Stuff You Missed in History Class

This 2022 episode covers Helen Duncan, sometimes described inaccurately as Scotland’s last witch, or the last person imprisoned for witchcraft in Britain, or the last person to be tried under the UK’s 1735 Witchcraft Act.

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Tracy shares her surprise at discovering some of the details of Montague Summers's life. Holly talks about bickering within the Society for Psychical Research.

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This 2021 episode covers William Palmer, who was convicted in 1855 as a poisoner though there wasn't any hard evidence. 

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Tracy talks about the frequency of news from research institutions getting reported years after the fact. She also clears up a misunderstanding Holly had about a painting that was discussed this week.

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This 2015 kickoff to the Six Impossible Episodes series features Stagecoach Mary, Edward Mordrake, Robert the Haunted Doll, the London Beer Flood, the Lost Army of Cambyses and La Maupin.

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Holly shares an odd detail about the red barn murder case. She and Tracy also discuss the way Forrest Mars may have affected the way his father's life is described.

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This 2022 episode covers Giordano Bruno, a mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, occultist, and according to the Catholic church of 16th-century Italy, a heretic. He met a bad end because of his views, but he started out as a friar.

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Tracy ponders how Sara Weiss knew some of the things she knew and whether her husband characterized her as less informed than she was. Holly talks about a possible relative of Theophilus Brome.

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This 2021 episode covers Colchester, who claimed to be psychic and may have warned President Abraham Lincoln that he was going to be assassinated. 

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Tracy talks about how the beer riots may sound silly, but were underpinned by serious issues. Holly talks about the Elizabeth Fry’s daughters polishing their mother’s image when publishing her diaries.

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This episode from 2017 covers several moments in history when the world came perilously close to a full-scale nuclear war, due to false alarms or miscommunication.

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Holly and Tracy unpack the accusation that Robert Moses purposely built overpass bridges too low for busses to drive under them as a way to keep Black New Yorkers away from Jones Beach.

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This 2021 episode covers smallpox, a viral disease that has existed for millennia. But it’s now one of only two diseases that’s been eradicated through human activity, and a global plan was enacted to do it.

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Holly talks about the lack information about Pinel’s family, and how much she’d like to see Oscar Wilde use social media. Tracy discusses the way the Cooley episode narrowed down the scope of her originally planned topic.

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This 2020 episode covers the Flexner Report, which is often credited with changing the medical field and shaping what medical education looks like today. But this document negatively impacted medicine in the Black community. 

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Tracy and Holly talk about corporal punishment in schools and student loans. Tracy relays her experience at the British Museum.

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This 2021 episode covers Olympe de Gouges, known primarily for her 1791 pamphlet “Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Citizen.” But her writing and political activity went far beyond that one pamphlet.

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Holly shares additional details of Percy Fawcett's life, including theories about his interest in spiritualism leading him to some odd conclusions.

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This 2021 episode covers a period of time when the milk supply in New York was anything but appetizing and wholesome – it was often deadly. But efforts to address the problem were blocked by corrupt officials.

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Tracy shares a story of looking for an article in the wrong historical journal. Holly reads a section of the U.S. flag code, and waxes rhapsodic about toys.

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This 2022 episode examines the development of a systematic approach to food safety, which didn’t happen until the 20th century. And it's tied directly to NASA trying to make sure astronauts didn’t get food poisoning in space.

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Tracy and Holly talk about their time visiting Chefchaouen during their Morocco trip. Holly shares her belief that secret societies don't work very well. 

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This 2021 episode covers Jethro Tull. Today, most people only know that as the name of a band, but Tull was an 18th-century gentleman farmer often credited with inventing the seed drill.

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Tracy talks about papers about history written by economists. Holy talks about linoleum having a bad reputation because of the designs of the 1970s and '80s.

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This 2018 episode covers the Battle of Amiens, near the end of World War I. It was the start of what came to be known as the 100 Days Offensive, which was the Allies’ final push to win the war. 

