Salacious History: History Shaped by Sex, Romance, and People Who were Down to Clown

In honor of Women’s History Month, we are revisiting one of our most popular episodes: Prostitution in the Wild West!

 

Please see the original episode for a full list of sources: Ep20 – Prostitution in the Wild West

Today we will be discussing one of the most controversial women in Chinese history: Empress Wu Zetian, the only woman to ever rule China. Historians have depicted her as a ruthless monster and an ineffective ruler, but was this really the case? When it comes to Wu Zetian, it is often difficult to separate fact from myth. Are all the extreme stories about her true? Was she a ruthless monster, or was her legacy tarnished by a long-lasting smear campaign?

 

Suggested Episodes:

Ep15 – Cleopatra

Ep03 – Gloria Steinem Goes Undercover

 

Keywords: Asian history, China history, Chinese history, Female rulers, Female leaders, Empress, Emperor, Wu Zetian empress, Wu Zetian facts, Wu Zetian murder, Wu Zetian daughter, Wu Zetian histor, Wu Zetian biography

 

Sources:

In honor of Black History Month, we are taking a look back at some of the amazing African American groundbreakers we have covered on the podcast. We will also learn more about the origins of Black History Month!

We will recount the life stories of four amazing groundbreakers from the 20th century: Bayard Rustin, Audre Lorde, and Mildred & Richard Loving.

 

Suggested Episodes:

Ep34 – Sex & Marriage: Apartheid

Ep29 – The Stonewall Uprising

 

Sources:

history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/01/black-history-month-2021-how-celebrate-what-know/4292640001/

https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/bhm-heroes/bayard-rustin-gay-man-in-the-civil-rights-movement/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/us/bayard-rustin-pardon.html

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/100-amazing-facts/who-designed-the-march-on-washington/

https://www.biography.com/activist/bayard-rustin

https://makinggayhistory.com/podcast/bayard-rustin/

https://www.familyequality.org/2019/02/01/honoring-an-unsung-lgbtq-hero-bayard-rustin/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayard_Rustin#cite_note-58

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audre_Lorde

https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/audre-lorde-residence/

http://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/aa-history-month-bios/audre-lorde (more)

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2004-06-13-0406100318-story.html

https://poets.org/poet/audre-lorde

https://www.biography.com/scholar/audre-lorde

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2017/09/feminist-lesbian-warrior-poet-rediscovering-work-audre-lorde

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Audre-Lorde

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_Table:_Women_of_Color_Press#Obstacles

https://www.equalityutah.org/blog/item/256-lgbtq-legacy-audre-lorde

Janus, S. S., & Janus, C. L. (1993). The Janus report on sexual behavior. New York, NY: Wiley.

Juan and Eva Peron are some of Argentina’s biggest cultural and political icons of the past century. Eva (AKA “Evita”) captured the heart of the nation as a First Lady of the people and President Juan Peron brought prosperity to the working class. In this week’s episode, we learn how this couple’s love for each other and their country propelled them to new heights.

 

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Juan-Perón

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eva-Perón

Evita: Her Real Story (documentary)

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150710-the-gruesome-untold-story-of-eva-perons-lobotomy

https://www.marxists.org/history/argentina/Perón/1951/speech.htm

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/Perón-deposed-in-argentina

https://www.biography.com/political-figure/eva-Perón

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/02/21/argentinas-juan-Perón-his-harboring-of-nazi-war-criminals-did-not-bring-about-the-benefits-he-expected-for-his-country/

https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/socialsciences/ppecorino/SS680/Funeral_Evita.html

 

Sub-Topics: Eva Peron biography, Eva Peron funeral, Juan Peron president, Eva Peron husband, Eva Peron Foundation

Apartheid was a system that legally separated the various racial groups in South Africa and kept the white minority in power. Learn how apartheid impacted sex and marriage in SA both during and after apartheid.

This episode is sponsored by:

 

Recommended Episodes:

Ep14 – Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera

Ep27 – Bayard Rustin

 

Sources:

* https://www.history.com/topics/africa/apartheid#:~:text=Under%20apartheid%2C%20nonwhite%20South%20Africans,two%20groups%20would%20be%20limited.

