Skipped History

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit skippedhistory.substack.com Professor Lillian Faderman (emeritus at Fresno State University) is an internationally known scholar of lesbian and LGBT history and literature. The Times named three of her books on its "Notable Books of the Year" list and Kirkus Reviews named Woman: the History of an American Idea one of the best U.S. Histo...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit skippedhistory.substack.com Gerald Horne is the Moores Professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston. His research has addressed issues of racism in labor, politics, civil rights, international relations, and war. He’s the author of more than thirty books (!), including most recently, The Counter-Revolut...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit skippedhistory.substack.com Matthew Connelly is a professor of international and global history at Columbia, co-director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, and principal investigator of History Lab, a project that applies data science to the problem of preserving the public record and accelerating its release....

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit skippedhistory.substack.com In The Tuskegee Student Uprising: a History , Dr. Brian Jones illuminates how “the contradictions of Tuskegee Institute’s history are bound up with the contradictions of Black history.” I spoke with Dr. Jones about these contradictions and the lasting influence of Black student activism in the 60s. We also di...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit skippedhistory.substack.com In light of ongoing protests against a new police training facility in Atlanta, and the police killing of activist Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, aka Tortuguita, I spoke to Sierra Pettengill and Profesor Stuart Schrader, two experts on the history of police training. Professor Schrader, aka Stuart, is an Associat...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit skippedhistory.substack.com Professor Edward J. Larson is the author of fifteen books on science, history, and law including most recently, American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation, 1765-1795 , and earlier , Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion , which...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit skippedhistory.substack.com In a new book called Myth America , top historians (including many who’ve appeared on Skipped History!) set the record straight on some of the most pernicious myths about US history. When reading, I was particularly intrigued by Professor Michael Kazin’s chapter about the history of socialism in the US. He ki...

To learn more about the holiday season’s jolliest, most iconic figure—Santa!—I spoke to Stephen Nissenbaum, a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Professor Nissenbaum specializes in early US history. His book, The Battle for Christmas , was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus epi...

I chatted with Harvard Professor Annette Gordon-Reed about the history of Juneteenth! If you’re having trouble, you can learn how to access the podcast episode here . My understanding is that after completing the process once, you’ll have access to all future episodes. For convenience, here are some quick directions if you’re on your phone: click on ‘Open in player.’ From there, you’ll be prompted...

Subscribe to our newsletter for more history! https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ In the past six months, over a dozen states have passed new restrictive voting laws meant to favor Republicans. If you follow the money, the original source of these efforts to undermine democracy becomes clear. Cat lovers, rejoice: it all dates back to a couple of pooch-lovers... Today’s story comes from Dark Money...

Subscribe to our newsletter for more history! https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ Have you ever wondered how elected officials became so beholden to money? Well, look no further than the Powell Memo, a confidential document from 1971 that inspired corporations to take over US politics. Today’s story comes from "We, the Corporations" by Adam Winkler, and "Dark Money" by Jane Mayer. Learn more here...

Subscribe to our newsletter for more history! https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ In the 1940s and 50s, "Christian libertarians" hoped spiritual arguments would convince US citizens to oppose business regulations and big government. Although their efforts backfired (how delicious), we investigate why US students have pledged allegiance to a nation "under God" ever since. Today's story comes from...

Subscribe to our newsletter for more history! https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ In 1953, Senator Arthur Watkins, a devout Mormon, thought it was time for native peoples to become “white and delightsome.” Guided by the Book of Mormon, he helped engineer a policy called "Termination." As we explore, it didn’t end well. Today's story comes from "The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee" by David Treuer Learn...

Subscribe to our newsletter for more history! https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ We left off in September of 1971 when tensions at Attica State Prison had reached a boiling point. After demanding improved conditions, prisoners rebelled. New York State, however, would have the final say. The state’s lies helped spark mass incarceration. Also- shoutout to my family cat for making his first cameo o...

Subscribe to our newsletter for more history! https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ In September 1971, over 1,000 incarcerated people at Attica State Prison rebelled. Here's the first of a two-part series exploring why and how tensions at Attica reached a boiling point. Today's story comes from "Blood in the Water" by Heather Ann Thompson. Learn more here: https://skippedhistory.substack.com/p/the-...

Subscribe to our newsletter for more history! https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ This season on Skipped History, we’ve explored a lottt of destructive US interventions abroad. One of the most misguided wars of all—the War in Afghanistan—is still going on. Today we unearth where the rationale for US interventions was born. It all dates back to a self-flattering presentation by Frederick Jackson T...

Subscribe to our newsletter for more history! https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ We explore how a war-hungry faction in the Reagan administration called “the cowboys” secretly funded white supremacist mercenaries to fight leftists in Nicaragua. And though they got caught, pretty much everyone involved in the outrageous affair was let off the hook, with consequences for people all over the world...

Subscribe to our newsletter for more history! https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ Nowadays, images of people on the far right sporting both swastikas and confederate flags are ubiquitous. But neo-Nazis and neo-confederates weren't always pals. So when and why did they unite? The answer dates back to an event in 1979 North Carolina. Today's story comes from "Bring the War Home" by Kathleen Belew....

Subscribe to our newsletter for more history! https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ Today, we explore the Berkeley Mafia, a group of Indonesian economists who, with US support, laid an economic blueprint for Indonesia still in place to this day. In the process, a lotttt of people died—and yes, contrary to what US officials said, it was all bad. Today's story comes from "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi...

Subscribe to our newsletter for more! https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ We explore how the relationship between the US and Iran became so cantankerous in the first place—in other words, we travel to Tehran, where in 1953, the US conducted one of its most consequential coups abroad. Today's story comes from "All the Shah’s Men" and "The Brothers" by Stephen Kinzer Learn more here: https://skippe...

Subscribe to our newsletter for more history: https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ This time out, we cut Teddy Roosevelt down to size jusssst a hair and explore a very juicy scandal from 1905. Turns out our beloved 26th president may not have been such a “trustbuster” after all… Today's story comes from "We, the Corporations" by Adam Winkler and "Stamped from the Beginning" by Ibram Kendi. Learn m...

We explore the origins of the racist precedent that still prevents people in US territories from having any voting rights. Plot twist: it has to do with the Philippines. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit skippedhistory.substack.com/subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter for more history! https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ We explore the US-backed coup in Guatemala, engineered by the Dulles Bros. As it turns out, they weren’t the only people (or dogs) in the US government keen to help the United Fruit Company and depose Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz. Today's story comes from "Bitter Fruit" by Stephen Kinzer and Stephen Schlesinge...

Subscribe to our newsletter for more history! https://skippedhistory.substack.com/ The first episode of Season 2 investigates how brothers Allen and John Foster Dulles, director of the CIA and secretary of state in the 1950s, led one of the largest and most foolish covert operations in US history. Today's story comes from "The Jakarta Method" by Vincent Bevins; and "The Brothers" by Stephen Kinzer...