The Story Behind

Yelp Review: 1 Star"If I could give zero to this collection of 'Merican phat pants ice cream zoo I would. This is a disgrace to the park system. Don't go here. Stay in the hills or badlands instead. I do not think it is patriotic to deface a mountain. Also the surrounding towns are horrible. I am pretty sure that the next gathering of the juggalos is taking place around here somewhere."

Yelp Review: 1 Star "Not to downplay the achievements of the monument ... but, it was really not that awesome. Seriously, you can only look at giant heads carved into the side of a mountain for so long. We drove across the country and through South Dakota for this?"

Despite the one-star Yelp reviews, this South Dakota monument attracts more than 2 million tourists per year, became a sought-after movie backdrop by Alfred Hitchcock, which caused rumors and controversy with the National Parks Service, and started off with a 14-year construction using nearly 400 men and women.

I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Mount Rushmore.

Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

The One-Star Yelp Reviews were read by Adam and Bryon from Everyone has a Podcast and Porter from Porter's Podcast.

The role of Bill Challis was played byRich Grimshaw, a forensic engineer from Cumming, Georgia. Brandon from the Basement Condition Podcast played Gutzon Borglum, and Podcast Rob from The Something-Something Cast played Alfred Hitchcock.

Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/mount-rushmore

http://www.rosyinn.com/1320a1.html

http://www-tc.pbs.org/nationalparks/media/pdfs/untold_stories_mount_rushmore.pdf

https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/carving-history.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/rushmore-north-northwest/

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

http://ghostsnghouls.com/2013/10/04/mount-rushmore-haunted/

http://www.azquotes.com/author/50630-Gutzon_Borglum

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/rushmore-borglum/

https://www.yelp.com/biz/mount-rushmore-national-memorial-keystone-2?

Even though my family's dining room table is usually too full of food for any sort of decoration, there's one particular centerpiece associated with Thanksgiving. Whether you paid an exorbitant amount of money for one at Williams-Sonoma, or found one at a consignment shop, this symbol of abundance has been seen

In this episode, we'll be talking about Greek mythology involving the horn of plenty, how it came to grace Thanksgiving tables and still-life paintings, and even its appearance in The Hunger Games.

I'm your host Emily Prokop and this is The Story Behind The Cornucopia.

Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/from-zeus-to-williamssonoma-the-history-of-the-cornucopia

http://www.theoi.com/Ther/AixAmaltheia.html

http://www.mythphile.com/2010/11/the-cornucopia-horn-of-plenty-in-greek-myth/

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/history-homework-help/126590-what-is-a-cornucopia/

http://thehungergames.wikia.com/wiki/Cornucopia

http://www.thedailymeal.com/history-cornucopia

As a parent of a kindergartener, I get a lot of notices home from my daughter's school. Bake sales, fundraisers, notices about upcoming events, all that fun stuff. And, I'm convinced public schools are only given access to one font for these flyers. And, as an editor for print publications for more than 10 years, it drives me absolutely bonkers.

In this episode, we'll talk about Batman's inspiration in the font world, designers who despise clients who ask for this particular font, and the man responsible for mountains of internet hate.

I'm Emily Prokop and this is The Story Behind Comic Sans.

Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

MusicForMakers.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq7Eki5EZ8o

Sources:

https://www.kidscodecs.com/why-designers-hate-comic-sans/

http://www.connare.com/whycomic.htm

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/comic-sans?full=1

http://mashable.com/2012/10/03/comic-sans-history/#HVKEwcT9kkqU

http://comicsansproject.tumblr.com/

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/weirdalyankovic/tacky.html

https://www.dyslexic.com/fonts/

As basic as the need for warmth and being covered is, fashion has taken a basic need to a completely different level at times. You could pick up any yearbook from the 1980s as proof of that. But sometimes the most simple articles of clothing create the biggest impact. Look at what James Dean accomplished with just a white T-shirt or the everlasting impact of Jackie Onassis' large sunglasses, or even being able to look at the backside of Bruce Springsteen in his iconic jeans and know exactly who it is.

In this episode, we're sticking with the basics and, as I'm from New England, you can't get much more basic than a sweatshirt this time of year. The warm and casual look has been tried and true and, even though what prompted this episode was a seeing a cropped version of this fashion that I still don't quite understand. I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Hoodies.

Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-history-of-the-hoodie-20120403

https://youtu.be/zj7qEcD8R-8?t=20s

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/18/justice/florida-teen-shooting-details/

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/trayvon-martin/article1953286.html

http://time.com/4192840/mark-zuckerberg-wardrobe-facebook-photo/

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/27/living/history-hoodie-trayvon-martin/

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/23/opinion/23wilson.html?_r=0

http://www.npr.org/2012/03/24/149245834/tragedy-gives-the-hoodie-a-whole-new-meaning

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/trayvon-martin-million-hoodie-march-a-short-history-of-the-hoodie/2012/03/22/gIQAeGCnTS_blog.html

I loved dances in high school. As an adult, I think the closest we have to school dances are weddings, but it's still not the same excitement of the unexpected that came from school dances. Except for November of my sophomore year. There was one dance I did not look forward to: Sadie Hawkins Day Dance. I was lucky enough to have a girl who looked enough like me in passing who I got to ask for me. Thank god every girl at the time had the Rachel hair cut.

That, in and of itself, should indicate how times have changed since then. And now, it's common for girls to ask boys to any dance or boys to ask boys or girls to ask girls or to not have to ask anyone at all.

In this episode, we'll be talking about the fictional comic strip character; her creator, a misogynist; the Greek myth she may be based on, and and how she inspired women in the '50s to chase men around campuses in the '50s. I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is the story behind Sadie Hawkins.

Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

The role of Al Capp was played by Nick from the Epic Film Guys podcast.

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

http://www.womenyoushouldknow.net/ugly-truth-behind-sadie-hawkins-day/

http://reason.com/archives/2013/02/26/the-wizard-of-dogpatch

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/02/29/get-ready-ladies-leap-day-is-also-sadie-hawkins-day/

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

http://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Heroes/Atlanta/atlanta.html

https://www.romper.com/p/what-is-sadie-hawkins-day-its-outdated-tradition-that-just-wont-die-6428

http://mentalfloss.com/article/29084/who-sadie-hawkins-and-why-does-she-have-her-own-dance

https://books.google.com/books?id=SFUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://daysgoneby.me/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/sadie-hawkins-day-1955.jpg

Welcome to a special episode of The Story Behind. There will still be two regular episodes this week, but following the 2016 election results, I wanted to do a special episode on The Story Behind the Electoral College.

Many are wondering why do Electoral Votes matter and what do they mean; why, if Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, did she not win the presidency; and just what does the Electoral College really do?

In this episode, we'll discuss how this institution came to be, the impact of its decisions, and why some people are still saying Hillary Clinton could win the presidency.

I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind the Electoral College.

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9H3gvnN468

http://time.com/4560682/faithless-electors/

http://people.howstuffworks.com/electoral-college1.htm

http://www.history.com/topics/electoral-college

http://www.ibtimes.com/can-hillary-clinton-still-win-electoral-college-vote-december-after-candidate-wins-2445319

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-11-10/the-electoral-college-what-is-it

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/us/politics/how-does-the-electoral-college-work.html?_r=0

http://www.snopes.com/2016/11/11/the-electoral-college-and-the-popular-vote/

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/11/13588048/electoral-college-petition-clinton-trump

http://heavy.com/news/2016/11/faithless-electors-petition-change-org-fine-trump-hillary-clinton-by-state-crime-illegal-electoral-college-when-does-meet/

Before there were allergy-free tables in school cafeterias, it seemed every kid when I was growing up had a PB&J sandwich in their lunch at least once a week. It seems almost foreign to me now to make my daugher's lunch and have to move the household Jif aside to grab some allergy-friendly sunflower seed butter for her sandwiches -- and, no, she's not allergic, but I can't look like a terrible mom, taunting the kids with a peanut allergy with an amazing Fluffernutter in my daughter's lunch.

Beginning as a slave food, then a source of protein during World War 2, and, even though it's not as loved by our friends over in the UK, it's still an American staple and favorite.

I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Peanut Butter

Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

The role of Ruth Desmond was played by Lisa from Crime & Precedents, and Mark from the Unskippable Podcast played Lee Avera.

Click here if you'd like to support the podcast through Patreon.

Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

http://peanutbutterlovers.com/pb-lovers/pb101/history/

http://www.beaconlearningcenter.com/documents/4182_3506.pdf

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/love-me-love-my-gunk-why-dont-brits-love-peanut-butter-as-much-as-americans-do-7622212.html

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2009/02/why_do_americans_love_peanut_butter.html

http://nationalpeanutboard.org/peanut-info/fun-facts.htm

http://nationalpeanutboard.org/peanut-info/who-invented-peanut-butter.htm

http://mentalfloss.com/article/32042/corn-flakes-were-invented-part-anti-masturbation-crusade

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-midcentury-lawyers-spent-12-years-arguing-about-peanut-butter

https://books.google.com/books?id=0PQYBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=The+Peanut+Butter+Hearings&source=bl&ots=YKvl5icrZB&sig=CqNbwlxHlPui51y6zWFkHiVjuzE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=llWPVKThG621sQS2rYC4Ag&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=The%2520Peanut%2520Butter%2520Hearings&f=false

If you live in the United States and you're listening to this on the day it comes out, you may be feeling a number of different emotions about tomorrow's election. From anger to confidence, fear to even indifference, you know that casting your ballot means you realize that your voice has the right to be heard and that your opinions on how this country should be run matters.

And, as long as you're over the age of 18 and a citizen, you can walk into your local polling place and cast your ballot in complete secrecy, no matter what your family, friends or coworkers think of your candidate -- whoever you pick is known only to you. It's something we now take for granted and, in this episode, we'll talk about how public voting was influenced, how Australia set an international precedent, and just how recent the switch from public to personal voting was. I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Secret Ballots.

Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

http://www.history.com/topics/the-26th-amendment

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/10/13/rock-paper-scissors

http://inthepastlane.com/tag/australian-ballot-in-america/

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/boss-tweed-delivered-to-authorities

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/abolish-the-secret-ballot/309038/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/WryVwsknTr-aa4IQ-ID9iQ

https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-1051,00.html

There's a lot of talk about the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms, this election season. Gun control has been a hot-button topic in politics for many years, and has seemed to increase in being discussed, as well as what the Founding Fathers could have meant when they wrote that amendment back before there were such things as assault weapons and nuclear bombs.

But we're going way back before all that in this episode -- starting with trying to find the Elixir of Life to the creation of fireworks to weaponry of the middle ages and how a plot to overthrow the King became a holiday still celebrated today. I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Gunpowder.

Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

The role of Guy Fawkes was played by Paul from the podcast, Rick and Paul Heal the World.

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

http://www.history.com/shows/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us/videos/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us-gunpowder-to-guns

http://kaleidoscope.cultural-china.com/en/10Kaleidoscope8482.html

http://www.livescience.com/7476-gunpowder-changed-world.html

https://epicfireworks.com/history-of-gunpowder

http://www.history.com/topics/gunpowder-plot

http://www.potw.org/archive/potw405.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/bonfire-night-why-do-we-celebrate-with-firework-displays-who-was/

If you were a child growing up in the U.S., you likely remember the feeling of waking up with a sugar hangover on November 1st, after walking all night to fill up your bucket with Halloween candy and eating too many, only to have a sugar rush that night, followed by a major crash. The last thing you'll want to do that day is look at any more sugar. Unless you happen to visit Mexico, Latin America or live in one of the South-West states that celebrates Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, with traditional sugar skulls.

In this episode, we'll be talking about the significance of skulls in remembering those who have died, combining ancient religious celebrations with traditions of early settlers, and the sweet happenstance of using sugar as a means of decoration. I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is the story behind Sugar Skulls.

Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

"Pueblo Duerme" by La Barca de Sua

"Los Besos De Mi Negra" by Lydia Mendoza

"Nova Zemja" by Ansambl Mastika

Sources: http://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/sociology-and-social-reform/sociology-general-terms-and-concepts/memento http://www.mexicansugarskull.com/support/dodhistory.html http://nationalgeographic.org/media/dia-de-los-muertos/ http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/day-of-the-dead-sweets-and-treats http://www.mexicansugarskull.com/support/faqs.html http://www.art-is-fun.com/mexican-sugar-skull/ http://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/holidays/day-of-the-dead/2014/09/24/day-of-the-dead-history/16174911/