Professor Buzzkill History Podcast

[fusion_text]The bombing of Dresden on 13-14 February 1945 was one of the most destructive of the Allies’ late-war bombing campaigns over Germany. Somewhere between 22,000 and 25,000 people were killed and a famously beautiful city was leveled. It’s been called an Allied war crime, and Kurt Vonnegut’s famous novel, Slaughterhouse 5, reinforced that idea in the public mind for at least a generation. But was it a war crime? Was it unnecessary? Listen in, Buzzkillers, as Professor Phil Nash enlightens us![/fusion_text]

The Star Spangled Banner has been the national anthem of the United States since its founding, right? Wrong. Francis Scott Key wrote it 1814, and the song didn’t become the official national anthem until 1931, 117 years after it was written, and 155 years after the Declaration of Independence founded the nation.

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 career from the end of World War II  to his dismissal by Truman in 1951, and try to determine who was the real Douglas MacArthur.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

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!