Stuff You Missed in History Class

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

  1. 19 HR AGO

    Unearthed! In Spring 2026, Part 1

    Part one of this quarter's edition of Unearthed! features updates, medical things, books and letters, oldest known things, and smells. Research: Abdallah, Hannah. “Analysis of charred food in pot reveals that prehistoric Europeans had surprisingly complex cuisines.” EurekAlert. 3/4/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1117763 Almeroth-Williams, Thomas. “British redcoat’s lost memoir reveals harsh realities of life as a disabled veteran.” EurekAlert. 1/14/2026. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1111595 Anderson, Sonja. “Does This Skeleton Found Beneath a Dutch Church Belong to D’Artagnan, the Man Who Inspired ‘The Three Musketeers’?” Smithsonian. 3/27/2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-skeleton-found-beneath-the-floor-of-a-dutch-church-may-belong-to-dartagnan-the-fourth-musketeer-180988448/ Anderson, Sonja. “Historians Thought This Rare Renaissance Portrait by One of the First Famous Female Artists Was Lost to History—Until It Surfaced in North Carolina.” 2/3/2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/historians-thought-this-rare-renaissance-portrait-by-one-of-the-first-famous-female-artists-was-lost-to-history-until-it-surfaced-in-north-carolina-180988120/ Anderson, Sonja. “Hundreds of Ancient Roman Blade Sharpeners Emerge From a Riverbank in England, Revealing the Ruins of a 2,000-Year-Old Whetstone Factory.” Smithsonian. 1/20/2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hundreds-of-ancient-roman-blade-sharpeners-emerge-from-a-riverbank-in-england-revealing-the-ruins-of-a-2000-year-old-whetstone-factory-180988016/ Anderson, Sonja. “The Italian Government Just Paid Nearly $35 Million for a Rare Caravaggio Portrait—One of the Most Expensive Artworks It’s Ever Acquired.” Smithsonian. 3/16/2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-italian-government-just-paid-nearly-35-million-for-a-rare-Caravaggio-portrait-one-of-the-most-expensive-artworks-its-ever-acquired-180988344/ Arnold, Paul. “Poop as medicine? A Roman vial's chemistry backs up ancient medical texts.” Phys.org. 2/4/2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-poop-medicine-roman-vial-chemistry.html Arnold, Paul. “Scents of the afterlife: Identifying embalming recipes by 'sniffing' the air around Egyptian mummies.” Phys.org. 2/5/2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-scents-afterlife-embalming-recipes-sniffing.html#google_vignette Bacon, Jordan. “English history’s biggest march is a myth – King Harold sailed to the Battle of Hastings.” EurekAlert. 3/20/2026. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1120082 Bastola, Kunjal. “A Groundskeeper Noticed a Sinkhole on a Golf Course. It Turned Out to Be a Wine Cellar Full of Empty Bottles, Untouched for More Than 100 Years.” Smithsonian. 3/19/2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-groundskeeper-noticed-a-sinkhole-on-a-golf-course-it-turned-out-to-be-a-wine-cellar-full-of-empty-bottles-untouched-for-more-than-100-years-180988379/ Bastola, Kunjal. “A Little Boy’s Library Book Was Due in 1989. Thirty-Six Years Later, He Realized His Parents Had Never Returned It.” Smithsonian. 1/26/2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-little-boys-library-book-was-due-in-1989-thirty-six-years-later-he-realized-his-parents-had-never-returned-it-180988046/ Baum, Stephanie. “Ancient parrot DNA reveals sophisticated, long-distance animal trade network pre-dating the Inca Empire.” 3/10/2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-ancient-parrot-dna-reveals-sophisticated.html Baum, Stephanie. “From the Late Bronze Age to today, the Old Irish Goat carries 3,000 years of Irish history.” 2/26/2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-late-bronze-age-today-irish.html Benzine, Vittoria. “What Did Pompeii Smell Like? A New Study Analyzes Its Ancient Incense.” Artnet. 3/31/2026. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/pompeii-ritual-incense-study-2760240 Brooks, James. “Danish warship sunk by Nelson’s British fleet discovered after 225 years.” Associated Press. 4/2/2026. https://apnews.com/article/denmark-archaeologists-warship-nelson-copenhagen-dannebroge-lynetteholm-4519533d9e774a490f6020e893634e09 Carvajal, Guillermo. “Archaeologists achieve a historic milestone by dating French cave paintings with carbon-14 for the first time.” 3/10/2025. https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2026/03/archaeologists-achieve-a-historic-milestone-by-dating-french-cave-paintings-with-carbon-14-for-the-first-time/ Clayworth, Liv. “Bird poop powered the rise of the Chincha Kingdom, archaeologists find.” EurekAlert. 2/11/2026. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1115214 “Lost page of the Archimedes Palimpsest identified in Blois, central France.” Phys.org. 3/9/2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-lost-page-archimedes-palimpsest-blois.html Ehrlich, Claudia. “Signs on Stone Age objects: Precursor to written language dates back 40,000 years.” EurekAlert. 2/23/2026. