Join me this week as I recount the unbelievable true story of Joan of Arc, the 16 year old peasant girl who dressed in mens clothing and led French armies to victory in the 1420s. Something like this happening today seems near impossible, but in the 15th century when women had few rights, it was inconceivable. So how did a teenage girl with no military training come to lead successfully soldiers in battle? And what about the voices? Was Joan of Arc really sent by God to save France? 

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Sources: 

• History.com "Joan of Arc is burned at the stake for heresy"
• History.com "Hundred Years War"
• History Extra "The real Joan of Arc"
• Wikipedia "Joan of Arc"
• jeanne-darc.info

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This week is all about the history of salt! Yes, salt. You've probably never given it much thought. It sits in a salt shaker on your kitchen counter, spice rack, or cabinet. You can buy a pound of it for 76 cents at Walmart right now. But, believe it or not, salt was once an extremely valuable commodity. Whole civilizations rose up over salt. Trade routes were established. People became very wealthy. Salt allowed for the preservation of food which allowed humans to travel over long distances. It has invaluable medicinal properties. And, at it's most basic level, salt keeps humans bodies alive. Salt has impacted human history arguably more than any other substance on Earth. Join me to learn how!  

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

Sources: 

• Time Magazine "A Brief History of Salt"
• National Library of Medicine "A history of salt"
• Wikipedia "History of Salt"
• National Geographic "The Development of Agriculture"
• Antiquity Journal "The earliest salt production in the world..."
• History Cooperative "The History of Salt in Ancient Civilizations"
• University of Hawaii "Weird Science: Salt is Essential to Life" 

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Varina Howell Davis, wife of Jefferson Davis and First Lady of the Confederacy played the part well. She was educated, graceful, the picture of antebellum perfection. She hosted elegant soirees at the Confederate white house in Richmond, Virginia and managed a household of around 20 workers, black and white, enslaved and free. But Varina, when examined closely, was not what she seemed. In writing, she referred to herself as a “half-breed” born of the North and of the South. Her political loyalties were suspect as she found herself torn between both causes. And her dark skin and hair. What was that about? People whispered behind closed doors. Was the First Lady of the Confederacy… could she possibly be… Black? 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: 

• Encyclopedia Virginia "Varina Davis"
• Washington Post "Jim Limber: the myth of Jefferson Davis' adopted Black son"
• Clark University "The Forefathers of the English People"

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Thomas Jefferson was America's golden boy. Author of the Declaration of Independence, secretary of state under George Washington, vice president to John Adams, and 3rd president of the United States, he penned famous words like "all men are created equal," and "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." For this, he's often remembered as a moral champion who fought for equality and liberty for all. But there was another side to Thomas Jefferson, a darker side, one he kept well hidden. Despite his passionate prose, Jefferson enslaved some 600 people in his lifetime. Despite calling slavery "moral depravity" and a "hideous blot," he himself knowingly traded in human lives, authorized the beatings of children, intentionally sold them away from their families, all while benefiting immensely financially. So who was Thomas Jefferson really? America's golden boy or... something else? Tune in to find out! 

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

Sources: 

• The White House Historical Association "Thomas Jefferson"
• The White House Historical Association "The Enslaved Household of President Thomas Jefferson"
• Smithsonian Magazine "The Dark Side of Thomas Jefferson"
• Encyclopedia Britannica "Thomas Jefferson"
• Monticello.org "Monticello Affirms Thomas Jefferson Fathered Children with Sally Hemings"
• Slate Magazine "Thomas Jefferson Was Not a Monster"

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Back this week with one final, somewhat nautical episode to round out the month of June. This week we're talking about the Great Flood of Noah's Ark fame. It's one of the best known bible stories. But did you know, it doesn't end there? Almost every other major culture or religion that we know of has almost the same flood myth. The ancient Babylonians, the Greeks, Hindu, Buddhist, Aztec, Chinese, Norse, Aboriginal Australian, various Native Americans groups, and the list goes on and on. This story is everywhere. But is it just a freakishly common legend, a recurring myth meant to teach a lesson, or did it actually happen? Let’s fix that. 

Support the show! 

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

Sources: 

• National Center for Science Education "Yes, Noah's Flood May Have Happened, But Not Over the Whole Earth"
• ABC News "Evidence Noah's Biblical Flood Happened, Says Robert Ballard"
• How Stuff Works "The Great Flood: More Than a Myth?" 
• The Jerusalem Post "Durupinar Formation radar scans reveal hidden structures associated with Noah's Ark"
• PBS Independent Lens "A Flood of Myths and Stories"
• Wikipedia "Black Sea Deluge Hypothesis"
• Columbia University Record "Noah's Flood: Evidence of Ancient Disaster is Linked to Biblical Legend"
• Mini Museum "Revisiting the Black Sea Deluge Hypothesis"
• World History Encyclopedia "First Wave/Earliest Civilizations"

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In keeping with the nautical theme I accidentally adopted this month, I'll be exploring the rather misleading story of sixteen century Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan this week. Magellan's claim to fame is being the first person to circumnavigate the globe, to sail all the way around the Earth, a full circle. That really is Magellan’s only claim to fame. Except for one thing. He never even did that. Did you know that, despite claiming all the credit posthumously, Magellan only made it about three quarters of the way around the world? One of his five ships did return to Spain after a mostly disastrous voyage but Magellan was no longer on board. So who should really claim the credit? Who was the first person to circumnavigate the Earth? Let’s fix that. 

Support the show! 

