Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff

Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff

As long as there’s been oppression, there’ve been people fighting it. This weekly podcast dives into history to drag up the wildest rebels, the most beautiful revolts, and all the people who long to be—and fight to be—free. It explores complex stories of resistance that offer lessons and inspiration for us today, focusing on the ensemble casts that make up each act of history. That is to say, this podcast focuses on Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff.

Episodes

December 22, 2025 50 mins

Margaret talks to Chelsey Weber-Smith about the saint who built hidden compartments to hide priests during the persecution of Catholics in England.

Sources:

https://ewtn.co.uk/article-st-nicholas-owen-builder-of-secret-hiding-places-for-priests/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/content/articles/2005/11/02/hindlip_gunpowder_plot_feature.shtml

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/harvington-hall

https://www.ancientpages.com/...

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Margaret reads you part one (of two) of her own story about post-apocalyptic love and violence

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Margaret continues her talk with Katy Stoll about the leaderless society that almost overthrew Rome.

Sources:

Radical Antiquity, Christopher B. Zeichmann

https://www.worldhistory.org/Ostracism/

https://web.archive.org/web/20170719062739/http://www.livius.org/li-ln/livy/periochae/periochae091.html#95

https://web.archive.org/web/20160326113007/http://www.livius.org/so-st/spartacus/spartacus.html

https://web.archive.org/web/2016030422...

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Margaret talks to Katy Stoll about the leaderless society that almost overthrew Rome.

Sources:

Radical Antiquity, Christopher B. Zeichmann

https://www.worldhistory.org/Ostracism/

https://web.archive.org/web/20170719062739/http://www.livius.org/li-ln/livy/periochae/periochae091.html#95

https://web.archive.org/web/20160326113007/http://www.livius.org/so-st/spartacus/spartacus.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20160304220855/http://www...

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Margaret tells you the tale of some nightmare queers off to bring about hell on earth.

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Margaret continues her dicussion with Dana El Kurd about Diogenes, the founder of the Cynics, who was kind of an edgelord and lived in a jar

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Margaret talks to Dana El Kurd about Diogenes, the founder of the Cynics, who was kind of an edgelord and lived in a jar.

Sources:

The Dangerous Life and Ideas of Diogenes the Cynic, Jean-Manuel Roubineau

How to Say No: An Ancient Guide to the Cynicism, Diogenes (edited by MD Usher)

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16916263

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Greece

https://www.historyskills.com/classroom/ancient-history/ancie...

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Who says ecoterrorism is bad? In fantasy games?

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In part two, Margaret talks with Robert Evans one more time about the English rebels who threw on dresses, declared a fake person their leader, and set about fighting the Industrial Revolution.

Original Air Date: 3.20.2024

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Margaret talks with Robert Evans about the English rebels who threw on dresses, declared a fake person their leader, and set about fighting the Industrial Revolution.

Original Air Date: 3.18.24

 

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There's nothing left to do but track these cultists to the source.

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Margaret continues her talk with Jamie Loftus about Shawnee resistance to the American colonialism and a woman who led them in battle.

Sources:

https://colonialquills.blogspot.com/2017/07/revolutionary-mothers-nonhelema-of.html

https://kentucky-museum.org/nonhelema-hokolesqua/

https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-345-44554-4

https://sundownohio.substack.com/p/the-gnadenhutten-massacre

https://newreligiousmovements.org/b/bohemian-...

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Margaret talks to Jamie Loftus about Shawnee resistance to the American colonialism and a woman who led them in battle

Sources:

https://colonialquills.blogspot.com/2017/07/revolutionary-mothers-nonhelema-of.html

https://kentucky-museum.org/nonhelema-hokolesqua/

https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-345-44554-4

https://sundownohio.substack.com/p/the-gnadenhutten-massacre

https://newreligiousmovements.org/b/bohemian-adamites/

https:...

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More mighty beasts assail our brave antiheroes!

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Margaret continues her talk with Hazel about how the Romans were stopped from conquering Germania and how a bunch of terrible people are excited about it.

Sources:

https://www.thecollector.com/teutonic-meaning/


https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-by-year/
 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-ambush-that-changed-history-72636736/?c=y&page=3

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news...

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Margaret talks with Hazel about how the Romans were stopped from conquering Germania and how a bunch of terrible people are excited about it.

Sources:

https://www.thecollector.com/teutonic-meaning/


https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-by-year/
 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-ambush-that-changed-history-72636736/?c=y&page=3

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-excavati...

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All is not well in Bogbottom...

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Margaret continues talking with Io about the Iceni revolt of 61 AD that almost drove Rome out of Britain.

Sources:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4434717

https://ul.qucosa.de/api/qucosa%3A31804/attachment/ATT-0/

https://web.archive.org/web/20120612044230/http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba83/feat3.shtml

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/62*.html#2

https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3...

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Margaret talks with Io about the Iceni revolt of 61 AD that almost drove Rome out of Britain.

Sources:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4434717

https://ul.qucosa.de/api/qucosa%3A31804/attachment/ATT-0/

https://web.archive.org/web/20120612044230/http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba83/feat3.shtml

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/62*.html#2

https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.007...

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Can our heroes best the mighty beasts who await them in the swamps? Who will Trant throw a bomb at?

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Margaret Killjoy

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