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Tracy and Holly talk about experiences in intensely hot weather. Holly shares how moved she was by Samuel Plimsoll’s obituaries.

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This 2018 episode covers Libertalia, which, in truth, may be completely fictional. It's called a pirate settlement, though the man who spearheaded it claimed he wasn't actually a pirate.

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Tracy shares the topics she considered for the recording in the Bahamas but decided against. Holly talks about her admiration for Thomas Huxley.

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This 2023 episode covers scarlet fever, which is treatable with antibiotics. But in the middle of the 19th century, it was the leading cause of death in children in parts of the world, and today, there are several ongoing mysteries about the disease.

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Tracy shares her irritation with word use in a recent government report. There is also discussion of strangers visiting manor houses.

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This 2023 episode covers how humans have worked on ways to make garments water resistant almost since they started to wear them. But figuring out how to manufacture a raincoat using rubber was a big breakthrough that took centuries.

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Holly and Tracy discuss how frustrating Charles Goodyear could be. Then Holly talks a lot about shoes and how much she loves them.

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This 2022 episode covers the development of penicillin, which started – but definitely did not end – with the chance discovery of some mold in a petri dish.

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Tracy shares stories of her time in London. There is also a discussion of Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin’s marriage.

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This 2023 episode covers Sarah Bradlee Fulton, sometimes called the Mother of the Boston Tea Party. But available information about her is basically a series of anecdotes, and can’t really be corroborated.

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Tracy talks about her visit to the Bunker Hill monument. She then describes a very early morning start when she went to visit Oxford on her recent trip to England.

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This 2021 episode talks about several specialists – most with some involvement with the Nazi party – who entered the U.S. and became citizens through Operation Paperclip.

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Holly talks about the agreement known as the Pact of the Catacombs and recent developments related to it. There's then discussion of Daguerre's Legion of Honor medal.

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This 2021 episode covers Operation Paperclip, which was the U.S. effort to bring German scientists to work in the U.S. after World War II. 

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Tracy talks about how she first became interested in Casimir Pulaski's story, and how her focus changed during research. She also talks about selecting episode topics and later learning the subject is problematic.

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This 2022 episode covers the 1901 discovery of  Ada Maria Redpath and her son Jocelyn Clifford dead in their home. What exactly happened between the two of them is something we will likely never understand.

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Holly and Tracy talk about how frequently the U.S. Post Office has stopped criminals, and about E. Virgil Neal using his intellect for shady business dealings.

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This 2022 episode covers Hortense and Marie Mancini, who tried to make a place for themselves in 17th-century Europe, defying all kinds of conventions along the way. 

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Tracy talks about a book that she didn't use for research on Viola Roseboro'. Holly talks about how wealth inequality has shaped science history.

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This 2016 episode covers the May 30, 1948 flood that destroyed Vanport, Oregon. What really makes the story more than a historical footnote is how it ties into the racial makeup of both Portland and Oregon at the time.

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Tracy talks about a strange statement in a paper she read while working on the Carlos J. Finlay episode. Holly shares her amusement at the pact Hartlib and his friends made.

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This 2022 episode covers Deborah Sampson, who could count William Bradford and Myles Standish in her family tree. That tree didn’t include Robert Shurtliff; that was the alias Deborah used to enlist in the Continental Army.

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Holly shares a quote from Daniela Lippi about the importance of ongoing learning in the restoration profession. There is then discussion of the nerve-racking construction of Disneyland.

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Disneyland's opening seemed like an impossibility throughout the construction process. Holly interviews filmmaker Leslie Iwerks about her new film "Disneyland Handcrafted," which shares the journey from an empty dirt lot to the theme park we know today.

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This 2019 episode covers the Regulator War, aka the War of the Regulation, aka the Regulator Movement. It was a North Carolina event which arose in response to unfair taxes, poor representation and corruption.

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Tracy shares why Bhagat Singh Thind rocketed to the top of her topics list. Holly shares a story of bad cat behavior.

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