Podcasts by Category

- 3303 - Sidi Mubarak Bombay
Sidi Mubarak Bombay was sort of a combined guide, translator and nurse, and often the supervisor of the African laborers on expeditions through eastern and equatorial Africa in the 19th century.
Wed, 14 May 2025 - 3302 - Tetanus
Tetanus has probably been around for most of human history, or even longer. But it’s preventable today thanks to vaccines.
Mon, 12 May 2025 - 3301 - SYMHC Classics: Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
This 2020 episode covers Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, an accomplished astronomer. She grew up in a society that didn’t really prioritize education for girls, and she was determined and creative about getting around that.
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Sat, 10 May 2025 - 3300 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Altina and Saving Babies
Holly talks about the dynamics of Altina Schinasi's family. Tracy shares a dispute over nursing uniform procedures on the Boston Floating Hospital that played out in a trade journal.
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Fri, 09 May 2025 - 3299 - Boston Floating Hospital
The Boston Floating Hospital was a children’s hospital that operated on a boat in Boston Harbor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Wed, 07 May 2025 - 3298 - Altina Schinasi
Altina Schinasi is known as the inventor of cat-eye glasses, but she was also an artist, a documentarian, and an activist. And she was very frank about her own faults and bad decisions.
Mon, 05 May 2025 - 3297 - SYMHC Classics: Franz Nopsca
This 2019 episode covers Baron Franz Nopcsa, who lived an adventurous, scholarly life, funded entirely by his family money. He identified dinosaurs, inserted himself into Albanian politics, and wrote volumes and volumes of books and papers.
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Sat, 03 May 2025 - 3296 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Small Fruit Division and Dorseys
Holly waxes rhapsodic about fruit. Tracy talks about planning an episode about William Henry Dorsey but then finding she needed to include his father.
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Fri, 02 May 2025 - 3295 - Two Dorseys: Thomas J. and William Henry
Thomas J. Dorsey liberated himself from enslavement and became one of the most sought-after caterers in Philadelphia. His son William Henry Dorsey was born a free Black man before the Civil War, and became an artist, collector and scrapbooker.
Wed, 30 Apr 2025 - 3294 - Eponymous Foods: Fruits
This installment of eponymous food stories is entirely about fruits. We’ve got a berry, a pome, and a citrus, all with varying degrees of documentation.
Mon, 28 Apr 2025 - 3293 - SYMHC Classics: Hatshepsut
This 2019 episode covers Hatshepsut, who sent a huge expedition to Punt in the 15th century B.C.E. The expedition to Punt is also an important and illustrative part of Hatshepsut’s reign.
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Sat, 26 Apr 2025 - 3292 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Wanda’s Motivations
Holly shares a theory on why Wanda Gág didn’t drink. There is also discussion of Gág’s medical issues and how they were handled by doctors.
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Fri, 25 Apr 2025 - 3291 - Wanda Gág, Part 2
After struggling to raise her siblings and start an art career, Wanda Gág’s life changed almost instantly with the publication of her first children’s book. Part two of her story looks at how her books sustained her financially so she could also make the art she wanted.
Wed, 23 Apr 2025 - 3290 - Wanda Gág, Part 1
As an artist and writer Wanda Gág is well known for her children’s books. But this first of two parts about her life covers her own unusual childhood, which went from quirky fun to intense hardship when her father died.
Mon, 21 Apr 2025 - 3289 - SYMHC Classics: Theda Bara
This 2022 episode covers Theda Bara, often referenced as the first sex symbol. Photos of her are synonymous with the word vamp, and 100 years later, still have a certain mysterious appeal. But what was she really like?
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Sat, 19 Apr 2025 - 3288 - Behind the Scenes Minis: So You Hate Waffles
Tracy talks about how current events are causing disruptions in work on the podcast. She also discusses the way headlines often misrepresent alleged discoveries.
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Fri, 18 Apr 2025 - 3287 - Unearthed! in Spring 2025, Part 2
Part two of the spring 2025 installment of Unearthed! features the potpourri category, plus drones/radar/lidar, books and letters, animals, edibles and potables, shipwrecks, swords (sort of) and cats.
Wed, 16 Apr 2025 - 3286 - Unearthed! in Spring 2025, Part 1
The first part of our springtime edition of Unearthed! for 2025 features so many updates! There are also finds related to Egypt and artwork.
Mon, 14 Apr 2025 - 3285 - SYMHC Classics: George Wallace
This 2016 episode covers George Wallace, one of the most prominent voices against the Civil Rights Movement and its objectives. He spent multiple campaigns for both governor and president on an explicitly pro-segregation platform.
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Sat, 12 Apr 2025 - 3284 - Behind the Scenes Minis: The Tricky Topic
Tracy shares how she went from concern that there wouldn't be enough research material for an episode to developing this week's topic into two. Both Tracy and Holly discuss their family connections to the war.
