The History Files

We’re back… and we brought pirates! Actually, that’s probably not such a great idea, what with all the stealing and pillaging and slow-matches in the beard and buckets of burning sulphur. Of course that’s only if we brought Edward Teach, but you get the idea. This episode was recorded live in front of a very groggy audience on a Sunday morning at the Brass Screw Confederacy Steampunk festival in Pt. Townsend, Washington on June 11, 2017. We had a great time revelling in all the pirate stuff and hope you enjoy our little presentation.

Show notes and links:

* On Stranger Tides , by Tim Powers (amazon.com)

* A General History of the Pyrates (wikipedia.org)

* The Seafarers, Time-Life: The Pirates (amazon.com)

* Movieing On #233: Yellowbeard (csicon.fm)

* The Sea Dogs (infogalactic.com)

* Barbarossa Brothers, Barbary Pirates: Pirate’s Realm (thepiratesrealm.com)

* Old Ironsides (1926) (amazon.com)

* Jean Lafitte (infogalactic.com)

In part 2 of our series on World War 1, we take some time to talk about how the various Allied Countries armed up in the first months of the conflict, and how the United States basically became the “Arsenal of Democracy” long before WW2.

Show notes and links:

* “The Son” (2017) (imdb.com)

* The Persuaders! (TV Series 1971–1972) (imdb.com) The odd little action TV show with Roger Moore and Tony Curtis that we couldn’t remember the name of.

* Arsenal of Democracy (infogalactic.com)

* Gordon’s Gun Closet #1: Colt New Service (csicon.fm)

* M1911 pistol (infogalactic.com)

* Gordon’s Gun Closet #3: M1911 (csicon.fm)

* Lewis gun (infogalactic.com)

* M1895 Colt (infogalactic.com)

Not all of our topics are hopeful or uplifting. Discussions of wars and man’s inhumanity to man are part of the study of history. In this episode we talk about a controversial chapter in world history, the Armenian Genocide, that overlaps WW1, but that we felt should be discussed separately.

Show notes and links:

* Movieing On #236: The Thing From Another World (csicon.fm)

* House of Rejoicing: Part 1 of The Book of Coming Forth by Day (amazon.com)

* Armenian Genocide (infogalactic.com)

* Fresno (TV Mini-Series 1986– ) (imdb.com)

* The Promise (2016) – IMDb (imdb.com)

* The Promise (reelviews.net)

As we continue into the 100 year anniversary of the Great War, eventually known as World War 1, we thought it appropriate to begin a series discussing this turning point in history. In this episode we talk about the events leading up to the war.

 

Show notes and links:

* Bleak House (TV Mini-Series 2005– ) (imdb.com)

* 124-Year-Old Never-Worn Levi’s Found in Arizona Cedar Chest (foxbusiness.com)

* The Influence of Sea Power on History, Alfred Thayer Mahan (gutenberg.org)

* RMS Lusitania (infogalactic.com)

* The History Files #17: U.S. in Mexico, 1914 (csicon.fm)

* The History Files #47: Pancho Villa (csicon.fm)

* National Guard of the United States (infogalactic.com)

* Zimmermann Telegram  (infogalactic.com)

* William Jennings Bryan (infogalactic.com)

* John J. Pershing (infogalactic.com)

While there are no records of large-scale wars or even battles in the Puget Sound area, there have been a few skirmishes over the years. Many people have heard of the Pig War (see HF ep. 53) , but fewer know of the Battle of… Port Gamble. It’s a case of truth being stranger than fiction, with the US Navy coming to the defense of the S’Klallam Indians of present day Little Boston, and we’re here to tell you all about it.

Show notes and links:

* Norwood Cove Object (mdihistory.org)

* Gordon’s Gun Closet #18: Indiana Jones (csicon.fm)

* Battle of Port Gamble  (infogalactic.com)

* Battle of Port Gamble (youtube.com)

* In the Land of the Headhunter (vimeo.com)

Civil wars are the ugliest wars, and one of the saddest was the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). It’s the subject and setting of many a novel and film, and it’s our topic in this episode.

