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This episode looks at the early days of Christmas trees, the origin of glass ornaments, and the practice of mounting lit candles on trees before electric bulbs were invented.
Research:
· “36 Perish as Party Guests Stampede to Flee Flames.” The Minneapolis Star. Dec 25, 1924. https://www.newspapers.com/image/178762039/
· “Accident From a Christmas Tree.” The Morning Post. Jan 11, 1850. https://www.newspapers.com/image/402121758/?match=1&terms=%22christmas%20tree%22%20Victoria
· Barnes, Allison. “The First Christmas Tree. History Today. December 12, 2006. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/history-matters/first-christmas-tree
· Brittain, J. E. "John R. Crouse and the Society for Electrical Development [Scanning the Past]." Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 86, no. 12, pp. 2475-2477, Dec. 1998. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/735455
· Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Woolworth Co.." Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Nov. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/money/Woolworth-Co
· “A Christmas tree candle set fire … “ The Jersey City News. Jan. 9, 1892. https://www.newspapers.com/image/856106974/?match=1&terms=christmas%20tree%20candles%20fire
· Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, and Ernest Hartley Coleridge, ed. “LETTERS OF
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE.” London. William Heinemann. 1895. Accessed online: https://gutenberg.org/files/44553/44553-h/44553-h.htm
· Flander, Judith. “Christmas: A Biography.” Thomas Dunne Books. 2017.
· Foyle, Jonathan. “The Business of Baubles – and the Town That Invented Them.” Financial Times. Dec. 19, 2014. https://www.ft.com/content/ce33a468-812a-11e4-b956-00144feabdc0
· “Glass Christmas Ornaments.” The German Way. https://www.german-way.com/history-and-culture/holidays-and-celebrations/christmas/glass-christmas-ornaments/
· Loud, Nicholas. “The History of Christmas Decorations in America.” Saturday Evening Post. December 2020. https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2020/12/the-history-of-christmas-decorations-in-america/
· Lorch, Mark. “The Forgotten Scientist Who Made Modern Christmas Ornaments Possible.” Fast Company. Dec. 21, 2021. https://www.fastcompany.com/90707875/the-forgotten-scientist-who-made-modern-christmas-ornaments-possible
· Malanowski, Jamie. “Untangling the History of Christmas Lights.” Smithsonian. December 2016. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/untangling-history-christmas-lights-180961140/
· “No Christmas Tree Fires Are Reported Here.” Alton Evening Telegraph. Dec. 28. 1921. https://www.newspapers.com/image/19919324/?match=1&terms=christmas%20tree%20candles%20fire
· “A few years ago the caution …” Daily Plainsman. Dec. 12, 1929. https://www.newspapers.com/image/23432095/?match=1&terms=christmas%20tree%20candles%20fire
· “Christmas Tree Candles – Fire.” The Courier-Journal of Louisville. Jan. 05, 1909. https://www.newspapers.com/image/119330231/?match=1&terms=christmas%20tree%20candles%20fire
· “The Christmas Tree at Windsor Castle.” The Morning Post. Dec. 28, 1848. https://www.newspapers.com/image/402196932/?match=1&terms=%22christmas%20tree%22%20Victoria
· “Feiker Takes Commerce Post.” New York Times. July 2, 1931. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/07/02/113339929.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
· “German Hospital, Dalston.” The Morning Post. Jan. 1, 1848. https://www.newspapers.com/image/402129709/?match=1&terms=%22christmas%20tree%22%20Victoria
· Prior, Dr. M. Faye. “Trimming the Tree – Glass and metal Christmas tree decorations.” York Museum Trust. https://www.yorkmuseumstrust.org.uk/blog/trimming-the-tree-glass-and-metal-christmas-tree-decorations/
· Roberts, Sam. “Si Spiegel, War Hero Who Modernized Christmas Trees, Dies at 99.” New York Times. Feb. 11, 2024.
· Scinto, Madeleine. “Americans Are Spending A Whopping $6 Billion On Christmas Decorations This Year.” Business Insider. Dec. 7, 2011. https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-are-spending-a-record-6-billion-on-christmas-decorations-2011-12
· Shapiro, Laurie Gwen. “He Bombed the Nazis, Outwitted the Soviets and Modernized Christmas.” New York Times. Dec. 17, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/17/nyregion/bomber-pilot-christmas-trees.html
· Tikkanen, Amy. "How Did the Tradition of Christmas Trees Start? ". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Dec. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/story/how-did-the-tradition-of-christmas-trees-start
· Waxman, Olivia B. “How Christmas Trees Became a Holiday Tradition.” TIME. Dec. 21, 2020. https://time.com/5736523/history-of-christmas-trees/
· Waxman, Olivia B. “The Electricity Lobby Was Behind the First National Christmas Tree Lighting.” TIME. Dec. 1, 2016. https://time.com/4580764/national-christmas-tree-lighting-history-origins/
· Waxman, Olivia B. “This Was the First Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.” TIME. Nov. 30, 2016. https://time.com/4578685/first-rockefeller-center-christmas-tree-lighting/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nutmeg is native to the Banda Islands in Indonesia. Once Europeans discovered nutmeg, they had an enormous - often violent - impact on the islands it was growing on.
