An Old Timey Podcast

An Old Timey Podcast
An Old Timey Podcast Podcast

History class just got hilariously inappropriate. Kristin Caruso, co-host of the true crime comedy podcast, Let’s Go To Court (14M+ downloads), and Norman Caruso, creator of the Gaming Historian YouTube channel (1M+ subscribers), team up to deliver a history podcast that is well researched, wide-ranging, and deeply silly. In other words, this is a podcast for intellectuals. Intellectuals who make fart jokes.

  1. An 18th Century Robot That…Played Chess??

    1 DAY AGO

    An 18th Century Robot That…Played Chess??

    Wolfgang von Kempelen was unimpressed. Empress Maria Theresa had invited him to attend a magic show, hoping he’d tell her how the tricks worked. Instead, he told her – and everyone else in her court – that the tricks just plain sucked. He claimed he could do better. Stunned, Maria gave him six months off work to create something that would dazzle her court. So, six months later, Wolfgang von Kempelen showed up with what he claimed was an automaton chess playing machine. It would soon become known simply as “The Turk.” People were amazed. A machine that could play chess??? The Turk soon developed a life of its own. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from: The book, “The Turk: The life and Times of the Famous 19th Century Chess-Playing Machine,” by Tom Standage “How a phony 18th-century chess robot fooled the world,” by Evan Andrews for History.com “The mechanical chess player that unsettled the world,” by Ella Morton for Slate.com “Debunking the Mechanical Turk helped set Edgar Allan Poe on the path to mystery writing,” by Kat Eschner for Smithsonian Magazine “The Mechanical Turk: AI Marvel or Parlor Trick,” Britannica “Turkish Gambit,” by Dick Teresi for The New York Times Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

    1h 33m
  2. The Great Emu War!

    18 SEPT

    The Great Emu War!

    Picture it! 1932. Western Australia. Emus were taking over. They were gobbling up and trampling farmers’ wheat, and in turn, destroying their livelihoods. Something had to be done. So, the Australian government came up with a *novel* solution. They’d arm three members of the Royal Australian Artillery with machine guns. They figured those tall, flightless birds would be easy prey. They were wrong. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from:  Brisbane Telegraph. “Emu Butchery - Machine Gun Offensive.” November 1, 1932. Brisbane Telegraph. “Emu Offensive - Birds More Than Hold Their Own - Setback for Gunners.” November 4, 1932. Brisbane Telegraph. “Emu Slaughter - Machine Guns and Drive.” October 17, 1932. Chisholm, A.H. “This Cruel Slaughter | Other Ways To Deal With Emus | Better Fences.” The Daily Telegraph, November 9, 1932. Cook, Richard, and Srdan Jovanovic. “The Emu Strikes Back: An Inquiry into Australia’s Peculiar Military Action of 1932.” Romanian Journal of Historical Studies II, no. 1 (2019). Crew, Bec. “The Great Emu War: In Which Some Large, Flightless Birds Unwittingly Foiled the Australian Army.” Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/running-ponies/the-great-emu-war-in-which-some-large-flightless-birds-unwittingly-foiled-the-australian-army/. Daily Commercial News. “Charge of the First Australian Emuliers!” November 16, 1932. Daily News. “Emu Chasers Must Outstrip Peter Pan.” November 9, 1932. Daily News. “Gunners on Wild Emu Chase.” November 4, 1932. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate. “Death to Emus | Campaign in West | Inspector To See Birds Do Not Suffer.” November 9, 1932. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate. “Destruction of Emus.” December 3, 1932. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate. “Wary Emus | Evade Machine-Guns | 1000 Rounds Fired.” November 5, 1932. Recorder. “‘Brass Hats’ Assailed | Campion Settlers Complain of Retreat.” November 11, 1932. Robin, Libby, Robert Heinsohn, and Leo Joseph, eds. Boom & Bust: Bird Stories for a Dry Country. CSIRO Publishing, 2009. Singleton Argus. “Shooting of Emus | Thousands of Pounds Saved.” November 18, 1932. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/83438322. Stockton, Richard. “Why The Australian Army Waged The Great Emu War Of 1932 — And Lost.” All That’s Interesting, October 3, 2021. https://allthatsinteresting.com/great-emu-war. The Canberra Times. “Emu War Again | 300 Killed in First Duel | Machine Guns Re-Issued.” November 12, 1932. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2317086. The Daily Telegraph. “Emu Armistice Resented | Withdrawal of Machine Guns.” November 10, 1932. The Daily Telegraph. “Lewis Guns Against Emus.” October 14, 1932. The Daily Telegraph. “Not Easy to Kill Emus | A Thousand Rounds Fired, 12 Dead.” November 5, 1932. The Daily Telegraph. “The Emu Is a Wily Bird - Gunners Get Only Dozen Victims - Ambush Fails.” November 4, 1932. “The Emu Wars - Only a Little Hilarious | Australia Explained,” December 6, 2021. https://www.australia-explained.com.au/history-shorts/the-emu-wars-only-a-little-hilarious/. The Evening News. “Emu War Still On | Birds Becoming Wary of Lewis Gunners.” November 22, 1932. The Examiner. “The Emu War.” November 8, 1932. The Kyogle Examiner. “Use Aeroplane | Fighting Emu Pest.” November 18, 1932. The News. “Emu War Opens - Gunners Replace Boys on Cycles - Had Long Poles.” November 3, 1932. The News. “Emu War Still On.” November 9, 1932. The News. “Farmers Want Machine Guns to Stamp Out Emus.” October 10, 1932. The News. “More Emus On Way | Big Flocks in Wake of Dead | Killers Busy.” November 8, 1932. The Northern Miner. “The Emu Pest | Queensland Control.” November 23, 1932. The Sun. “First Shot Fired in War on Emu.” November 2, 1932. The Sun. “Herded for the Slaughter - Machi

