Stuff You Missed in History Class

Holly and Tracy talk about Eugen Weidmann's executioner, public fixation on the case, and the availability of the images and footage of most gruesome details of the murders and beheading.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once Eugen Weidmann was in police custody, he confessed to Jean's murder as well as several others. As the trial and execution played out, public interest grew to such a frenzied state that authorities immediately reconsidered the practice of performing executions publicly. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In July 1937, 22-year-old Jean De Koven vanished while visiting Paris with her aunt. It seemed doomed to be an unsolved missing person case, until an accidental connection revealed a series of murders, and a ring of criminals with Eugen Weidmann at the center.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2019 episode is about the man often described as the person who coined the term genocide. He was also the driving force behind the existence of the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy discuss Mary Sidney Herbert and the debate about whether she wrote works attributed to Shakespeare, as well as her late-in-life party period. On a more serious note, they talk about Holodomor as an example of the long and complicated relationship of Ukraine with Russia and the U.S.S.R. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Holodomor” is a name that was coined in the 1980s to describe a famine that struck Ukraine in the early 1930s. There were food shortages taking place in other parts of the Soviet Union at the same time, but Soviet policies toward Ukraine specifically made the situation there much, much worse. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

She was a patron of the arts, the first woman to publish an English-language play, and the first woman to publish pastoral poetry. Mary Sidney Herbert was also incredibly wily when it came to navigating the limitations and possibilities of being a woman in 16th century England. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2017 episode covers the life of Aphra Behn, but there's really not a lot concretely known about the her. In addition to being a spy, was a dramatist, poet, novelist, translator, and the first woman in English literature known to have made her living as a writer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly talk about Tracy’s research process for the William Apess episodes, and how much of his writing she wanted to include in the episode. And that’s because his work is still deeply relevant. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apess’s religious work and writing consistently stressed the inherent humanity and worth of Indigenous people, but in the later years of his career he also became involved in more direct activism in Mashpee, Massachusetts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Minister William Apess is often described as the first Native American to publish their own, book-length autobiography. But that is a reductive way to describe a man who wrote a great deal more than that, and also became an advocate for Indigenous people.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy share interviews with some of the cast and crew behind the new film "Cyrano" to talk about their thoughts on history and historical spaces, as well as why the Rostand play has such an enduring appeal. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2017 episode covers an American sculptor who was a celebrated artist in her day, but receded from the spotlight; her final years remained a mystery for quite some time. Her marble works are striking examples of the neoclassical style popular at the end of the 19th century. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

Holly and Tracy talk about some of stories of Egerton that didn't make it into the episode. Then discussion of the Nika Riots touches on modern sports riots, and the writings of Procopius, Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Large-scale rioting and mass violence were fairly common in Constantinople when this riot – and then massacre – took place in the year 532. But we have more documentation of the Nika Riots than many of the others. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 8th Earl of Bridgewater’s life is a hodgepodge of privileged eccentricity. From deeply spoiled pets to shoes used as a diary to a whole lot of writing about his relatives, it seems that Egerton was always guided by whim.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This classic episode from 2018 covers a 1917 event with elements of a labor strike, a wartime hysteria, a vigilante mob, and a mass propaganda effort, all rolled into one. It took place in Bisbee, Arizona, southeast of Tucson and close to the U.S. border with Mexico. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy talk about the angry-making aspects of the Millar will's aftermath, and discuss the only Black participants in the derby. They also discuss the intriguing life of Lucy Parsons, including her very complicated identity and behaviors. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parsons was an activist focused on improving the lives of workers, poor people, immigrants, and people who were unemployed or homeless. The Chicago Police Department described her as more dangerous than a thousand rioters. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Toronto’s Great Stork derby of the 1920s and 1930s is often reported with a bit of whimsy. But classism, right to privacy, exploitation, the role of women in society, racial superiority, eugenics, and reproductive rights have been left out of the discussion.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2018 episode covers what's often held up as one of history's great love stories - Plutarch wrote that Pericles kissed Aspasia every single day. And that's very sweet and romantic, but their high-profile relationship was central to a key period in Greek history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly discuss the difficulty in examining sociological texts as part of research. They also recount their first encounters with the work of Moms Mabley, and her incredible timing in telling jokes that were often incredibly daring for their time. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moms Mabley’s career lasted more than six decades. She was hugely influential, and inspired so many comedians and other performers who came after her. But outside of her work, a lot of the details of her life are a mystery, and there are some contradictory accounts of a particularly traumatic part of her early life.   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omn...

In the early 18th century, Britain needed money. In 1711, the South Sea Company was established to try to manage this debt, and the heart of the debt consolidation the company arranged was a debt-for-equity swap that did NOT keep the nation from incurring more debt.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2018 episode Shirley Chisolm, who was politically active starting during her college years. Her drive and desire to make positive change led her to many political firsts, including being the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.