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Fri, 11 Apr 2025 - 3283 - Vietnam Draft Board Raids, Part 2
Vandalism at draft board offices as U.S. involvement in Vietnam was escalating was deeply divisive. Opponents of the war were stereotyped as dirty hippies and sanctimonious white college kids, but the anti-Vietnam-war movement in the U.S. was really broad.
Wed, 09 Apr 2025 - 3282 - Vietnam Draft Board Raids, Part 1
The draft board raids were part of an antiwar movement, largely grounded in Catholic religious convictions, that spanned almost four years. Part one covers the basic context of the Vietnam War and why the U.S. was involved in the first place, and the earliest raids on draft boards.
Mon, 07 Apr 2025 - 3281 - SYMHC Classics: Lucille Ball
This 2017 episode covers Lucille Ball, the grande dame of American comedy. The famed star worked in modeling, radio and film, but she really made her mark in television, and her work set the standard for the TV sitcom.
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Sat, 05 Apr 2025 - 3280 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Dorothy and Strawberries
Tracy and Holly talk about Dorothy Arzner's reluctance to talk about her past projects. Holly questions some of the statistics about strawberry consumption.
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Fri, 04 Apr 2025 - 3279 - Strawberries
The story of how strawberries went from small forage item to one of the world’s most popular fruits – though they're technically not a true fruit – involves lots of crossbreeding experimentation, as you might expect, but also a bit of spy craft.
Wed, 02 Apr 2025 - 3278 - Dorothy Arzner
Dorothy Arzner wasn’t the first female film director in the U.S., but she was really the only one working in the studio system during most of the period that’s known as the Hollywood Golden Age. Her short career was still incredibly prolific.
Mon, 31 Mar 2025 - 3277 - SYMHC Classics: William Desmond Taylor Murder
This 2017 episode covers the early days of Hollywood, and its reputation for debauchery. When a high-profile director was murdered, it added to that image, and revealed that Taylor, like so many in Hollywood, had lots of secrets.
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Sat, 29 Mar 2025 - 3276 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Strikes and Dear Kurt
Tracy talks about the difficulty of finding English-language writing about another strike she'd like to cover. Holly talks about why Kurt Vonnegut appeals so deeply to teenagers.
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Fri, 28 Mar 2025 - 3275 - Live From ICC: Kurt Vonnegut
Holly is joined by guest host Bryan Young for a live show at Indiana Comic Con, focused on the life and work of the author Kurt Vonnegut, known for his dark humor and dystopian visions of the future.
Wed, 26 Mar 2025 - 3274 - 1946 Oakland General Strike
The 1946 Oakland General Strike was part of a massive wave of strikes that took place in the U.S. in 1945 and 1946. Over two days in Oakland, California, and the surrounding area, thousands of strikers shut the city down.
Mon, 24 Mar 2025 - 3273 - SYMHC Classics: Flint Sit-down Strike
This late 2021 episode covers a strike in Flint, Michigan, which was at the heart of auto manufacturing for General Motors in 1936. And while the strike was largely centered around Flint, it also involved workers at GM factories all over the U.S.
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Sat, 22 Mar 2025 - 3272 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Morality and Friction
Holly and Tracy discuss the creepy nature of the Children's Morality Code project. Tracy covers the varied conflicts that Mary Hunter Austin had with numerous people.
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Fri, 21 Mar 2025 - 3271 - Mary Hunter Austin
Mary Hunter Austin was a U.S. writer known for walking throughout the American Southwest. But her life of activism was far more complicated than brief bios usually mention.
Wed, 19 Mar 2025 - 3270 - Children’s Morality Code of 1916
In 1916, the National Institution for Moral Instruction had a contest to see who could come up with the best morality code. For kids. Evolving views on childhood, child labor laws, patriotism, and eugenics influenced this effort.
Mon, 17 Mar 2025 - 3269 - SYMHC Classics: Dr. Couney's Baby Sideshow
This 2019 episode looks at Couney's incubator sideshows of premature babies. This is complicated; Couney made money from this, and his medical experience was questionable. But premature babies weren’t getting a lot of care otherwise.
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Sat, 15 Mar 2025 - 3268 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Incorrect Lillian and Reading Kids
Tracy notes the wild array of incorrect information that circulates about Lillian Exum Clement. Then she and Holly talk about childhood reading habits.
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Fri, 14 Mar 2025 - 3266 - Gertrude Chandler Warner: ‘The Boxcar Children’ and Beyond
Gertrude Chandler Warner's most well known writing is "The Boxcar Children." But that series is far from the only professional writing Chandler did – she made a career as a writer while also teaching elementary school for decades.
Wed, 12 Mar 2025 - 3265 - Exum Clement, Attorney at Law
Lillian Exum Clement Stafford was one of the first women in North Carolina to practice law, and the first woman in the South to be elected to a state legislature.
