Lectures in History

This week on Lectures in History — from the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., the story of one Air National Guard pilot’s experience on September 11th, 2001. Heather Penney was one of the first F-16 pilots scrambled from Andrews Air Force Base after the terrorist attacks. She discusses her mission that day, including the possibility that she might have had to bring down United Airlines Flight 93, which had been hijacked by terrorists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Washington University hosts its “1776: Then and Now” lecture series. This lecture examines why Thomas Jefferson owned a Qur’an and explores his study of Islam and its influence on his thinking about religion and religious freedom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Santa Clara University music professor Christina Zanfagna teaches a class about the relationship between race and music throughout history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling presidential historian Michael Beschloss joins David M. Rubenstein for a wide-ranging conversation on American history. They discuss the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and the pivotal events and presidents that shaped the United States in the twentieth century.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Washington University hosted a series of lectures called "1776: Then and Now." This lecture examined the international context of the American Revolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ashington University hosted a series of lectures called "1776: Then and Now." This lecture examined the reasons behind the Declaration of Independence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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History Professor Aaron Aster of Maryville College (TN) explores Appalachia's role in the founding of the United States, including how the American Revolution unfolded alongside conflicts among European and indigenous people over control of the land. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Washington University hosted a series of lectures called "1776: Then and Now." This lecture examined the reasons behind the Declaration of Independence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, professor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Kathleen DuVal examines the international context of the American Revolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, author Rick Atkinson, and retired Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford discussed Revolutionary War leadership at an event held at George Washington's Mount Vernon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Washington University hosts a series of lectures called "1776: Then and Now" with the first exploring religion in Revolutionary America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did a rebel nation establish a federal court system? Utah Valley University professor Matthew Brogdon shows how the U.S. court system formed during the Revolutionary War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bancroft and Pulitzer Prize winning historian Gordon Wood delivered a talk titled "The Revolutionary Roots of the Civil War." Professor Wood discussed the Founders views on slavery and argued that the Civil War was inevitable. The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation hosted this event Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Garrett Graff discussed his oral history of the allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. This event took place at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College in New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nebraska history professor James Garza teaches a class on H.H. Holmes, described as "America's First Serial Killer," and his crimes during the Gilded Age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edda Fields-Black and other scholars gathered by the Abraham Lincoln Institute explored Lincoln and the paths leading up to the Civil War. The event took place at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hear another collection of memorable 2026 commencement speeches from campuses across the country featuring Erika Kirk, Ron DeSantis, Muriel Bowser, Scott Bessent, and bestselling author James Patterson. This edition of C-SPAN’s Commencement Addresses podcast features reflections on leadership, faith, creativity, public service, curiosity, and navigating an uncertain future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Highlights from the 2026 commencement season featuring speeches from Hilary Duff, Gretchen Whitmer, Hugh Jackman, Nancy Pelosi, and Jalen Rose. Hear advice and reflections on leadership, creativity, resilience, and public service from campuses across the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Iowa professor Richard Priest traces the history of the oil business from rudimentary drilling to John Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company and how competition grew across the globe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, history professor Tore Olsson discussed what the video games Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 get right and wrong about American history. This event was hosted by Union Ave Books and the East Tennessee Historical Society Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Lectures in History is taking a break— So we’re bringing you Booknotes+. Hosted by Brian Lamb, this episode features  Bob Crawford—of The Avett Brothers—on his book America’s Founding Son. Bob Crawford plays upright bass, bass guitar, and violin with the Grammy nominated Americana band, the Avett Brothers. He's been with the band for 25 years. Since 2016, Mr. Crawford has had his own podcast called The Road to Now, along with Ben Sawyer. Their focus is about history. Six years ago, during his band's tour, Mr. Crawford received his master's degree online from Arizona State University. The focus again was history. Now comes his first serious book titled "America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick." Bob Crawford spends a significant amount of time discussing the 17 years Adams spent in the House of Representatives, after he was president, trying to stop the spread of slavery in the United States Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian and Yale University Professor Beverly Gage joined David M. Rubenstein to discuss her Pulitzer Prize winning biography of former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and her road trip across the U.S. to visit historic sites. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

