Professor Buzzkill History Podcast

One of the most popular movies of all time, “It’s a Wonderful Life” (starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed) is a holiday classic. It has also given us a cornucopia of history myths and urban legends. Lend an ear as the Professor analyzes these stories, talks about how the movie was received when released in 1946, and highlights many overlooked supporting actors in the film. And you learn why the Professor thinks he also has a “wonderful life”!

Released in 1946, The Best Years of Our Lives became an immediate success. Life magazine called it “the first big, good movie of the post-war era” to tackle the “veterans problem.” Today we call that problem PTSD, but in the initial aftermath of World War II, the modern language of war trauma did not exist. Award-winning author Alison Macor illuminates the film’s journey from script to screen and describes how this authentic motion picture moved audiences worldwide. And Professor Buzzkill gushes about the film. Episode 539.

Did FDR know about the Pearl Harbor attack ahead of time? And who was the attack more devastating for - the United States or Japan? Professor Phil Nash joins us to explain the myths and misconceptions about December 7th, 1941, as well as the complexities of the cultural importance of the attack since then. You’ll learn more about an event that you thought you already knew well by listening to us! Encore Episode!

When thinking of campus protests, most Americans think of left-wing students marching and shouting. Dr. Lauren Lassabe Shepherd shows, however, that right-wing students and groups have protested very frequently on college campuses, even if they haven’t received as much attention from the media. In part, right-wing student protests in the 60s and 70s were a reaction to left-wing protests. But we also talk about how right-wing campus politics built political movements of their own, and promoted their causes directly. Episode 538.

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, come and sit here by me,” is one of the best snarky-isms ever uttered. But who said it? Dorothy Parker? Joan Crawford? Lady Buzzkill? Hear the full story, and learn what in the world Teddy Roosevelt, Nellie Taft, and Thomas Dewey have to do with it all! Listen and learn! Wisdom Wednesday Encore!

Veteran journalist and commentator, Scott Martelle, describes the fevered political year of 1932. Farmers’ strikes, industrial difficulties, marches and protests by military veterans, women’s rights protestors, tension over prohibition, and much more made this among the most politically active years in American history. Episode 537.

Who invented American Thanksgiving, and when did they invent it? The Pilgrims in 1621? Abe Lincoln in 1863? FDR in 1939? Turns out there were a lot of cooks involved in making the traditional American feasting holiday. The Professor gives a brief overview of Thanksgiving's history and myths.

As both American and French revolutionaries sought to fashion representative government in the late 1780s, they faced a dilemma. In a context where gaining public trust seemed to demand transparency, was secrecy ever legitimate? In Philadelphia and Paris, establishing popular sovereignty required navigating between an ideological imperative to eradicate secrets from the state and a practical need to limit transparency in government. Unveiling modern democracy’s surprisingly shadowy origins, Professor Katlyn Carter helps us understand how government by and for the people emerged during the Age of Revolutions. Episode 536.

One of the legendary stories that reappear during Thanksgiving season is that no less a luminary and Founder than Ben Franklin thought that the bald eagle was an improper choice as the national bird and a national symbol. Franklin preferred the more “dignified” turkey, and tried to convince the Founding Fathers to agree. Apparently, they thought Ben was a senile old sentimentalist, and so they ignored him. But is any of this story true? Listen and find out!

As the pilgrims pushed their chairs back from the first Thanksgiving table, their stomachs full of turkey and potatoes, Squanto appeared with bushels of popped corn and spilled it out on the tables for the Pilgrims to enjoy. That's how Americans got popcorn, right Buzzkillers? Well, maybe not, but you'll have to listen to this Buzzkill favorite to find out!