Latest Buzzkill Podcast Episodes
The Nadir of African-American Life, 1865-1930
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - February 28, 2023 05:15 - 44 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratings1865. The Civil War is over. Slavery has been abolished. The country is “reconstructing” itself. This should have meant that the lives of African-Americans improved during this period. But it didn’t. 1865-1930 is often called the “nadir of African-American life.” Not only did they gain very littl...
The “Free Market” -- the Big Myth in Modern America
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - February 21, 2023 05:05 - 51 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsProfessors Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway explain how and why Americans came to believe that the “free market” was not only natural, but also moral, and the highest form of human interaction. Their deep archival research shows how the rise of free market fundamentalism was artificially created ...
Insurrection in Modern America: History and Myth
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - February 14, 2023 05:05 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. Kathleen Belew explains the history and myth behind insurrections in recent American history. She dismantles the “lone wolf” myth about political violence, as well as the myth of “it’s not who we are as Americans.” She shows us how insurrectionists have created their ideologies, promoted them...
Robert Smalls - Man Crush Monday!
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - February 06, 2023 05:05 - 45 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. Vernon Burton tells the many amazing stories that make up the life of Robert Smalls, a genuine Civil War hero, and a man who deserves far more fame and glory than he’s received! From piloting a Confederate States ship out of Charleston Harbor and turning it over to the United States Navy, to ...
Family Values Feminism: History and Myth
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - January 31, 2023 05:05 - 28 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela provides an excellent overview of the debates about how feminism has been discussed in terms of varieties of “family values” in modern American history. From the early suffragists, through the Progressives, through the Second Wave, and up to the 21st Century, Professo...
American Exceptionalism as Part of Myth America
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - January 24, 2023 05:05 - 27 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. David Bell relates the long and strange history of the concept of “American Exceptionalism,” analyzing various interpretations of the phrase from the Puritan John Winthrop to President (and non-Puritan) Donald Trump. We wrestle with: the true meaning of the phrase; to what extent it has meant...
The Real Voter Fraud in the United States
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - January 17, 2023 16:12 - 51 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. Carol Anderson talks about her “Voter Fraud” chapter in “Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past.” Her work is based on the most solid research imaginable. And she gives us shocking new information about the extent of voter suppression in many American sta...
Confederate Monuments as Part of Myth America
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - January 10, 2023 21:56 - 40 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. Karen Cox shows us the complex history of Confederate Monuments in the US, and what has actually happened during this recent period of removal. Professor Buzzkill himself was floored to hear how many monuments still exist, and about the complicated ways in which some monuments have been remov...
Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - January 03, 2023 05:05 - 40 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDrs. Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer introduce “Myth America,” one of the most consequential books to address myths and misunderstandings of American history. They talk about the genesis of the book and its purpose, and the problems historians now face in a time of frenetic social media. Finally, ...
Auld Lang Syne 2022!
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - December 27, 2022 05:05 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratings“Should old acquaintance be forgot”? What? Should we forget old friends? What does Auld Lang Syne actually mean? Why do we sing it every New Year’s Eve? Join the Professor as he waxes lyrical and sentimentally about Auld Lang Syne, Scotland, and good auld Robert Burns!
1947 Radio Play - It's a Wonderful Life
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - December 24, 2022 05:05 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsI mentioned on the show the other day that "It's a Wonderful Life" was re-done as a radio play a couple of times. Lots of Buzzkillers have asked me to find the best version and play it. So here it is! This version is from 1947 on the Lux Radio Theater, and stars Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed (as w...
“It’s a Wonderful Life” Myths and Urban Legends
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - December 23, 2022 05:05 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratings“It’s a Wonderful Life” (starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed) is a holiday classic, and one of the greatest movies of all time. It has also given us a cornucopia of myths and urban legends. Lend an ear as the Professor analyzes these stories, talks about how the movie was received when released...
Christmas Trees: History and Myth
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - December 20, 2022 05:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsWhat's the history behind the Christmas Tree tradition? Were they used by ancient Christians? Are the stories of it being a German custom true? And why is Professor Buzzkill talking so much about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert? Has he been binge-watching "The Crown"? Listen as he explains all! ...
Xmas Encore! Commercialism, FDR, the Nazis, and Beyond!
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - December 16, 2022 05:10 - 27 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsProfessor 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 Bethl...
The 12 Days of Christmas - a Secret Coded Song? Encore!
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - December 13, 2022 05:10 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsLegend has it that there were special, secret meanings behind the lyrics in the famous Christmas song, The 12 Days of Christmas? Ten Lords a Leaping and Nine Ladies Dancing sounds like a pretty good party! But why wasn’t Professor Buzzkill invited? We explain it all and wish all you Buzzkillers o...