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1117179 Ferrer, Isabel. “Is d’Artagnan lying beneath a church in Maastricht? DNA will determine if remains found are those of the famous musketeer.” El Pais. 3/25/2025. https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-25/is-dartagnan-lying-beneath-a-church-in-maastricht-dna-will-determine-if-remains-found-are-that-of-the-famous-musketeer.html?outputType=amp Gebauer, Kathryn. “Groundbreaking discovery reveals Africa’s oldest cremation pyre and complex ritual practices.” EurekAlert. 1/1/2016. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1111191 Harley, Sadie. “Iron Age dental plaque reveals Scythians consumed milk from horses and ruminants.” Phys.org. 1/21/2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-iron-age-dental-plaque-reveals.html He, Ye. “Singapore’s first ancient shipwreck reveals record cargo of Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain.” EurekAlert. 2/12/2026. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1116512 Johansen, Rikke Tørnsø. “Archaeologists reveal a medieval super ship: "It's the World’s largest cog".” Vikingeskibs Museet. 12/22/2025. https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/news/archaeologists-reveal-a-medieval-super-ship-its-the-worlds-largest-cog Kasal, Krystal. “Hannibal's famous war elephants: Single bone in Spain offers first direct evidence.” Phys.org. 2/5/2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-hannibal-famous-war-elephants-bone.html Kasal, Krystal. “Oldest known sewn hide and other artifacts from Oregon caves shed light on early clothing in harsh climates.” Phys.org. 2/10/2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-oldest-sewn-artifacts-oregon-caves.html Killgrove, Kristina. “Romans used human feces as medicine 1,900 years ago — and used thyme to mask the smell.” 1/29/2026. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/romans-used-human-feces-as-medicine-1-900-years-ago-and-used-thyme-to-mask-the-smell Killgrove, Kristina. “Stone Age woman was buried like a man, revealing flexible gender roles 7,000 years ago in Hungary.” LiveScience. 3/3/2026. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/stone-age-woman-was-buried-like-a-man-revealing-flexible-gender-roles-7-000-years-ago-in-hungary Koc University. “Earliest evidence of indigo-dyed textiles and single-needle knitting discovered in Bronze Age Anatolia.” Phys.org. 2/21/2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-earliest-evidence-indigo-dyed-textiles.html Kuta, Sarah. “Did Neanderthals Use Birch Bark Tar as an Antibiotic to Treat Wounds and Infections?” Smithsonian. 3/30/2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-neanderthals-use-birch-bark-tar-as-an-antibiotic-to-treat-wounds-and-infections-180988393/ Kuta, Sarah. “Ostrich Eggshells Suggest Our Ancestors May Have Understood Basic Geometry 60,000 Years Ago.” Smithsonian. 3/9/2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-intricately-decorated-ostrich-eggshells-suggest-our-ancestors-may-have-understood-basic-geometry-60000-years-ago-180988315/ Kuta, Sarah. “Ötzi the Iceman May Have Carried a Cancer-Causing Strain of HPV, a Common Virus Still Plaguing Humans Today.” Smithsonian. 1/20/2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/otzi-the-iceman-may-have-carried-a-cancer-causing-strain-of-hpv-a-common-virus-still-plaguing-humans-today-180988024/ Kuta, Sarah. “Shipwreck Timbers Appeared on a Beach After a Storm. They Had Been Buried Beneath the Sand Since the 17th Century.” Smithsonian. 3/2/2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shipwreck-timbers-appeared-on-a-beach-after-a-storm-they-had-been-buried-beneath-the-sand-since-the-17th-century-180988260/ Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “Salvador Dalí’s Largest Work Snapped Up by Florida Museum.” Artnet. 3/27/2026. https://news.artnet.com/market/salvador-dali-largest-work-bonhams-sale-2749246 Lock, Lisa. “Ancient DNA finds 15,800-year-old dogs in Anatolia, buried like humans.” Phys.org. 3/28/2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-ancient-dna-year-dogs-anatolia.html Lock, Lisa. “Are one in 200 men really related to Genghis Khan? Maybe not, according to a new study.” Phys.org. 2/21/2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-men-genghis-khan.html Lucibella, Michael. “Prehistoric tool made from elephant bone is the oldest discovered in Europe.” EurekAlert. 1/26/2026. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1113140 Luscombe, Richard. “Mass grave in Jordan sheds new light on world’s earliest recorded pandemic.” The Guardian. 1/31/2026. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/31/plague-of-justinian-pandemic net. “Did King Harold Sail to Hastings? New Study Sparks Debate Among Historians.” 3/2026. https://www.medievalists.net/2026/03/did-king-harold-sail-to-hastings-new-study-sparks-debate-among-historians/ net. “Viking-Age Woman Buried with Her Dog in Norway.” 3/2026. https://www.medievalists.net/2026/03/viking-age-woman-buried-with-her-dog-in-norway/ Newcastle University Press Office. “5,300-year-old ‘bow drill’ rewrites story of ancient Egyptian tools.” 2/9/2026. https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press

