Say It With History: Stories That Shaped the Past with Holley Snaith

The American Revolution was not simply a war fought within the Thirteen Colonies. Author Derek Baxter explores the Revolution as a global conflict, tracing battles and alliances across Europe, the Caribbean, India, and beyond and revealing how international support helped make American independence possible.

Key Topics

• The American Revolution as a global conflict
• The crucial roles of France and Spain
• Cuba’s connection to the victory at Yorktown
• Revolutionary-era conflict in the Caribbean, Europe, and India
• The international alliances that supported American independence
• Why the global dimensions of the Revolution faded from popular memory
• Visiting historic sites connected to the Revolution around the world

Guest Bio

Derek Baxter is a writer whose work combines history with travel and firsthand exploration of historic places. He is the author of In Pursuit of Jefferson: Traveling through Europe with the Most Perplexing Founding Father and The Forgotten World War: Exploring the Secret History of the American Revolution, from Spain to India and Back Again.

Connect with Derek: Website | Instagram | Facebook

The Forgotten World War: Hardcover | Ebook | Amazon

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Behind Minnie Pearl’s trademark hat, price tag, and cheerful “Howdy!” was Sarah Cannon, a savvy performer who carefully created one of country music’s most enduring characters. Historian Mary Ellen Pethel explores Cannon’s journey to the Grand Ole Opry, the woman behind Minnie Pearl, and the lasting influence she had on country music, comedy, and Nashville’s cultural history.

Key Topics

• Sarah Cannon and the creation of Minnie Pearl
• Minnie Pearl’s rise to fame at the Grand Ole Opry
• The differences between Sarah Cannon and her famous persona
• Myths and misconceptions surrounding Minnie’s career
• Women, comedy, and country music
• Minnie Pearl’s influence on Nashville and later generations of performers
• Preserving Nashville history through Nashville Sites and public history

Guest Bio

Mary Ellen Pethel is an author, historian, and educator at Belmont University and executive director of Nashville Sites, a digital public history platform exploring the city’s past. She is the author of six books and co-author, with Don Cusic, of Howdy! The Minnie Pearl Story, a biography of Sarah Cannon and the remarkable career she created as Minnie Pearl.

Connect with Mary Ellen: Website | Instagram | LinkedIn

Howdy! The Minnie Pearl Story: The University of Tennessee Press | Hardcover | Ebook

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Vincent van Gogh is often remembered as the isolated, misunderstood artist whose genius was recognized only after his death, but his legacy did not emerge on its own. Author Joan Fernandez explores the remarkable role of Jo van Gogh-Bonger in preserving and promoting Vincent’s work, challenging familiar myths and revealing how her persistence, strategy, and storytelling helped transform him into one of the world’s most recognizable artists.

Key Topics

• Jo van Gogh-Bonger’s role in building Vincent van Gogh’s legacy
• Challenging the myth of the isolated “mad genius”
• Preserving and promoting Vincent’s art after his death
• Jo’s life as a widow, mother, and advocate for Vincent’s work
• Strategy, storytelling, and the creation of an artistic legacy
• Recovering overlooked women from the historical record
• Balancing historical evidence and imagination in historical fiction

Guest Bio

Joan Fernandez is a historical fiction author and speaker whose work explores the intersection of history, storytelling, and marketing. Drawing on three decades of experience in corporate marketing, she is the author of Saving Vincent: A Novel of Jo van Gogh, which explores Jo van Gogh-Bonger’s role in preserving and building Vincent van Gogh’s legacy. She also writes the Substack Digging In with Joan Fernandez.

Connect with Joan: Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Substack

Saving Vincent: Paperback | Ebook | Simon & Schuster

Books Mentioned: Heroines of Mercy Street by Pamela Toler Paperback | Ebook

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Objects can reveal dimensions of the past that written records alone cannot always capture. Public historian Laura Smith explores the power of material culture, how everyday artifacts can illuminate overlooked histories, and the ways museums use objects to encourage observation, conversation, and deeper connections with the people who came before us.

Key Topics

• Material culture as a tool for understanding history
• What everyday objects can reveal about the past
• Learning how to “read” historical objects
• Using artifacts to uncover overlooked stories
• The emotional and human connections created by physical objects
• How museums use collections to encourage conversation and reflection
• Material culture at Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House

Guest Bio

Laura Smith is a public historian whose work focuses on using material culture to encourage observation, conversation, and connection with the past. She serves as Program and Collections Assistant at Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House and as Vice Chair of the Manassas Historic Resources Board. She also contributes to the field through independent historical writing.

Books Mentioned: History Through Material Culture by Leonie Hannan and Sarah Longair Paperback

Connect with Laura: Instagram | LinkedIn | Substack

Woodlawn and Pope-Leighey House: Website

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn 

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Long before historic preservation became a formal profession, women were leading efforts to save buildings, landscapes, and community histories across America. Public historian Amanda Roper explores women’s often-overlooked role in the preservation movement, from the campaign to save George Washington’s Mount Vernon to the broader ways women have shaped cultural memory and influenced what Americans choose to preserve.

Key Topics

• Women’s role in the history of historic preservation
• The women who helped save George Washington’s Mount Vernon
• Preservation efforts before the field became professionalized
• Historic places as keepers of cultural memory and identity
• How preservation shapes the stories Americans remember
• Recovering underrepresented voices in public history
• The evolving role of women in preservation

Guest Bio

Amanda Roper is a public historian whose work focuses on historic preservation and underrepresented stories in American history. She has worked with institutions including the National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and National Trust for Historic Preservation and is a 2025–2026 Research Fellow at the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. She is currently researching and writing Saving America’s Past: Women in Preservation, a history of women’s contributions to the American preservation movement.

