Professor Buzzkill History Podcast

The Texel insurrection was one of last battles of World War II, but few people know about it. Georgians serving in the Wehrmacht on Texel island off the Dutch coast rose up and slaughtered their German masters. Hitler ordered the island to be retaken and fighting continued for weeks, well after the war's end. A gripping story with multiple meanings, misconceptions, and myths! Episode #391  

Professor Terri Finneman explains how the press has portrayed women politicians running for high office in the United State. From Victoria Woodhull in the 1870s to Kamala Harris in 2020, she enlightens us about how media discourse of women politicians has and hasn’t changed over this long period! Episode #390.

The pollsters correctly predicted a Biden win in the 2020 Presidential election. But there was no Blue Wave, and Senate seats didn't flip, as many pollsters predicted. Polling prediction errors are common in American history. Professor W. Joseph Campbell explains why! Episode #389

Professor Liza Black enlightens us about her new book, Picturing Indians: Native Americans in Film 1941-1960. She examines many misunderstandings and misconceptions about Native Americans working in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Episode #388

Halloween is a demonic holiday chock full of sin and endangered by razor blades in trick or treat candy, right? Wrong. Nothing about the origins of Halloween can be called demonic, satanic, or anti-Christian. And the adulterated candy thing is an urban legend. Get the full story from the Buzzkill Institute.

Buzzkillers have asked us to play the original 1938 radio drama, War of the Worlds, that allegedly caused such a panic. Here it is, in all its historic glory, with a short introduction from Professor Buzzkill. Don't panic!

A 1938 radio play based on H.G. Wells' novel, The War of the Worlds, supposedly panicked America. The Martians were invading! People went hysterical and ran for their lives! Or did they? Listen to Professors Jefferson Pooley and Michael Socolow explain what really happened. Episode #387.

There seem to have been a lot of October Surprises in American Presidential elections since the 1940s. And there have been different types of October Surprises, for different reasons, and with different motivations. But have they ever seriously affected the election results? Our political history genius, Professor Philip Nash, explains all! Episode #386

Dr. Claire Bond Potter explains how Americans became political junkies in the 20th and 21st centuries. From talk radio to Twitter, she shows us how alternative media hooked us on politics and broke our democracy. Listen right away! Episode #385

Evan Axelbank from the new podcast "Axelbank Reports History and Today" interviews Professor Buzzkill, and vice versa! We talk about books, history, and podcasting. Fun, fun, fun!! Episode #384

What is the "electoral college" and how does it work? Why was it created? Was it created to protect slavery and slave states in the 18th century? Is the current electoral college what the Founders intended? And what can Americans do about this broken and abused relic? Prof Philip Nash explains all! Episode #383.

Professor Michelle Nickerson explains the complicated and compelling history of the news media in US history, and the changing development of "fake news." She also helps us understand what to do about it! Episode #382. Our listeners get a free trial at The Great Courses Plus! Click here to go to thegreatcoursesplus.com/buzzkill !!  

The first Biden-Trump debate was called "a sh*t show" immediately when it was over. And the "Kennedy image" myth from the first 1960 Presidential debate was brought up over and over in the pre-debate, during-debate, and post-debate analysis. Here's our original episode about it. Our listeners get a free trial at The Great Courses Plus! Click here to go to thegreatcoursesplus.com/buzzkill !!

"A Lie Can Travel Halfway Around the World Before the Truth Puts On its Shoes" has been attributed to Mark Twain (and almost everyone else). But who first said it, and why is the quote's history so important during this period of heightened "fake news"? Episode #381 Our listeners get a free trial at The Great Courses Plus! Click here to go to thegreatcoursesplus.com/buzzkill !!

Professor Richard Toye explains the background and context of Winston Churchill's famous World War II speeches, from how they were written, to how they were delivered, to how the public reacted. It's the "untold story"! Episode #380. Our listeners get a free trial at The Great Courses Plus! Click here to go to thegreatcoursesplus.com/buzzkill !!

One of the greatest athletes of all time, Babe Didrikson Zaharias has been somewhat forgotten in the 21st Century. An Olympic gold medalist, she excelled in track and field, basketball, baseball, and golf throughout her career.  Episode #379. Our listeners get a free trial at The Great Courses Plus! Click here to go to thegreatcoursesplus.com/buzzkill !!

Professor Steven Fielding explains Churchill myths in film and television from Mission to Moscow (1943) to Darkest Hour (2017), and everything in between! The new book, “The Churchill Myths” is available on the Buzzkill Bookshelf. Episode #378. Our listeners get a free trial at The Great Courses Plus! Click here to go to thegreatcoursesplus.com/buzzkill !!

Bob Woodward's new book about Trump, entitled "Rage," has reminded Buzzkillers of Woodward's journalism in the early '70s. This Flashback Friday encore episode busts myths about Watergate, Woodward and Bernstein, and the Washington Post. Enjoy! Our listeners get a free trial at The Great Courses Plus! Click here to go to thegreatcoursesplus.com/buzzkill !!

Professor Bill Schwartz explains the relationship between Churchill worship, Brexit, and Boris Johnson’s rise to the office of Prime Minister. This crucial episode also explains how “wartime nostalgia continues to work in conjunction with the fashioning of new installments of the Churchill myths, each acting upon the other,” as Professor Schwartz writes in the new book, “The Churchill Myths” (avai...

Debates about the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution (“right to bear arms”) never seem to address the 18th-century meaning and importance of “militias” (included in the amendment’s first clause). Professor Noah Shusterman explains the long history of citizen militias since ancient Rome, and what the Constitution’s Framers accepted as the meaning of “militia.” Episode #376. Our listeners get a fr...

Professor Martha Jones offers a new history of African American women's political lives in America. She recounts how they defied both racism and sexism to fight for the ballot, and how they wielded political power to secure the equality and dignity of all persons. From the earliest days of the republic to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and beyond, Jones excavates the lives and work of b...

How did Southern slave-owners "manage" their plantations? Was it pastoral or was it more professional and driven by hard-headed accounting, record-keeping, and statistics? Professor Caitlin Rosenthal explains her fascinating new research on "masters and management" in the 19th century US south. Episode #374

Professor Richard Toye tells us how Churchill’s long life and career developed in parallel with the changes in the development of modern media and news. Churchill’s first career was as a journalist and author, and it stayed with him as a second vocation as he moved through his life in the military, in politics, and as a world statesman. In essence, Toye analyzes whether there was a “public Churchi...

Our first "Movie Myths Monday" episode! We look at the famous, and heart-warming musical, The Sound of Music, and discuss the historical accuracies and inaccuracies. What Captain Von Trapp a member of the Nazi Party? How did the family escape? And what's the real story behind the much-misunderstood song, "Eidelweiss"? Listen and sing along!

Advanced Placement student researchers from Caddo Parish Magnet High School in Shreveport, Louisiana explain their research into the career of J. Marion Sims. His medical experiments on enslaved women during the 19th century are still controversial. In addition, they discuss Sims's legacy in the 20th and 21st centuries. Important listening! Episode #372.