* https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa

* https://www.history.com/news/apartheid-policies-photos-nelson-mandela

* https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/29/world/love-finds-a-way-past-south-africa-s-race-laws.html

* https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27111168

* https://www.thoughtco.com/interracial-marriage-under-apartheid-43429

* https://www.blackfacts.com/fact/interracial-marriage-under-apartheid

* https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/12/world/for-south-african-couple-no-niche-in-apartheid.html

* https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-lgbt-legislation

* https://repository.law.umich.edu/articles/1049/

* https://www.dw.com/en/colorblind-interracial-love-in-south-africa/a-47468376#:~:text=Under%20apartheid%2C%20dating%20across%20racial,couples%20into%20the%20rainbow%20nation.

* https://www.cfr.org/blog/one-more-step-dismantling-apartheids-legacy

No matter if you are pro-life or pro-choice, it’s important to understand the history of abortion rights and what events have shaped our current perceptions. How have different societies addressed abortion in the past, and why is it such a divisive issue in the modern era? 

This episode is sponsored by:

 

Suggested Episodes:

Ep26 – Christine Jorgensen: The First Trans Celebrity

Ep03 – Gloria Steinem Goes Undercover

 

Sources:

* https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/religion/news/2013/08/08/71893/scarlet-letters-getting-the-history-of-abortion-and-contraception-right/#:~:text=Official%20abortion%20laws%20did%20not,force%20would%20have%20stopped%20her.

* https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33467.pdf

* https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/history-abortion-law-america-us-debate-what-roe-v-wade/

* https://reproductiverights.org/worldabortionlaws

* https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_POPU_1802_0225–abortion-around-the-world-an-overview.htm#

* https://www.newyorker.com/news/essay/how-abortion-changed-the-arc-of-womens-lives

* http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/legal/history_1.shtml

 

Sub-Topics: Abortion def, Abortion definition, Abortion cost, Worldwide abortion rates, Abortion laws

Nell Donnelly (Reed) was a famous Kansas City resident and business owner who was taken for ransom during the Great Depression. Nell was a badass business woman, but she had a few scandalous secrets that came to light following her kidnapping.

This episode is sponsored by:

Suggested Episodes:

Ep20 – Prostitution in the Wild West

Ep16 – History of Damsels in Distress

Sources:

* Blodgett, Betsy. “Nelly Don: Self Made in America.” Seamwork, Colette Media, LLC, 2021, http://www.seamwork.com/magazine/2015/12/nelly-don-self-made-in-america.

* Harper, Kimberly. “Nell Donnelly Reed (1889-1991).” Nell Donnelly Reed, The State Historical Society of Missouri, 2021, historicmissourians.shsmo.org/historicmissourians/name/r/reed/.

* Hulston, Nancy J. “Biography of James Alexander Reed (1861-1944), Attorney and Politician.” KC History, The Kansas City Public Library, 1999, kchistory.org/islandora/object/kchistory%253A115452.

* Magerl, Barbara. “Biography of Nell Donnelly Reed (1889-1991), Dress Manufacturer.” KC History, The Kansas City Public Library, 1999, kchistory.org/islandora/object/kchistory%253A115262.

* “Missouri Life.” The University of Missouri – St. Louis, St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, 2021, http://www.umsl.edu/mercantile/events-and-exhibitions/online-exhibits/missouri-splendor/Missouri_Life.pdf.

* “Nell Donnelly Marries James A. Reed.” The Pendergast Years, The Kansas City Public Library, 13 Dec. 1933, pendergastkc.org/timeline/nell-donnelly-marries-james-reed.

* Rhiannon. “The ‘Business Model’ of Depression Era Kidnappings.” Medium, Internet Archaeology, 5 Jan. 2021, medium.com/internet-archaeology/the-business-model-of-depression-era-kidnappings-ba21f81531ef.

* Roe, Jason. “Strange Bedfellows.” KC History, The Kansas City Public Library, 2013, kchistory.org/week-kansas-city-history/strange-bedfellows.