Research:
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This 2020 episode covers the iconic figure of mysticism, Madame Blavatsky. She was the founder of the theosophical movement, and lived a life of adventure that's hard to believe.
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Holly talks about the many, many organizations that Joaquín Torres-García formed. Tracy discusses how there was no plan in place before the SL-1 accident to deal with radioactive bodies.
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The Stationary Low-Power Plant Number 1 was a small boiling-water reactor built at the National Reactor Testing Station, west of Idaho Falls, Idaho. On January 3, 1961, during a restart of the reactor, a catastrophic tragedy unfolded when the reactor went supercritical.
Research:
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Joaquín Torres-García was Uruguayan-born artist who wanted to bring Constructivism and Modernism to Latin America, and worked for much of his life promoting the idea that Latin-American voices should be part of the Modernist art movement.
Research:
· Bollar, Gorki. “Primitive Paintings: Connections to Realism and Constructivism.” Leonardo, vol. 17, no. 1, 1984, pp. 17–19. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1574851
· Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Joaquín Torres-García". Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Aug. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joaquin-Torres-Garcia
· Duncan, Barbara. “Exploring New Horizons in Latin American Contemporary Art.” Revista: Harvard Review of Latin America. Dec. 30, 2001. https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/exploring-new-horizons-in-latin-american-contemporary-art/
· Grimson, Karen. “JOAQUÍN TORRES-GARCÍA’S CREATIVE PARADOX.” INTI, no. 83/84, 2016, pp. 261–65. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26309985
· Jimenez, Maya, Dr. “Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Inverted America.” Smart History. Aug. 9, 2015. https://smarthistory.org/Torres-Garcia-inverted-america/
· “Joaquín Torres-García.” Art Collection. https://artcollection.io/artist/5ce4801004726600179036b4#:~:text=He%20worked%20on%20the%20first,la%20Sagrada%20Familia%20in%20Barcelona.
· “Joaquín Torres García.” Centro Cultura Regoleta. http://cvaa.com.ar/04ingles/04biografias_en/torres_garcia_en.php
· “Joaquín Torres-García.” Guggenheim. https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/joaquin-Torres-Garcia
· “Joaquin Torres Garcia (1874-1949).” National Museum of Visual Art. https://mnav.gub.uy/cms.php?a=4
· “Joaquín Torres-García.” National Gallery of Art. https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.2518.html
· “Joaquín Torres-García.” Hutchinson Modern & Contemporary. https://hutchinsonmodern.com/artists/40-joaquin-Torres-Garcia/biography/
Medina, Alvaro. “Torres-García and the Southern School.” ArtNexus. https://www.artnexus.com/en/magazines/article-magazine-artnexus/5ebf04481ae60a0ea57baa18/3/Torres-Garcia-and-the-southern-school
· Museo Torres Garcia. “bio.” https://www.torresgarcia.org.uy/bio.php
· ROMMENS, AARNOUD. “Latin American Abstraction: Upending Joaquín Torres-García’s Inverted Map.” Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal, vol. 51, no. 2, 2018, pp. 35–58. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/90021965
· Torres, Celia de. “Constructing Abstraction with Wood: Joaquín Torres-García.” Literal. Issue 18. April 18, 2012. https://literalmagazine.com/constructing-abstraction-with-wood-joaquin-Torres-Garcia/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This 2020 episode covers the sphere of plutonium-gallium alloy that the U.S. made for use in an atomic bomb during World War II known as the Demon Core was It was the source of two fatal criticality accidents.
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Tracy relays how Sarah Winnemucca's story inspired this week's episodes, though they were recorded about a month apart, and also how Ely S. Parker is one of the most complicated figures she has ever written about.
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While working for the Treasury Department, Ely S. Parker met someone who would become a big part of much of the rest of his life – Ulysses S. Grant. It was through this connection that Parker gained a good deal of power, and cemented a controversial legacy.
Research:
· Adams, James Ring. “The Many Careers of Ely Parker.” National Museum of the American Indian. Fall 2011.
