Mrs. Allgood and Mr. Rixon are taking a break from their regularly scheduled episodes this week, but wanted to offer the regular listeners a chance to hear what they've been working on. It's a five-part limited series called Who Knew Presents: The New World, where they explore elements of early American history, including the indigenous peoples of the Americas, and the Europeans who arrived beginning in 1492. In this first episode, Mr. Rixon takes us through Mesa Verde National Park, one of the most impressive structures of Pueblo Native Americans.

This past Friday, communities across the United States celebrated Juneteenth, when, in 1865, Union troops announced to the last slaves in Texas that they were free. Juneteenth has been commemorated by African American communities for 155 years...so why has it become so important right now? In this week's episode of Who Knew?, Mrs. Allgood and Mr. Rixon explore the origins of Juneteenth, how African Americans have celebrated the holiday throughout history, and how societies choose to honor, as well as ignore, parts of their past.

As the United States continues to confront the issues of policing, crime prevention, and mass incarceration, Mrs. Allgood and Mr. Rixon wanted to provide the listeners with another episode that may help shed light on some of these conversations - the 1994 Crime Bill signed by President Bill Clinton. We'll offer some historical background on crime as a campaign issue in the 1980's, how Democrats tried to wrestle it back from Republicans in 1992, and how present-day Americans are struggling with the bill's long-term consequences.

The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis has led to a week of protests and marches across the country, forcing us to confront the issues of systemic racism and police violence against African American communities. We wanted to provide our listeners with an episode that we hope will offer some historical context around this issue. We've chosen to highlight Ida B. Wells, an investigative journalist who chronicled the horrific incidents of lynching in the Jim Crow South, as well as someone who marched for civil rights and women's rights during her lifetime.

PHOTO - Women of Color marching at the front of the Chicago delegation of NAWSA

Mrs. Allgood and Mr. Rixon are heading over to the diner and putting some quarters in the jukebox for the latest episode of Who Knew? as we discuss Chuck Berry, the St. Louis-born guitar player who is credited as being the father of rock and roll. We'll dive into Berry's difficult childhood in segregated St. Louis, his meteoric rise to fame, and his legacy to the musical genre that came define the latter half of the 20th century.

SOURCES

https://www.biography.com/musician/chuck-berry

The Day Chuck Berry Drove Away from Syracuse with $20K in his briefcase

Chuck Berry Performs Johnny B. Goode - 1958 (from YouTube)

Mrs. Allgood and Mr. Rixon are back from the Memorial Day weekend with a new episode of Who Knew? In this week's show, we discuss the rivalry between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, and which form of current would reign supreme in the new electrical age. We'll talk about their early childhoods, their feuds in the American press, and their ultimate "battle" at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.

In the latest installment of Who Knew?, Mr. Rixon and Mrs. Allgood take the listeners to a galaxy far, far, away....

Well, actually, we're going to the year 1977, when a California-born film director released his obscure "space opera" in a handful of movie theaters across the country. This episode will explore the life and career of George Lucas, and how his crowning achievement, Star Wars, forever changed the film industry, including how movies are made, and how they are sold and marketed. May the Force Be With You!

SOURCES

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (2004)

https://www.biography.com/filmmaker/george-lucas

https://www.lucasfilm.com/

Mrs. Allgood's internet has returned! And just in time - because we need to talk about Mary Mallon, a.k.a. "Typhoid Mary". In this episode of Who Knew? A History Podcast, Mrs. Allgood walks through one of history's most vilified figures, whose nickname is now synonymous with sickness and disease. But in digging into her story, we learn that the real-life Mary Mallon is a misunderstood and tragic figure, and her life has many parallels to the issues of public health and individual liberty that we are confronting today.

Due to some technical issues, Mrs. Allgood couldn't join Mr. Rixon for their regularly scheduled podcast - so you get a bonus podcast! We called in the help of John Meehan, our colleague at Bishop O'Connell High School and a HUGE pro wrestling fan, to dive into the legacy of Vince McMahon, founder of World Wresting Entertainment, and how pro wrestling is often a reflection of American culture.

In 1968, Arthur Ashe, a soft-spoken tennis player from Richmond, Virginia, became the first African American man to win the U.S. Open. Ashe did not strike many observers as someone who would become a vocal activist on racial issues. but that's exactly what happened. In our latest episode of Who Knew?, Mrs. Allgood and Mr. Rixon will put Ashe's victory in the context of 1968, one of the most tumultuous years in U.S. history. We will also explore his early life in the segregated South, his battles on and off the tennis court, and his fight against HIV/AIDS.