USC lecturer Nora Lessersohn looks at how racial classifications were used during the naturalization process throughout American history. This lecture takes place at University of Southern California's campus in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Florida professor Allen Guelzo teaches a class on Abraham Lincoln's intellectual interests and how the 16th president was more than just a talented politician. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seth Harp is a lawyer and an Iraq war veteran and an investigative writer and journalist. His first book, "The Fort Bragg Cartel," is about drug trafficking and murder in the Special Forces. Near the end of his book, Harp writes: "Between January 2017 and September 2022, a total of 15,293 active duty service members suffered drug overdoses, and 322 of those were fatal. The Defense Department data showed that Fort Bragg had far more overdoses than any other military base in both absolute and per capita terms." Fort Bragg is located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and is the largest populated army base with close to 50,000 soldiers. It is headquarters of the secret Delta Force. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The October 2002 speech by George W. Bush making the case for military action in Iraq was the topic of a class taught by University of Kansas political communication professor Robert Rowland. The University of Kansas is in Lawrence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gonzaga history professor Robert Donnelly argues that Jimmy Carter's role in ending the Cold War has largely been overlooked. He looks at how the 39th president's policies weakened the Soviet Empire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Sirota, who is based in Denver, Colorado, has some very strong views about money and politics. His book is called "Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America." There are 11 chapters which reflect the 11 episodes of his podcast, "Master Plan." In order to tell his story, he points his finger at the 1971 Powell secret memo. That's former US Supreme Court Associate Justice Lewis Powell, who served on the Supreme Court from 1972 to 1987. He died in 1998 at age 90. Author Sirota, who is 50, writes that the Powell memo laid out a comprehensive step-by-step strategy for corporate America to regain control, protect its interests, and reshape the political and legal system of the United States to favor business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gonzaga University professor Veta Schlimgen chronicles the history of Hawaii and how it maintained its culture after becoming a U.S. state in 1959. Gonzaga University is located in Spokane, Washington. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

History professor Lawrence Cappello analyzes Supreme Court cases that address the right to privacy, focusing on police and phone wiretaps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Louisville history professor Matthew Goldberg chronicles the 1898 Spanish-American War, fought primarily in Cuba, Guam, and the Philippines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brigham Young University professor Grant Madsen examines supply-side economics which was termed "Reaganomics." Brigham Young University is located in Provo, Utah. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brown University professor Marion Orr lectures on the life & legacy of Congressman Charles Diggs, Jr. The Michigan Democrat founded the Congressional Black Caucus and was the only federal official to attend the trial of Emmett Till's killers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1957, the beeps from Sputnik, a small Russian satellite, sent the USSR & US into a space race. Teasel Muir-Harmony of the Air & Space Museum chronicles the history of space travel and how the U.S. landed on the Moon and how we're going back in 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

William & Mary lecturer Robyn Schroeder discusses the Williamsburg, Virginia, site where colonial troops built an encampment ahead of the 1781 battle of Yorktown during the Revolutionary War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Boise State history professor Jill Gill lectures on Martin Luther King Jr.'s political strategies in the Civil Rights Movement up until his assassination in 1968. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tulane professor Blake Gilpin discusses three Reconstruction-era Supreme Court cases and how they led to the establishment of Jim Crow segregation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Kentucky in 1792 became a state, it had a choice; keep slavery or abolish it. University of Kentucky professor Melanie Goan teaches a class on the state's relationship with the institution of slavery until the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The National Park Service and other groups held a ceremony in Boston marking the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carroll College professor Jeanette Fregulia chronicles the Barbary pirates' conflict with American ships during the 18th and 19th centuries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Northwestern professor Ken Alder presented an image of an 1851 Colt Navy Revolver and asked why the gun was one of the first mass produced technologies in the United States. Professor Alder chronicled the origins of American mass production through gunmaking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vassar College professor Robert Brigham discussed his upcoming memoir about his search for his biological father, who served as a Marine in Vietnam. This event was part of the 2025 LCpl. Benjamin W. Schmidt Symposium on War, Conflict, and Society at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chef, humanitarian, and author Jose Andres discussed his career, his global relief efforts with World Central Kitchen, his books, and his love of food with David M. Rubenstein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In September 1975, 17 days apart, two women, one in Sacramento and the other in San Francisco, attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford. The first attempt on September the 5th came from Annette Squeaky Fromm. The Charles Manson follower spent over 30 years in prison, is out on parole, and is 76 years old. The other attempt came on the non-entrance side of St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco on September the 24th, 1975. The shooter, Sara Jane Moore, served 32 years in prison and died almost 50 years to the day on September the 24th, 2025. Author Geri Spieler wrote the book "Housewife Assassin" in 2009. She talked to and exchanged letters with Sara Jane Moore on several occasions. Here's her up-to-date story about the woman who tried to kill President Ford Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1967 Six-Day War, 1973 Yom Kippur War, and 2023 Israel-Hamas War have all garnered the United States' diplomatic involvement. Trinity College Professor James Stocker looks at the history of the U.S. negotiating ends to Israeli-Arab conflicts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author David Grann joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss his books, including "Killers of the Flower Moon" and "The Wager," and visits the vault of the Folger Shakespeare Library. This is an episode of C-SPAN's new series America's Book Club. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On September 14, 1847, Winfield Scott's Army marched into Mexico City, marking the final stages of the Mexican-American War. University of Texas professor Aaron O'Connell chronicles the war's causes, the divisions it inflamed, and its aftermath. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During Reconstruction, a campaign to overthrow the South Carolina government succeeded, triggering a constitutional crisis. University of North Carolina professor and author of "Sedition," Marcus Gadson, analyzed the history behind this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Lectures in History podcast: The mystery of the Roanoke Colony’s disappearance. In 1587, English settlers established a colony on Roanoke Island, off the coast of present-day North Carolina — only to vanish without a trace soon after. Gettysburg College Professor Timothy Shannon explores what we know about the lost colony, the people who lived there, and the theories behind one of early America’s greatest mysteries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happened when General Custer and Crazy Horse faced off in battle? Stetson University Professor David Morton chronicles the 1876 Great Sioux War in the South Dakota Black Hills. Stetson University is located in Deland, Florida. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

