Stuff You Missed in History Class

The Christiana Incident offers a snapshot of the U.S. when the country was sorting into states where slavery was upheld and states that had abolished it, and what racist tension looked like at border states in the mid-1850s. Research: “The Christiana Affair Again.” New York Times. Sept. 20, 1851. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1851/09/20/87821677.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&am...

Pope Leo XIII sought to find a way forward for the Catholic church at a time when the world was rapidly changing and the church was often at odds with those changes. Research: Aubert, Roger-François-Marie. "Leo XIII". Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 May. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leo-XIII “ELECTION OF POPE LEO XIII.” New York Times. Feb. 21, 1878. https://times...

This 2022 episode covers Griswold v. Connecticut, the U.S. supreme court decision that overturned laws banning contraception – at least, for married couples.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy talks about her experiences with the Blue Ridge Parkway growing up, including her mixed feelings about it. Holly talks about the theft of the Mona Lisa. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is the longest roadway in the U.S. that was planned as a single unit. Its origin is connected to government efforts to provide relief from the Great Depression, and conservation of the Blue Ridge Mountains.   Research: "Restoring Western North Carolina's Infrastructure: NCDOT Receives $250 Million in Federal Emergency Relief Funds." National Law Review, 21 Feb. 2025. Ga...

Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park is a scenic road tied to the “See America First” movement of the early 20th century. The acquisition of land for the project was difficult, and displaced many families from their homes. Research: Harrison, Sarah Georgia. “The Skyline Drive: A Western Park Road in the East.” From Parkways: Past, Present and Future. International Line...

This 2016 continuation of our coverage of the Palmer Raids covers a series of raids on perceived threats to national security by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. Thousands of people were rounded up, many without cause or warrant, and kept in horrifying conditions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy outlines all the way RFK Jr.'s claims regarding disease history make no sense. Holly talks about the section of her career that was spent working in a university library. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Library of Congress has a lot of responsibilities. It’s massive in both physical scale and in scale of services. So how did it start, and how did it evolve to be the largest library in the world? Research: Cole, John Y. “America’s Greatest Library: An Illustrated History of the Library of Congress.” Library of Congress, Washington, DC, in Association with D. Giles Limit...

Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and Crohn’s disease are autoimmune diseases that share a lot of commonalities. This episode covers when and how they were first recognized and described.  Research: Aceves-Avila, Francisco Javier et al. “The Antiquity of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Reappraisal.” The Journal of Rheumatology 2001; 28:4. Arnaud, Laurent et al. “The History of Lupu...

Part one of this 2016 classic covers the social unrest in the U.S. after WWI. There was a fear that Communist revolutionaries would try to take over the country. Adding fuel to the fear were two bomb plots in 1919. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly shares her experience visiting the Meiji Jingu shrine. Tracy mentions that she never found out why the Triple Nickles used the spelling they did, and her use of the Wayback Machine for show research.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, also called the Triple Nickles, were the first Black paratroopers in the U.S. military, and their story is connected to the desegregation of the military after World War II. Research: 555th Parachute Infantry. “Malvin L. Brown.” http://triplenickle.com/malvinbrown.htm Aney, Warren. “Triple Nickles -- 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion.&rdqu...

Emperor Meiji of Japan’s reign began in 1867, and it marks a time of significant change in the country’s history. After the emperor and his consort died in the early 20th century, the Meiji Jingu shrine was built to memorialize them. Research: Atsushi, Kawai. “Prefectures, Power, and Centralization: Japan’s Abolition of the Feudal Domains.” Nippon.com. Aug. 27, 2021....

This 2020 episode covers the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was founded in 1943. Some of these women athletes believed they were starting on a career in professional baseball. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly share tetanus shot stories and discuss getting boosters. They then discuss the egos of European explorers in Africa.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sidi Mubarak Bombay was sort of a combined guide, translator and nurse, and often the supervisor of the African laborers on expeditions through eastern and equatorial Africa in the 19th century. Research: "Sidi Mubarak Bombay Unsung African adventurer." BBC History Magazine, Aug. 2023, p. 56. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A756775082/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&...

Tetanus has probably been around for most of human history, or even longer. But it’s preventable today thanks to vaccines. Research : "Emil von Behring." Notable Scientists from 1900 to the Present, edited by Brigham Narins, Gale, 2008. Gale In Context: Science, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1619001490/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=464250e5. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025. Breasted, J.H....

This 2020 episode covers Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, an accomplished astronomer. She grew up in a society that didn’t really prioritize education for girls, and she was determined and creative about getting around that. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly talks about the dynamics of Altina Schinasi's family. Tracy shares a dispute over nursing uniform procedures on the Boston Floating Hospital that played out in a trade journal.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Boston Floating Hospital was a children’s hospital that operated on a boat in Boston Harbor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Research: Berkeley Temple. “Threescore years and ten, 1827-1897: Pine Street Church ; Berkeley Street Church ; Berkley Temple.” Boston : Press of Samuel Usher, 1897. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008416560 Boston Floating Hospita...

Altina Schinasi is known as the inventor of cat-eye glasses, but she was also an artist, a documentarian, and an activist. And she was very frank about her own faults and bad decisions. Research: “Altina Schinasi 1924 (1907-1999).” Helen Temple Cook Library. Dana Hall School. https://library.danahall.org/archives/danapedia/alumnae/altina-schinasi-1924-1907-1999/ “Altina Schinasi'...

This 2019 episode covers Baron Franz Nopcsa, who lived an adventurous, scholarly life, funded entirely by his family money. He identified dinosaurs, inserted himself into Albanian politics, and wrote volumes and volumes of books and papers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly waxes rhapsodic about fruit. Tracy talks about planning an episode about William Henry Dorsey but then finding she needed to include his father. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thomas J. Dorsey liberated himself from enslavement and became one of the most sought-after caterers in Philadelphia. His son William Henry Dorsey was born a free Black man before the Civil War, and became an artist, collector and scrapbooker. Research: "Thomas J. Dorsey." Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 90, Gale, 2011. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1606005269/GPS?u=mli...