· Babcock, Barry. “The Story of Donehogawa, First Indian Commissioner of Indian Affairs.” ICT. 9/13/2018. https://ictnews.org/archive/the-story-of-donehogawa-first-indian-commissioner-of-indian-affairs
· Contrera, Jessica. “The interracial love story that stunned Washington — twice! — in 1867.” Washington Post. 2/13/2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/02/13/interracial-love-story-that-stunned-washington-twice/
· DeJong, David H. “Ely S. Parker Commissioner of Indian Affairs (April 26, 1869–July 24,1871).” From Paternalism to Partnership: The Administration of Indian Affairs, 1786–2021. University of Nebraska Press. (2021). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2cw0sp9.29
· Eves, Megan. “Repatriation and Reconciliation: The Seneca Nation, The Buffalo History Museum and the Repatriation of the Red Jacket Peace Medal.” Museum Association of New York. 5/26/2021. https://nysmuseums.org/MANYnews/10559296
· Genetin-Pilawa, C. Joseph. “Ely Parker and the Contentious Peace Policy.” Western Historical Quarterly , Vol. 41, No. 2 (Summer 2010). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/westhistquar.41.2.0196
· Genetin-Pilawa, C. Joseph. “Ely S. Parker and the Paradox of Reconstruction Politics in Indian Country.” From “The World the Civil War Made. Gregory P. Downs and Kate Masur, editors. University of North Carolina Press. July 2015.
· Ginder, Jordan and Caitlin Healey. “Biographies: Ely S. Parker.” United States Army National Museum. https://www.thenmusa.org/biographies/ely-s-parker/
· Hauptman, Laurence M. “On Our Terms: The Tonawanda Seneca Indians, Lewis Henry Morgan, and Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, 1844–1851.” New York History , FALL 2010, Vol. 91, No. 4 (FALL 2010). https://www.jstor.org/stable/23185816
· Henderson, Roger C. “The Piikuni and the U.S. Army’s Piegan Expedition.” Montana: The Magazine of Western History. Spring 2018. https://mhs.mt.gov/education/IEFA/HendersonMMWHSpr2018.pdf
· Hewitt, J.N.B. “The Life of General Ely S. Parker, Last Grand Sachem of the Iroquois and General Grant's Military Secretary.” Review. The American Historical Review, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Jul., 1920). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1834953
· Historical Society of the New York Courts. “Blacksmith v. Fellows, 1852.” https://history.nycourts.gov/case/blacksmith-v-fellows/ Historical Society of the New York Courts. “Ely S. Parker.” https://history.nycourts.gov/figure/ely-parker/
· Historical Society of the New York Courts. “New York ex rel. Cutler v. Dibble, 1858.” https://history.nycourts.gov/case/cutler-v-dibble/
· Hopkins, John Christian. “Ely S. Parker: Determined to Make a Difference.” Native Peoples Magazine, Vol. 17 Issue 6, p78, Sep/Oct2004.
· Justia. “Fellows v. Blacksmith, 60 U.S. 366 (1856).” https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/60/366/
· Michaelsen, Scott. “Ely S. Parker and Amerindian Voices in Ethnography.” American Literary History , Winter, 1996, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Winter, 1996). https://www.jstor.org/stable/490115
· Mohawk, John. “Historian Interviews: John Mohawk, PhD.” PBS. Warrior in Two Worlds. https://www.pbs.org/warrior/content/historian/mohawk.html
· National Parks Service. “Ely Parker.” Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. https://www.nps.gov/people/ely-parker.htm
· Parker, Arthur C. “The Life of General Ely S. Parker: Last Grand Sachem of the Iroquois and General Grant’s Military Secretary.” Buffalo Historical Society. 1919.
· Parker, Ely S. “Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.” December 23, 1869. Parker, Ely. Letter to Harriet Converse, 1885. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/letter-to-harriet-converse/ PBS. “A Warrior in Two Worlds: The Life of Ely Parker.” https://www.pbs.org/warrior/noflash/
· Spurling, Ann, producer and writer and Richard Young, director. “Warrior in Two Worlds.” Wes Studi, Narrator. WXXI. 1999. https://www.pbs.org/video/wxxi-documentaries-warrior-two-worlds/
· Vergun, David. “Engineer Became Highest Ranking Native American in Union Army.” U.S. Department of Defense. 11/2/2021. https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/2781759/engineer-became-highest-ranking-native-american-in-union-army/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ely S. Parker was instrumental in the creation of President President Ulysses S. Grant’s “peace policy." Parker was Seneca, and he was the first Indigenous person to be placed in a cabinet-level position in the U.S. and the first Indigenous person to serve as Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Research:
· Adams, James Ring. “The Many Careers of Ely Parker.” National Museum of the American Indian. Fall 2011.
