Call Jane
Did That Really Happen?
This week we're traveling back to the late 60s/early 70s with Call Jane! Join us as we learn about religion and abortion activism, hospital abortion boards, and the surprisingly complex history of the snickerdoodle. Sources: News Report by Peter Heller on Abortion, 1969. Oregon Public Broadcasting. Available at https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-153-988gtx44 Linda Greenhouse and Reva B. Siegel, Before Roe v. Wade: Voices That Shaped the Abortion Debate Before the Supreme Court's Ruling. Creative Commons. Available at...
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September 5
Did That Really Happen?
This week we're traveling to the 1972 Olympics with September 5! Join us as we learn about journalists like Peter Jennings and Geoffrey Mason, satellite TV, and more! NOTE: Due to a technical issue, there are some sound quality problems on Jamie's audio. We promise these issues will be fixed on our next episode. Sources: Travis Vogan, ABC News Sports: The Rise and Fall of Network Sports Television. University of California Press, 2018 Peter Jennings Interview With Larry King, 2002. Transcript available at https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/lkl/date/2002-04-10/segment/00 Charles Glass, Peter...
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Shirley
Did That Really Happen?
This week we're going back to 1972 with Shirley! Join us as we learn about Barbara Lee, Shirley Chisholm's meeting with George Wallace, the 1972 Democratic Convention, the equal time rule, and more! Note: Due to some microphone-related technical difficulties, this episode has some audio quality issues, but those will be resolved in our next episode. Source PBS: Equal Time Rule: https://www.pbs.org/standards/media-law-101/candidate-appearances/ https://www.nytimes.com/1972/06/03/archives/u-s-court-rules-mrs-chisholm-must-receive-equal-time-on-tv.html Debra Michals, "Shirley Chisholm,"...
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Nosferatu (2024)
Did That Really Happen?
This week we're traveling back to 1830s Germany (and Transylvania) with Nosferatu! Join us as we learn about the folklore of garlic, exhuming suspected vampires, plague ships, and more! Sources: Booseum: Vampires! Carnegie Museum of Natural History, available at https://carnegiemnh.org/booseum-vampires/#:~:text=Garlic%2C%20specifically%20the%20chemical%20compound,would%20%E2%80%9Ckill%E2%80%9D%20a%20vampire. Vampire Myths Originated With a Real Blood Disorder, available at https://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/vampire-myths-originated-real-blood-disorder Eater Video: How Garlic Became a...
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American Psycho
Did That Really Happen?
This week we're traveling back to the 1980s with American Psycho! Join us as we learn about Wall Street killers, men's skincare products, Page 6, "Hip to be Square", and more! Sources: Cynthia Weiner, "What We Miss When We Talk About the Preppy Killer," Crime Reads (2025), https://crimereads.com/what-we-miss-when-we-talk-about-the-preppy-killer/ James Feron, "Wall St. Analyst Guilty in Murder of Second Wife," The New York Times 17 March 1989, B2, 38. Leonard Buder, "Suspect Seized in Two Murders in Wall St. Area," The New York Times 23 June 1982, B1. ...
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Some Like It Hot
Did That Really Happen?
This week we're going back to the Roaring 20s with Some Like It Hot! Join us as we learn about the Valentine's Day Massacre, speakeasies, Shell Oil, blood typing, and more! Sources: "Prohibition," Mob Museum, available at https://prohibition.themobmuseum.org/the-history/the-prohibition-underworld/the-speakeasies-of-the-1920s/ Legends of America, Prohibition Speakeasies: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-prohibitionspeakeasy/' Farhud DD, Zarif Yeganeh M. A brief history of human blood groups. Iran J Public Health. 2013;42(1):1-6. Epub 2013 Jan 1. PMID: 23514954; PMCID: PMC3595629. Mitra R,...
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Zola
Did That Really Happen?
This week we're traveling back to the ye old internet days of 2015 with Zola! Join us as we learn about Vine, Backpage, Florida strip club rules, and more! Sources: Casey Newton, "Why Vine Died: Closing the Loop" The Verge (2016) https://www.theverge.com/2016/10/28/13456208/why-vine-died-twitter-shutdown John Herrman, "Vine Changed the Internet Forever. How Much Does the Internet Miss It?" New York Times (2020). Justin Perlman, "What was Backpage? Why Did It Shut Down?" Philadelphia Weekly February 29, 2024....
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Aguirre, The Wrath of God
Did That Really Happen?
