Post archive for ‘Highlights’
Hanukkah history, Hanukkah myths
Rabbi Laura Baum discusses the origins of the Hanukkah story, and how the holiday changed when it arrived in America.
Black Santa
Tyrone Jones talks about what it’s like to be a Santa Claus who doesn’t look like the Norman Rockwell prototype.
Christmas Goes Indoors
Historian Stephen Nissenbaum describes the birth of Santa Claus, and explains how the celebration of Christmas went indoors in the first half of the 19th century.
Little Red Schoolhouse
Education historian Jon Zimmerman talks to host Brian Balogh about why Americans romanticize 19th century one-room schoolhouses, and describes what they were really like.
Death and the Civil War
Nineteenth Century Guy Ed Ayers speaks with historian Drew Gilpin Faust about how the Civil War altered Americans’ attitudes about death.
General Education
Retired Marine Lieutenant General Paul Van Riper tells the History Guys what it’s like to have civilian bosses, why he spoke out publicly in favor of Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation, and what the study of history has to teach the soldier.
No Vacancies
Historian Susan Rugh describes the discrimination black families faced on America’s highways in the 1940s and 50s. Many of those travelers recounted their experiences in letters to the NAACP – letters that eventually helped convince U.S. Senators to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Taking it to the Streets
Historian Peter Norton speaks with 20th Century History Guy Brian Balogh about how automobile companies in the 1920s managed to re-define streets as a space for cars, rather than pedestrians. And he explains the little-known history of the term “jaywalker.”
(Not So) Personal Debt
Historian Louis Hyman talks about the structural changes that led to record levels of personal debt in the late 20th century. It’s not that Americans are more willing to go into debt than they used to be, he says, but rather that they are no longer able to pay that debt off.
The Politics of Drink
Historian James Morone explains what nativism, racism, and women’s suffrage had to do with the temperance movement of the early 20th century. And he argues that Prohibition was not the abysmal failure it’s often made out to be.
