Stuff You Missed in History Class

Part one of this quarter's edition of Unearthed! features updates, medical things, books and letters, oldest known things, and smells. Research: Abdallah, Hannah. “Analysis of charred food in pot reveals that prehistoric Europeans had surprisingly complex cuisines.” EurekAlert. 3/4/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1117763 Almeroth-Williams, Thomas. “British redcoat&...

This 2022 episode covers how Courbet was iconic even in his own lifetime. He flew in the face of artistic convention, ushered in a new movement of Realism in France, and became embroiled in the country’s political turmoil.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy shares her intentions to cover Peter Kropotkin years ago, and also unpacks some of the positive and negative aspects of his life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After returning to Russia, Kropotkin was captured and imprisoned. But his life took many turns from there, and in 1902 he published his book book “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution.” Research: "Peter Alekseevich Kropotkin." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631003701/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GP...

Peter Kropotkin was incredibly influential in the development of anarchism in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Part one of this subject focuses on the formative moments in his early life that contributed to his becoming an anarchist communist. Research: "Peter Alekseevich Kropotkin." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/...

This 2021 episode examines the Haymarket Riot, one of the many interconnected events and people and movements that are all integral to defining the basic idea of what a full-time job is in the U.S.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly talks about Gladys Bentley's gender presentation, and the trouble with Maceo Sheffield. She and Tracy also discuss James Braid's ethics in both medicine and hypnotism. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Braid is known for his work in hypnotism. But he was also a surgeon with a reputation for pioneering new treatments before he became fascinated with the scientific underpinnings of mesmerism. Research: Braid, James, and Arthur Edward Waite, ed. “Braid on hypnotism. Neurypnology; or, The rationale of nervous sleep considered in relation to animal magnetism or mesmerism and illustrated by nume...

Gladys Bentley was a part of the Harlem Renaissance as a performer – she played piano and sang in ways that drew huge crowds starting in the 1920s, and she was completely out as a lesbian. But her story takes some surprising turns. Research: Adkins, Judith. “These People Are Frightened to Death.” Prologue Magazine. National Archives. Summer 2016. Vol. 48, No. 2. https://www.archi...

This 2022 episode covers Moms Mabley, whose career lasted more than six decades. She was hugely influential, and inspired so many comedians and other performers who came after her. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy discuss the idea of autosuggestion and positive self-talk. Tracy shares her thoughts on writings about the Pompey stone.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Pompey Stone was discovered in the early 1820s, and was believed to be hundreds of years old. It turned out to be a hoax, but a fairly benign one. Research: Barber, John Warner and Henry Howe. “Historical collections of the state of New York : containing a general collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c. relating to its history and a...

Émile Coué genuinely seems to have wanted to help people by teaching them how to plant helpful directives in their subconscious minds. Whether he was effective is something that's still debated.  Research: Baldwin, J. Mark, et al. “A Disclaimer.” Science, vol. 12, no. 309, 1900, pp. 850–850. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1629542 Baudouin, Charles...

This 2021 episode covers Louis Daguerre, who comes up almost any time we mention photography. Well before he figured out how to capture images through a camera obscura, he was an artist and innovator in entertainment. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly talks about the frustration of not finding any solid evidence of where Richard Peters stood on the issue of slavery. Tracy wonders what Elizabeth Fulhame's relationship with her husband was like. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elizabeth Fulhame’s biography is largely a mystery, but in 1794 she wrote a book on chemistry that was way ahead of its time. Research: Steinmark, Ida Emilie. “Elizabeth Fulhame: The Scientist the World Forgot.” Royal Society of Chemistry. 10/10/2017. https://edu.rsc.org/opinion/elizabeth-fulhame-the-scientist-the-world-forgot/3008111.article Shah, Irfan. “Rivers of Silver,...

Peters is responsible for many of the institutions that make up the identity of the city of Atlanta. And as a man from Pennsylvania, he had unique position regarding the U.S. Civil War.  Research: “Atlanta’s Suburb.” The Atlanta Journal. April 1, 1884. https://www.newspapers.com/image/968900463/?match=1&terms=Richard%20Peters Black, Nellie Peters. “Richard Peters,...

This 2021 episode shares how in the U.S., the idea that people should know about the risks involved with the drugs that they are taking is tied directly to the complicated and often troubling history of oral contraceptives.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy talks about a "Molly of Denali" episode that references Elizabeth Peratrovich. She then shares her own experience with IUD insertion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IUDs are under the umbrella of long-acting, reversible contraceptives, and they’re the oldest one of these in use today.  Research: Baldauf, P et al. “A Report on the Hysteroscopic Removal of a Gräfenberg Ring After Almost Fifty Years in Utero.” Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde vol. 74,11 (2014): 1023-1025. doi:10.1055/s-0034-1383130. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articl...

Elizabeth Peratrovich is most well-known for her work to pass Alaska’s Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945. But her story also has more to it than that act. Research: Anchorage Museum. “Elizabeth Peratrovich.” https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/exhibits/extra-tough-women-of-the-north/women-of-the-north-profiles/elizabeth-peratrovich-major-force-behind-alaskas-anti-discrimination-bill/ A...

This 2022 episode covers Lucy Hobbs, later Lucy Hobbs Taylor, who pursued a career in dentistry before that was recognized as an acceptable vocation for a woman. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy talks about the mixed bag nature of Elizabeth Bisland, and the hosts talk about their own travel experiences. Holly shares the less-than-noble character trait that she shares with Flaubert. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Madame Bovary was written in the 1850s, it fell under the accusing eye of the French government for its perceived immorality. Flaubert recognized that the trial would only stoke interest, and that it would set the tone for his career. Research: Barzun, Jacques. “Gustave Flaubert.” Encylopedia Brittanica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gustave-Flaubert Blakemore, Erin. &ldquo...

Journalist and writer Elizabeth Bisland was sent on a trip around the world in 1889, in a sort of race against Nellie Bly. But that was not something she wanted to be known for. Research: Bisland, Elisabeth. “At the Sign of the Hobby Horse.” Houghton, Mifflin and Co. Riverside Press. 1910. https://archive.org/details/atsignofhobbyhor0000eliz/page/n12/mode/1up Bisland, Elizabeth, 1861-1...