    43 min
  2. 5 DAYS AGO

    Peter Kropotkin's Mutual Aid, Part 2

    After returning to Russia, Kropotkin was captured and imprisoned. But his life took many turns from there, and in 1902 he published his book book “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution.” Research: "Peter Alekseevich Kropotkin." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631003701/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=ed5ae018. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026. Adams, Matthew S. “Rejecting the American Model: Peter Kropotkin’s Radical Communism.” History of Political Thought , Spring 2014, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Spring 2014). https://www.jstor.org/stable/26227268 Avrich, Paul, Miller, Martin A. "Peter Alekseyevich Kropotkin". Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-Alekseyevich-Kropotkin. Accessed 23 March 2026. Avrich, Paul. “Kropotkin in America.” International Review of Social History , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , April 1980 , pp. 1 – 34 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859000006192. Davis, Mike. “Kropotkin and Climate Change.” Transnational Institute of Social Ecology. 1/4/2018. https://trise.org/2018/01/04/kropotkin-and-climate-change/ Kinna, Ruth. “Kropotkin's Theory of Mutual Aid in Historical Context.” International Review of Social History , AUGUST 1995, Vol. 40, No. 2. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44583751 Kropotkin, P. “Fields, Factories, and Workshops: or Industry Combined with Agriculture and Brain Work with Manual Work.” G.P. Putnam’s Sons. New York and London. 1913. Kropotkin, P. “Memoirs of a Revolutionist.” London. Swan Sonnenschein & Co. 1906. Kropotkin, P. “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution.” New York. McClure Phillips & Co. 1902. Kropotkin, Peter Alexeievich. "Memoirs of a Revolutionist." Terrorism: Essential Primary Sources, edited by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Gale, 2006, pp. 11-13. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3456600019/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=f35f5dcf. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026. Kropotkin, Peter. “Anarchism.” Encyclopedia Britannica 11th 1911. Kropotkin, Peter. “The Conquest of Bread.” New York. Vanguard Press. 1926. Macauley, David. "Anarchism." Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy, edited by J. Baird Callicott and Robert Frodeman, vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2009, pp. 38-40. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3234100023/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=d3a1d4db. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026. Montpetit, Mathilde. “Peter Kropotkin’s Memoirs of a Revolutionist (1899).” The Public Domain Review. 1/13/2026. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/kropotkin-memoirs/ Moron, Gary Saul. “Kropotkin’s dead goose.” The New Criterion February 2022. Prince P. A. Kropotkin. Nature 106, 735–736 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/106735a0 Quinn, Adam. “’Abolish the Monopolizing of the Earth’: Nature, Science, and the Environmental Politics of Transnational Anarchism.” Radical History Review. Issue 145 (January 2023). DOI 10.1215/01636545-10063606 Saytanov, Sergey V. “The Anarchist Who Stood Up to Lenin and the Bolshevik Coup of October 1917.” History News Network. July 19, 2015. https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/the-anarchist-who-stood-up-to-lenin-and-the-bolshe Vollaro, Daniel. “When Anarchists Speak of Thoreau.” The Thoreau Society Bulletin, Spring 2016, No. 293 (Spring 2016). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44651625 Wills, Matthew. “Peter Kropotkin, the Prince of Mutual Aid.” JSTOR Daily. 2/4/2025. https://daily.jstor.org/peter-kropotkin-the-prince-of-mutual-aid/   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    50 min
  3. 13 APR

