Info

Professor Buzzkill History Podcast

Professor Buzzkill is an exciting blog & podcast that explores history myths in an illuminating, entertaining, and humorous way.
RSS Feed Subscribe in Apple Podcasts
Professor Buzzkill History Podcast
2022
October
May
April
March
February
January


2021
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2020
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2019
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2018
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2017
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2016
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2015
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May


Categories

All Episodes
Archives
Categories
Now displaying: Page 2
Jan 20, 2022

Historian Timothy Galsworthy explains the details and complications of the famous Republican "Southern Strategy" in the election of 1960. He tells us how this strategy was developed much earlier than most people realize, and how Nixon had to use a tense balancing act to woo southern voters who traditionally hated the Republican party. Episode 436.

Jan 17, 2022

One of the absolute best stories flying around the web is the one where a young Scottish farmer boy saved a young English aristocrat from drowning. The aristocrat's grateful father paid for the farmer boy's education. That young farmer boy grew up to become a doctor and to discover penicillin. In later life, he received an emergency call to save a prominent politician's life. The farmer boy's name was Alexander Fleming. The life he saved twice? That of Winston Churchill. But listen to the real story! Episode 435.

Jan 13, 2022

Dr. Einav Rabinovitch-Fox tells us how the rise of mass media culture made fashion a vehicle for women to assert claims over their bodies, femininity, and social roles. As women employed new clothing styles, they expanded feminist activism beyond formal organizations and movements and reclaimed fashion as a realm of pleasure, power, and feminist consciousness. Episode 434.

Jan 13, 2022

Dr. Einav Rabinovitch-Fox tells us how the rise of mass media culture made fashion a vehicle for women to assert claims over their bodies, femininity, and social roles. As women employed new clothing styles, they expanded feminist activism beyond formal organizations and movements and reclaimed fashion as a realm of pleasure, power, and feminist consciousness. Episode 434.

Jan 10, 2022

"At least Mussolini made the trains run on time" is one of history's biggest myths. More importantly, it has been used as a lazy rationalization for electing zealots to high office because they can "get things done." We bust this Mussolini train story in today's Monday Myths to Start the Week. And please remember not to listen to the other "big lies" out there! Episode 433

Jan 7, 2022

Jason Steinhauer joins us to talk over the brilliant ideas and analyses in his new book, "History Disrupted: How Social Media and the World Wide Web Have Changed the Post." A gripping conversation that's at the cutting edge of where history and "e-history" are now, and what might lie in store in the future. Listen and learn! Episode #432

Jan 3, 2022

The "fact" that J. Edgar Hoover (director of the FBI) was a cross-dresser is well-known and mentioned constantly in American culture. But is it true? Did J. Edgar go to parties dressed extravagantly as a woman and call himself "Mary"? We explore this famous story as one of our "Monday Myths to Start the Week." Enjoy! Episode #431

Dec 28, 2021

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!

Dec 21, 2021

Legend has is 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 out there a happy holiday season!

Dec 7, 2021

Professor 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 Bethlehem! 

Dec 6, 2021

Professor Phil Nash joins us to explain the myths and misconceptions about December 7th, 1941, as well as the complexities of the cultural importance of the attack since then. Did FDR know about the attack ahead of time? And who was the attack more devastating for - the United States or Japan? You’ll learn more about an event that you thought you already knew well! 

Dec 4, 2021

I 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 well as supporting actors). Enjoy! Episode #430.

Nov 30, 2021

One of the most popular movies of all time, “It’s a Wonderful Life” (starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed) is a holiday classic. It has also given us a cornucopia of history myths and urban legends. Lend an ear as the Professor analyzes these stories, talks about how the movie was received when released in 1946, and highlights many overlooked supporting actors and plot devices in the film. And you learn why the Professor thinks he also has a “wonderful life”! Episode #398.

