Did That Really Happen?

This week we're jumping into the history of science with Marie Curie biopic Radioactive! Join us as we learn about petite Curies, famous medium Eusapia Palladino, whether or not Marie Curie was truly afraid of hospitals, her scandalous affair, and more! Sources: Charles L. Dana, et al. "Report of an Investigation into the Phenomena Connected With Eusapia Palladino," Science, May 20 1910. Francesco...

This week we're going back to the Old West with The Ballad of Buster Scruggs! Join us as we learn about dry counties, whether or not birds can count, bank robbery, the Chautauqua, and more! Sources: A.V. "Why America Still Has 'Dry Counties'," The Economist, available at https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/06/05/why-america-still-has-dry-counties Nancy Kay Tisdale, The Prohibitio...

This week we're going back to 1860s Ireland with The Wonder! Join us as we learn about anorexia mirabilis, turf, Victorian hair tokens, and more! *Content Warning: This episode features discussion of eating disorders and sexual abuse. Sources: Caroline Walker Bynum, Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women, University of California Press, 1988 Gail Sher, "The...

We're back with our first episode of 2023, and we're talking about RRR! Join us as we learn about the Gymkhana Club, riot gear, Lala Lajpat Rai, flogging in the British Raj, and more! Sources: Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, Volume 281 (6 July 1883): https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/1883-07-06/debates/53f4430d-fcb5-43e2-b9e1-e478f12fb23d/India-CriminalLaw%E2%80%94PunishmentOfFlogging Sean Lang...

For our final episode of 2022, we're mixing things up! Instead of depictions of the past, we're turning our attention to depictions of the future with 1996's Barb Wire! Join us as we get into what this movie got right and wrong about the dystopian year of 2017 with discussions of moving to Canada, brain scanning technology, licensed sex work, smoking, and more! Sources: J.J. McCullough, "Did Ameri...

This week we're going back to 1990s West Virginia with Dark Waters! Join us as we learn about forever chemicals, the EPA, DuPont's court settlements, and more! Sources: Sharon Lerner, "The Teflon Toxin: DuPont and the Chemistry of Deception," The Intercept, 11 August 2015 Mariah Blake, "Welcome to Beautiful Parkersburg, West Virginia," HuffPost https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/welco...

This week we're traveling back to the 1960s and 70s with David Fincher's Zodiac! Join us as we learn about ciphers, Melvin Belli's role in the case, Detective Dave Toschi, "I Am Not Paul Avery" buttons, and more! Sources: Melvin Belli Letter: https://www.zodiacciphers.com/melvin-belli-letter.html Clip of Melvin Belli on Jim Dunbar show: https://youtu.be/TsM-kwU2mRU Clip of Dave Toschi on Melvin Be...

This week we're traveling back to the 18th century with Prey! Join us as we learn about horses and dogs in Comanche society, rites of passage, buffalo hunting, and more! Sources: Yvette Running Horse Collin, "The Relationship Between the Indigenous Peoples of America and the Horse: Deconstructing a Eurocentric Myth," Dissertation, University of Alaska J Frank Dobie, "The Comanches and Their Horses...

This week we're going back to 1902 and the Sea Islands with Daughters of the Dust! Join us as we talk about Gullah quilting practices, the Wanderer, African-American migration to Canada, and more! Sources: Kathy J. Brown, "Gullah Geechee Visuality as Protest Art, Contemplative Practice, and Anti-Racist Pedagogy," The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry 9, no.1 (2022): 22-42. Betsey Poore, "Living His...

Today we're traveling back to 1960s Poland with a listener request episode on Ida! Join us as we learn about "enemies of the people", Helena Wolinska-Bruce, historical examples of people hiding in the woods, and more! Sources: Order of St. Augustine official website: https://beafriar.org/blog-archive/2016/12/27/the-postures-and-gestures-of-ordination Julie Keefer, "In Hiding," United States Holoca...

This week we're traveling back to the 1930s with Night of the Hunter! Join us as we talk about the Bluebeard legend, ice cream, how much Rachel Cooper rules, itinerant preachers, and more! Sources: Charles Perrault, ""Blue Beard"," Fairy Tales and Other Traditional Stories, Lit2Go Edition, (0), accessed July 31, 2022, https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/68/fairy-tales-and-other-traditional-stories/4858/blu...

Today we're traveling back to the 1970s with Blackkklansman! Join us as we learn about the real Ron Stallworth, women in the KKK, whether or not Flip Zimmerman was a real guy, and more! Sources: Ron Stallworth, Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime (New York: Flatiron Books, 2018) Johnny Brayson, "Here's The Real Story Behind Adam Driver's 'BlacKkKlansman' Char...