Books Mentioned: Black Majority by Peter Wood Paperback | Ebook

Connect with Amanda: Website | Instagram | LinkedIn  

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Julius Caesar’s rise transformed Rome and helped bring centuries of republican government to an end. Professor Phil Mathew explores Caesar’s military leadership and political ambition, the importance of loyalty and intelligence in his campaigns, and how ancient sources have shaped the line between the historical Caesar and the legend that followed him.

Key Topics

• Julius Caesar’s rise to military and political power
• The forces contributing to the fall of the Roman Republic
• Caesar’s leadership and relationship with his soldiers
• Military intelligence and strategy during the Gallic War
• Loyalty, ambition, and power in ancient Rome
• Separating myth from historical evidence in ancient sources
• Caesar’s legacy and the transformation of the Roman world

Guest Bio

Phil Mathew is a professor of history at Joliet Junior College specializing in the military and political history of Ancient Greece and Rome. His research interests include warfare and society, relationships between soldiers and commanders, and intelligence gathering in the Roman army. His graduate research at Norwich University examined Julius Caesar’s use of military intelligence during the Gallic War.

Books Mentioned: Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy Paperback | Ebook

Connect with Phil: LinkedIn

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Classic Hollywood may belong to another era, but its films continue to shape how we think about gender, celebrity, culture, and society. Writer and cultural critic Simone O. Elias explores the bold storytelling of the Pre-Code era, actresses such as Judy Holliday and Joan Blondell, and why a new generation continues to find meaning in films made decades before they were born.

Key Topics

• Why Classic Hollywood continues to resonate with younger audiences
• The freedom and bold storytelling of the Pre-Code era
• Women and changing gender roles on screen
• Judy Holliday, Joan Blondell, and other distinctive Hollywood women
• How classic films addressed social and cultural issues
• Connections between Golden Age Hollywood and modern popular culture
• Viewing film history through a Gen Z perspective

Guest Bio

Simone O. Elias is a writer and cultural critic whose work explores Classic Hollywood, feminism, mental health, and Jewish identity. Her work has appeared on Turner Classic Movies and in Psychology Today, The Forward, and the San Francisco Chronicle. She is the author of Old Films, Young Eyes, which examines Classic Hollywood and its continuing influence on contemporary culture.

Connect with Simone: Website | Instagram | YouTube

Old Films, Young Eyes: Bookshop | McFarland

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn 

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Civics education is increasingly about more than memorizing the branches of government or dates in a textbook. Educator Keith Pakela explores how students are learning to think critically about democracy and the political system, the gaps teachers see in civic understanding, and how new technologies such as AI are changing the classroom.

Key Topics

• How civics and government are taught today
• Moving from memorization toward critical thinking
• What students understand about democracy and the political system
• Gaps in civic knowledge among young people
• Creating space for productive classroom discussions
• Teaching students how to think rather than what to think
• The opportunities and challenges of AI in education

Guest Bio

Keith Pakela is an educator who teaches government and civics at both the high school and college levels. An AP Government teacher and adjunct professor, his work focuses on helping students develop a stronger understanding of American government, democracy, and civic engagement.

Connect with Keith: LinkedIn

Books Mentioned: Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin Paperback | Ebook | Hardcover

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn 

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Anna May Wong became Hollywood’s first Asian American movie star, achieving international fame while confronting an industry that repeatedly confined her to stereotypes. Author Katie Gee Salisbury explores Wong’s rise during the Jazz Age, her decision to seek greater opportunities in Europe, and how she challenged Hollywood’s expectations while forging a career that continues to shape conversations about representation today.

Key Topics

• Anna May Wong’s rise in early Hollywood
• Asian American representation during Hollywood’s Golden Age
• The stereotypes and roles that limited Wong’s career
• Her decision to leave Hollywood for Europe
• Wong’s international career and celebrity
• Challenging myths surrounding her life and legacy
• Her lasting influence on Asian American performers and representation

Guest Bio

Katie Gee Salisbury is the author of Not Your China Doll, a biography of pioneering actress Anna May Wong. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Believer, and other publications, and she delivered the TED Talk “As American as Chop Suey.” A fifth-generation Chinese American originally from Southern California, her work explores Asian American history, identity, and representation.

Connect with Katie: Book Website | Website | Instagram | Anna May Wong Book Instagram | Bluesky | Half-Caste Woman Substack

Not Your China Doll: Hardcover | Ebook | Website

Recommended Films: Song (1928)

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn

Listen on YouTube: Channel

The fighter ace became one of the most enduring heroic figures to emerge from World War I, but these legends often obscured more complicated human stories. Historian Abby Whitlock explores how pilots such as Arthur Rhys Davids were transformed into symbols of heroism, and how class, media, masculinity, and national identity shaped who was remembered and how their stories were told.

Key Topics

• The creation of the World War I fighter ace myth
• Arthur Rhys Davids and the making of a wartime hero
• Media and propaganda in shaping public perceptions of aviators
• Social class and whose stories were remembered
• Masculinity and national identity during World War I
• Morale, mental health, and the experiences behind heroic narratives
• How the image of the fighter pilot evolved after the war

Guest Bio

Abby Whitlock is a historian, writer, and cultural heritage professional specializing in First World War aviation and its cultural legacy. Her research examines the fighter pilot archetype, mental health, and the transformation of individuals into national symbols. She has presented her work for organizations including the Royal Air Force Museum, Society for Military History, and Great War Aviation Society.

Books Mentioned: Käte & the Red Baron: Käte Oltersdorf & Manfred von Richthofen – Her “Restless Patient” by Lance J Bronnenkant PhD and Reinhard Schröder Oberst Amazon

Connect with Abby: Website | Bluesky | LinkedIn  

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn

Listen on YouTube: Channel