Nov 24, 2021

One of the legendary stories that re-appear during Thanksgiving season is that no less a luminary and Founder than Ben Franklin thought that the bald eagle was an improper choice as the national bird and a national symbol. Franklin preferred the more “dignified” turkey, and tried to convince Founding Fathers to agree. Apparently they thought Ben was a senile old sentimentalist, and so they ignored him. But is any of this story true? Listen and find out!

Nov 23, 2021

The Pilgrims and Native Americans sat down on the fourth Thursday of November in 16-something and started the first Thanksgiving dinner, right? You guessed it. Wrong! It took almost 300 years to get to Norman Rockwell’s painting and the Macy’s Parade. Listen and learn, Buzzkillers!

Nov 17, 2021

Historian Ray Boomhower, one of our most popular guests, tells us the story of war correspondent Richard Tregaskis, who put his life on the line many times to bring Americans the stories of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Listen and learn how important war correspondents are to our history! Episode #429

Oct 31, 2021

Buzzkillers have asked us to play the original 1938 radio drama, War of the Worlds, that allegedly caused such a panic. Here it is, in all its historic glory, with a short introduction from Professor Buzzkill. Don't panic!

Oct 30, 2021

A 1938 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 really happened. Encore of episode #387.

Oct 19, 2021

Did the United States really “bail the French out in two world wars,” or is it a blustering, bigoted myth? Professor Phil Nash joins us to discuss what actually happened in World Wars I and II, and whether the United States was “bailing out” the French or repaying a major debt from the American Revolution. Join us as we discuss all the issues. Lafayette, the Buzzkillers are here!

Oct 13, 2021

Dr. Jesse Curtis shows us how white evangelicals in the 20th century US grew their own institutions and created an evangelical form of whiteness, infusing the politics of colorblindness with sacred fervor. They deployed a Christian brand of colorblindness to protect new investments in whiteness. While black evangelicals used the rhetoric of Christian unity to challenge racism, white evangelicals repurposed this language to silence their black counterparts and retain power. Great Show! Listen and Learn! Episode 428

Oct 5, 2021

The Global Cooling “evidence” of the 1970s is a “zombie myth” that has plagued public understanding of climate change ever since. Dr. Andrew Ramey from Carnegie Mellon University explains how this myth started, how the media reported it at the time, and how it has been revived and repeated endlessly ever since. It’s one of the most damaging climate change myths, and it skews the climate change debate in dangerous ways. Episode 427

Sep 28, 2021

Dr. Rebecca DeWolf explains the complicated, yet compelling, history of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and lays out possibilities for its eventual inclusion in the US Constitution. She also tells us why the ERA’s history has included a long-standing debate over “gendered citizenship.” This is the most comprehensive examination of the ERA in podcast history! Listen and learn! Episode 426

Aug 31, 2021

Civil War historian, Kevin Levin, explains the history and development of the myth of black soldiers in the Confederate army. He analyses camp servants and slaves during the war, how their service was remembered after the war, and how it became fictionalized and mythologized in the 1970s. Yes, the 1970s, not the 1870s. A fascinating episode on Civil War history and memory!

Aug 30, 2021

Ron Stallworth, featured in the Spike Lee film, BlackKkKlansman, was a Colorado police detective who convinced the local Ku Klux Klan to accept him as a member in 1979. Using tremendously creative undercover skills, Stallworth was able to dupe the Colorado Springs KKK to accept him as a member. Stallworth was able to gather vital intelligence about Klan activities in the West, including plans for bombings and other major terrorist activities. Find out how he did it in today’s episode!

Aug 24, 2021

Super Buzzkiller Professor Philip Nash joins us to dispel myths about Hitler during World War II. We talk about strategic and operational blunders (especially Operation Barbarossa), harsh occupation policies, declaration of war against the US, and imperial overstretch. We also examine the Holocaust and Holocaust deniers, Hitler’s micromanagement, his declining health, the plots to kill him, and his eventual suicide. Join us in the Buzzkill Bunker!

1 « Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next » 25