Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff

History EN ↓ 593 episodes

As long as there’s been oppression, there’ve been people fighting it. This weekly podcast dives into history to drag up the wildest rebels, the most beautiful revolts, and all the people who long to be—and fight to be—free. It explores complex stories of resistance that offer lessons and inspiration for us today, focusing on the ensemble casts that make up each act of history. That is to say, this podcast focuses on Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff.

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: www.iheart.com

Author

Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

Episodes

Part One: Hugh Ryan on Queer History 20.04.2026 43:36

Margaret interviews the queer historian Hugh Ryan about his upcoming memoir My Bad   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CZM Book Club: Against the State by James Stout 19.04.2026 47:49

James reads Margaret the first chapter of his new book See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part Four: Peter the Painter and the Latvian Revolution of 1905 15.04.2026 36:26

Margaret finishes telling you about the histories most notorious fugitives and his days fighting against the Tsar. Sources: https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/police-forces/city-of-london-police/areas/city-of-london/about-us/about-us/houndsditch-murders/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/gyl24y/were_the_policies_of_the_british_government_under/ https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/H...

Part Three: Peter the Painter and the Latvian Revolution of 1905 13.04.2026 27:43

Margaret continues telling you about one of histories most notorious fugitives and his days fighting against the Tsar. Sources: https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/police-forces/city-of-london-police/areas/city-of-london/about-us/about-us/houndsditch-murders/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/gyl24y/were_the_policies_of_the_british_government_under/ https://www.historic-uk.com/History...

CZM Book Club: Selected Poems of Voltairine de Cleyre 12.04.2026 25:07

Happy National Poetry Month! Margaret reads some poems from a "Classic Age" anarchist poet and agitator See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part Two: Peter the Painter and the Latvian Revolution of 1905 08.04.2026 1:00:46

Margaret continues her conversation with Becca Ramos about one of histories most notorious fugitives and his days fighting against the Tsar Source: https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/police-forces/city-of-london-police/areas/city-of-london/about-us/about-us/houndsditch-murders/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/gyl24y/were_the_policies_of_the_british_government_under/ https://www.his...

Part One: Peter the Painter and the Latvian Revolution of 1905 06.04.2026 1:17:18

Margaret talks with Becca Ramos about one of histories most notorious fugitives and his days fighting against the Tsar Sources: https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/police-forces/city-of-london-police/areas/city-of-london/about-us/about-us/houndsditch-murders/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/gyl24y/were_the_policies_of_the_british_government_under/ https://www.historic-uk.com/History...

CZM Book Club: All Cats Are Grey, by Andre Alice Norton 05.04.2026 31:20

Margaret reads you some golden-age pulp sci-fi about a hypercompetant space captain and her trusty cat See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part Two: SHAC and Modern Protest Tactics 01.04.2026 1:03:43

Margaret continues her talk with Shuli Branson about the international campaign to end a notorious animal testing lab Sources: https://activistfacts.com/organizations/408-shac// https://newspaper.animalpeopleforum.org/2002/10/01/crackdown-on-shac-hits-activist-for-child-porn-brings-boston-busts/ https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings? Id=DAED00C5-802A-23AD-4106-0178D28039D9&State...

Part One: SHAC and Modern Protest Tactics 30.03.2026 1:00:12

Margaret talks with Shuli Branson about the international campaign to end a notorious animal testing lab Sources: https://activistfacts.com/organizations/408-shac// https://newspaper.animalpeopleforum.org/2002/10/01/crackdown-on-shac-hits-activist-for-child-porn-brings-boston-busts/ https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings? Id=DAED00C5-802A-23AD-4106-0178D28039D9&Statement_id=CB163...

CZM Book Club: The Cloud Weaver's Song, by Saul Tanpepper 29.03.2026 33:08

Margaret reads you a story about climate refugees, ancestors, and giant spider robots that weave webs of glass See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part Two: If Not Us Than Who: The Russian Partisans at War Against Putin 25.03.2026 59:09

Margaret continues her conversation with Charles McBryde about the underground organization of anarcho-communists fighting against their own authoritarian government. Sources: https://www.anarchistnews.org/content/anarchist-ruslan-siddiqui-sentenced-29-years-maximum-security-penal-colony https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20120888  https://avtonom.org/en/news/anarchist-alexey-rozhkov-sente...

