Professor Buzzkill History Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#118 - Mini-Myth: Hitler Didn’t Dance that Jig Jun 23, 2016

Show notes

Did Adolph Hitler really dance a little victory jig after the surrender of France in June 1940? Could such a nasty and maniacal person really show such light-hearted emotion? Turns out that high-quality film editing and special effects by the British wartime propaganda services put that little lilt in Hitler’s step.

#117 - Douglas MacArthur Part 1 Jun 21, 2016

Show notes

Douglas MacArthur is one of the most famous and celebrated generals in American history. Along with Patton, however, he’s one of the most misunderstood and most mythologized. Born in the 19th century, MacArthur served in both World Wars, the Korean War, and other, less extensive US military actions. Yet he is also considered another attention hound (like Patton), sometimes overly-dramatic, and often letting his over-inflated view of his own abilities and destiny get in the way of sound judgement. In this episode we look at his early life and his career through World War II and try to determine who was the real Douglas MacArthur.

#116 - Mini-Myth: Eve and the Apple Jun 16, 2016

Show notes

Many of us “know” that, in the Garden of Eden, Eve was tempted by a serpent to eat an apple from the tree of knowledge. She ate the apple and that led to God expelling her and Adam from the Garden of Eden. This is known as the “Fall of Man.” But was an apple responsible for Adam and Even being kicked out of the Garden of Eden and for the Fall of Man? Find out, Buzzkillers!

#115 - Paul Revere Jun 14, 2016

Show notes

Listen, oh Buzzkillers, and you shall hear, the true story of the Ride of Paul Revere. Silversmith, patriot, brave man and true, but he wasn’t the only one to carry the news.

#114 - Mini-Myth: Titantic Jun 09, 2016

Show notes

The myths about the RMS Titanic, which sank on April 15, 2012, are themselves so big and numerous that we could call them titanic in their own right. In fact, they’ve lasted so long they might be considered unsinkable. Listen and learn the real story, Buzzkillers!

#113 - Scopes Trial Jun 07, 2016

Show notes

On April 24, 1925, a high school teacher named John Scopes taught a class in Dayton, Tennessee, using a state-mandated textbook that included a chapter explaining Darwin’s theory of evolution. In doing so, Scopes was in violation of Tennessee’s Butler Act, passed earlier in the year. He was arrested, tried, convicted, and fined $100. The verdict was later overturned on a technicality, but the case has gone down in history as an example of faith against science, ignorance against knowledge, and tradition against progress. But what really happened? Why was the Scopes Trial held? Find out, Buzzkillers!

#112 - Mini-Myth: Pony Express Jun 02, 2016

Show notes

The image of the Pony Express is very strong in the American consciousness. Here’s what we “remember” -- a rider galloping as fast as the wind through the wild west, ignoring the elements, dodging hostile Native Americans, and delivering the mail. But that image owes more to Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show and Hollywood movies than to the history of the actual Pony Express. According to the US Department of the Interior, “Few events in U.S. western history have generated more myths and half truths than the Pony Express.” Listen and learn, Buzzkillers!

#111 - Workers Entombed in Concrete May 31, 2016

Show notes

It’s a story that drives tour guides and historians of engineering crazy. A worker falls into a pool of wet concrete that’s being poured as part of a major construction project. Before he can be saved, his body slips beneath the surface and he drowns in the thick soup of the concrete. It’s too difficult to extract the body and the construction bosses don’t want to stop the “concrete pour,” so he gets entombed in the concrete pillars of the bridge, or the concrete walls of the dam, or whatever it is they’re building. Were bosses that cold? Was the march of progress so heartless? Find out, Buzzkillers.

#110 - Mini-Myth: Spanish Flu May 26, 2016

Show notes

The great influenza pandemic of 1918-1920 was the one of the worst disasters in human history. Somewhere between 50 and 100 million people were killed by the flu world-wide. But did it start in Spain? Was the Spanish health-care system to blame. Listen and learn, Buzzkillers!

#109 - St Francis of Assisi May 24, 2016

Show notes

St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most popular saints in the Christian religion. He’s known as a lover of animals, the first eco-warrior, and a peace-negotiator during the crusades. How much of this is true, and how much is myth? “Make me the instrument of your buzzkilling!”

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