* Stillwell, Ted W. “Portraits of the Past: The Nelly Don Kidnapping Sensation.” The Leavenworth Times, USA Today Network, 31 July 2014, http://www.leavenworthtimes.com/article/20140731/news/140739835.

* Wilson, Tracy V, and Holly Frey. “Nell Donnelly Reed.” Podgist, Podgist, 21 Dec. 2020, http://www.podgist.com/stuff-you-missed-in-history-class/nell-donnelly-reed/index.html.

Today we will be learning about one of the darkest influential figures of European culture: the Marquis de Sade, the man who literally inspired the term “sadism.” He was a French aristocrat, philosopher, and writer of graphic sexual works. His writing pushed the envelope with descriptions of intense sexual violence and blasphemy against the Catholic Church.

 

Recommended Episodes:

Ep01 – JFK’s Sexual Exploits

Ep08 – Alfred Kinsey (Part II)

 

Sources:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-was-marquis-de-sade-180953980/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marquis-de-Sade

https://www.biography.com/writer/marquis-de-sade

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20141006-marquis-de-sade-still-shocking

https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2885224.Marquis_de_Sade

https://theconversation.com/marquis-de-sade-depraved-monster-or-misunderstood-genius-its-complicated-145576

https://www.britannica.com/topic/sadism

https://theconversation.com/marquis-de-sade-depraved-monster-or-misunderstood-genius-its-complicated-145576#:~:text=During%20his%20lifetime%2C%20Sade%20was,the%20aphrodisiac%20%E2%80%9CSpanish%20fly%E2%80%9D

 https://penandthepad.com/synopsis-justine-marquis-de-sade-7463.html

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Justine-novel-by-Sade

https://www.britannica.com/topic/120-Days-of-Sodom

ACT UP was founded to fight for the rights of AIDS patients. They demanded better drug testing, they altered public perceptions of the illness and safe sex, and refused to back down until they won.

If you missed Part I of our coverage of the AIDS Epidemic, I encourage you to go back and listen to that episode first. Click here to listen!

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/salacious-history/id1452081700

Patreon: www.patreon.com/salacioushistory

Suggested Episodes:

Ep30 – AIDS Epidemic (Part I)

Ep13 – Loving v. Virginia

Between 1981 and 1987, over 40,000 people died of AIDS in the United States. But despite the obvious health crisis, no one in power was doing anything about it. The U.S. government did not care about AIDS for one simple reason: the majority of the early cases were among gay men, who the government deemed expendable. This episode will be the first of two parts on the AIDS Epidemic. Today, we will learn how the AIDS epidemic began, which communities were impacted, and how the general public responded to the outbreak.

 

Suggested Episodes:

Ep30a – AIDS Epidemic (Part II)

Ep19 – The HIV Epidemic in Thailand

 

Sources:

* https://www.history.com/news/aids-epidemic-ronald-reagan

* https://nursing.jnj.com/ward-5b-how-nurses-defied-convention-to-care-for-hiv-aids-patients

* https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/history/hiv-and-aids-timeline

* http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13072762/ns/health-aids/t/aids-survivors-recall-epidemics-early-years/#.X0mSdnlKjIU

* https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2019/12/17/living-in-deaths-shadow-personal-stories-of-the-aids-epidemic.html

* https://abcnews.go.com/Health/friend-friend-dying-hiv-survivors-back-past-30/story?id=59468714

* And the Band Played On (Book)

* “United in Anger: A History of Act Up” documentary https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B00KEOI2HA/ref=atv_dl_rdr?autoplay=1

* https://www.avert.org/professionals/history-hiv-aids/overview (more)

* http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13072762/ns/health-aids/t/aids-survivors-recall-epidemics-early-years/#.X2AlrWhKg2w

* https://www.kff.org/hivaids/fact-sheet/the-hivaids-epidemic-in-the-united-states-the-basics/#:~:text=Key%20Facts,the%20beginning%20of%20the%20epidemic.

* “The Pride Movement” documentary

* “How to Survive a Plague” documentary

* https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/fact-sheet/the-global-hivaids-epidemic/#:~:text=HIV%2C%20the%20virus%20that%20causes,the%20beginning%20of%20the%20epidemic.