Dig: A History Podcast

War, Conflict and Violence Series #2.5 of 4. The military revolution changed every detail of military service, provided a profession for sons who were not their fathers’ heirs, sparked concerns over hygiene, fashion, taxation, necessitated the development of the modern nation-state as we know it and made Europe, a small insignificant region of the world, a hegemonic force for centuries to come. Al...

War, Conflict and Violence Series #2 of 4. In early modern Europe—that’s about 1500 to 1800—warfare changed dramatically, mostly due to the rise of gunpowder weapons. The introduction of artillery and shoulder arms to early modern European warfare had immediate consequences such as changing fortress design, necessitating the switch from cavalry to infantry, and the building of large standing armie...

War, Conflict and Violence Series #1 of 4. While today, press coverage treats Christianity’s alignment with political conservatism as a foregone conclusion, there is a larger milieu of liberal and progressive activism with Christian social justice. Join Averill and special guest Mark Lempke, PhD, for this special episode exploring George McGovern and the elusive Christian Left. Get the transcript...

Sex Series, Episode #4 of 4. Get a complete transcript and bibliography at digpodcast.org. We have an image of puritans as cold, severe, hyper-strict and religious people, and while that’s not entirely false, it’s also not entirely true. From the very beginning, Early Americans were thinking about sex. The courts were burdened with hundreds of cases in which people broke the laws regarding sexual...

 In 19th century New York City, sex was for sale and it wasn’t hard to find it. Commodified sex was everywhere and available for any price. The years between roughly 1850 to about 1910 were the years that commercialized sex and vice in New York City were the most visible, the most prolific, and the most wild.  Show Notes, Further Reading, and a full transcript at: https://wp.me/p8Ra4D-Wm  Learn mo...

Sex Series, Episode #2 of 4. Marie Stopes was one of the most significant figures in the modern birth control movement. She founded 37 international family planning clinics and brought sexual knowledge and fulfillment to countless women around the world. Get a complete transcript and bibliography for this episode at digpodcast.org.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adcho...

Sex Series #1 of 4. The Marquis de Sade is a notorious figure in the history of the French Revolution. Some see him as a twisted, debauched lunatic who preyed on the bodies of women and children. Others see him as a literary genius who was a revolutionary spirit ahead of his time. Get a complete transcript and bibliography for this episode at digpodcast.org   Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Buffalo NY Series, Episode #2 of 2. The late 1960s were a tumultuous time in United States history - major political assassinations, riots, protests, and a deeply controversial war all added up to a fractured and bruised society. Much of the action during the time period took place on college campuses - including the University at Buffalo, where Averill and Sarah got their PhDs, and Marissa and El...

Bonus Episode #3 of 20. There is something fascinating about the history of reproductive rights, contraception, and abortion in every country and ideology that we've looked at in our women's reproductive rights series. This week we're turning to the impact of Communism on these issues, particularly in China and the Soviet Union. Here we have the complete range of reproductive control extremes - fr...

Bonus Episode #1 of 20. Averill and Sarah deliver a much-needed update and revision to an early episode about the founding of AIDS Project of the Ozarks (APO), an AIDS service organization that operates out of Springfield, MO and was incorporated in 1985. For a complete transcript and bibliography for this episode, visit digpodcast.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/ad...

Buffalo NY Series, Episode #1 of 2. Most American history books devote a page at most to the War of 1812. It is often referred to as the forgotten war. However, scholarship on the war has exploded in recent years due to the 200th Anniversary of the beginning of the war in 2012. The War of 1812 may be a lesser known episode within the larger narrative of American history, but for inhabitants of Buf...

Bonus Episode #2 of 20. In 1987, a historian of modern China wrote a book that was way outside of his field - a historiographical work about the classical world, which argued that argued a racist and imperialist Europe had written Egyptian and Phoenician origins out of Greek history -- essentially whitewashing the African roots of Western civilization. The book caused a firestorm within the field...