Mon, 10 Mar 2025 - 3264 - SYMHC Classics: Lost Cause of the Confederacy
This 2020 episode covers the myth of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. The Lost Cause was a distortion of the history of the U.S. Civil War that’s still affecting the world today.
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Sat, 08 Mar 2025 - 3263 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Tracy’s Frustration
Tracy shares issues she has with overly reductive internet videos that misrepresent the story of nixtamalization. She and Holly also discuss the various ways they like to eat corn.
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Fri, 07 Mar 2025 - 3262 - Pellagra, Part 2
This episode on the pellagra epidemic focuses on its prevalence in the U.S. in the early 20th century. Some of the scientific work done to understand it involves self-experimentation, and some of it is ethically problematic by today’s standards.
Wed, 05 Mar 2025 - 3261 - Pellagra, Part 1
The pellagra epidemic of the early 20th century may have been the deadliest epidemic of a specific nutrient deficiency in U.S. history. Part one covers what it is, its appearance in 19th-century Italy, and the first reports of it in the U.S.
Mon, 03 Mar 2025 - 3260 - SYMHC Classics: Coxey's Army
This 2020 episode covers the first protest march on Washington, D.C., led by Jacob Sechler Coxey in the 1890s. His plan was job creation for the nation's unemployed population with projects that would build the country's infrastructure.
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Sat, 01 Mar 2025 - 3259 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Spiteful Robert
Holly talks about how impossible it is to build a spite house now, thanks to municipal building codes. She also shares some uncertain stories of the childhood of Robert Morris.
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Fri, 28 Feb 2025 - 3258 - Robert Morris, War Finance, and Early Bankruptcy Law in the U.S.
Robert Morris is one of the lesser-mentioned founding fathers of the U.S. When he is mentioned, he is called the financier of the Revolutionary War. But his story is more complicated than that.
Wed, 26 Feb 2025 - 3257 - Spite Houses
A spite house is a structure that is built by one party to irritate another, or to cause some sort of difficulty or even damage. And there have been a lot of them built over the years, though there aren’t a huge number remaining.
Mon, 24 Feb 2025 - 3256 - SYMHC Classics: Six Impossible Episodes - Other Ins
This 2020 episode covers direct action demonstrations and protests that have some similarities to the sit-in movement.
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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 - 3255 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Hydroponies and Horse Flipping
Holly talks about her gardening efforts and an amusing machine reading error. Tracy talks about her expectations of researching the epizootic of 1872, and My Little Pony toys turning 40.
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Fri, 21 Feb 2025 - 3254 - Great Epizootic of 1872
The epizootic of 1872 was a massive outbreak of a flulike illness primarily among horses in North America, Central America, and some islands in the Caribbean.
Wed, 19 Feb 2025 - 3253 - The Rise of Modern Hydroponics
The practice of growing plants in water rather than soil isn't new, though early examples are difficult to substantiate. In the 1930s, hydroponic plant culture made headlines, but the field also had conflict among researchers.
Mon, 17 Feb 2025 - 3252 - SYMHC Classics: William Montague Cobb
This 2021 episode covers William Montague Cobb, who was the first Black person in the U.S. to earn a PhD in physical anthropology. He was also an activist and an anatomy professor at Howard University.
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Sat, 15 Feb 2025 - 3251 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Law and Medicine
Tracy discusses the inherent challenge of talking about topics that relate to current events. She also shares more information about Emma Reynolds that didn't really fit into the Dr. Daniel Hale Williams episode.
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Fri, 14 Feb 2025 - 3250 - Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams is often described as the first person to successfully perform an open-heart surgery. That's not entirely accurate, but he was still a surgical innovator, and he was also a huge part of the Black Hospital Movement.
Wed, 12 Feb 2025 - 3249 - United States vs. Wong Kim Ark
The 1898 supreme court case called United States vs. Wong Kim Ark had affected enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act, because the court found that people born in the U.S. to Chinese parents were U.S. citizens.
Mon, 10 Feb 2025 - 3248 - SYMHC Classics: Chae Chan Ping vs. United States
This 2021 episode covers the Chinese Exclusion Act, the United States’ first major immigration law. As its name suggests it specifically targeted people from China, and it led to Supreme Court cases that set the stage for later restrictions.
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Sat, 08 Feb 2025 - 3247 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Helen and Ada
Tracy shares how much she loves the work of Helen McNicoll and how the gaps in her biography posed a challenge during research. Holly talks about Harry Craddock and his efforts to combat prohibition in Britain.
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Fri, 07 Feb 2025 - 3246 - Ada Coleman and the Savoy’s American Bar
Ada Coleman was head bartender at the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London in the early 20th century. She created a cocktail that is still served today, and she's an enduring icon of the bartending industry.
