Bonus Episode – Plagiarizing Patriots, Human Chickens, and Canadian Character Assassination
On this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions about the recent series on the Knights of the Air and the one-off on the Midnight Ride. The host grapples with questions about the American perception of Canadian history, tarring and feathering, WWI weaponry, and Paul Revere’s plagiarized engravings. Sebastian also gives some important updates about the end of Season 11, the start of Season 12, and plays a new song from Staring Contest. Tune-in and find out how angry letters, machine gun poetry, and Canadian theatre all play a role in the story. Continue reading “Bonus Episode – Plagiarizing Patriots, Human Chickens, and Canadian Character Assassination”
Latest Episodes
Episode #254 – What Went Down on the Midnight Ride?
Paul Revere is one of the best remembered heroes of the American Revolution. The Boston silversmith is often credited with rousing the Massachusetts countryside to resist the King’s army as they moved against the towns of Lexington and Concord. However, he popular understanding of the famous “midnight ride” was largely shaped by a romantic poem written 85 years after the fact by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The image of Paul Revere as a lone rider, single handedly saving the revolutionary cause has become a textbook historical myth. The real story is way weirder and more exciting than the Longfellow poem would have you believe! (more…)
Episode #253 – Were the Knights of the Air a Myth? (Part II)
By 1916 the airplane had proven itself as an important new weapon in the Great War. Arguably just as important was the image of the glamorous flying aces. Entire flying units, like France’s Lafayette Escadrille made up of American volunteers, were created with the hope of generating positive press that could bring the United States into the war on the side of allies. When America did join WWI in 1917, there was a belief that the airplane was the “natural weapon of Americans.” Some lawmakers dreamed of building a war-winning American airplane armada. Meanwhile, the reporting on flying aces had the affect of turning the air-war into a sport, with “high scorers” looking to break new records. How did this affect the behavior of the warriors in the sky? (more…)
Episode #252 – Were the Knights of the Air a Myth? (Part I)
At the outbreak of First World War airplanes were still a novelty on the battlefield. Originally planes were used for reconnaissance and the pilots were usually unarmed. This quickly changed and soon airplanes were being outfitted with machine guns and tasked specifically with destroying enemy aircraft. Fighter pilots were a new type of warrior, but ironically they started to be described in medieval terms. Stories began to appear in the wartime press about acts of courtesy between enemy pilots. Soon propagandists were claiming that airmen were “knights of the air” bound by an unwritten code of chivalry. The image of the daring and gentlemanly “flying ace” proved to be incredibly effective recruitment tool. Were the stories of gallantry in the sky little more than wartime propaganda, or was there something to the image of the gentleman-pilot? (more…)
Bonus Episode – Roman Bondage, Voodoo Macbeth, and Bunga Bunga
In this bonus episode Sebastian takes questions about episode 249, 250, and 251. First, he does his best to grapple with how morality should factor into history education. Then a listener provides an epic email about Orson Welles’ legendary production of “Voodoo Macbeth” and cursed run of Romeo and Juliet. Finally, Sebastian looks at the weird legacy of the phrase “bunga bunga.” (more…)
Episode #251 – What Was the Dreadnought Hoax?
When the HMS Dreadnought was launched in 1906 it completely revolutionized naval warfare. It made all previous ships obsolete and helped spur an arms race between Britain and Germany. For many the Dreadnought was symbol of the militarism that was sweeping Europe before World War One. Then in 1910 the ship was targeted by pranksters, who managed to get access to Dreadnought by impersonating Abyssinian (Ethiopian) royalty. The pranksters wore gaudy theatre costumes and blackface make-up. Despite this, they still somehow managed to fool the Dreadnought’s officers. In the years since the prank many have debated it’s significance. Some have argued that the prank was anti-authoritarian and anti-imperialist, but does that give the pranksters too much credit? Was the Dreadnought Hoax little more than a racist stunt meant to build the clout of England’s most infamous hoaxer? (more…)
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