how well and fa...
The Nuremberg Trials: Background and Buildup
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - May 18, 2023 07:05 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsProfessor Philip Nash explains the extremely complicated background of the Nuremberg Trials of 1945-1946. We learn how difficult it was to set up these trials, in terms of international law, the establishment of new charges (such as “crimes against humanity”), and even the logistical difficulties...
Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - May 16, 2023 07:25 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. Megan Kate Nelson puts us in the middle of the history and context of the founding of Yellowstone National Park, one of America’s natural glories. She tells us how he park was an important part of Reconstruction after the Civil War, how explorers and bureaucrats fought over how the land shoul...
Mother's Day 2023
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - May 12, 2023 07:15 - 17 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsMajor social and political forces led to the establishment of Mother's Day as a major and official holiday. This episode explains those forces, and also tells us who founded Mother's Day. Was it Julia Ward Howe with her famous "Appeal to Womanhood" Peace Proclamation in 1870? Or did Anna Marie Ja...
The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - May 09, 2023 06:50 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsSimon Winchester takes us on a journey through the history of how knowledge has been acquired, stored, and passed on, and how that dissemination has evolved with time. Crucially, he muses on how—in an age where a world of information is just a cell phone away—the thoughtfulness and wisdom that de...
Hitler, the Nazis, and Gun Control
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - May 02, 2023 04:44 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsThe intensifying pandemic of gun violence and murder in the U.S. has prompted the usual, tired, and entirely false reaction from gun fanatics -- “the first thing Hitler did was take away everyone’s guns.” Well, did Hitler disarm the German citizenry as a way to make it easy to control them? Were ...
Anna Marie Rosenberg - Woman Crush Wednesday!
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - April 26, 2023 04:38 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsAnna Marie Rosenberg was one of the most important Americans of the 20th century. Yet she is not nearly as well-known as she should be. Christopher Gorham’s excellent biography of Rosenberg, “The Confidante,” is essential reading for Buzzkillers. He joins us to relate the fabulous story of her mu...
The "After Life" of Covid
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - April 18, 2023 19:42 - 40 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDrs. Keri Leigh Merritt and Yohuru Williams discuss important research and reflection about what happened in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The book’s authors document and analyze the effects of the pandemic in ways inspired by the writers who documented American life during the ...
Ike “Every Gun That is Made…Signifies…a Theft from Those Who Hunger and Are Not Fed…” Quote or No Quote?
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - April 14, 2023 08:29 - 25 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDid President Eisenhower actually say, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed”? And what was the larger context? The Professor gets all deep, philosoph...
Income Tax and Inequality in US History - Encore!
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - April 11, 2023 07:05 - 33 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsIncome tax is a troubling issue in American politics and history. We explain its long history, and delve into the even more complicated history of how personal income tax has related to the question of equality and inequality in US society. Professor Nash tells us how the American government has ...
Culture: the Story of Us from Cave Art to K-Pop
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - April 04, 2023 05:39 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsThe Essentials That Make Culture What it Is, and Has Been. Dr. Martin Puchner joins us to talk about his new book, Culture: the Story of Us from Cave Art to K-Pop. It’s a very important discussion about some of the crucial elements in creating culture: “storage,” “circulation,” and “mixture.” We...
Regina Twala – Woman Crush Wednesday
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - March 29, 2023 05:16 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. Joel Cabrita tells us about Regina Twala, one of the most important intellectuals and activists of 20th-century South Africa and Eswatini. A leading writer, critic, and liberation leader in both countries, Twala’s life is too important to be ignored or suppressed any longer. This Woman Crush ...
Black Women's Radical Activism in the Midwest during the Great Depression
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - March 28, 2023 07:15 - 32 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsWas the north the promised land for southern African-Americans during the Depression, or was it more complicated than that? Dr. Melissa Ford tells us how African American working-class women, many of whom had just migrated to “the promised land” only to find hunger, cold, and unemployment, forged...
The John Birch Society and Its Influence on American Politics
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - March 21, 2023 19:30 - 40 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsThe John Birch Society is one of the most extreme right-wing groups in American history. It has strongly influenced libertarian and Republican politics since its founding in 1958. Dr. Matthew Dallek tells us the story of the Society’s founding, growth, and impact on American life. We discuss his ...
Henrietta Lacks – Woman Crush Wednesday!
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - March 17, 2023 01:21 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsThis is the most important person we’ve ever featured on a Woman Crush Wednesday. Henrietta Lacks was a cancer patient in the early 1950s. Her cancer cells were studied, analyzed, and found to be “immortal” under laboratory conditions. They formed the famous “HeLa” cell line, the first immortaliz...
Irish Things that are Actually British -- Throwback Thursday!
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - March 16, 2023 11:05 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsThe Professor seems to want to make enemies in this episode. He shows that many things central to Irish culture and identity are actually British in origin -- St. Patrick, “the craic,” and “Danny Boy” come under his withering analytical gaze. But he may surprise you with the ultimate conclusions ...
The Irish Slaves Myth
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - March 14, 2023 07:25 - 35 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsWhite supremacy has been rising at an alarming rate in the last few years. The “Irish Slaves” myth has been given new life by these extremists. The famous “Irish: the Forgotten White Slaves” email has been unearthed and promoted heavily again during the St. Patrick’s season. It’s an abuse of hist...
Half American: African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - March 07, 2023 18:22 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. Matthew Delmont explains the complicated and distressing history of African-American participation in World War II at home, and in the war theaters. Discrimination was rampant and inexcusable. African-Americans had to fight for the right to fight in the military. And war industry jobs were ju...
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