Footnoting History

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Empress Eugénie in Exile, Part II: Life After Empire Jan 17, 2015

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(Christine) The Second French Empire has fallen and Empress Eugénie fled to England, but what happened next? In this episode, we conclude our look at her life in exile, including her reunions with Napoleon III and their son, as well as the lasting piece of French imperialism she established in the English countryside.

Empress Eugénie in Exile, Part I: Flight from Paris Jan 03, 2015

Show notes

(Christine) When Napoleon III’s French Empire began to crumble in the late 19th century, his wife was trapped in Paris. Who could possibly help the Bonaparte Empress flee before the mobs got to her? An American dentist named Thomas Evans, of course. We’re kicking off the new year with a podcast about escapes and unlikely allies!

King Arthur's Christmas: Christianity, Paganism, and Community Dec 21, 2014

Show notes

(Lucy) For much of the Middle Ages, King Arthur was Europe’s model king. His court could be a space for heroism, for romance, and also for the uncanny. Often drawing on oral tradition, written for elite audiences, the Arthurian romances of the 13th and 14th centuries can be surprisingly revealing about cultural values and cultural debates. This week we'll be looking at Christmas feasts, sun-god figures, and complex debates about the morality of flirting.

Protest Pop and Queen Elizabeth II' s Silver Jubilee Nov 29, 2014

Show notes

(Esther) As the Queen celebrated her 25th year on the throne, England was restless, on the verge of anarchy, and sweating out the hottest summer in years. "God Save the Queen" went to the top of the charts, and the Sex Pistols, followed later by other acts, vented their rage at the royal family. We will revisit the tumultuous year of 1977 as our starting point to explore the British musicians who protested the monarchy in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Robert Bruce: Stabbings and Statebuilding Nov 22, 2014

Show notes

(John) Following the most recent referendum on Scottish independence, it's a perfect time to reflect on the origins of Scotland. What does the murder of John Comyn by Robert Bruce in 1306 tell us about medieval Scotland? How has history been rewritten to stress nationalist narratives? And did anyone really care about Scotland as a country or state in the early fourteenth century? All this and a murder most foul. Or moderately foul. Or perfectly justified. It's all very Scottish. But somebody was murdered and this week John takes a stab at addressing the formation of Scotland under Robert Bruce in the fourteenth century.

Mental Institutions, Part II: The Rosenhan Experiment Nov 15, 2014

Show notes

(Elizabeth) In the 1970s, Dr. David Rosenhan set out to show just how easy it is to be labeled mentally ill. Following the model of Nellie Bly, he and his pseudo-patients did just that.

Mental Institutions, Part I: Nellie Bly's Exposé Nov 08, 2014

Show notes

(Elizabeth) In 1887, Nellie Bly was asked to pass a week at an insane asylum. She said she would and she could and she did.

Guy Fawkes Nov 01, 2014

Show notes

(Kirsti) Remember, remember the Fifth of November! Guy Fawkes has become an iconic face of the American Occupy movement, but was the Gunpowder Plot really an effort to improve the lot of the lower classes? This week we will explore the religious terrorism that inspired a national holiday.

The Demon Core Oct 25, 2014

Show notes

(Kirsti) The Manhattan Project placed the lives of scientists and staff in New Mexico at great risk. One plutonium core in particular claimed two lives over the course of two years, earning it the epithet "The Demon Core." What happened? What did we learn from it? What was its eventual fate? We're going critical in this week's podcast.

Advances in the West: Grant's Army in 1862 Oct 18, 2014

Show notes

(Ryan) In this episode, Ryan looks at the Union advances in the west from the battle of Shiloh through the Siege of Corinth and how the retreat of the Confederate forces along the Mississippi River ultimately contributed to the defeat of the South in the American Civil War.

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