This week we're traveling back to. . . well, it's not totally clear, but we're talking about Cold War history with Top Secret! Join us as we learn about that weird heel click salute, Ripple, surf rock, the fascinating history of the phrase "that sucks", and more! Sources: "Churchill Broadcast on the Soviet-German War (June 1941)" https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/churchill-broadcast-on-the-sovi...

It's the third and final chapter of the Fear Street trilogy! Join us as we discuss why the title really should have been Fear Street 1694, Puritan attitudes toward homosexuality, the good old days when gossip was a crime, and more! Sources: Rachel Black, Alcohol in Popular Culture: An Encyclopedia: https://books.google.com/books?id=mb0SZIYCXREC&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q&f=false https://nerfpedialegacy.f...

This week we're continuing our exploration of Fear Street with Part II: 1978! Join us as we learn about Cherry Bomb, the origins of the word "shagadelic", 1970s Stephen King, the surprisingly violent history of Halloween teen vandalism, and more! Sources: Google Ngram, "Shagadelic": https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=shagadelic&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_...

This week we're starting our first trilogy with Fear Street 1994! Join us as we learn about metal detectors and safe sex posters in schools, income inequality, "going postal", and more! Sources: Richard Burkhauser, Kenneth Couch, Andrew Houtenville, and Ludmila Rovba, "Income Inequality in the 1990s: Re-Forging a Lost Relationship?" University of Connecticut: Department of Economics Working Paper...

Today we're going back to the Regency with 2020's Emma.! Join us as we learn about pinkie rings, marriage customs, Roma stereotypes, and more! Sources: Church of England, "Marriage" https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/marriage  The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, Acc...

This week we're hopping into the DeLorean and going back to 1955 with Back to the Future! Join us as we get into just how creepy and unsettling this movie really is, "parking" with boys, Fantastic Story Magazine, the history of Black mayors in America, Chuck Berry's cousin Marvin, and more! Sources: "The Story of Johnny B. Goode," The Guardian, available at https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/j...

This week we're going back to 17th century Virginia with Disney's Pocahontas! Join us to learn about pugs, the promises of the Virginia Company, tattoos, Governor Ratcliffe, and more! Sources: IMDB, Pocahontas: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114148/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 The Making of Pocahontas, Documentary available at https://youtu.be/-78sG39u-3g Pocahontas, Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomato...

This week we're going back to the Middle Ages with David Lowery's The Green Knight! Join us as we talk about St. Winfred's head, sumptuary laws, camera obscura, horrifying puppets, and more! Sources: The Life of St. Winifred, Golden Legend Volume VI, available at https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/GoldenLegend-Volume6.asp#Winifred "Camera Obscura," History of Science Museum, availa...

This week we're back with a new episode on Atomic Blonde! Join us as we learn about breakdancing in East Berlin, Stasi defectors, the 1989 East German student protests, Cold War British traitors, and more! Sources: Nicole Sperling, "How Atomic Blonde Got Its Most Insane Action Sequence," GQ, available at https://www.gq.com/story/atomic-blonde-david-leitch Peter Debruge, "How the Atomic Blonde Team...

Today we're going back to 14th-century Scotland with Outlaw King! Join us as we get into artichokes, William Wallace's body, The Battle of Loudon Hill, Robert the Bruce's long-suffering wife Elizabeth, and more! Sources: Gabriella Sonnante et al, "The Domestication of the Artichoke and Cardoon: From Roman Times to the Genomic Age," Annals of Botany 100, 5 (2007) John H Harvey, "Vegetables in the M...

This week we're going back to 1840s California with the Mask of Zorro! Join us to learn about children in Catholic missions, the truly weird story of a guy named Harry Love and the head of Joaquin Murrieta, the dons of California, and more! Sources Cecilia Rasmussen, "Early Lawman Overshadowed by His Quarry," Los Angeles Times, available at https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-nov-12-me-th...

Today we're headed back to the long-ago days of 1988 with Donnie Darko! Join us as we learn about book banning, electric hand dryers, teen cocaine use, "cellar door", and more! Sources: Banned Books: Leonard Kniffel, "The Dangerous Modern Library List," American Libraries 29, 8 (1998) Eleanor Diaz and James LaRue, "50 Years of Intellectual Freedom," American Libraries 48, 11-12 (2016) BOARD OF EDU...

This week we're going back to the 1970s with Thunderheart! Join us as we learn about FBI jurisdiction on Native American reservations, the American Indian Movement, the Pine Ridge reservation, and more! Sources: "What We Investigate: Indian Country Crime," FBI.gov: https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/indian-country-crime https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/Public-Law%2083-280 Stewart Wakelin...