History Honeys

Vacation is over, and Alaina takes us back to the land of cubicles and time sheets. There are secret origins, intrigue, and controversy inside every supply closet and catalog. How does an idea go from a novelty to a necessity? Is credit more important than royalties? Who is responsible for paper clips? Please help our show succeed by sharing it. Send a link to someone you know and tell them what y...

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2019, full of promise and hope. We send off the year that was with a pair of remembrances. First, Alaina teaches us about the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918, the deadliest disease known to mankind. Then, Grant tells the story of the Second Defenestration of Prague, and how a 1618 disagreement over building a pair of churches sparked the Thirty Years War.   Links! Smithsoni...

Brazil's 20th century was turbulent. The rules of government were rewritten often, and coups seized and transferred power regularly. Grant talks about a 20-year period where the military ruled directly, through hand-picked presidents taken from their own top ranks. How can you define "democracy" to defend the suspension of representative government? What responsibility does the United States have...

The Dionne Quints were a miracle and a media sensation. Born to an already large family in Depression-era Ontario, their lives were on display for as long as interest continued. Alaina leads us through their lives and asks "who benefits?".  Links! Dionne Quints Heritage Board 1935 news story on the Guardianship Act Pictures of the ads, crowds, and tourist traps that grew up around the children Fiv...

We've been spending a lot of time with US history and it's time to head abroad. Grant gets meta with an episode that does just that! Japan spent hundreds of years isolating itself (from a certain point of view) until an American fleet gave them the opportunity (from a certain point of view) to open their society to the colonial powers. What's the difference between diplomacy and coercion? How can...

The night grows long, but far away is a place where the sun stays in the sky for six months at a time, drawing lazy circles and never crossing the horizon. Such a place could drive one mad. We talk about disasters, suspicious deaths, and a waterfall of blood in our annual Haunted Honeys episode. This year, Alaina takes us on ice. Links! Mashable article on the Terra Nova expidition 360-degree imag...

Continuing our string of connected episodes, Grant dives into one of the events referenced in our previous topic: The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Among the deadliest events in American history, it was a watershed moment. Disaster relief, seismology, and the city itself all changed completely in 1906. Is efficency more valuable than dignity? Is the region prepared for the next one? Links! Eyewit...

In the 1980s a plague struck America, and because of who it hit hardest, America was happy to let it run its course and let them die. The arts are how we make sense of that, and point toward what comes next. Alaina takes us through the conception and reception of Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, perhaps the most highly-regarded play of the 20th Century. We also learn more abou...

Grant takes us back to mid-century America to talk about an emblematic episode of the Cold War. During the Second World War, a number of Americans went behind the government's back to aid an ally. Less than ten yers later, two of them were blamed for millions and millions of deaths, and sentenced to death on coerced and extremely tenuous testimony. Can the letter of the law stand against its use a...

Alaina discusses a less-known Chicago disaster, but first provides some wide-ranging background. We cover the history of airships and the Zeppelin company up until one of their airships crashed through a skylight into a bank, on the first day it flew. It was the largest air crash to date, 18 years before the crash of the hindenberg was broadcast live. Why did anybody think this was a good idea? Li...

In this episode, Grant talks about the United States' Public Broadcasting Service, the most trusted institution in the country. A need for non-commercial programming became a need for a federally-supported structure, which quickly became a national treasure. How does the profit motive shape content? What will it take for public broadcasting to continue? How much time could we spend just reminiscin...

Alaina picks up from where a recent episode left off, and continues the story of Disney's live-action productions through the 1960s. We spend our time following the lives and careers of recurring talent, as well as the films themselves and the trends they set. How many films did it take to pay for the enduring classics? How profitable does a star need to be to evade studio control? What size tenni...

Apolgies! Life caught up with us in a big way lately, and rather than skip this week entirely we put together a little surprise instead. This supplemental episode is a collection of bloopers, digressions, and other outtakes from almost the entire run of our show so far. Enjoy this collection of things we consider good enough to keep, even if they didn't quite fit in the episodes they were recorded...

Grant tells us the story of the MS St Louis's cruise in the spring of 1939. A cruise ship filled with 937 passengers left Nai Germany to escape persecution. In the end, most of them returned to it. How do you recognize a genocide before active extermination begins? What is stopping us from caring for those in danger? What does this have to do with 2018 America? Links! Voyage of the Damned (1976 fi...

When you want to learn the best, the biggest, the most, there's one resource that stands above the rest. Alaina teaches us the origin and developmentof the Guinness World Records, with a look at the lives of the founders and some large-scale failed attempts. How do you balance accuracy, reliability, and responsibility? What drives people to be the best at something? Are all our episodes this sumer...

In the last days of the English empire, the people of Iran wanted to shake off the economic imperialism of British Petroluem. The movement spread, and the Americans got involved to defend the status quo. Grant teaches us about the factions in play, the tactics used, and the beginning of the US's policy of regime change. When has imperialism improved the lives of people living under it? How can we...

Alaina returns to another small piece of 1893's Columbian Exposition, and look at the Woman's Building. Designed and decorated by trailblazing women, and filled with work and exhibits by women from around the world, it was one of the most popular buildings at the fair. The fair also hosted the World’s Congress of Representative Women, a week-long convention on women's issues and a landmerk in earl...

After learning about the nealry 150 year history of Cedar Point, we went there ourselves! In this bonus episode, we talk about the rides we experienced, the places we shopped, and the things we saw on our trip! Logo by  Marah Music by  Thylacinus Censor beep by Frank West of  The FPlus  

As Dada began to burn itself out in the 1920s, a splinter movement rose from within: Surrealism. What we know now as an art movement began as a mode of thought, a philosophy, a practice. In this episode Grant teaches us about their goals, their political program, and where they all went once the band broke up. Can you exercize control over a movement meant to break boundaries and hierarchies? Is t...

Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA has become "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". As a lifetime member, Alaina tells us about Juliette Gordon Low's life, the development of the program, and the current challenges they face. Also, cookies. When does an organization develop past its roots? How do two very similar programs take such different s...

Our annual trip to our local comic (and etc.) convention was a great time, and we'd like to share it with you! Here's what we saw, did, and bought at 2018's Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. Below are links to just about everything we mention: Tom King Katie Cook The One Shot Podcast Network Guardians Of The Galaxy's Dave Bautista & Sean Gunn: Full Panel | C2E2 The Twelve Colors Lindsay Ishihi...

In 1881, a man killed the President of the United States. In 1901, another man killed another President of the United States. Grant teaches us about these two: their motivations, their preparations, their trials, and the effects of their acts. Is assassination a part of American politics? How do such different people meet at the same conclusion? Links! Charles Guiteau’s reasons for assassinating P...

Alaina turns her Disney series toward the company's best known product! Well, maybe second-best-known. Following tentative steps, an accounting issue led to the studio's first entirely live-action films, establishing some trends that have fallen away, and others that have continued for nearly 70 years. Are today's teen Disney stars the last echo of the old studio system? What is lost in the select...

Grant opens his horizons and shares what he's taught himself about one of the few things he knows about Australian history: its beginnings as a penal colony. Over 80 years, on 806 ships, over 164,000 convicts were sent to the colonies of Australia, which were built on their backs. Who defines crime, and who benefits from it? How does a nation's founding legend shape its identity? Did they earn mor...

Alaina treats herself on her birthday episode by talking about a tragic fire in the early 1900s. After the (primarily women and immigrant) workers of the New York garment industry began winning better conditions and pay, one factory lagged behind. Then, it burned down, killing 146 people in under 20 minutes. In the end, the owners made a profit on the insurance as the victims' families were left w...