Wed, 05 Feb 2025 - 3245 - Helen McNicoll, Canadian Impressionist
Helen McNicoll was a Canadian painter who had a significant influence on the rise of Impressionism in that country. McNicoll, who lost her hearing in childhood, was quite successful as an artist, though her career and life were short.
Mon, 03 Feb 2025 - 3244 - SYMHC Classics: Jelling Stones
This 2016 episode looks at the beginning of Denmark's monarchy and its link to two large rune stones at Jelling. Is it possible that the stones were part of an effort on Harald Blátand's part to revise the history of his parents, Gorm and Thyre?
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Sat, 01 Feb 2025 - 3243 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Iceland and Obstinance
Tracy talks about the way she usually handles names in episodes, and how Icelandic naming conventions changes that. Holly discusses the way that one leader’s petulance can lead nations into unnecessary conflict.
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Fri, 31 Jan 2025 - 3242 - Isles of Scilly and the 335 Years War
The Isles of Scilly were part of one of the longest wars in human history, but the main reason for the length of the very mild conflict was lagging paperwork.
Wed, 29 Jan 2025 - 3241 - Jón Arason, Last Catholic Bishop of Iceland
Jón Arason was the last Catholic bishop in Iceland before it became a Lutheran country. His story involves a lot of gory details in this story including a pretty gruesome beheading.
Mon, 27 Jan 2025 - 3240 - SYMHC Classics: Christine de Pizan
This 2018 episode covers Christine de Pizan, who wrote verse, military manuals, and treatises on war, peace and the just governance. She was the official biographer of King Charles V of France and wrote about Joan of Arc in her lifetime.
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Sat, 25 Jan 2025 - 3238 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Tamara and Isaac
Holly and Tracy talk about the spiky parts of Tamara de Lempicka's life story. They also discuss how Isaac Pitman benefitted from his association with a bible publisher.
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Fri, 24 Jan 2025 - 3237 - Isaac Pitman’s Shorthand
Humans have been writing in abbreviated ways as long as writing has existed. In the 19th century, Isaac Pitman developed – and marketed – a system of shorthand that became widely adopted.
Wed, 22 Jan 2025 - 3236 - Tamara de Lempicka
Tamara de Lemicka was a trailblazer with an incredible, fresh style that really defined and influenced the development of Art Deco. She lived a life that was focused on originality, both artistically and personally.
Mon, 20 Jan 2025 - 3235 - SYMHC Classics: Peter Roget
This 2022 episode covers Peter Roget, a doctor and scientist who really liked putting things into classification systems. His life was very dramatic well before he came up with the book that is his legacy.
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Sat, 18 Jan 2025 - 3234 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Petra Peccadillo
Tracy expands on her frustration with coverage of the Petra find. She then discusses selecting topics for Unearthed! that delight her, and Holly shares a personal unearthing.
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Fri, 17 Jan 2025 - 3233 - Unearthed! Year-end 2024, Part 2
Continuing the end of year 2024 edition of Unearthed!, this installment includes these categories: potpourri, edibles and potables, and books and letters
Wed, 15 Jan 2025 - 3232 - Unearthed! Year-end 2024, Part 1
This first installment the end of year 2024 edition of Unearthed! starts with updates, so many shipwrecks, and so much art.
Mon, 13 Jan 2025 - 3231 - SYMHC Classics: Zoë and Theodora
This 2021 episode covers two women rulers of 11th-century Constantinople. Sometimes Zoë ruled alongside one of her husbands, sometimes she and Theodora ruled together, and in the end, Theodora ruled alone.
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Sat, 11 Jan 2025 - 3230 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Accidental Mary Week
Holly talks about Mary Lease's racism, and the barriers to accessing the one biography that really examines it. Tracy traces the steps she took into the rabbit hole of Mary McLeod Bethune's birth and family story.
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Fri, 10 Jan 2025 - 3229 - Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune was an educator, activist, and civil servant who dedicated her entire life to the pursuit of racial and gender equality. Her impressive legacy includes schools, legislation, and the formation of the Women's Army Corps.
Wed, 08 Jan 2025 - 3228 - Mary Elizabeth Lease
Mary Elizabeth Lease was a progressive political activist who fought big business, worked on behalf of the common man, and believed strongly in the importance of third parties in the U.S. political system. But there are also some really problematic parts of her story and ideology.
Mon, 06 Jan 2025 - 3227 - SYMHC Classics: Griffith Jenkins Griffith
This 2021 episode covers G.J. Griffith, who today is associated with the Los Angeles park and the observatory. But during his time, Griffith was associated with other things: real estate, social climbing, and a horrifying domestic abuse scandal.
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Sat, 04 Jan 2025 - 3226 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Stitching Hangovers
Holly and Tracy talk about sewing machines in their lives. Tracy talks about how she thought hangover research would be easy, but it turned out to be quite challenging.
