Stuff You Missed in History Class
Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.
Episodes
United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind was a 1923 case that hinged on what it meant to be white.
Research:
- “Ozawa v. United States, 260 U.S. 178 (1922).” https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/260/178/
- “United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, 261 U.S. 204 (1923).” https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/261/204/
- de la Garza, Amanda. “Doctorji: The Life. Teachings, and Legacy of Dr. Bhagat Singh...
This 2023 episode covers the Insular Cases, which are SCOTUS cases regarding rights of people in U.S. territories.
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Holly talks about how small the circle of London intellectuals was in John Graunt's time. Then there is discussion of disco balls in bathrooms.
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There are so many things in our modern world that we presume are fairly recent inventions. But the three things we’re going to talk about in this instance are quite old, but they have close associations with the recent past.
Research:
- Abbott, David, PhD., ed. “The Biographical Book of Scientists: Engineers and Inventors.” Peter Bedrick Books. New York. 1985.
- “Bad Breath.” Medline Plus. https://med...
John Graunt was a shopkeeper in 17th-century London who followed his own curiosity to a rather grand result. His work gave rise to the fields of demography and epidemiology.
Research:
- Berke, Olaf, et al. “Celebration day: 400th birthday of John Graunt, citizen scientist of London.” Environmental Health Review. 63(3): 67-69. 2020. https://doi.org/10.5864/d2020-018
- Britannica Editors. "John Graunt...
This 2019 episode marked 100 years since a wave of racist violence in the U.S. that became known as Red Summer. In many ways, Red Summer was a response to (but NOT caused by) two earlier events: the Great Migration and the return of black soldiers who had fought in World War I.
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Holly and Tracy commiserate about sending greeting cards. Tracy talks about how she shifted away from an episode exclusively about Frances Thompson.
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The Memphis Massacre was a truly horrific wave of destruction and violence, including sexual violence, against the Black community of Memphis just a year after the end of the U.S. Civil War.
Research:
- “Memphis Daily Appeal Interviews Frances Thompson (1876),” SHEC: Resources for Teachers, accessed April 9, 2026, https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/3717.
- “The Outrage Mill.” The North Missouri Register....
Humans have been exchanging tokens of friendship since before recorded history. From calling cards to Valentines to Christmas cards, the modern greeting card industry evolved.
Research:
- “America’s First Christmas Card.” Albany Institute of History and Art. https://www.albanyinstitute.org/online-exhibition/50-objects/section/america-s-first-christmas-card
- Britannica Editors. "scarab". Encyclopedia Britann...
This 2019 episode covers the color blue, the most popular color in many parts of the world. But many ancient languages didn’t have a word for blue, and some languages still don’t.
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Tracy shares struggles that she encountered pulling together this edition of Unearthed. She and Holly have a tangential discussion about AI.
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Part one of this quarter's edition of Unearthed! includes animals, artwork, edibles and potables, shipwrecks, potpourri.
Research:
- Abdallah, Hannah. “Analysis of charred food in pot reveals that prehistoric Europeans had surprisingly complex cuisines.” EurekAlert. 3/4/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1117763
- Almeroth-Williams, Thomas. “British redcoat’s lost memoir reveals harsh realities ...
Part one of this quarter's edition of Unearthed! features updates, medical things, books and letters, oldest known things, and smells.
Research:
- Abdallah, Hannah. “Analysis of charred food in pot reveals that prehistoric Europeans had surprisingly complex cuisines.” EurekAlert. 3/4/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1117763
- Almeroth-Williams, Thomas. “British redcoat’s lost memoir reveals ha...
This 2022 episode covers how Courbet was iconic even in his own lifetime. He flew in the face of artistic convention, ushered in a new movement of Realism in France, and became embroiled in the country’s political turmoil.
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Tracy shares her intentions to cover Peter Kropotkin years ago, and also unpacks some of the positive and negative aspects of his life.
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After returning to Russia, Kropotkin was captured and imprisoned. But his life took many turns from there, and in 1902 he published his book book “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution.”
Research:
- "Peter Alekseevich Kropotkin." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631003701/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=ed5ae018. Accessed 2...
Peter Kropotkin was incredibly influential in the development of anarchism in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Part one of this subject focuses on the formative moments in his early life that contributed to his becoming an anarchist communist.
Research:
- "Peter Alekseevich Kropotkin." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631003701/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpu...
This 2021 episode examines the Haymarket Riot, one of the many interconnected events and people and movements that are all integral to defining the basic idea of what a full-time job is in the U.S.
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Holly talks about Gladys Bentley's gender presentation, and the trouble with Maceo Sheffield. She and Tracy also discuss James Braid's ethics in both medicine and hypnotism.
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Braid is known for his work in hypnotism. But he was also a surgeon with a reputation for pioneering new treatments before he became fascinated with the scientific underpinnings of mesmerism.
Research:
- Braid, James, and Arthur Edward Waite, ed. “Braid on hypnotism. Neurypnology; or, The rationale of nervous sleep considered in relation to animal magnetism or mesmerism and illustrated by numerous cases of its successful a...
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