· Babcock, Barry. “The Story of Donehogawa, First Indian Commissioner of Indian Affairs.” ICT. 9/13/2018. https://ictnews.org/archive/the-story-of-donehogawa-first-indian-commissioner-of-indian-affairs
· Contrera, Jessica. “The interracial love story that stunned Washington — twice! — in 1867.” Washington Post. 2/13/2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/02/13/interracial-love-story-that-stunned-washington-twice/
· DeJong, David H. “Ely S. Parker Commissioner of Indian Affairs (April 26, 1869–July 24,1871).” From Paternalism to Partnership: The Administration of Indian Affairs, 1786–2021. University of Nebraska Press. (2021). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2cw0sp9.29
· Eves, Megan. “Repatriation and Reconciliation: The Seneca Nation, The Buffalo History Museum and the Repatriation of the Red Jacket Peace Medal.” Museum Association of New York. 5/26/2021. https://nysmuseums.org/MANYnews/10559296
· Genetin-Pilawa, C. Joseph. “Ely Parker and the Contentious Peace Policy.” Western Historical Quarterly , Vol. 41, No. 2 (Summer 2010). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/westhistquar.41.2.0196
· Genetin-Pilawa, C. Joseph. “Ely S. Parker and the Paradox of Reconstruction Politics in Indian Country.” From “The World the Civil War Made. Gregory P. Downs and Kate Masur, editors. University of North Carolina Press. July 2015.
· Ginder, Jordan and Caitlin Healey. “Biographies: Ely S. Parker.” United States Army National Museum. https://www.thenmusa.org/biographies/ely-s-parker/
· Hauptman, Laurence M. “On Our Terms: The Tonawanda Seneca Indians, Lewis Henry Morgan, and Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, 1844–1851.” New York History , FALL 2010, Vol. 91, No. 4 (FALL 2010). https://www.jstor.org/stable/23185816
· Henderson, Roger C. “The Piikuni and the U.S. Army’s Piegan Expedition.” Montana: The Magazine of Western History. Spring 2018. https://mhs.mt.gov/education/IEFA/HendersonMMWHSpr2018.pdf
· Hewitt, J.N.B. “The Life of General Ely S. Parker, Last Grand Sachem of the Iroquois and General Grant's Military Secretary.” Review. The American Historical Review, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Jul., 1920). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1834953
· Historical Society of the New York Courts. “Blacksmith v. Fellows, 1852.” https://history.nycourts.gov/case/blacksmith-v-fellows/ Historical Society of the New York Courts. “Ely S. Parker.” https://history.nycourts.gov/figure/ely-parker/
· Historical Society of the New York Courts. “New York ex rel. Cutler v. Dibble, 1858.” https://history.nycourts.gov/case/cutler-v-dibble/
· Hopkins, John Christian. “Ely S. Parker: Determined to Make a Difference.” Native Peoples Magazine, Vol. 17 Issue 6, p78, Sep/Oct2004.
· Justia. “Fellows v. Blacksmith, 60 U.S. 366 (1856).” https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/60/366/
· Michaelsen, Scott. “Ely S. Parker and Amerindian Voices in Ethnography.” American Literary History , Winter, 1996, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Winter, 1996). https://www.jstor.org/stable/490115
· Mohawk, John. “Historian Interviews: John Mohawk, PhD.” PBS. Warrior in Two Worlds. https://www.pbs.org/warrior/content/historian/mohawk.html
· National Parks Service. “Ely Parker.” Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. https://www.nps.gov/people/ely-parker.htm
· Parker, Arthur C. “The Life of General Ely S. Parker: Last Grand Sachem of the Iroquois and General Grant’s Military Secretary.” Buffalo Historical Society. 1919.
· Parker, Ely S. “Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.” December 23, 1869. Parker, Ely. Letter to Harriet Converse, 1885. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/letter-to-harriet-converse/ PBS. “A Warrior in Two Worlds: The Life of Ely Parker.” https://www.pbs.org/warrior/noflash/
· Spurling, Ann, producer and writer and Richard Young, director. “Warrior in Two Worlds.” Wes Studi, Narrator. WXXI. 1999. https://www.pbs.org/video/wxxi-documentaries-warrior-two-worlds/
· Vergun, David. “Engineer Became Highest Ranking Native American in Union Army.” U.S. Department of Defense. 11/2/2021. https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/2781759/engineer-became-highest-ranking-native-american-in-union-army/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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