I have wanted to talk about Sir Walter Raleigh for so very long. He had a lot of power and influence during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and impacted the world we know today more than people realize. He's even the one who came up with the name Virginia! And yet, most don't know the first thing about Raleigh. Who was he really? And how did he go from the queen’s favorite golden boy to beheaded at Westminster in the span of just a few decades? Let's fix that. 

Episodes about the Roanoke expeditions: 

• Roanoke Parts 1 and 2
• The Found Colony of Roanoke?

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Sources: 

• Historic Royal Palaces “Sir Walter Raleigh”
• History.com “Walter Raleigh”
• North Carolina Museum of History “The Demise of Sir Walter Raleigh”
• BBC “Walter Raleigh”
• Sir Walter Raleigh’s letter to his wife (Matthew Lyons)

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So many important lessons to be learned from the late and great Dolly Parton! I'm back with a bang this week Fixies to uncover the unexpected legacy left by super famous, super loved, greatly missed Dolly Parton. How does a girl from a poverty stricken tobacco farm in the mountains of Tennessee, one of twelve children, with an illiterate father, come to be one of the most famous performers, business women, philanthropists, and all around enigmas of all time? More importantly, how is it possible to pull all that off while remaining almost universally loved by the masses? What does it actually mean to be a Dolly? Let's fix that. 

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• Join the Patreon (patreon.com/historyfixpodcast)
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Sources: 

• Dollyparton.com “Dolly’s Story”
• Wikipedia “Dolly Parton”
• Country Music Hall of Fame “Dolly Parton”
• Wikipedia “Porter Wagoner”
• Fox News “Dolly Parton’s most iconic ‘Dolly-isms’ on beauty, wigs, Botox and living on her own terms”

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Join the Patreon for more exclusive content like this! I'm back with my second ever episode of History Fix News and this time I'm sharing it with the masses! This news story comes out of Burgundy, France and deals with the recent theft of an ancient Celtic necklace known as the Vix Torque. We'll discuss serious flaws in French museum security following both the October 2025 jewel heist (episode 137) and this new Vix Torque heist. We'll also explore what the Vix Torque told us about the ancient Celtic world, including trade with the Mediterranean, and what it suggests about it's wearer, the Princess of Vix, a surprisingly high status woman in a world so often ruled by men.

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• Join the Patreon (patreon.com/historyfixpodcast)
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Sources:

• Artnews “Thieves Snatch 2,500-Year-Old Celtic Gold Torque from French Museum in Broad Daylight”
• History and Archaeology Online “The Princess of Vix: Trade, Culture and Women in Celtic Society”

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Subscribe to the Patreon here! You'll have access to 37 mini fix episodes, 3 History Fix Trivia episodes, plus a fun new segment I have up my sleeve! Otherwise, I'll catch you all in September! 

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Listen to this full mini fix episode on Patreon! 

Benedict Arnold is remembered as a notorious turncoat, a traitor who secretly switched sides during the Revolutionary War. His legacy is one of betrayal, selfishness, and greed. But how did it happen? How did a man who once exclaimed “Good God, are the Americans all asleep and tamely giving up their glorious liberties?” upon hearing news of the Boston Massacre end up fighting alongside the enemy? Like with most villains from history, there has to be more to the story. Nathaniel Philbrick writes in a Smithsonian magazine article “Although it later became convenient to portray Arnold as a conniving Satan from the start, the truth is more complex and, ultimately, more disturbing. Without the discovery of his treason in the fall of 1780, the American people might never have been forced to realize that the real threat to their liberties came not from without, but from within.” Let’s fix that. 

Sources: 

• Smithsonian Magazine “Why Benedict Arnold Turned Traitor Against the American Revolution”
• Mountvernon.org “Benedict Arnold”

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Everyone knows about General George Washington and the British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781. But, very few people know the circumstances surrounding that surrender. Very few people know about the involvement of an enslaved Black man named James who worked as a double agent during the war, secretly passing information to the Americans while feeding the British false leads. Few people know the risks James took, risks that eventually led to an American victory, risks that stood to gain him nothing in return. Let's fix that. 