    1h 23m
  3. The Story of the Super Soaker!

    11 SEPT

    The Story of the Super Soaker!

    Lonnie Johnson was a smart guy — a very smart guy. As a NASA engineer, he spent his days coming up with solutions to complex problems. But when he went home, Lonnie’s brain kept whirring. So, he invented. He tinkered. He imagined. The vast majority of his creations had scientific, practical purposes. But his idea for a pressurized water gun? Well, that was just pure fun. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Adams, Susan. “The Inventor Of The Super Soaker Talks About Turning Inventions Into Products And His Next Big Idea.” Forbes, March 3, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestreptalks/2017/03/03/the-inventor-of-the-super-soaker-talks-about-turning-inventions-into-products-and-his-next-big-idea/. BBC News. “Lonnie Johnson: The Father of the Super Soaker.” August 15, 2016, sec. Magazine. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37062579. Biography. “How Lonnie Johnson Invented the Super Soaker,” January 26, 2021. https://www.biography.com/inventors/lonnie-johnson-invent-super-soaker. Center, Smithsonian Lemelson. “Meet Lonnie Johnson, the Man Behind the Super Soaker.” Text. Smithsonian, January 26, 2017. https://invention.si.edu/meet-lonnie-johnson-man-behind-super-soaker. Dr. Lonnie Johnson - Engineer & Inventor of the Super Soaker | Sweet Auburn Stories - YouTube, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1k7DhGDoqY. Dr. Lonnie Johnson: Meet the Billion Dollar Super Soaker Inventor EP. 22 - YouTube. Vault Empowers, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyQf6x5awfM. “History of the Super Soaker :: :: iSoaker.Com,” n.d. http://www.isoaker.com/Info/history_supersoaker.php. Iinex. “I Am Dr. Lonnie Johnson. NASA Rocket Scientist. Holder of over 100 Patents. Inventor of the Super Soaker. I’m Now Working on Advanced Energy Technology Solutions to Save the World. This Is My 2nd Time Doing This, so Ask Me Anything.” Reddit Post. R/IAmA, November 5, 2018. www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9ugvd7/i_am_dr_lonnie_johnson_nasa_rocket_scientist/. Innovative Lives: Lonnie Johnson - YouTube. Lemelson Center, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXMVACdKn3o. IPO Education Foundation. “Lonnie Johnson, Johnson Research and Development,” October 13, 2017. https://www.ipoef.org/lonnie-johnson-johnson-research-and-development/. Meet the Man Who Invented the Super Soaker - YouTube. Insider Tech, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1zAO1WkG58. Popular Mechanics. “7 Questions for Super Soaker Inventor Lonnie Johnson,” October 1, 2009. https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a4335/4322161/. Revolutionary Designs for Energy Alternatives: Lonnie Johnson at TEDxAtlanta, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y39WNUdbkM. Schrempp, Zach. “Lonnie Johnson (1949- ) •.” Black Past (blog), January 6, 2011. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/johnson-lonnie-1949/. Speaker Series: Lonnie Johnson - YouTube. USPTO, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7yRcuhe2M8. “The Case of the Super Soaker and the Chamber Therein | MIT Sloan,” August 7, 2024. https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/case-super-soaker-and-chamber-therein. The Strong National Museum of Play. “Super Soaker,” n.d. https://www.museumofplay.org/toys/super-soaker/. Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