United States Army War College history professor Michael Neiberg discusses Vichy France and the Anglo-American relationship during World War II. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Kentucky in 1792 became a state, it had a choice; keep slavery or abolish it. University of Kentucky professor Melanie Goan teaches a class on the state's relationship with the institution of slavery until the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

William & Mary Bray School Lab director Maureen Elgersman Lee discusses the history of the 18th-century Williamsburg Bray School for Black children and the legacies of the 300 to 400 scholars it enrolled. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1992 Republican National Convention speeches by former President Ronald Reagan and Pat Buchanan - who had run for the GOP nomination that year against incumbent President George H.W. Bush - was the topic of a class taught by University of Kansas political communication professor Robert Rowland. The University of Kansas is in Lawrence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sir Richard J. Evans has been writing about Germany and Adolf Hitler for his entire professional life. He was knighted in Britain in 2012 for his service to scholarship. From 2003-2008, Professor Evans published a trilogy of the Third Reich with a total of over 2,500 pages. His latest book is titled "Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich." In his preface, Sir Richard, a former professor at Cambridge University writes: "The individuals who stand at the center of this book range from the top to the bottom, from Hitler all the way down to the lowest of the Nazi party." There are 22 chapters. Learn more about your ad choices.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor James Broussard taught a class on the lead-up to the American Revolution. He described actions by the British government, such as the Stamp Act and stationing British troops in Boston, that American colonists began to view as an overreach of power Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Utah Professor Eric Hinderaker taught a class about western settlement before, during and after the American Revolution. Using the Kentucky territory as an example, he described the conflicts and relationships between the new federal government, settlers and Native Americans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Law professor and author Joyce Lee Malcolm discussed Benedict Arnold's triumphs as an American army general in the Revolutionary War and questioned whether his legacy as a notorious American traitor is entirely accurate. Professor Malcolm is the author of, The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold: An American Life. This one hour talk was hosted by the University of Mary Washington as part of their Great Lives Lecture Series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian Garrett Graff discusses his oral history of the development, testing and deployment of the atomic bomb in August 1945. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gene Allen Smith, a Texas Christian University history professor, taught a class about George Washington's character. He examined how the first president interacted with his contemporaries, how he viewed himself, and how he is remembered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ithaca College professor Michael Trotti discussed the escalating tensions between colonists and the British government before the American Revolution. Ithaca College is located in New York. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

College of William & Mary lecturer Amy Stallings discussed the history of the 1607 Jamestown fort and settlement in Virginia, and how Americans have tried to preserve and remember the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. The College of William & Mary is located in Williamsburg, Virginia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Texas Woman's University history professor Cecily Zander discussed the federal government's efforts to explore and control the American west from the early 1800's through the Civil War. Texas Woman's University is located in Denton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wright State University professor Paul Lockhart taught a class on the development of weapons technology in the American Revolution. Wright State University is located in Dayton, Ohio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of North Carolina at Pembroke professor Ryan Anderson discussed the rise of a Bohemian culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that rejected conventional societal restraints and embraced the arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Santa Clara University history professor Sonia Gomez discusses the intimate relationships between people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds that occurred in Hawaii and Japan during and immediately after World War II. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Boston College communications professor Michael Serazio discussed how baseball connects Americans to their past and culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California State University Fullerton professor Eric Gonzaba taught a class about evangelical nightlife and Christian nightclubs in 1970s California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