    Peter Kropotkin's Mutual Aid, Part 1

    Peter Kropotkin was incredibly influential in the development of anarchism in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Part one of this subject focuses on the formative moments in his early life that contributed to his becoming an anarchist communist. Research: "Peter Alekseevich Kropotkin." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631003701/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=ed5ae018. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026. Adams, Matthew S. “Rejecting the American Model: Peter Kropotkin’s Radical Communism.” History of Political Thought , Spring 2014, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Spring 2014). https://www.jstor.org/stable/26227268 Avrich, Paul, Miller, Martin A. "Peter Alekseyevich Kropotkin". Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-Alekseyevich-Kropotkin. Accessed 23 March 2026. Avrich, Paul. “Kropotkin in America.” International Review of Social History , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , April 1980 , pp. 1 – 34 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859000006192. Davis, Mike. “Kropotkin and Climate Change.” Transnational Institute of Social Ecology. 1/4/2018. https://trise.org/2018/01/04/kropotkin-and-climate-change/ Kinna, Ruth. “Kropotkin's Theory of Mutual Aid in Historical Context.” International Review of Social History , AUGUST 1995, Vol. 40, No. 2. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44583751 Kropotkin, P. “Fields, Factories, and Workshops: or Industry Combined with Agriculture and Brain Work with Manual Work.” G.P. Putnam’s Sons. New York and London. 1913. Kropotkin, P. “Memoirs of a Revolutionist.” London. Swan Sonnenschein & Co. 1906. Kropotkin, P. “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution.” New York. McClure Phillips & Co. 1902. Kropotkin, Peter Alexeievich. "Memoirs of a Revolutionist." Terrorism: Essential Primary Sources, edited by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Gale, 2006, pp. 11-13. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3456600019/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=f35f5dcf. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026. Kropotkin, Peter. “Anarchism.” Encyclopedia Britannica 11th 1911. Kropotkin, Peter. “The Conquest of Bread.” New York. Vanguard Press. 1926. Macauley, David. "Anarchism." Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy, edited by J. Baird Callicott and Robert Frodeman, vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2009, pp. 38-40. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3234100023/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=d3a1d4db. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026. Montpetit, Mathilde. “Peter Kropotkin’s Memoirs of a Revolutionist (1899).” The Public Domain Review. 1/13/2026. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/kropotkin-memoirs/ Moron, Gary Saul. “Kropotkin’s dead goose.” The New Criterion February 2022. Prince P. A. Kropotkin. Nature 106, 735–736 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/106735a0 Quinn, Adam. “’Abolish the Monopolizing of the Earth’: Nature, Science, and the Environmental Politics of Transnational Anarchism.” Radical History Review. Issue 145 (January 2023). DOI 10.1215/01636545-10063606 Saytanov, Sergey V. “The Anarchist Who Stood Up to Lenin and the Bolshevik Coup of October 1917.” History News Network. July 19, 2015. https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/the-anarchist-who-stood-up-to-lenin-and-the-bolshe Vollaro, Daniel. “When Anarchists Speak of Thoreau.” The Thoreau Society Bulletin, Spring 2016, No. 293 (Spring 2016). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44651625 Wills, Matthew. “Peter Kropotkin, the Prince of Mutual Aid.” JSTOR Daily. 2/4/2025. https://daily.jstor.org/peter-kropotkin-the-prince-of-mutual-aid/   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    45 min
  4. 8 APR