Fit Nation: The History of America's Exercise Obsession
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - December 06, 2022 05:10 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela explains why Americans are more obsessed with exercise than ever, and yet also unhealthier. Her great new book, Fit Nation, explains how we got here and imagines how we might create a more inclusive, stronger future. Listen to her explain the broad contexts of America...
Watergate and the History of Investigative Journalism
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - December 02, 2022 05:20 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsWe use the Watergate crisis to examine some of the myths surrounding the history of investigative journalism. By looking both at the 1970s and at the 19th century, we learn that investigative journalism has a long history in the United States. We also learn the crucial role that an “ecosystem” of...
Understanding Warren G. Harding
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - November 22, 2022 05:55 - 40 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsCrikey. Most people don't know much about President Warren G. Harding and his corrupt administration, but they should! A fascinating life and, um, a fascinating look at how corruption and graft can so easily slip into the corridors of power, especially the White House in the 1920s! Professor Phil...
Thanksgiving: History and Myth
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - November 21, 2022 09:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsWho invented American Thanksgiving, and when did they invent it? The Pilgrims in 1621? Abe Lincoln in 1863? FDR in 1939? Turns out there were a lot of cooks involved in making the traditional American feasting holiday. The Professor gives a brief overview of Thanksgiving's history and myths. Epis...
Lydia Maria Child: Woman Crush Wednesday
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - November 16, 2022 05:00 - 35 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsJoin us on this Woman Crush Wednesday discussion of Lydia Maria Child, one of nineteenth-century America’s most courageous abolitionists. She started her career as a beloved and self-sufficient female author of children's literature. But in 1833, Child shocked her readers by publishing the first ...
"Wayward Sisters, Depart in Peace" Winfield Scott: Quote or No Quote?
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - November 14, 2022 05:10 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsGeneral Winfield Scott famously advised Lincoln to let the "wayward sisters" of the Confederacy "depart in peace." Or did he? Was it that simple? And what does this quote's context tell us about political divisions nowadays? Episode 486
Vernon Burton: Historians as Legal Expert Witnesses
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - November 08, 2022 14:24 - 29 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. Vernon Burton tells us about his experiences as an expert witness in civil rights and voting legal cases. It's a fascinating look into how the work of historians can appear in all sorts of places, and can do some direct good for the rights of the people! Episode 485.
Roland Freisler - Piece of Sh*t Saturday
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - November 05, 2022 04:55 - 28 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsHitler's Hanging Judge, Roland Freisler, was truly one of the worst pieces of sh*t in a regime that wasn't lacking in those. Professor Philip Nash enlightens us about one of the most reprehensible Nazis who hasn't received the shame and opprobrium that he deserves. Freisler made the fascist Germa...
The 1914 Sarajevo Assassination and the Road to World War I
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - November 01, 2022 07:12 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. Paul Miller-Melamed tells us the story of the assassination of Archduke Franz in 1914. And he enlightens us on the crucial context of the events that led to World War I. Long-term causes, medium-term causes, and immediate causes. Fascinating! Episode 483.
Halloween Myths! Don't Be Spooked!
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - October 31, 2022 06:45 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsHalloween is a demonic holiday chock full of sin, and endangered by razor blades in trick-or-treat candy, right? Wrong. Nothing about the origins of Halloween can be called demonic, satanic, or anti-Christian. And the adulterated candy thing is an urban legend. Get the full story from the Buzzkil...
War of the Worlds "Panic" Myth: Flashback Friday!
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - October 28, 2022 06:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsThis myth will not die! Halloween 1938. A radio play based on H.G. Wells' novel, The War of the Worlds, supposedly panicked America. The Martians were invading! People went hysterical and ran for their lives! Or did they? Listen to Professors Jefferson Pooley and Michael Socolow explain what real...
US Nuclear Testing in the Marshall Islands
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - October 25, 2022 06:35 - 28 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsPulitzer Prize-winning journalist Walter Pincus exposes the darkest secret in American nuclear history―sixty-seven nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands that wiped out a people and their land. This is an overlooked aspect of the Cold War, and one of the most shameful acts in history. Episode 481.
Obama: the Black President
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - October 18, 2022 04:30 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsProfessor Claude Clegg's new book, The Black President, is the first interpretative, comprehensive history of Barack Obama's presidency in its entirety. He explains some of the major themes in the book in his first appearance on our show. This is contemporary history at its finest! Episode 480.
Understanding the Cuban Missile Crisis
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - October 12, 2022 09:05 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsBuzzkill 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 lead us to believe. Among many other things, we learn why the Cold War was so cold. You'll u...
Operation Torch: The Battle for Tunisia during World War II
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast - October 04, 2022 14:53 - 45 minutes ★★★★★ - 180 ratingsDr. Philip Nash tells us about the under-appreciated and little-understood battle for Tunisia during the North African campaign in World War II. Operation Torch was vital to the eventual Allied victory, but the reasons and explanations are complicated. These "peripheral" operations need more atte...
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