George Mason University religious studies department chair John Turner teaches a class on the history of Islam and Judaism in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hillsdale College history professor Mark Moyar discusses competing interpretations of the Vietnam War when it comes to questions about the necessity of the conflict and whether it was winnable for the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Texas history professor Mark Lawrence discusses the rise of Ronald Reagan, his impact on the conservative movement, and the Reagan Administration's performance in his first term. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tulane University history professor Keely Smith discusses Native American alliances during the Revolutionary War and how the U.S. government and American society viewed various tribes during the early Republic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a follow up to our recent podcast regarding the life and times of Anne Frank, we asked author Alexandra Ritchie to tell us more about the horrors of World War II and Poland. Ritchie, a citizen of Canada, now lives in the city which is the title of her book, Warsaw. Her focus is on 1944 and what was called the Warsaw Uprising. In her introduction, she writes, "Himmler and Hitler had decided that the entire population remaining in one of Europe's great capital cities was to be murdered in cold blood. Himmler referred to Warsaw as the great abscess, which was to be completely destroyed." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American University professor Laura Beers teaches a class on Winston Churchill and the "special relationship" between Great Britain and the U.S during World War II and the Cold War Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tulane University history professor Jana Lipman discusses Cold War refugees from Cuba and Vietnam and the impact of the Refugee Act of 1980. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Santa Clara University history professor Sonia Gomez discusses the intimate relationships between people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds that occurred in Hawaii and Japan during and immediately after World War II. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Dallas history professor Susan Hanssen discusses the legacy and cultural importance of the 1918 Pulitzer Prize winning book, "The Education of Henry Adams." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Santa Clara University art history professor Andrea Pappas discusses the mid-19th century American landscape painting movement known as the Hudson River School. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Texas history professor Bruce Hunt discusses the development of the atomic bomb during World War II and the role of the Army Corps of Engineers General Leslie Groves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian Heath Hardage Lee, author of "The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon," talks about the life and times of the former First Lady (1969-74). She says that Pat Nixon, who was voted "Most Admired Woman in the World" in 1972, was largely mis-portrayed by the press, who characterized her as being elusive and "plastic." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Georgetown University history professor Darragh Gannon discusses the Irish diaspora and the role of the United States during "The Troubles" and in the Northen Ireland peace process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Southern California sociology professor Brittany Friedman discusses the formation and evolution of American prison gangs in the 20th and 21st centuries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yale University professor Marlene Daut discusses the life and legacy of slave, revolutionary, and king Henry Christophe and how the United States and other foreign powers reacted to the 1791 Haitian revolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Indiana University history professor Juan Mora discusses the U.S. Border Patrol and how 20th century immigration laws shaped the creation and development of immigration agencies Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Louisiana State University journalism professor John Maxwell Hamilton discusses U.S. government propaganda efforts during World War I. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

College of William & Mary lecturer Amy Stallings discusses the history of the 1607 Jamestown settlement in Virginia and efforts over four centuries to preserve and remember the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duke University professor Cecilia Marquez discusses Latino migration trends in the 20th and early 21st centuries and how Latinos shaped the culture, development and economics of the American South. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Louisiana State University journalism professor John Maxwell Hamilton discusses U.S. government propaganda efforts during World War I. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hillsdale College professor Richard Gamble teaches a class on civic faith, and how American nationalism incorporated religious elements and symbolism during the Cold War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President John Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address was the topic of a class taught by University of Kansas political communication professor Robert Rowland. The University of Kansas is in Lawrence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

York College professor Jacqueline Beatty discussed women’s rights and changing political power during the American Revolution and the early years of the Republic. York College is located in York, Pennsylvania. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iowa State University professor Tracy Lucht talked about women journalists in the late-19th and early 20th centuries. She described the careers of some pioneers, such as Nellie Bly and Dorothy Dix, and the societal pressures for women writers to balance traditional femininity and a career in journalism.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Georgetown University professor Bonnie Morris talked about discrimination against women in sports and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Donald Spivey talked about the legacy of pitcher Satchel Paige and Negro Leagues baseball. Satchel Paige was the first Negro Leagues player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Professor Spivey also explained the ways that Paige and other Negro Leagues players and owners contributed to the struggle for civil rights, including fighting Jim Crow laws, financially supporting groups like the NAACP, and fostering friendships with white players in Major League Baseball.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Joan Waugh talked about the rise of baseball as a national activity, spectator event, and business. She described the efforts of baseball club owners to codify the rules of the games, establish a national league, and attract a broad middle class audience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pepperdine University professor Loretta Hunnicutt taught a class about baseball during the Great Depression. She looked at the role of baseball in American culture and the origins of sports journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Maryland history professor Michael discussed, in the second of a two part lecture, the 1893 trial of Lizzie Borden. She was accused of murdering her father and stepmother with an axe. The murders and trial received widespread publicity at the time and Lizzie Borden became a lasting figure in American popular culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Maryland history professor Michael Ross discussed the 1893 trial of Lizzie Borden, who was accused of murdering her father and stepmother with an axe. The murders and trial received widespread publicity at the time and Lizzie Borden became a lasting figure in American popular culture. This is the first of a two-part lecture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices