Stuff You Missed in History Class

This 2022 episode covers Giordano Bruno, a mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, occultist, and according to the Catholic church of 16th-century Italy, a heretic. He met a bad end because of his views, but he started out as a friar.

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Tracy ponders how Sara Weiss knew some of the things she knew and whether her husband characterized her as less informed than she was. Holly talks about a possible relative of Theophilus Brome.

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Screaming skull lore is something that is unique to Britain, though specific skull lore varies. The first episode has roots in the English Civil war, and the second is tied to colonialism in the Caribbean and the slave trade. 

Research:

• Berry, Helen. “Exclusion Crisis: Challenging James II’s Right to Rule.” History Today. May 5, 2026. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/exclusion-crisis-challenging-james-iis-right-rule
• “The Bettiscombe Skull – Pinney Family.” Bridport and Lyme Regis News. March 25, 1904. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1325106358/?match=18&terms=Azariah%20Pinney%20&search-id=f74cfd16-6d86-49a4-a9db-d190c38e3250&search-rank=1
• Collinson, John. “The history and antiquities of the county of Somerset, collected from authentick records, and an actual survey made by the late Mr. Edmund Rack. Adorned with a map of the county and engravings of Roman and other reliques, town seals, baths, churches and gentlemen’s seats.” Vo. II. Bath. R. Crutwell. 1791. https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_the-history-and-antiquit_collinson-john_1791_2/page/n1/mode/2up?q=horrid
• Cooper, W.J. “Bridport’s Most Exciting Day 280 Years Ago.” Bridport and Lyme Regis News. June 11, 1965. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1325206100/?match=2&terms=Azariah%20Pinney%20&search-id=f74cfd16-6d86-49a4-a9db-d190c38e3250&search-rank=2
• Davey, Tim. “A Slave to History.” Evening Post. Sept. 28, 1999. https://www.newspapers.com/image/909493603/?match=7&terms=Azariah%20Pinney%20&search-id=f74cfd16-6d86-49a4-a9db-d190c38e3250&search-rank=10
• Frere, Sheppard Sunderland, et al. "United Kingdom". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Sep. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/place/United-Kingdom
• “Higher Farmhouse.” Historic England. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1296177?section=official-list-entry
• Hubbard, Vincent K. “Swords, Ships & Sugar: History of Nevis to 1900.” Premiere Editions. 1996. 
• Ingram, John H. “The Haunted Homes and Family Traditions of Great Britain.” London.Gibbings. 1901. https://archive.org/details/hauntedhomesand01ingrgoog
• Kelly’s Directory of Liverpool & Birkenhead, 1894. [Part 2: Birkenhead and Trade & Court Directories]. Kelly & Co. Ltd, 1894. JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.30135909
• Prickett, Katy. “The Macabre Tale of Oliver Cromwell’s Head.” BBC. Nov. 17, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0j8vn2ne70o
• “Screaming Skull of Bettiscombe.” Dorset Echo. Aug. 14, 1963. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1325267462/?match=1&terms=Bettiscombe%20skull&search-id=0ee431ba-ab8d-4d60-a29c-7ac53b535399&search-rank=1
• Thiselton-Dyer, T. F. “Strange Pages from Family Papers.” LONDON. SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY. 1895. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/17050/pg17050-images.html#CHAPTER_II
• Underwood, Peter. “Ghosts of Somerset.” Bossiness Books. 2011.
• Weaver, Frederic William, M.A., ed. “Notes and Queries for Somerset and Dorset. Vol. II.” Sherbourne. J.C. and A.T. Sawtell. 1891. https://archive.org/details/notesqueriesfors02brid/page/n3/mode/2up
• “A West Dorset Legend.” Dorset Echo. July 24, 1953. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1194417076/?match=7&terms=Bettiscombe%20Skull&search-id=f5da8122-4471-4f76-bbb5-a9d54fce9cc6&search-rank=11
• West, John. “Britain’s Haunted Skulls.” Psychic News. October 2021. https://pocketmags.com/us/psychic-news-magazine/october-2021/articles/britain-s-haunted-skulls?srsltid=AU7gw4XzpYKPL3Gr5erHXG9udfTa62VhFURg_DaM9wBGEqMGPwm4YI-G

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Sara Weiss wrote a lengthy account of life and afterlife on Mars, a place she said she visited through psychic travels starting in 1892. 

Research:

• Calanchi, A. (2024). “Renewed in health”: Meeting Giordano Bruno on planet Mars. Between, 14(27), 93-109. https://doi.org/10.13125/2039-6597/5444
• Crossley, Robert. “Mars and the Paranormal.” Science Fiction Studies , Nov., 2008, Vol. 35, No. 3 (Nov., 2008). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25475179
• Daly, Liza. “Journeys to the Planet Mars (1903).” 2/23/2022. https://lizadaly.com/utopian-novels/journeys-to-the-planet-mars/
• Daly, Liza. “Sara Ditto Weiss.” https://ayonmuya.org/21-biography.html
• Dickey, Colin. “Sara Weiss’ Journeys to the Planet Mars (1903).” The Public Domain Review. 2/3/2026. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/journeys-to-the-planet-mars/
• “Funeral of Mrs. S. Weiss.” The St. Louis Republic (St. Louis, Mo.), March 25, 1904. Page 14.
• Hennesy, Roger. “The Martian Century.” History Today. 7/7/1998. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/martian-century
• Hyslop, James H. “Journeys to the Planet Mars.” Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. Vol. 7, Issue 5. 1913.
• Lane, K. Maria D. “Mapping the Mars Canal Mania: Cartographic Projection and the Creation of a Popular Icon.” Imago Mundi, 2006, Vol. 58, No. 2 (2006). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40234145
• Mason, Brian D. “The Navy’s Greatest Refractor Turns 150.” Astronomy. February 2023.
• “Mrs. Sara Weiss Passes Away.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Page 1. 3/23/1904.
• Myers, F.W.H. “The Subliminal Self.” Chapter VIII. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research. Vol. 11. 1895. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Proceedings_of_the_Society_for_Psychical/iuZAAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
• Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. “26-inch ‘Great Equatorial’ telescope.” https://www.cnmoc.usff.navy.mil/Our-Commands/United-States-Naval-Observatory/Our-Telescopes/The-26-inch-Great-Equatorial-telescope/
• Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. “Our Telescopes.” https://www.cnmoc.usff.navy.mil/Our-Commands/United-States-Naval-Observatory/Our-Telescopes/
• “Romance, Philosophy, Morals.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Page 11. 1/15/1904.
• “Spirit Bands In Mars.” Boston Evening Transcript. January 06, 1904. Page 16.
• Louis Post-Dispatch. “A St. Louis Woman’s Journey to Mars.” Page 52. Dec 20, 1903.
• Louis Post-Dispatch. “St. Louis Woman Draws Under Spirit Influence.” 6/2/1901.
• The St Louis Republic. “What the Spirits Say of Mars.” Page 41. 4/9/1899.
• The St. Louis Republic. (Saint Louis, MO) 12 Dec. 1903, p. 10. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84020274/1903-12-12/ed-1/.
• The St. Louis Republic. (Saint Louis, MO) 25 Mar. 1904, p. 10. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84020274/1904-03-25/ed-1/.
• “The ‘Weiss’ Books.” Reason. August 1910.
• “WEISS.” Obituary. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Page 7. 3/24/1904.
• Weiss, Sara. “Journeys to the planet Mars, or, Our mission to Ento.” The Bradford Press. 1903.

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This 2021 episode covers Colchester, who claimed to be psychic and may have warned President Abraham Lincoln that he was going to be assassinated. 

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Tracy talks about how the beer riots may sound silly, but were underpinned by serious issues. Holly talks about the Elizabeth Fry’s daughters polishing their mother’s image when publishing her diaries.

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Elizabeth Fry is lauded as an early 19th century prison reformer. But she had no formal background or training in prison or social work.

Research:

• BREED, ANNA. “ELIZABETH FRY.” Advocate of Peace (1847-1884), vol. 13, no. 3, 1882, pp. 21–22. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27906270 
• Britannica Editors. "Elizabeth Fry". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 May. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-Fry
• Britannica Editors. "Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Mar. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sir-Thomas-Fowell-Buxton-1st-Baronet
• Buxton, Thomas Fowell. “An inquiry, whether crime and misery are produced or prevented, by our present system of prison discipline.” London. J. and A. Arch. 1818. https://archive.org/details/b33283333/page/14/mode/2up
• Cooper, Robert Alan. “THE ENGLISH QUAKERS AND PRISON REFORM 1809-23.” Quaker History, vol. 68, no. 1, 1979, pp. 3–19. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41946871
• Cooper, Robert Alan. “Jeremy Bentham, Elizabeth Fry, and English Prison Reform.” Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 42, no. 4, 1981, pp. 675–90. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2709127
• Corder, Susanna. “Life of Elizabeth Fry.” Philadelphia. H. Lonstreth. 1853. https://archive.org/details/lifeofelizabethf00cordiala/page/n9/mode/2up
• Craig, Russell L. “Correctional Education Historical Vignette: WOMEN IN CORRECTIONS: Elizabeth Gurney Fry.” Journal of Correctional Education, vol. 57, no. 2, 2006, pp. 141–44. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23282705
• Crawford, William, and Whitworth Russell. “Extracts from the second report of William Crawford and Whitworth Russell, Esqs., the Inspectors of Prisons for the Home District ; addressed to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Home Department.” National Library of medicine. Philadelphia : Republished by the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, 1838. https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-101596454-bk
• Foxhall K. From convicts to colonists: the health of prisoners and the voyage to Australia, 1823-53. J Imp Commonw Hist. 2011;39(1):1-19. doi: 10.1080/03086534.2011.543793
• Griffiths, Arthur. “The Chronicles of Newgate.” LONDON: CHAPMAN AND HALL
  (Limited). 1884. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46746/46746-h/46746-h.htm
• Kent, John. “Elizabeth Fry.” London. B. Batsford. 1962.
• Rose, June. “Elizabeth Fry.” New York. St. Martin’s Press, 1981. 

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The Munich Beer Riot of 1844 was a reaction to the price of beer set by the Bavarian government. The Lager Beer Riot took place in Chicago in 1855, and was a response to municipal policies put in place by mayor Levi Boone that targeted the city’s Catholic and immigrant populations.

Research:

• Alberts, Brian. “‘Streets as Stages’ — The Munich Beer Riots of 1844.” Good Beer Hunting. https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2020/7/13/streets-as-stages-the-munich-beer-riots-of-1844
• "Bavaria." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 16 Mar. 2026. libraries.state.ma.us/login?eburl=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.eb.com&ebtarget=%2Flevels%2Freferencecenter%2Farticle%2FBavaria%2F13830&ebboatid=9265928. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026. Britannica Editors. "Oktoberfest". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Apr. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oktoberfest. Accessed 2 September 2026.
• Carpenter, Kim Newak. “‘Sechs Kreuzer sind genug fuer ein Bier!’: The Munich beer riot of 1844: Social protest and public disorder in mid-19th century Bavaria.” A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. 1998.
• Durica, Paul. “‘A Montstrous Doctrine’ - Chicago’s Lager Beer Riot.” Mash Tun. https://mashtunjournal.org/texts/lagerriot
• Einhorn, Robin. “Lager Beer Riot.” Encyclopedia of Chicago. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/703.html
• Engels, Frederick. “Beer Riots in Bavaria.” The Northern Star, No. 341, May 25, 1844, p. 6.
• Grossman, Ron. “Chicago’s Lager Beer Riot proved immigrants’ power.” Chicago Tribune. 9/25/2015. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/09/25/chicagos-lager-beer-riot-proved-immigrants-power/
• "Ludwig I, King of Bavaria." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 34, Gale, 2014. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631010137/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=df1b49ec. Accessed 2 Sept. 2026
• Magelssen, Scott. “The 1855 Lager Beer Riot Dodgeball Reenactment and Beer Tasting.” Theatre Journal, DECEMBER 2015, Vol. 67, No. 4, Possible Worlds (DECEMBER2015). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24582647
• New York Herald, European Edition. “1889: Beer Crisis in Bavaria.” 9/19/1889. Reprinted In the New York Times 9/18/2014. https://archive.nytimes.com/iht-retrospective.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/18/1889-beer-crisis-in-bavaria/
• Renner, Richard Wilson. “In Perfect Ferment: Chicago, the Know-Nothings, and the Riot for Lager.” Chicago History V, no. 3 (1976): 161-170.
• WBEZ Chicago. Morning Shift. “Fest looks at the history of the Lager Beer Riot.” 4/24/2015. https://www.wbez.org/morning-shift/2015/04/24/fest-looks-at-the-history-of-the-lager-beer-riot.
• Weiss, Jana. “A Lager Beer Revolution: The History of Beer and German American Immigration.” Life & Letters. University of Texas at Austin. Originally published in Not Even Past. 9/19/2023. https://lifeandletters.la.utexas.edu/2023/09/a-lager-beer-revolution-the-history-of-beer-and-german-american-immigration/

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This episode from 2017 covers several moments in history when the world came perilously close to a full-scale nuclear war, due to false alarms or miscommunication.

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Holly and Tracy unpack the accusation that Robert Moses purposely built overpass bridges too low for busses to drive under them as a way to keep Black New Yorkers away from Jones Beach.

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