    1h 39m
  4. Mount Rushmore: Awesome and Awful (Finale)

    4 SEPT

    Mount Rushmore: Awesome and Awful (Finale)

    In the finale of our Mount Rushmore series, Mount Rushmore National Memorial gets finished. But the final product isn’t quite what Gutzon Borglum envisioned. The presidents aren’t sculpted down to their waists. There is no entablature. There is no true hall of records. There isn’t a message, written in three languages, in the hope that it’ll one day become Rosetta Stone 2: Electric Boogaloo. And yet? It’s there! Despite the odds, four 60-foot tall faces of iconic American presidents are carved into a stolen, sacred mountain. Every year, millions of tourists make the trek to take a look. So… how do we feel about that? Welp, as Normie C likes to say, “two things can be true!” It’s awful and awesome, beautiful and hideous, exciting and saddening. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from: The book, “The Carving of Mount Rushmore,” by Rex Alan Smith The documentary, “Mount Rushmore” “The Sordid History of Mount Rushmore,” by Matthew Shaer for Smithsonian Magazine “Biography: Gutzon Borglum,” PBS.org “The heartbreaking, controversial history of Mount Rushmore,” by Amy McKeever for National Geographic “Why Native Americans Have Protested Mount Rushmore,” by Jodi Rave for History.com “Are treaties perpetual? United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians,” by Reid Benson for teachingamericanhistory.org The video, “The dark history of Mount Rushmore,” for TedEd.com “BIOGRAPHY: Native Americans and Mount Rushmore,” PBS.org “United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians,” Encyclopedia of the Great Plains “Who speaks for Crazy Horse,” by Brooke Jarvis for The New Yorker Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

    1h 45m
  5. Wait… Does Mount Rushmore Suck? (Part 3)

    28 AUG

    Wait… Does Mount Rushmore Suck? (Part 3)

    There are so many reasons why Mount Rushmore National Monument *shouldn’t* exist. Right from the start, there was opposition. Environmentalists called the proposed monument a desecration. Native Americans rightly asserted that the Black Hills — and specifically the Six Grandfathers Mountain (aka Mount Rushmore) — was their property. But that didn’t stop Gutzon Borglum, or his circle of high-powered supporters. Together, they pushed forward. They even manipulated a president! Thanks to a mix of hubris, luck, and money, Mount Rushmore National Monument began to take shape. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from: The book, “The Carving of Mount Rushmore,” by Rex Alan Smith The documentary, “Mount Rushmore” “The Sordid History of Mount Rushmore,” by Matthew Shaer for Smithsonian Magazine “Biography: Gutzon Borglum,” PBS.org “The heartbreaking, controversial history of Mount Rushmore,” by Amy McKeever for National Geographic “Why Native Americans Have Protested Mount Rushmore,” by Jodi Rave for History.com “Are treaties perpetual? United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians,” by Reid Benson for teachingamericanhistory.org “The largest mass execution in US history,” Death Penalty Information Center The video, “The dark history of Mount Rushmore,” for TedEd.com “BIOGRAPHY: Native Americans and Mount Rushmore,” PBS.org “United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians,” Encyclopedia of the Great Plains Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