Show notes and links:

* BRASS – Steampunk Radio Adventure (battlegroundproductions.org)

* Jonathan Coulton – A Talk With George (youtube.com)

* George Plimpton (wikipedia.org)

* Movieing On #228: Persuasion (csicon.fm)

* Movieing On #229: The Outlaw Josey Wales (csicon.fm)

* Guns of “The Outlaw Josey Wales” (csicon.fm)

* Spanish Civil War

* » What’s in a Name? (csicon.fm)

He’s “Old Hickory”, he’s the seventh President of the United States, the guy on the twenty dollar bill, and he founded the Democratic Party. He’s Andrew Jackson, he’s a cranky Scot, and we’re here to talk about him.

Show notes and links:

* The Crown (TV Series 2016– ) (imdb.com)

* Movieing On #227: Au Revoir Les Enfants (csicon.fm)

* Andrew Jackson

* Gordon’s Gun Closet #16: Ferguson Breech-loader (csicon.fm)

* Peter McQueen

* William Weatherford (a.k.a. Lamochattee [Red Eagle])

* Creek War

* Battle of New Orleans

* The Corrupt Bargain

* Indian Removal Act of 1830

* What’s in a Name? (csicon.fm)

This week we talk about one of the most beloved figures in American history, Gen. Robert E. Lee. He made a monumentally difficult decision to fight for the secessionists during the American Civil War (1861-65) and became world famous for leading a troubled South with steadfast honor.

Show notes and links:

* The Crown (TV Series 2016– ) (imdb.com)

* Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood: Edie and Lew Wasserman and Their Entertainment Empire, by Kathleen Sharp (amazon.com)

* Frontier (TV Series 2016– ) (imdb.com)

* Robert E. Lee 

* Winfield Scott

* The History Files #53: The Pig War (csicon.fm)

* Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee III

* Traveller (Lee’s horse)

* Movieing On #224: The Great Gatsby (csicon.fm)

We all want to know what’s going on in our world and elsewhere, but who can we trust to give us “all the news that’s fit to print” or tell us “that’s the way it was”? This week we look at the origins of the news media, how it became a business, and try to figure out what’s “fake news” and what’s “real news”. Yep, it’s all the news about news.

Show notes and links:

* Geekdays (csicon.fm)

* The Man in the High Castle – Season 2 (amazon.com)

* The Crown (TV Series 2016– ) (imdb.com)

* Yellow journalism

* Aimee Semple McPherson

* US Govt Just Legalized Operation Mockingbird – FBI Can Now Impersonate the Media (thefreethoughtproject.com)

* Distorting Reality Worldwise – CIA and the Media (lewrockwell.com)

* Coffee With Jeff #117 – Celluloid of the Strange & Unusual 1 (csicon.fm)

* Movieing On #222: Wild at Heart (csicon.fm)

* Bad Cat Productions – YouTube (youtube.com)

Alt history is a great way to analyze the past and take a long look at how we arrived at where we are now. Many historians and fiction writers have speculated about what the world would be like if World War 2 had ended differently. In celebration of season two of The Man in the High Castle, we take a look at the end of WW2 and talk about what happened versus what might have happened.

Show notes and links:

* The Man in the High Castle Season 2 Release Date, Trailer, and Review (denofgeek.com)

* The Man In the High Castle – Season 1 (amazon.com)

* The History Files #45: Alternate History (csicon.fm)

* History Files videos – Presidential Election Perspective: 2016 vs. 1860 (youtu.be)

* Operation Downfall

* Hunting Hitler  (history.com)

* Conspiracy theories about Adolf Hitler’s death

* The Koumentang or National Revolutionary Army – Wikipedia

* Burma Road

* Chindits