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• Join the Patreon (patreon.com/historyfixpodcast)
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Sources: 

• American Battlefield Trust "James Armistead Lafayette"
• Library of Virginia "James Lafayette Petition for Freedom, 1786"
• United States Army National Museum "James Armistead Lafayette"
• Wikipedia "James Armistead Lafayette"
• Wikipedia "Benedict Arnold"
• Wikipedia "Marquis de Lafayette"

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I've decided to release this mini fix episodes to the masses and I hope my Patreon subscribers won't mind sharing. This story has gone almost completely untold for far too long and the lessons it teaches are too important to ignore any longer. If you enjoy listening this week, I hope you'll consider subscribing to the Patreon where you'll find tons of other exclusive mini fix episodes plus other bonus content and regular episodes 2 days early and ad free. Now, let's dive into the world of Edenton, North Carolina, 1774, a world that appears to be run by an elite group of wealthy white men. When we take a closer look though, they aren't as in charge as they think they are. So who really runs the show? In this story, they'll finally step out of the shadows in a big way and sign their names to prove it. 

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• Join the Patreon (patreon.com/historyfixpodcast)
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Sources:

• North Carolina History Project "Edenton Tea Party"
• National Women's History Museum "Penelope Barker"
• Wikipedia "Edenton Tea Party"

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Tea has a long and rich history dating back to ancient China. But, when you think about where in the world they drink the most tea now, one country in particular probably comes to mind. It does for me anyway: England, Great Britain, the United Kingdom, whatever you want to call it. Those guys. They really do love a cuppa tea. Tea is notably absent, for the most part, however, in the United States where coffee reigns supreme. I mean, we have some ice tea drinkers here in the south and you may have a cup of hot tea every now and then, especially in the winter time. But there is no arguing that tea is anywhere near as popular as coffee in the United States. Why? Well, to answer that question we have to go back over 250 years to a time when revolution was brewing and tea was not. Let’s fix that. 

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• Join the Patreon (patreon.com/historyfixpodcast)
• Buy some merch
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Venmo @Shea-LaFountaine

Sources: 

• UK Tea and Infusions Association "History of Tea"
• UK Tea and Infusions Association "The Boston Tea Party"
• BBC "Spilling the tea on Brits' love of tea"
• American Battlefield Trust "Tea: Brewing a Revolution"

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Listen to this full mini fix episode on Patreon! 

In this whirlwind mini we’re going to talk about 7 historical figures who were at least probably gay. A few of these were definitely gay or at least bisexual. For some we’ll never know for sure, we can only speculate. But, you know, why does it matter? Some might be wondering. Why does the sexual orientation of long dead people even matter? Because in many of these examples, these are highly respected and revered historical figures and to be represented in history as impressive, capable, accomplished movers and shakers like this, to be recognized throughout history where they’ve always been hidden, is a big deal for LGBTQ+ advocacy and awareness and the ongoing fight for equality. And that’s what Pride Month is all about.

Sources

• Wikipedia “Sappho”
• Wikipedia “Alexander the Great”
• Wikipedia “Leonardo da Vinci”
• Wikipedia “James VI and I”
• Wikipedia "Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben”
• Wikipedia “Oscar Wilde”
• Wikipedia “Alan Turing”

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Since 2021 Juneteenth National Independence Day has been a federal holiday in the United States. But what exactly is the significance of that date, June 19th? Is that when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, freeing enslaved people in Confederate States? Is it when the 13th Amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery in all of the states? Nope. Let's get to the bottom of what happened on June 19, 1865 and why it led to a new national holiday some 150 years later. 

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• Join the Patreon (patreon.com/historyfixpodcast)
• Buy some merch
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Venmo @Shea-LaFountaine

Sources: 

• University of South Florida at Saint Petersburg "Juneteenth: the complicated history, significance and celebration around the struggle for freedom"
• National Museum of African American History and Culture "The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth"
• History.com "What is Juneteenth?"

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