    1h 55m
  6. Before Mount Rushmore, There Was Stone Mountain (Part 2)

    21 AUG

    Before Mount Rushmore, There Was Stone Mountain (Part 2)

    Before he set his sights on Mount Rushmore, sculptor Gutzon Borglum had a vision for a massive monument to the Confederacy. He figured that Stone Mountain, located just outside of Atlanta, would be the perfect spot for his magnum opus. The United Daughters of the Confederacy agreed. So did their BFFs, the KKK. For years, the project seemed to be going well. It ended in disaster. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from: The book, “The Carving of Mount Rushmore,” by Rex Alan Smith The documentary, “Mount Rushmore” “The Sordid History of Mount Rushmore,” by Matthew Shaer for Smithsonian Magazine “The Carving of Stone Mountain,” PBS.org “Biography: Gutzon Borglum,” PBS.org “Stone Mountain: A Monumental Dilemma” by Debra McKinney for the SPLC “The heartbreaking, controversial history of Mount Rushmore,” by Amy McKeever for National Geographic The documentary, “Monument: The Untold Story of Stone Mountain,” from the Atlanta History Center Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

    1h 42m
  7. Mount Rushmore: America’s Weirdest Monument (Part 1)

    14 AUG

    Mount Rushmore: America’s Weirdest Monument (Part 1)

    In this series, we’re talking about something… pretty weird! It’s the fact that, roughly 100 years ago, a handful of people thought it’d be a really good idea to carve four gigantic faces into the side of a mountain. But why did they do it? Whose idea was it?? And finally, they were so busy asking if they could… DID THEY EVEN THINK TO ASK IF THEY SHOULD??? In this episode, we take a look at the man who designed Mount Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum. We look at his childhood, his early career, his weird sibling rivalry, and we wrap up with the strange, true story of how he almost made Mount Rushmore: Confederate Edition! Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from: The book, “The Carving of Mount Rushmore,” by Rex Alan Smith The documentary, “Mount Rushmore” “The Sordid History of Mount Rushmore,” by Matthew Shaer for Smithsonian Magazine “The Carving of Stone Mountain,” PBS.org “Biography: Gutzon Borglum,” PBS.org “Biography: Mary Borglum” PBS.org “The heartbreaking, controversial history of Mount Rushmore,” by Amy McKeever for National Geographic Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

    1h 30m
  8. “Hunting Hitler” Broke Norm (Finale)

    7 AUG

    “Hunting Hitler” Broke Norm (Finale)

    In the History Channel’s “Hunting Hitler,” a group of experts embark on a disingenuous investigation into what became of Adolf Hitler. They consult unreliable witnesses. They make something out of nothing. They cherry pick evidence, and occasionally, they outright lie. Throughout the show, they ignore the forensic evidence, eyewitness accounts, and thorough investigations that showed what we already know — that Adolf Hitler died in the effing bunker! “Hunting Hitler” might become Norm’s villain origin story. The show broke him. It transformed him. He is now… Evil Norm. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from:  Daly-Groves, Luke. Hitler’s Death: The Case against Conspiracy. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2019. Joachimsthaler, Anton, and Helmut Bögler. The Last Days of Hitler: The Legends, the Evidence, the Truth. London, New York: Arms and Armour Press ; Distributed in the USA by Sterling Pub. Co., 1996. “FBI Vault - Hitler Files,” n.d. https://vault.fbi.gov/adolf-hitler. “Musmanno Interrogation Collection,” n.d. https://digital.library.duq.edu/digital/collection/mussinter. Hunting Hitler. HISTORY, 2015. https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/200034727/s01-e01-the-hunt-begins. Villa Winter Cofete. “Villa Winter Cofete,” n.d. https://www.casawintercofete.com/en/. Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

    2h 3m

Ratings & Reviews

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About

History class just got hilariously inappropriate. Kristin Caruso, co-host of the true crime comedy podcast, Let’s Go To Court (14M+ downloads), and Norman Caruso, creator of the Gaming Historian YouTube channel (1M+ subscribers), team up to deliver a history podcast that is well researched, wide-ranging, and deeply silly. In other words, this is a podcast for intellectuals. Intellectuals who make fart jokes.

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