History Boiz

The Ludlow Massacre, a part of the wider Colorado Coalfield War, was the deadliest strike in American history. This episode we talk all about the rock that burns, how to get it out of the ground, and the dangers that come with it. Sources: Andrews, Thomas G. Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War. Harvard University Press, 2010. Freese, Barbara. Coal: A Human History. Basic Books, 2016. S...

From James Cook to modern times, there’s a lot to get into for part 2 of our general history of Aotearoa New Zealand! Joining us this time is a very special guest, Dani! Sources: Sources: HANZ, Thomas. Historyaotearoa. Com, 20 Apr. 2024, https://historyaotearoa.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABptIUbOg5ylpyqEphUIh6_0CvNv_K1raqlOZnQdvCEt6ICn48kov7mL1YwQ_aem_Af8K9eJ_RnvvvC5E6WCPVEwf63sYGX6libqhAoeWzaI85...

Often left off maps or stuck inside a seam, the history of Aotearoa is often indicative of the consequences of colonialism. Sources: HANZ, Thomas. Historyaotearoa. Com, 20 Apr. 2024, https://historyaotearoa.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABptIUbOg5ylpyqEphUIh6_0CvNv_K1raqlOZnQdvCEt6ICn48kov7mL1YwQ_aem_Af8K9eJ_RnvvvC5E6WCPVEwf63sYGX6libqhAoeWzaI85fhbbxoAVK9ba8-jlMQYTWQ. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024. King, Mic...

Listener request! The Mad Trapper of Rat River sparked the largest manhunt in Canadian history. Special guest, Beau Binek! Sources: Editors. “Albert Johnson, ‘The Mad Trapper of Rat River.’” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 22 Jan. 2008, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/albert-johnson. Katz, Hélèna. The Mad Trapper: The Incredible Tale of a Famous Canadian Manhunt. CNIB, 2007. North, Dick. Th...

Marie Curie was a revolutionary scientist discovering a previously unknown state of matter, as well as two elements on the periodic table. She was first woman to win the Nobel Prize and first person to win in twice (not to mention in different scientific fields). Join us for the incomparable Marie Curie! Sources: Curie, Eve, and Vincent Sheean. Madam Curie. Mass., Houghton Mifflin, 1963. Editors....

In part 2 of The Blues, we talk about the folklorists who came to (mistakenly) define what the blues music was, and what it wasn’t. Aaron Weed joins us again! Sources: Cobb, James C. The Most Southern Place on Earth: The Mississippi Delta and the Roots of Regional Identity. 7th ed., Oxford University Press, 1994. Gioia, Ted. Delta Blues. 20th ed., W. W. Norton, 2008. King, Chris Thomas. Blues: The...

The blues - one of the greatest cultural inventions of all time - and its history has been shrouded and obscured by folklorists seeking to perpetuate a racist myth applying primitiveness to the genre. Which is untrue of course. Special guest, Aaron Weed! Sources: BlackFacts.com. “Creoles of Color.” Blackfacts. Com, 2023, www.blackfacts.com/fact/creoles-of-color. Cobb, James C. The Most Southern Pl...

Emily Dickinson was one of, if not the greatest American poet. The real Emily and details about her life remain elusive however. Sources: Ackmann, Martha. These Fevered Days: Ten Pivotal Moments in the Making of Emily Dickinson. W.W, Norton & Company, Inc., 2021. Dickinson, Emily, and Thomas Wentworth Higginson. The Complete Poems of Emily Dickenson Sic. Madison Park, an Imprint of Pacific Publish...

British MP, soldier, suspected spy for the KGB and Mossad, and controversial media baron, Robert Maxwell was a lot of things. Today he’s recognized more for who his youngest daughter is, the infamous Ghislaine Maxwell. Sources: Maxwell, Elisabeth. A Mind of My Own: My Life with Robert Maxwell. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1994. Preston, John. Fall: The Mysterious Life and Death of Robert Maxwell, Britain’s...

Warren G. Harding’s administration was one marked by scandal, bribery, and even a suspicious murder suicide plot. Teapot Dome was the largest political scandal in American history up until Watergate. Sources: Laton McCartney. The Teapot Dome Scandal : How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House and Tried to Steal the Country. New York, Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2009. ‌ “Teapot Dome Scandal | D...

Among many other firsts, Apollo 8 would be the first to send humankind outside of Earth’s orbit and then to orbit the moon, broadcast around the Earth on Christmas Day, 1968. This overshadowed mission was planned under a tight deadline and changed the space race. Happy holidays from the History Boiz! Sources: Kluger, Jeffrey. Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon. Henry Ho...

The American sport and tradition of football has a long and violent history. One team that was never supposed to actually compete with the large Ivy League schools ended up not only winning, but also changing the game of football itself into something we would recognize as modern day football. The Carlisle Indian Industrial School was built with the express purpose in mind to strip their native cu...

