All wars are bad. But why was World War II so extreme? Coming less than 20 years after World War I (the most extreme war up until that time), the Second World War’s death toll is _conservatively_ calculated at 60 million people. And some estimates are higher than that. Professor Phil Nash joins us to explain why the death and destruction were so severe, and to give us grim statistics on some overlooked facts. These include: the number of civilian deaths outweighing military deaths, and the number of Allied deaths far exceeding Axis deaths. If this episode doesn’t bring the peace-nix in you out into the open, we’ve failed to convince you. Listen and learn!
So far, this is the most famous woman we’ve ever featured on a Woman Crush Wednesday. Henrietta Lacks was a cancer patient in the early 1950s. Her cancer cells were studied and analyzed, and found to be “immortal” under laboratory conditions. They formed the famous “HeLa” cell line, the first immortalized cell line, which helped create the polio vaccine and hundreds of other medical advances. But the story is more complex than that. Listen to this episode to find out why!
How close have the United States and the Soviet Union come to nuclear war in the past several decades? How many accidents, miscommunications, and misunderstandings have brought us to the brink of annihilation? Professor Phil Nash joins us to explain how many times we’ve been on the brink of nuclear war, what happened in these incidents, and what mistakes were made. You’ll be very surprised (and made uneasy) at how many times simple human error brought the world close to nuclear war. Take a deep breath, Buzzkillers, and listen with the lights on!
Melvin Purvis, head of the Chicago Division of the young FBI, is usually overshadowed by the character of J. Edgar Hoover. But who did the real work of capturing or killing Pretty Boy Floyd and John Dillinger. Professor Nash joins us to discuss G-Man Melvin Purvis and where he belongs in the history of American law enforcement. Listen in!
Did Canadians burn the White House in 1814, in the last few months of the War of 1812, as President Trump apparently believes? Who was in command, Tim Horton? Bob and Doug MacKenzie? Or was it British forces, as we’ve been told in our history classes since, well, 1814. And, by the way, what the hell does Napoleon have to do with it? Find out!
Government internment of “enemy aliens” during World War II has been a controversial topic ever since the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Not only is the history much more complicated than is popularly known, the various policies applied at the time were very complicated, and often contradictory. In this episode we talk about how Japanese-Americans, Italian-Americans, and German-Americans were treated during the 20th Century’s darkest years.
One of the most common Einstein No Quotes you see coursing around the internet is: “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” Sometimes the mis-quote-meisters add “so is a lot,” to this pithy quote saying about knowledge, and we end up with “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot.” It’s probably the type of thing Einstein would say, but did he ever actually say it? Find out in this episode!
1865. The Civil War is over. Slavery has been abolished. The country is “reconstructing” itself. This should have meant that the lives of African-Americans improved during this period. But it didn’t. 1865-1930 is often called the “nadir of African-American life.” Not only did they gain very little economic or social benefit from the end of slavery, white Southerners built up a system of race oppression that still stains American consciousness. Listen as Professor Phil Nash explains it all!
The board game Monopoly seems too complicated to have had one single inventor, right? Well, no. Elizabeth Magie invented it in the first few years of the 20th century, and called it The Landlords Game. But the original game was anti-landlord, and embodied many aspects of communitarianism. Find out about it, about Elizabeth Magie, and why it became “Monopoly” on this Woman Crush Wednesday!
Walt Disney is one of the most famous names in entertainment. But have you ever heard of Ub Iwerks? Good old Ub was the real artistic genius behind many of Disney's most beloved characters, including Mickey Mouse. Yet there is no IwerksWorld, no Iwerks animation empire. Tune in to find out why, Buzzkillers!
Major social and political forces led to the establishment of Mother's Day as a major and official holiday. Our new episode explains those forces, and also tells us who founded Mother's Day. Was it Julia Ward Howe with her famous "Appeal to Womanhood" Peace Proclamation in 1870? Or did Anna Marie Jarvis found it, honoring her own mother in 1908? And what did war and campaigns for international disarmament have to do with the history of Mother's Day?
Did Ben Franklin really discover electricity by flying a kite in a lightning storm? Well, he may have flown the kite, Buzzkillers, but knowledge of electricity's been around a long, long time. Take the journey of discovery back in time with the old Professor.
We usually hear that surgery and medical treatment during the Civil War was backward butchery. But was it? Let's cross over the inter-sphere to listen, as historian Nic Hoffman from Kennesaw State University tells us how complicated it really was. Here we go.
