Things That Go Boom

It’s All an Illusion


Listen Later

Nearly everyone has played dress up at some point in their lives, whether putting on mom or dad’s clothes as kids, for Halloween, as their favorite Marvel character at ComicCon… or even, maybe, as a Civil War soldier.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where historians say Civil War casualties were highest, attracts many reenactors. They carry their muskets, pull on their blue britches, and revel in the past. But today that hobby has taken on new meaning — survivalists on the left and right and even some pundits have suggested a second US Civil War isn’t quite so unlikely as it might seem. So, we thought we’d head out to learn a little bit more about why some folks like to play war… and what they think about the prospect of another.

GUESTS: Pete Bedrossian, Civil War reenactor; Mike Peets, Civil War reenactor; Levi Rifenburgh, Civil War reenactor, high school student; Mary Babcock, Bannerman Island; Rebecca DuBois, Bannerman Island, archivist; Peggy Bedrossian, Former reenactor, Pete's wife; Kyle Windahl, Regalia maker, historian; Jocelyn Windahl, Occasional Reenactor, High school STEM teacher, Kyle's wife; Matt Atkinson, Civil War reenactor; Sherry/Cheri Stultz, Gettysburg Family Restaurant; Mark Russell, Civil War reenactor

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Civil War Re-Enactors Have Their Own POG-Level Slang, Blake Stilwell, We Are The Mighty

How Gettysburg Became a Refuge for Conservatives Battered by Trump-Era Strife, Virginia Heffernan, Politico

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Things That Go BoomBy PRX

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

318 ratings


More shows like Things That Go Boom

View all
Living on Earth by World Media Foundation

Living on Earth

473 Listeners

Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen by PRX

Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen

664 Listeners

Latino USA by Futuro Media and PRX

Latino USA

3,743 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,925 Listeners

Live Wire with Luke Burbank by PRX

Live Wire with Luke Burbank

318 Listeners

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,362 Listeners

The World by PRX

The World

902 Listeners

Snap Judgment by Snap Judgment and PRX

Snap Judgment

11,555 Listeners

the memory palace by Nate DiMeo

the memory palace

6,866 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,112 Listeners

Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

Reveal

8,069 Listeners

Explain It to Me by Vox

Explain It to Me

7,826 Listeners

The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

10,644 Listeners

Embedded by NPR

Embedded

11,956 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,599 Listeners

The Science of Happiness by PRX and Greater Good Science Center

The Science of Happiness

1,882 Listeners

Today, Explained by Vox

Today, Explained

9,981 Listeners

What Next | Daily News and Analysis by Slate Podcasts

What Next | Daily News and Analysis

2,362 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

15,728 Listeners

This Day by Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia

This Day

972 Listeners

Suave by Futuro Studios

Suave

1,426 Listeners

Unexplainable by Vox

Unexplainable

2,097 Listeners