This week we're going back to 16th-century Peru with Aguirre, The Wrath of God! Join us as we learn about Spanish women who went on expeditions, the real Lope de Aguirre, the wild stories behind the production of this film, and more! Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of incest and sexual abuse. Sources: Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aguirre,_the_Wrath_of_God Roger Ebert Review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-aguirre-the-wrath-of-god-1972 Geoff Andrew, "Great Beginnings: Aguirre, The Wrath of God," BFI:...
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65
Did That Really Happen?
This week we travel back to dinosaur times with 65! Join us as we learn about all kinds of prehistoric weirdness, including pack-hunting dinosaurs, Spanish moss, swamp creatures, the big asteroid, and more! Sources: Emily Osterloff, "How an Asteroid Ended the Age of the Dinosaurs," Natural History Museum, available at https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-an-asteroid-caused-extinction-of-dinosaurs.html#:~:text=The%20impact%20site%2C%20known%20as,largest%20crater%20on%20the%20planet. Eric Hand, "Updated: Drilling of Dinosaur-killing Impact Crater Explains Buried Circular Hills," Science,...
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Blade Runner
Did That Really Happen?
It's a new year, so it's once again time for our annual special episode on depictions of the future! Join us as we take a look at 2019-as-imagined-in-1981's Blade Runner, with discussions of gas flares, Japanese influence on American culture, the resurgence of 1940s fashion, and more! Sources: Ryan Britt, "Blade Runner: How Its Problems Made It a Better Movie," Den of Geek, available at https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/blade-runner-making-of-history/ Roger Ebert Review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/blade-runner-directors-cut-1992 Ben Sherlock, "Like Tears in Rain," Screen Rant,...
info_outlineThis week we become Robert Eggers completists with an episode on The Northman! Join us as we learn about berserkers, slavery in the Viking era, textiles, and more!
Sources:
Ben Cartwright, "Making the cloth that binds us. The role of textile production in producing Viking-Age identities," in Viking Worlds: Things, Spaces, and Movement eds. Marianne Hem Eriksen, Unn Pedersen, Bernt Rundberget, Irmelin Axelsen, and Heidi Lund Berg (Oxbow Books), https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvh1dgwk.15
Marie Louise Stig Sørensen, "Gender, Material Culture, and Identity in the Viking Diaspora," Viking and Medieval Scandinavia 5 (2009): 253-69. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45019127
Eva B. Andersson, "Tools, Textil Production and Society in Viking Age Birka," in Dressing the Past, eds. Margarita Gleba, Cherine Munkholt, and Marie-Louise Nosch (Oxbow Books). https://www.jstor.org/stbale/j.ctt1cfr7jb.13
Eirnin Jefford Franks, "Gender in the Viking World," in The Norse Sorceress: Mind and Materiality in the Viking World, eds.LESZEK GARDEŁA, SOPHIE BØNDING, PETER PENTZ (Oxbow Books, 2023). https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.5699282.8
Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_northman
Stephen Barker, "10 Behind the Scenes Facts About the Northman" Screen Rant, available at https://screenrant.com/the-northman-behind-the-scenes-facts/
Gabriella Paiella, Interview with Robert Eggers, GQ, available at https://www.gq.com/story/robert-eggers-the-northman-interview
Thomas K. Heeboll-Holm, "Piratical Slave Raiding: The Demise of a Viking Practice in High Medieval Denmark," Journal of Scandinavian History 46, 4 (2021)
Ben Raffield, "The Slave Markets of the Viking World: Comparative Perspectives on an Invisible Archaeology," Slavery and Abolition 40, 4 (2019)
Ruth Mazo Karras, "Concubinage and Slavery in the Viking Age," Scandinavian Studies 62, 2 (1990)
H. David Brumble, "Berserks and the Tragedy of Warrior Individualism," Street-Gang and Tribal-Warrior Autobiographies (Anthem Press), https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2272801.17
Michael P. Speidel, "Berserks: A History of Indo-European "Mad Warriors"," Journal of World History 13, no.2 (2002): 253-90. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20078974
Anatoly Liberman, "Berserks in History and Legend," Russian History 32, no.3/4 (2005): 401-11. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24663272
Owen Rees, "Going berserk," Medieval Warfare 2, no.1 (2012): 23-6. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/48578628
Erika Ruth Sigurdson, "Violence and Historical Authenticity: Rape (and Pillage) in Popular Viking Fiction," Scandinavian Studies 86, no.3 (2014): 249-67. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/scanstud.86.3.0249
https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/lewis-chess-pieces/