Everything is a Primary Source

S4E43: "Profile of an Old Stone Face: The Old Man of the Mountain as a reflection of modern New Hampshire."

A series of rocky ledges on Cannon Mountain which formed the profile of a man's face in what is now called Franconia Notch, New Hampshire, has been held in importance by the people of the area for thousands of years.  In the modern era, the "Old Man of the Mountain" became the symbol of the state of New Hampsh...

S4E42: "Have You Read Your Atari Today?: looking at the companion comic book to the Atari as a primary source"

Dave is a collector of vintage items and ephemera, and a host of The Million Dollar Peddlers on YouTube.  He joined me in Old Greenwich, CT at the ESA Ephemera Fair, to discuss Atari Force, the print companion to the Atari video game systems in the 1980s.  

Join the conversation at everything-history...

S4E41: "Bat TV: Analyzing the 1960s  Batman TV series as a document of its times"

Batman returns...after all it's the second time this season we've covered the character, and third time overall (season 1 episode 1 is on the 1989 movie).  Matt, a social studies teacher from Haverhill, MA, by way of Kansas and Rochester, NY, joined me in Boston last Fall to talk about a number of pop culture topics before landing on o...

S4E40: "Gotta Catch 'em All--Pokemon Go as a document of the modern era"

You may remember the summer of 2016 as a time of large crowds gathered in parks, front lawns of public libraries and anywhere else where it looked like a festival--just minus vendor stalls and rides.  It was the summer of Pokemon Go, the first major augmented reality (AR) game to take the world by storm.  Adam, who cohosts the "Lured Up Podcast...

S4E39: "Goodwill Hunting -- Goodwill Outlets/Buy the Pound/ Clearance Centers as primary sources of the modern era"

After years of descending on one Goodwill Outlet (aka "the bins") or another every few weeks in search of pop culture primary sources, making videos about my experiences and finds, and showcasing the incredible treasures I uncover there, I finally address the most wonderful place on earth in the podcas...

S4E38: "April Mornings - Comparing Revolutionary and Civil War commemorations"

April is an important month concerning two formative events in American history; 250 years ago saw the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the start of the Revolutionary War, and four score and six years later the Civil War began with the bombardment of Fort Sumter.  President Lincoln was killed in April four years later, just after the ...

$4E37: "Rags to Riches--Las Vegas, Nevada as a primary source of 20th century America"

I spoke to Kathy at last month's ephemera fair in Greenwich, CT where she selected an out-of-the-ordinary postcard of Las Vegas, Nevada as the centerpiece of our conversation.  This, coming off the blue-suede heels of an episode about Elvis's residency there, adds to the story primary source documents can tell.

Add to the c...

S4E36: "Elvis Has Left the Dining Room: Analyzing a 1971 International Hotel Souvenir Menu" 

Kevin teaches social studies in Western New York and works with the Teaching with Primary Sources program, providing guidance for other teachers when using the vast collection that is the Library of Congress.  Our meeting and conversation in Boston was a longtime in the making as Kevin, a lifelong Elvis fan, had spied my sou...

Mitch stopped by to talk with me at this year's Ephemera Society of America ephemera fair a few weeks ago after he spotted an item in my collection from his wheelhouse, a copy of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comic.  Listen to what Mitch has to say about what this underground comic of the late 60s/ early 70s can tell us about several aspects of American life in that era.  Add your own ideas soon at everything-history.c...

S4E33: "Artificial Intellect: 1968's 2001: A Space Odyssey as a primary source."  (Part I)

Bryant Cruse is the founder of New Sapience, a synthetic intelligence company set to challenge what AI means, and what it is meant to do for the world.  He joined the EPS Podcast to discuss his work and dissect the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Oddyssey, but as you'll hear, the two of us gladly took an in-depth conv...

S4E32: "California Here We Come: John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath as a document of its time and place"

&

Granite State of Social Studies Episode 4

Angela teaches social studies in Utah but originally hales from Southern California.  We met at the NCSS conference in Boston and talked about how one of her favorite books, The Grapes of Wrath may have contributed to the mythology surrounding her ho...

S4E31: "On the T: Rock n Roll T-Shirts as cultural artifacts"
&
Granite State of Education Episode 3

Dan is a teacher in Erie, PA and was welcomed onto the EPS Podcast when visiting Boston for the NCSS Conference in the Fall.  After discussing the state of social studies education, we took a close look at T-shirt culture as it rose alongside rock n roll music of the 70s, 80s and 90s.  And since we were in ...

S4E30: "A Bad Moon Causing a Commotion in Lodi: CCR's Green River as a primary source of 1969"

Hannah, Victor and Tammy helped me cultivate the historic value of one San Francisco-based Creedence Clearwater Revival's most important albums, Green River during a virtual PD session last Summer.  If you'd like to add to this dissection, head over to everything-history.com/greenriver  .  If you'd like to take part in a w...

S4E29: "Web Master: All iterations of Spider-Man as reflections of time periods, since 1962."

Eli and I got the conversation about Spider-Man started last Spring at Free Comic Book Day, focusing mostly on the 21st century movie iterations of the character.  There, of course, is so much more to say about the web-slinging, everyman pop culture icon.  So if you're so inclined, add to the conversation at everything-hist...

S4E28: "...to Z-Zorro: Zorro movies as primary sources of their respective time periods"

Nick is a social studies teacher from Los Angeles whom I met and spoke with at this past year's NCSS conference in Boston.  After a short chat about the profession we broke down the character Zorro.  Although the character was created in 1919 by a pulp writer from Illinois, and has often been portrayed by Anglo actors, Zorro sti...

S4E27: "From A-Aerosmith...   Talking about 'Back in the Saddle Again' by Aerosmith as a Primary Source"

Clayton had a table right next to mine when we were both presenting at the NCSS conference in Boston this past Fall.  What better time and place to talk about the "Bad Boys of Boston," and their song, "Back in the Saddle Again," the first track off their 1979 album Rocks?  So we did.

Add to the conversatio...

S4E26: "The Future is Here; The Houston Astrodome as a document of time and place"
& 
Granite State of Social Studies episode 2

Clement, a native of Houston, TX, joined me in Boston to discuss how the Houston Astrodome played a leading role in the Southern city's abrupt desegregation campaign when it opened in 1965.

Join the conversation soon at everything-history.com/epsproject

#socialstudie...

S4E25: "What's Old is New Again: Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers as a Primary Source of 1969 and beyond"

Hannah, Tammy and Victor joined me for a virtual professional development presentation last Summer and concluded the day with two "Your History Through Popular Culture" conversations.  Here's our thoughts about Wendy's, the fast food chain from Columbus,  Ohio whose facade and menu has long been a meeting place ...