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Fri, 03 Jan 2025 - 3225 - A Hodgepodge of Hangover History
Humans probably started fermenting things on purpose by about 10,000 BCE. But when did they start discussing the aftereffects that come from drinking too much?
Wed, 01 Jan 2025 - 3224 - Helen A. Blanchard, Sewing Machine Innovator
A lot of sewing techniques being taught and used today came from the mind of one innovator: Helen Blanchard. She held 28 patents, most related to sewing, and she shaped the way the garment industry functioned.
Research:
“1854 – Walter Hunt’s Patent Model of a Sewing Machine.” Smithsonian. National Museum of American History. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1070410 “1873 - Helen A. Blanchard's Sewing machine Patent Model (buttonhole).” Smithsonian. National Museum of American History. https://www.si.edu/object/1873-helen-blanchards-sewing-machine-patent-model-buttonhole%3Anmah_1069711 “A Woman’s Pluck.” The Portland Daily Press. Aug. 24, 1886. https://www.newspapers.com/image/875134248/?match=1&terms=%22Helen%20A.%20blanchard%22 Blanchard, Helen A. “Improvement in Sewing Machines.” USPO. Aug. 19, 1873. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/11/99/2a/c5331644eba132/US141987.pdf Blanchard, Helen A. “IMPROVEMENT IN ELASTIC GORINGS FOR SHOES.” USPO. Sept. 14, 1875. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/e4/91/7f/d5eca5e95653b8/US167732.pdf Blanchard, Helen A. “IMPROVEMENT IN ELASTIC SEAMS FOR GARMENTS.” USPO. April 13, 1875. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/22/f6/ab/176ada1cf78526/US162019.pdf Blanchard, Helen. A. “Surgical Needle.” USPO. Oct. 9, 1894. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/55/6a/29/283ec2c85e7b0d/US527263.pdf Blanchard, Helen A. “Improvement in Welted and Covered Seams.” USPO. Aug. 19, 1875. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/7b/34/59/3e6a0f48970df6/US174764.pdf Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "panic." Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Apr. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/money/panic-economics DiPhilippo, Kathryn Onos. “Window on the Past – Local Women in History: Helen Blanchard.” Portland Herald. June 24, 2020. https://www.pressherald.com/2020/06/24/window-on-the-past-6/#:~:text=Around%201881%2C%20Helen%20and%20Louise%20Blanchard%20started,own%20company%2C%20the%20Blanchard%20Overseam%20Machine%20Company. “Helen A. Blanchard has filed …” The Philadelphia Inquirer. Dec. 23, 1900. https://www.newspapers.com/image/168365258/?match=1&terms=%22Helen%20A.%20blanchard%22 “Helen Blanchard: Sewing Machine Improvements.” Lemelson-MIT. https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/helen-blanchard “Helen Blanchard - Zig-Zag Sewing Machine.” National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/inductees/helen-blanchard Herzberg, Rudolph, tr. By Upfield Green. “The Sewing machine: Its History, Construction, and Application.” London. E. & F.N. Spon. 1864. https://archive.org/details/sewingmachineit00herzgoog “Miss Helen Blanchard … “ Portland Sunday Telegraph. Dec. 3, 1899. https://www.newspapers.com/image/846596628/?match=1&terms=%22Helen%20A.%20blanchard%22 “Motor and Lumber Companies Incorporated.” Boston Evening Transcript. May 09, 1900. https://www.newspapers.com/image/735352621/?match=1&terms=%22Helen%20A.%20blanchard%22 “NO AUCTION SALE.” Portland Sunday Telegram. Jan 31, 1915. https://www.newspapers.com/image/846796566/?match=1&terms=%22Helen%20A.%20blanchard%22 “The Portland Advertiser states … “ Bangor Daily Whig and Courier. Jul. 09, 1853. https://www.newspapers.com/image/663005747/?match=1&terms=thomas%20knight%20shipyard%20fire Stanley, Autumn. “Mothers and Daughters of Invention.” Rutgers University Press. 1995. “Superior Court.” The Portland Daily Press. Dec 22, 1900. https://www.newspapers.com/image/875209480/?match=1&terms=%22Helen%20A.%20blanchard%22 Willard, Frances Elizabeth. “A Woman of the Century.” Moulton. January 1893. Accessed online: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=zXEEAAAAYAAJ&rdid=book-zXEEAAAAYAAJ&rdot=1 “Woman Inventor Was Last of an Old Time Family.” Evening Express. Jan 13, 1922. https://www.newspapers.com/image/851331069/?article=4c97fcf5-4fbc-4149-8dc4-4160e6411049See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mon, 30 Dec 2024 - 3223 - SYMHC Classics: F.W. Murnau
This 2019 episode covers F.W. Murnau, most well known for directing the first vampire film. But the German-born creator went on to make a number of influential films before his early death.
