Conversations: What is actually taught in our history classrooms, w/ Brendan Gillis
Release Date: 05/02/2025
Mythbusting Paul Revere's Ride
History Shorts
“Listen, my children, and you shall hear…” With those famous words, an event that unfolded in darkness and confusion became one of the most enduring legends in American history. But Paul Revere’s midnight ride was not born a myth. It was shaped into one. DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE A RATING OR A REVIEW! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! SUPPORT THE SHOW: ADVERTISE: LEARN MORE: SPONSORED BY:
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An American Journalist, a German Serial Killer, & Paris on the Eve of WWII, w/ Mark Braude
History Shorts
In this interview episode, I’m joined by author Mark Braude to dive into his latest book, The Typewriter and the Guillotine: An American Journalist, a German Serial Killer, and Paris on the Eve of WWII—a gripping blend of biography and true-crime set in the City of Light just before it went dark. Braude takes us into interwar Paris, where an American journalist builds a life and a voice amid glamour, ambition, and mounting political dread—while the shadow of a German serial killer and a sensational case helps reveal what a society is willing to ignore until it can’t anymore. ...
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Carville: U.S.' Forgotten Leper City
History Shorts
Hidden behind iron gates along the Mississippi River stood a place most Americans never wanted to acknowledge, and many pretended didn’t exist. For nearly a century, men, women, and even children diagnosed with Hansen’s disease were sent to Carville National Leprosarium, a secluded institution that became both a prison and a refuge. DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE A RATING OR A REVIEW! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! SUPPORT THE SHOW: ADVERTISE: LEARN MORE: SPONSORED BY:
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Biblical Monsters
History Shorts
The Bible is often read as a book of law, prophecy, and moral teaching, but woven through its pages are creatures that feel more at home in myth and nightmare than Sunday school. From fire-breathing sea serpents to land beasts of impossible strength, the ancient world imagined monsters not as fantasy, but as living symbols of chaos, fear, and divine power. DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE A RATING OR A REVIEW! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! SUPPORT THE SHOW: ADVERTISE: LEARN MORE: SPONSORED BY:
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The Great Depression Serial Killer of Cleveland
History Shorts
In the depths of the Great Depression, Cleveland became the hunting ground for a killer the newspapers struggled to name, and the police couldn’t catch. Beginning in 1935, dismembered, often decapitated bodies started appearing near the industrial flats and shantytowns along Kingsbury Run, a bleak corridor of rail lines, smoke, and makeshift shelters. The victims were largely the unseen and undocumented: transient workers, the desperately poor, people whose disappearances didn’t always make headlines until their remains surfaced in pieces. DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE...
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Sultana: Civil War's Last Forgotten Disaster
History Shorts
In the spring of 1865, just days after the Civil War ended and President Lincoln was laid to rest, one final tragedy struck a nation desperate to move on. On the night of April 27, the overcrowded Union steamboat Sultana exploded on the Mississippi River, killing an estimated 1,800 people, mostly recently freed Union prisoners of war returning home. DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE A RATING OR A REVIEW! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! SUPPORT THE SHOW: ADVERTISE: LEARN MORE: SPONSORED BY:
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When Bloodletting was the Cure
History Shorts
For more than two thousand years, one medical treatment dominated Western medicine: bloodletting. From ancient Greece to the 19th century, physicians believed that draining a patient’s blood could cure illness, restore balance, and save lives. Instead, it often hastened death. DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE A RATING OR A REVIEW! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! SUPPORT THE SHOW: ADVERTISE: LEARN MORE: SPONSORED BY:
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WWII's Battle Against Venereal Disease
History Shorts
During World War II, the U.S. military fought enemies on beaches, in jungles, and in the skies, but it also faced a quieter, deeply embarrassing crisis within its own ranks. Venereal disease sidelined hundreds of thousands of American servicemen, threatening combat readiness, morale, and the outcome of the war itself. In this episode, we explore how sexually transmitted infections became one of the most serious medical challenges facing the U.S. armed forces during World War II, and how the military responded with an unprecedented campaign of education, discipline, treatment, and propaganda....
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Why History Matters, with David McCullough
History Shorts
In this interview episode, I’m joined by Dorie McCullough Lawson and Michael Hill, the editors behind History Matters, a powerful collection drawn from the words and work of David McCullough. Together, they open a window into how one of America’s most beloved historians understood the purpose of history, not as trivia or nostalgia, but as a civic responsibility. We talk about how the book was shaped, what guided their editorial choices, and how McCullough’s speeches, essays, and reflections speak directly to the present moment. From democracy and citizenship to curiosity, humility, and...
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JFK's Hidden Health Crisis
History Shorts
To the American public, John F. Kennedy embodied youth, energy, and vigor—a president who promised a New Frontier and appeared to stride confidently into history. Behind the scenes, however, the reality was far different. In this episode, we examine the extensive and carefully hidden medical struggles that defined Kennedy’s life and presidency. From chronic pain and debilitating back injuries to Addison’s disease and a pharmacy of daily medications, JFK governed the United States while battling constant illness, often in silence. DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE A RATING OR A...
info_outlinePeter speaks with the Director of Teaching and Learning at the American Historical Association about the organization's newest and largest-ever survey of history education in American secondary schools.
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