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

Sources: 

• History.com "Why the Magellan Expedition Was So Treacherous"
• Encyclopedia Britannica "Ferdinand Magellan"
• BBC "Ferdinand Magellan"
• History Skills "Magellan was NOT the First Person to Sail Around the World..."
• History.com "Was Magellan the First Person to Circumnavigate the Globe?"

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I'm back this week with four more shipwreck stories. We'll start with the horrific explosion of the Mississippi river steamboat, the Sultana in 1865. Next, we'll tackle the Titanic which famously sank in 1912, killing around 1,500 passengers. On to another famous ship, the Endeavor. The Endeavor was the British naval ship used by explorer Captain James Cook during his first voyage of discovery which landed him in Australia, New Zealand, and Tahiti in the mid 1700s. Later the ship changed hands and was eventually used and intentionally sunk during the American Revolutionary War. Finally, I'll end with what is, quite possibly, one of the most controversial shipwrecks ever found, the San Jose. This Spanish galleon has been called the "holy grail" of shipwrecks because it was supposedly carrying treasure worth up to 17 billion dollars today when it went down in 1708. As five plus countries argue over the San Jose's treasure, the ethical question remains - what should be done with these shipwrecks?

Support the show! 

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

Sources: 

• American Battlefield Trust "The Sultana Disaster"
• Wikipedia "Sultana"
• New York Times "Civil War Hull Is Reported Found"
• Live Science "Digital "resurrection" of the Titanic sheds light on fateful night the ship tore apart"
• National Geographic Press Release "National Geographic reveals groundbreaking underwater scan..."
• The Times "At last, the Titanic wreck is left to rust in peace"
• Wikipedia "James Cook"
• Australian National Maritime Museum "Evidence Identifying Endeavor"
• The Guardian "Discovery provides further evidence shipwreck is Captain Cook's Endeavor, maritime scientists say"
• The Guardian "Worm-eaten shipwreck of Captain Cook's Endeavor under threat from more marine animals"
• BBC "The fierce battle over over the 'Holy Grail' of shipwrecks"

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This week, we'll uncover the stories of four different shipwrecks. I'll start with an ancient Roman ship found near the Greek island of Antikythera which sank around 60 to 70 BC with mind blowing treasures on board. Next, I'll talk about the sinking of King Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, in 1545 and it's rediscovery twice in the 400 years since. Then we'll move on to my personal favorite, the Queen Anne's Revenge, which was intentionally run aground by the infamous pirate Blackbeard in 1718 and rediscovered in 1996. Finally, the HMS Victory which sank in the English Channel in 1744, one of the largest and most mysterious naval tragedies in British history. We'll take a closer look at the artifacts that came off of these wrecks and what they can teach us about the people once onboard. And, we'll dive into some difficult ethical questions. What is a shipwreck really? A museum? A treasure chest? A graveyard? And should that affect how we handle these discoveries?

Support the show! 

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

Sources: 

• Scientific American "An Ancient Greek Astronomical Calculation Machine Reveals New Secrets"
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution "Antikythera Shipwreck"
• Royal Museums Greenwich "Mary Rose"
• maryrose.org "The Mary Rose in History"
• Museum Crush "11 Tudor Treasures Recovered from the Wreck of the Mary Rose"
• Queen Anne's Revenge Project "Discovery of the Shipwreck"
• Wikipedia "Queen Anne's Revenge"
• BBC "HMS Victory: The English Channel's 'Abandoned Shipwreck'"
• The Guardian "Wreckage of HMS Victory's Predecessor Discovered in Channel After 265 Years"
• Time Magazine "The HMS Victory, Famed Shipwreck, Is Found"

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This week I teamed up with fellow podcaster and prolific world traveler, Gary Arndt, from the "Everything Everywhere Daily" podcast to talk about UNESCO, an organization with a mission to save natural wonders and cultural heritage sites around the world. You'll hear the story of how UNESCO got it's start, specifically the painstaking dismantling, transport, and reconstruction of one some ancient Egypt's greatest wonders, threatened by modern development, and how the world came together to save it. You'll also hear about Gary's travels, including his favorite and least favorite UNESCO sites.  

Support the show! 

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

Sources: 

• Everything Everywhere "Everything You Wanted To Know About UNESCO World Heritage Sites But Never Bothered to Ask"
• JSTOR Daily "An Epic Face-Lift: Moving Abu Simbel Out of the Nile"
• UNESCO "Working Together: Abu Simbel"
• UNESCO Archives Film Collection: "The World Saves Abu Simbel" documentary 
• National Geographic "Saving the Temples of Abu Simbel"
• Wikipedia "Abu Simbel"

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This week we're talking about the Vietnam War, one of the most unpopular wars in US history. Tomorrow is Memorial Day and while I very much want to honor and remember the over 58,000 Americans who lost their lives fighting for their country in Vietnam, around one third of them drafted, that’s not exactly the focus of this episode. Instead, I want to explore a side to the war we don’t often think about. I want to explore what happens if you’re drafted, but you  know you can’t do it. You can’t go fight in a war, kill people, lots of people, for a cause you don’t believe in, a war you are morally opposed to. Because for many, that was the reality. So what are you going to do? What options do you have? Join me and special guest Bruce Wasser, author of "90: A Conscientious Objector's Journey of Quiet Resistance" to uncover Bruce's experience as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. 

Purchase Bruce's book here!

Check your birthdate draft number here

Watch a video of the December 1, 1969 birthdate draft lottery here

Support the show! 

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

Sources: 

• BBC "The Vietnam War"
• History.com "How the Vietnam War Ratcheted Up Under 5 US Presidents"
• Selective Service System "Vietnam Lotteries"
• PHData "Analyzing the 1969 Vietnam War Draft Lottery"

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