    James Braid, Surgeon and Father of Hypnotism

    Braid is known for his work in hypnotism. But he was also a surgeon with a reputation for pioneering new treatments before he became fascinated with the scientific underpinnings of mesmerism. Research: Braid, James, and Arthur Edward Waite, ed. “Braid on hypnotism. Neurypnology; or, The rationale of nervous sleep considered in relation to animal magnetism or mesmerism and illustrated by numerous cases of its successful application in the relief and cure of disease.” London. George Redway. 1899. https://archive.org/details/braidonhypnotism00brai/page/n7/mode/2up “Clubfoot.” Cleveland Clinic. July 6, 2023. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16889-clubfoot Crabtree A. “1784: The Marquis de Puységur and the psychological turn in the west.” J Hist Behav Sci.2019;55:199–215. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhbs.21974 Fletcher, George. “James Braid Of Manchester.” The British Medical Journal, vol. 2, no. 3590, 1929, pp. 776–77. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25334090 Hull, Clark L. “Hypnotism in Scientific Perspective.” The Scientific Monthly, vol. 29, no. 2, 1929, pp. 154–62. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/14677 “Hypnotism.” Yorkville Enquirer. Feb. 23, 1860. https://www.newspapers.com/image/339341468/?match=1&terms=James%20Braid Lafontaine’s Third Conversazione on Mesmerism.” The Manchester Times and Manchester and Salford Advertiser and Chronicle. Nov. 20, 1841. https://www.newspapers.com/image/406088965/?match=1&terms=lafontaine Loudon, I. “Why are (male) surgeons still addressed as Mr?.” BMJ (Clinical research ed.) 321,7276 (2000): 1589-91. doi:10.1136/bmj.321.7276.1589 Macklis, R M. “Magnetic healing, quackery, and the debate about the health effects of electromagnetic fields.” Annals of internal medicine 118,5 (1993): 376-83. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-118-5-199303010-00009 Martin, Christy. “Mesmerized.” Science History Institute. Dec. 6, 2011. https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/mesmerized/ Bramwell, J. Milne. “Hypnotism and treatment by suggestion.” New York. Da Capo Press. 1982. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/hypnotismandtre00bramgoog/page/n6/mode/1up Rouse, Tyler. “The brief and strange history of mesmerism and surgery.” Hektoen International. Winter 2019. https://hekint.org/2018/12/24/the-brief-and-strange-history-of-mesmerism-and-surgery/ Sandby, George. “Mesmerism and its opponents.” London. Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. 1848. https://archive.org/details/mesmerismandits01sandgoog “Sudden Death of Mr. James Braid, Surgeon.” The Guardian. March 26, 1860. https://www.newspapers.com/image/257847287/?match=1&terms=James%20Braid Weidow, Brandy, M.S. “James Braid.” Ebsco. 2024. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/health-and-medicine/james-braid Yeates, Lindsay Bertram. “James Braid: Surgeon, Gentleman Scientist, and Hypnotist.” University of New South Wales, Sydney. 2013. https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/entities/publication/7573cb34-ceb9-41bb-a8b1-0951e93fdd10     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    44 min
4.2
out of 5
692 Ratings

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Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

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