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Sat, 28 Dec 2024 - 3222 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Pumpkin Spice Christmas
Tracy and Holly discuss the seasonal nature of pumpkin spice, and medicinal uses of nutmeg. They then talk about artificial versus real Christmas trees.
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Fri, 27 Dec 2024 - 3221 - Christmas Décor
This episode looks at the early days of Christmas trees, the origin of glass ornaments, and the practice of mounting lit candles on trees before electric bulbs were invented.
Wed, 25 Dec 2024 - 3220 - A History of Nutmeg
Nutmeg is native to the Banda Islands in Indonesia. Once Europeans discovered nutmeg, they had an enormous - often violent - impact on the islands it was growing on.
Mon, 23 Dec 2024 - 3219 - SYMHC Classics: Madame Blavatsky
This 2020 episode covers the iconic figure of mysticism, Madame Blavatsky. She was the founder of the theosophical movement, and lived a life of adventure that's hard to believe.
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Sat, 21 Dec 2024 - 3218 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Society for Disastrous Accidents
Holly talks about the many, many organizations that Joaquín Torres-García formed. Tracy discusses how there was no plan in place before the SL-1 accident to deal with radioactive bodies.
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Fri, 20 Dec 2024 - 3217 - The SL-1 Reactor Incident
The Stationary Low-Power Plant Number 1 was a small boiling-water reactor built at the National Reactor Testing Station, west of Idaho Falls, Idaho. On January 3, 1961, during a restart of the reactor, a catastrophic tragedy unfolded when the reactor went supercritical.
Wed, 18 Dec 2024 - 3216 - Joaquín Torres-García
Joaquín Torres-García was Uruguayan-born artist who wanted to bring Constructivism and Modernism to Latin America, and worked for much of his life promoting the idea that Latin-American voices should be part of the Modernist art movement.
Mon, 16 Dec 2024 - 3215 - SYMHC Classics: Demon Core
This 2020 episode covers the sphere of plutonium-gallium alloy that the U.S. made for use in an atomic bomb during World War II known as the Demon Core was It was the source of two fatal criticality accidents.
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Sat, 14 Dec 2024 - 3214 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Complicated Ely
Tracy relays how Sarah Winnemucca's story inspired this week's episodes, though they were recorded about a month apart, and also how Ely S. Parker is one of the most complicated figures she has ever written about.
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Fri, 13 Dec 2024 - 3213 - Ely S. Parker and Ulysses S. Grant (Part 2)
While working for the Treasury Department, Ely S. Parker met someone who would become a big part of much of the rest of his life – Ulysses S. Grant. It was through this connection that Parker gained a good deal of power, and cemented a controversial legacy.
Research:
· Adams, James Ring. “The Many Careers of Ely Parker.” National Museum of the American Indian. Fall 2011.
· Babcock, Barry. “The Story of Donehogawa, First Indian Commissioner of Indian Affairs.” ICT. 9/13/2018. https://ictnews.org/archive/the-story-of-donehogawa-first-indian-commissioner-of-indian-affairs
· Contrera, Jessica. “The interracial love story that stunned Washington — twice! — in 1867.” Washington Post. 2/13/2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/02/13/interracial-love-story-that-stunned-washington-twice/
· DeJong, David H. “Ely S. Parker Commissioner of Indian Affairs (April 26, 1869–July 24,1871).” From Paternalism to Partnership: The Administration of Indian Affairs, 1786–2021. University of Nebraska Press. (2021). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2cw0sp9.29
· Eves, Megan. “Repatriation and Reconciliation: The Seneca Nation, The Buffalo History Museum and the Repatriation of the Red Jacket Peace Medal.” Museum Association of New York. 5/26/2021. https://nysmuseums.org/MANYnews/10559296
· Genetin-Pilawa, C. Joseph. “Ely Parker and the Contentious Peace Policy.” Western Historical Quarterly , Vol. 41, No. 2 (Summer 2010). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/westhistquar.41.2.0196
· Genetin-Pilawa, C. Joseph. “Ely S. Parker and the Paradox of Reconstruction Politics in Indian Country.” From “The World the Civil War Made. Gregory P. Downs and Kate Masur, editors. University of North Carolina Press. July 2015.