Part One: If Not Us Than Who: The Russian Partisans at War Against Putin 23.03.2026 1:03:10

Margaret talks with Charles McBryde about the underground organization of anarcho-communists fighting against their own authoritarian government. Sources: https://www.anarchistnews.org/content/anarchist-ruslan-siddiqui-sentenced-29-years-maximum-security-penal-colony https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20120888  https://avtonom.org/en/news/anarchist-alexey-rozhkov-sentenced-16-years-setting...

CZM Book Club: St. Juju, by Rivers Solomon 22.03.2026 29:00

Margaret reads you a story about mushrooms, trash, and coming to terms with an imperfect utopia See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part Two: Molly Crabapple on the Jewish Labor Bund 18.03.2026 56:03

Margaret continues her talk with Molly Crabapple about her book Here Where We Live is Our Country Preorder from Firestorm Co-op here: https://firestorm.coop/products/24295-here-where-we-live-is-our-country.html?referral=killjoy See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part One: Molly Crabapple on the Jewish Labor Bund 16.03.2026 53:18

Margaret talks with Molly Crabapple about her book Here Where We Live is Our Country. Preorder from Firestorm Co-op here: https://firestorm.coop/products/24295-here-where-we-live-is-our-country.html?referral=killjoy See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CZM Book Club: Girls Who Look Through Glass, by Alex Smith 15.03.2026 37:05

Margaret reads you a story about the magic embeded into the mundane See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part Two: The Lusty Lady: The Worker-Owned Peep Show 11.03.2026 58:27

Margaret continues her conversation with Raechel Anne Jolie about labor organizing among sex workers in the United States. Sources: https://www.scirp.org/pdf/WJA20120300010_83173531.pdf https://www.nswp.org/sites/default/files/guide_to_legal_models_english_prf04.pdf https://www.nswp.org/sites/default/files/Swedish%20Model%20Advocacy%20Toolkit%20Community%20Guide%2C%20NSWP%20-%20November%202015.pdf...

Part One: The Lusty Lady: The Worker-Owned Peep Show 09.03.2026 49:39

Margaret talks with Raechel Anne Jolie about labor organizing among sex workers in the United States Sources: https://www.scirp.org/pdf/WJA20120300010_83173531.pdf https://www.nswp.org/sites/default/files/guide_to_legal_models_english_prf04.pdf https://www.nswp.org/sites/default/files/Swedish%20Model%20Advocacy%20Toolkit%20Community%20Guide%2C%20NSWP%20-%20November%202015.pdf https://decriminalize...

CZM Book Club: A Story from the Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio 08.03.2026 31:52

 Margaret reads you a medieval comedic tale of trickery and lust. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part Two: Christopher B. Zeichmann on Radical Antiquity 04.03.2026 54:04

Margaret continues her interview of ancient historian Christopher B. Zeichmann about all the wild stuff happening in the ancient world and confirms her guesses about Spartacus and the Third Servile War See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part One: Christopher B. Zeichmann on Radical Antiquity 02.03.2026 49:05

Margaret interviews ancient historian Christopher B. Zeichmann about all the wild stuff happening in the ancient world and confirms her guesses about Spartacus and the Third Servile War See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CZM Book Club: The Comet, by W.E.B. Du Bois 01.03.2026 43:51

Margaret reads you a 1920 classic fiction story by the seminal theorist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part Two: The Colored Farmers Alliance and Early Black Cooperativism in the US 25.02.2026 43:54

Margaret continues her talk with Courtney Kocak about the potentially million-strong alliance of Black farmers who built up a cooperative economics in the post-war American South Sources: https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/02/07/the-helots-a-labour-force/ https://www.lucyparsonsproject.com/writings/negro.html https://www.rd.usda.gov/files/RR194.pdf https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?ent...

Part One: The Colored Farmers Alliance and Early Black Cooperativism in the US 23.02.2026 59:45

Margaret talks to Courtney Kocak about the potentially million-strong alliance of Black farmers who built up a cooperative economics in the post-war American South Sources https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/02/07/the-helots-a-labour-force/ https://www.lucyparsonsproject.com/writings/negro.html https://www.rd.usda.gov/files/RR194.pdf https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=TE009 https:/...