We discuss: medical care before the war; the shock of Civil War carnage and how medics initially reacted; and changes in medical treatment and surgery because of the War. Listen and learn!
Impeachment? The 25th Amendment? Resignation? How do the American people remove a president from office? Why is it so complicated, and what's the history behind each way to get a dangerous, criminal, or just plain crazy chief executive out of the highest office in the land. Join Professor Buzzkill and Professor Nash as they work through all the possibilities, and illuminate all the history and politics behind the various processes. Listen and learn, Buzzkillers!
Frank Lloyd Wright is the most famous architect in American history. But why is he so famous, and was it just about his architecture? In his own mind and in the popular mind, he is often considered a god and an artistic prophet. How did he become so famous and how did his fame and myth-making develop during his career? Architect Eric Osth helps us understand the deep complexities and twists-and-turns in Wright's highly public and media-savvy approach to his architectural design, as well as the public's embrace of it.
John F. Kennedy was one of the most fascinating Presidents in US history. And perhaps more fascinating are the ways in which he is remembered by succeeding generations. In this first part of a three-part series, Professor Nash joins us to discuss JFK's background, youth, service in World War II, and his political career. The sweep of his life is as complex and interesting as you can imagine, Buzzkillers!
P. T. Barnum, the famous 19th century American showman and founder of the Barnum & Bailey Circus, is often quoted as saying "there's a sucker born every minute." This "quote" is usually trotted out to refer to something that con-men or other shysters who try to separate people from their hard-earned money (as in, selling them tickets to a circus) would say. But did good old P. T. ever say it? And how many Buzzkillers are born every minute? Find out here!
Is Watergate the story of heroic journalists working against all odds and in great danger to get at the truth of presidential corruption? Is it more complicated than that? How accurate was All the President's Men? Who really brought the Nixon presidency down? Professor Buzzkill's new episode explains all!
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes," according to Mark Twain, perhaps the most most-quoted writers and humorists in American literary history. But does the history of quoting Twain repeat itself, or does it simply rhyme? In this episode of Quote or No Quote, we learn that Twain said something close, but more wordy. And we also learn the history of that concept and quote. Listen in, Buzzkillers and see how far back the idea goes!
Did President Harry Truman coin the phrase, "The Buck Stops Here"? Did he use the quote as a way to define his Presidency? And what does the phrase "I'm from Missouri" have to do with it? It's all more more interesting than just a simple midwestern truism, Buzzkillers. The Quote Stops Here! Listen and learn!
What were "medieval indulgences"? Were they a way for rich people to buy their way into heaven, and help corrupt priests to line their own pockets at the same time? "Indulgences" aren't mentioned in the Bible, but they became heavily used in the Middle Ages. Why? Listen as one of greatest Buzzkillers, Professor William Campbell, enlightens us on the fascinating complexities! Won't cost you a cent, Buzzkillers!
Most people believe they know what Adolf Hitler's plans for a post-war world would be -- German domination. After all, didn't he say, "Today Germany, Tomorrow the World"? Well, Hitler certainly expressed ideas along these lines, although there is no record of him saying it in so few words. The closest Hitler quote that Buzzkill Institute researchers can find comes from Mein Kampf (1925): "If the German people, in their historic development, had possessed tribal unity like other nations, the German Reich today would be the master of the entire world." Where does "Today Germany, Tomorrow the World" come from? Professor Nash enlightens us!
What do the letters “S.O.S.” actually stand for? “Save Our Ship”? “Save Our Souls”? And why were those three letters chosen? The Professor explains this famous quote, and also the myth that it was first used by telegraph operators on the Titanic after it struck the iceberg in 1912. It’s more complicated and interesting than you can possibly imagine! Send out a distress signal for your brain!
The phrase and sentiment, "A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song," is one of the best-known expressions of the intrinsic nature of art and beauty. It has been quoted by presidents and school teachers, and practically everyone in between. And we all "know" that quote comes from Maya Angelou. The US government even said so. But did Maya Angelou really say it? Join Professor Buzzkill as he sings out the answer!
Was the Nazi high command, including Hitler, soaked in hard drug use? Over the course of the war, Hitler became increasingly dependent on injections of a cocktail of drug (including a form of heroin) administered by his personal doctor. Drugs alone cannot explain the Nazis’ toxic racial theories or the events of World War II, but if drugs are not taken into account, our understanding of the Third Reich is fundamentally incomplete. Professor Nash gives us the clean story!