Professor Buzzkill History Podcast Joe Coohill

It’s June 12th! Loving Day! Loving Day is being celebrated worldwide. You might think that Loving Day is Valentine’s Day, February 14th, but it’s not, it’s today, June 12th. If you don’t know what Loving Day is, listen to the story we tell you in this brief, special episode. And go to lovingday.org to find out more! Encore episode!

Heather Haley, a civilian historian for the United States Navy, enlightens us about the work of a historian outside traditional academic institutions. She works for the US Naval History and Heritage Command, doing naval history research, finding and preserving historical records related the the Navy and its ships, and writing analytical works. And she encourages young historians to consider careers in this sort of public history. Disclaimer: "The opinions and conclusions expressed in this episode may not necessarily represent those of the Naval History and Heritage Command, the Department of Navy, or the Department of Defense." Episode 553. 

Dr. Neil Young helps us understand how and why gay Republicans regularly faced condemnation from both the LGBTQ+ community and their own political party. They’ve been active and influential for decades, however. Gay conservatives were instrumental, for example, in ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and securing the legalization of same-sex marriage—but they also helped lay the groundwork for the rise of Donald Trump. Episode 522.

Ray Boomhower joins us to discuss how the most unlikely of war correspondents, Malcolm W. Browne, became the only Western reporter to capture Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức's horrific self-immolation on June 11, 1963. Thích Quảng Đức made his ultimate sacrifice to protest the perceived anti-Buddhist policies of the Catholic-dominated administration of South Vietnam's president Ngo Dinh Diem. And Browne’s photographs shocked the world. Episode 551.

Professor Richard Toye explains the background and context of Winston Churchill's famous World War II speeches, from how they were written, to how they were delivered, to how the public reacted. Not only is it much more complex than the legend has it, the full history provides us with a much greater understanding of World War II.

“The Wild West,” is one of the strongest conceptions in American history. But “where” was the west? How “wild” was it? “Who” settled it? Did settlers build the west with their hands? How many of the stories about settlers and Native Americans are myths or misconceptions? Professor Edward O’Donnell helps us explain it all, including the central role that Buffalo Bill played in creating and spreading the story of the “wild west.”