Professor Buzzkill History Podcast

Every July, American Buzzkillers get inundated with chain emails, Facebook posts, and Tweets that spread more myths about the Declaration of Independence. No matter how many times they’ve been disproved, they seem to crop up every year. John Hancock signed his name so large that “King George can read it without his spectacles.” And “The Price They Paid” -- the undying email myth about what happened to the signers of the Declaration. We explain these, and a lot more!

The history of the American National Rifle Association is completely different from what most American think it is. Award-winning journalist, Frank Smyth, gives us the full history of the NRA, and how it changed so dramatically in 1977. Further, he shows how the post-1977 NRA has re-written its history, and given it a new origin story – as the original champion of the strict interpretation of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. This new NRA has helped create the maniacal gun culture in the United States. Episode 459

“Ring Around the Rosie” has been a popular nursery rhyme for a very long time. Many of us learned it when we were children. But we often hear people claim that the rhyme is traceable to the time of the Black Plague, and that each line is a morbid reminder of the horrors of Bubonic disease. But was it? Episode 457

"Juneteenth" (June 19th) is now widely regarded as marking the end of slavery in the United States. Professor Buzzkill examines the many dates related to the abolition of human enslavement in the US. And he pleads for more holidays observing this moral advance! Listen and learn. Episode 456.

After his first speech as prime minister, Winston Churchill's "blood, toil, tears, and sweat," got shortened and re-arranged. As "blood, sweat, and tears," it's become one of the most quoted Churchill-isms. But like so many of these "quotes," the idea of "blood, sweat, and tears," has been around for centuries, and used by many writers and military leaders. Listen as we explain it all on Quote or No Quote!

What does "life expectancy" mean, in historic terms? In ancient times, were you doomed to drop dead at age 36? The Professor explains all in this Monday Extra Credit Myths to Start Your Week! Go to work or school more enlightened. Episode 455.

Historical and economic forces can create "tornadoes" that spin-off in different directions, sometimes causing and re-inforcing oppressive conditions. Professor Heather Cox Richardson theorizes how this happened in American history, and warns us of the dangers that these tornadoes pose in our own times. Episode 454.

Lots of people take comfort from the quote “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” and it’s usually credited to Martin Luther King. He said it, but was it an original MLK thought? The long history of this famous quote is fascinating and uplifting. Listen and learn! Episode 453.

This episode explains how the National Rifle Association became one of the most controversial and divisive organizations in American history. Since the 1970s it has taken a very strict view of the US Constitution’s Second Amendment, and has gone to extremes in its defense of gun ownership. We explain how and why this happened, and dispel historical and cultural myths along the way. Episode 451