· Ginder, Jordan and Caitlin Healey. “Biographies: Ely S. Parker.” United States Army National Museum. https://www.thenmusa.org/biographies/ely-s-parker/
· Hauptman, Laurence M. “On Our Terms: The Tonawanda Seneca Indians, Lewis Henry Morgan, and Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, 1844–1851.” New York History , FALL 2010, Vol. 91, No. 4 (FALL 2010). https://www.jstor.org/stable/23185816
· Henderson, Roger C. “The Piikuni and the U.S. Army’s Piegan Expedition.” Montana: The Magazine of Western History. Spring 2018. https://mhs.mt.gov/education/IEFA/HendersonMMWHSpr2018.pdf
· Hewitt, J.N.B. “The Life of General Ely S. Parker, Last Grand Sachem of the Iroquois and General Grant's Military Secretary.” Review. The American Historical Review, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Jul., 1920). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1834953
· Historical Society of the New York Courts. “Blacksmith v. Fellows, 1852.” https://history.nycourts.gov/case/blacksmith-v-fellows/ Historical Society of the New York Courts. “Ely S. Parker.” https://history.nycourts.gov/figure/ely-parker/
· Historical Society of the New York Courts. “New York ex rel. Cutler v. Dibble, 1858.” https://history.nycourts.gov/case/cutler-v-dibble/
· Hopkins, John Christian. “Ely S. Parker: Determined to Make a Difference.” Native Peoples Magazine, Vol. 17 Issue 6, p78, Sep/Oct2004.
· Justia. “Fellows v. Blacksmith, 60 U.S. 366 (1856).” https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/60/366/
· Michaelsen, Scott. “Ely S. Parker and Amerindian Voices in Ethnography.” American Literary History , Winter, 1996, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Winter, 1996). https://www.jstor.org/stable/490115
· Mohawk, John. “Historian Interviews: John Mohawk, PhD.” PBS. Warrior in Two Worlds. https://www.pbs.org/warrior/content/historian/mohawk.html
· National Parks Service. “Ely Parker.” Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. https://www.nps.gov/people/ely-parker.htm
· Parker, Arthur C. “The Life of General Ely S. Parker: Last Grand Sachem of the Iroquois and General Grant’s Military Secretary.” Buffalo Historical Society. 1919.
· Parker, Ely S. “Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.” December 23, 1869. Parker, Ely. Letter to Harriet Converse, 1885. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/letter-to-harriet-converse/ PBS. “A Warrior in Two Worlds: The Life of Ely Parker.” https://www.pbs.org/warrior/noflash/
· Spurling, Ann, producer and writer and Richard Young, director. “Warrior in Two Worlds.” Wes Studi, Narrator. WXXI. 1999. https://www.pbs.org/video/wxxi-documentaries-warrior-two-worlds/
· Vergun, David. “Engineer Became Highest Ranking Native American in Union Army.” U.S. Department of Defense. 11/2/2021. https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/2781759/engineer-became-highest-ranking-native-american-in-union-army/
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Wed, 11 Dec 2024 - 3212 - Ely S. Parker and the Tonawanda Seneca (Part 1)
Ely S. Parker was instrumental in both the creation of President President Ulysses S. Grant’s “peace policy." Parker was Seneca, and he was the first Indigenous person to be placed in a cabinet-level position in the U.S. and the first Indigenous person to serve as Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Mon, 09 Dec 2024 - 3211 - SYMHC Classics: Scurvy
This 2020 episode covers scurvy, a deficiency in vitamin C. Its story goes way back in history – all the way to our evolutionary ancestors living more than 60 million years ago.
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Sat, 07 Dec 2024 - 3210 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Impossible Shoes
Tracy talks about getting listener requests, and wonders about the details of one the stories from Monday's show. Tracy and Holly talk about the size of Lynn, Massachusetts, and Holly waxes rhapsodic about shoes.
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Fri, 06 Dec 2024 - 3209 - Jan Ernst Matzeliger
The shoes you’re wearing today likely were made possible by an invention from the late 19th century. But the inventor of that machine, who had little to no formal education, didn’t really get to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
Wed, 04 Dec 2024 - 3208 - Six Impossible Episodes: Listener Requests III
This episode includes six stories requested by listeners that wouldn't quite work as standalone episodes. The topics include: Nellie Cashman, Ela of Salisbury, Charles "Teenie" Harris, Jane Gaugain, Edward A. Carter Jr., and Alice Ball.
Mon, 02 Dec 2024 - 3207 - SYMHC Classics: Ko'olau Rebellion
This 2016 episode covers the introduction of Hansen's disease to Hawaii, when businessmen, especially from the U.S., were having an increasing influence on the Hawaiian government.
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Sat, 30 Nov 2024 - 3206 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Unplanned Sarah Week
Tracy talks about the SYMHC calendar, and the controversial nature of Sarah Winnemucca's life story. She also discusses the different ways people have labeled Sara's autobiography.
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Fri, 29 Nov 2024 - 3205 - Sarah Winnemucca, Part 2
As an adult, Sarah Winnemucca spent a lot of time trying to advocate for the Northern Paiute, although her legacy in that regard has some complexities.
Wed, 27 Nov 2024 - 3204 - Sarah Winnemucca, Part 1
Sarah Winnemucca was Northern Paiute and was born not long before her band had their first contact with people of European descent. That happened in the middle of the 19th century, which means she lived through a lot– this episode covers her early life.