Bolívar succeeds where others would surely fail and for that, his name would be added in the pantheon of great leaders of history, but at what cost? Sources: Sources: Arana, Marie. Bolívar: American Liberator. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2014. Editors. “Simón Bolívar.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 20 July 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Simon-Bolivar.

Part 3! Bolívar is about to see all of his work during the admirable campaign come crashing down as the legion of hell bears down upon the republican forces. Sources: Sources: Arana, Marie. Bolívar: American Liberator. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2014. Editors. “Simón Bolívar.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 20 July 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Simon-Bolivar.

The 1977 disappearance of Marie Ann Watson that remains unsolved to this day, isn’t necessarily a mystery in the minds of the people of Emmett, Idaho. Most people had heard the stories about the pigs. The truth was so much worse. This story is about the evil that breeds in the shadows of our societal failures. Sources: r/MarieAnnWatson, Taranto, Sandi. Dandelion Child. Sandi Taranto, 2022.

Bolívar goes from a rich fanboy of the Enlightenment, then thrown into a divided revolution that will ultimately turn him into a general, who can’t resist the masculine urge to lead forces against Spain. Join us for part 2! Sources: Sources: Arana, Marie. Bolívar: American Liberator. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2014. Editors. “Simón Bolívar.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 20 J...

Referred to as liberator of America, and by some as the South American George Washington, Simón Bolívar was a complicated hero. Join us for part 1, the early years of Simón’s life. Sources: Arana, Marie. Bolívar: American Liberator. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2014. Editors. “Simón Bolívar.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 20 July 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Simon-Bol...

Join us as we discuss the life of the Rani of Jhansi, Lakshmibai! Hero to her people for her role in the First War for Indian Independence beginning with the Sepoy Mutiny, she led her troops from the front and is a legendary icon in India to this day. Sources: Tharoor, Shashi. Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India. Scribe Publicaitons, 2019. Toler, Pamela D. Women Warriors: An Unexpecte...

Join us and a special guest to talk about the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright and the first heavier than air flight! Sources: Editors. “The Wright Story/an Unusual Childhood/a Life on Hold.” Wright Airplanes, 2016, www.wright-brothers.org/Information_Desk/Just_the_Facts/Airplanes/Wright_Airplanes.htm. McCullough, David. The Wright Brothers: The Dramatic Story behind the Legend. Simon & Schu...

Join us for the action packed conclusion of our series on the remarkable life of Norwegian polar explorer, Roald Amundsen! Sources: Brown, Stephen. The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen. Douglas & McIntyre, 2012. Cameron, Garth James. From Pole to Pole. Pen and Sword, 2022. Editors. “Homepage – En.” Amundsen, 2023, amundsen.mia.no/en/. Piesing, Mark. N-4 Down: The Hunt for the Arctic Air...

Join us for the legendary story of the race for the South Pole between Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott! Sources: Amundsen, Roald. The Northwest Passage. E.P. Dutton, 1908. Brown, Stephen. The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen. Douglas & McIntyre, 2012. Cameron, Garth James. From Pole to Pole. Pen and Sword, 2022. Huntford, Roland. Race for the South Pole: The Expedition Diaries of Sco...

Join us! This time, Roald leads his first expedition to be the first to navigate the Northwest Passage! Sources: Amundsen, Roald. The Northwest Passage. E.P. Dutton, 1908. Brown, Stephen. The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen. Douglas & McIntyre, 2012. Cameron, Garth James. From Pole to Pole. Pen and Sword, 2022. Huntford, Roland. Race for the South Pole: The Expedition Diaries of Scott and...

Roald Amundsen was one of the greatest arctic explorers in history, being the first to navigate the Northwest Passage, the first to the South Pole and the first to the North Pole. Find out his beginnings in this episode! Sources: Brown, Stephen. The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen. Douglas & McIntyre, 2012. Cameron, Garth James. From Pole to Pole. Pen and Sword, 2022. Huntford, Roland. Rac...

Guernica was a city brutally bombed during the Spanish Civil War. The first, but certainly not the last, city destroyed by arial bombardement in history. It also inspired Pablo Picasso to paint one of the most iconic anti-war images of the 20th century. Sources: Kaufman, Michael T. “‘Guernica’ Survives a Spray‐paint Attack by Vandal.” The New York Times, 1 Mar. 1974, www.nytimes.com/1974/03/01/arc...

Join us for part three, the final episode of our series on the Titanic! With the sinking of the Titanic, the public at large had questions. How could this unsinkable ship sink? What happened? Who was to blame? Inquiries were made by both the United States and Britain to get to the bottom of it. We’ll also talk about what happened to notable survivors after the sinking of the Titanic. Sources: Bons...