Research:
· Carpenter, Cari M. “Sarah Winnemucca Goes to Washington: Rhetoric and Resistance in the Capital City.” American Indian Quarterly , Vol. 40, No. 2 (Spring 2016). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5250/amerindiquar.40.2.0087
· Dolan, Kathryn Cornell. “Cattle and Sovereignty in the Work of Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins.” The American Indian Quarterly, Volume 44, Number 1, Winter 2020. https://doi.org/10.1353/aiq.2020.a752911
· Eves, Rosalyn Collings. “Finding Place to Speak: Sarah Winnemucca's Rhetorical Practices in Disciplinary Spaces.” Legacy , Vol. 31, No. 1 (2014). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5250/legacy.31.1.0001
· Eves, Rosalyn. “Sarah Winnemucca Devoted Her Life to Protecting Native Americans in the Face of an Expanding United States.” Smithsonian. 7/27/2016. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/sarah-winnemucca-devoted-life-protecting-lives-native-americans-face-expanding-united-states-180959930/
· Hanrahan, Heidi M. “"[W]orthy the imitation of the whites": Sarah Winnemucca and Mary Peabody Mann's Collaboration.” MELUS , SPRING 2013, Vol. 38, No. 1, Cross-Racial and Cross-Ethnic Collaboration and Scholoarship (SPRING 2013). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42001207
· Hopkins, Sarah Winnemucca. “Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims.” Boston: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 1883. https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/winnemucca/piutes/piutes.html
· Kohler, Michelle. “Sending Word: Sarah Winnemucca and the Violence of Writing.” Arizona Quarterly: A Journal of American Literature, Culture, and Theory, Volume 69, Number 3, Autumn 2013. https://doi.org/10.1353/arq.2013.0021
· Martin, Nicole. “Sarah Winnemucca.” Fort Vancouver Historical Site. National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/people/sarah-winnemucca.htm
· Martínez, David. “Neither Chief Nor Medicine Man: The Historical Role of the “Intellectual” in the American Indian Community.” Studies in American Indian Literatures , Vol. 26, No. 1 (Spring 2014). https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5250/studamerindilite.26.1.0029
· McClure, Andrew S. “Sarah Winnemucca: [Post]Indian Princess and Voice of the Paiutes.” MELUS , Summer, 1999, Vol. 24, No. 2, Religion, Myth and Ritual (Summer, 1999). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/467698 Nevada Women’s History Project. “Sarah Winnemucca.” https://nevadawomen.org/research-center/biographies-alphabetical/sarah-winnemucca/
· "Sarah Winnemucca." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631007030/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=fff26ec7. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.
· "Sarah Winnemucca." Historic World Leaders, edited by Anne Commire, Gale, 1994. Gale In Context: U.S. History,
· link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1616000622/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=e5a6b25f. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.
· Scherer, Joanna Cohan. “The Public Faces of Sarah Winnemucca.” Cultural Anthropology , May, 1988, Vol. 3, No. 2 (May, 1988). Via JSTOR. http://www.jstor.com/stable/656350
· Shaping History: Women in Capital Art. “Sarah Winnemucca and Sakakawea: Native American Voices in the Capitol Collection.” Podcast. 5/26/2020.
· Slattery, Ryan. “Winnemucca statue erected in U.S. Capitol.” ICT. 3/23/2005. https://ictnews.org/archive/winnemucca-statue-erected-in-us-capitol
· Sneider, Leah. “Gender, Literacy, and Sovereignty in Winnemucca's Life among the Piutes.” American Indian Quarterly , Vol. 36, No. 3 (Summer 2012). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5250/amerindiquar.36.3.0257
· Sorisio, Carolyn.” Playing the Indian Princess? Sarah Winnemucca's Newspaper Career and Performance of American Indian Identities.” Studies in American Indian Literatures , Vol. 23, No. 1 (Spring 2011)
· "Winnemucca, Sarah." Westward Expansion Reference Library, edited by Allison McNeill, et al., vol. 2: Biographies, UXL, 2000, pp. 227-236. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3426500057/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=e5519449. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.
· Zanjani, Sally. “Sarah Winnemucca.” University of Nebraska Press. 2001.
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Mon, 25 Nov 2024 - 3203 - SYMHC Classics: Treaty of Waitangi
This 2014 episode covers the Treaty of Waitangi, a treaty between the British and the Maori that established New Zealand as a nation. The goal was to benefit both parties, but a hurried translation of the document led to some confusion.
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Sat, 23 Nov 2024 - 3201 - Behind the Scenes Minis: Questionable Jokes and Turkey
Holly notes the racist views of one of Charles Brown's biographers. Tracy and Holly also discuss presidential proclamations and the ways Thanksgiving has been framed as a feel-good story over the years.
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Fri, 22 Nov 2024
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