73 episodes
UnTextbooked | A history podcast for the future The History Co:Lab and Pod People
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- History
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4.5 • 76 Ratings
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UnTextbooked is brought to you by teen change-makers who are looking for answers to big questions. Have you ever wondered if protests really can save lives, why assimilation required Native American kids to attend boarding schools, how Black-led organizations for mutual aid began, how the fear of communism led the United States to plan the overthrows of many leaders in Latin America, or why Brazilian cars run on sugar? Or maybe you've questioned when Asian Americans will stop being seen as "perpetual foreigners," how African heritage influences Black activism, or what resilience looks like for Iranian women?
Your textbooks probably didn't teach you how American Jews were an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement, if history’s greatest leaders were generalists or specialists, how a Black teenager and his young lawyer changed America’s criminal justice system, or if either the US or the USSR won the Cold War. Did you know some of the forgotten BIPOC women of history were spying in aid of the French Resistance, that there's more to being a leader than going down with your battleship, or that there is a long history of gender expression in Native American cultures that goes beyond the male/female binary? Listen in as we interview famous authors and historians who have the answers.
Context is the key to understanding topics like British imperialism, segregation, racism, criminal justice, identifying as non-binary and so much more. These intergenerational conversations bring the full power of history to you with the depth and vividness that most textbooks lack. Real history, to help you find answers to your big questions. UnTextbooked makes history unboring forever.
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Bonus Episode: How Does a Chicana Activist Find Her Place in History?
In honor of Women’s History Month, we are sharing a special bonus episode featuring Chicana activist and artist Irma Lerma Barbosa. Her legacy will be preserved for years to come in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Collections.
Irma attended college at a time when the Chicano movement was just gaining momentum – and she jumped right into fighting for her community. Picture this – a legacy that includes being welcomed into Cesar Chavez's family home through her time in the United Farm Workers Movement, leadership with the Brown Berets, spearheading a free breakfast program to help her community, and eventually founding her own woman-led arts collective.
Listen to our first episode with Irma Lerma Barbosa and Smithsonian Curator Veronica Mendez here.
Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.
Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.
Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.
Show Notes:
(00:00) - Introduction to Irma Lerma Barbosa, Chicano Movement, and Royal Chicano Air Force
(3:42) - Being a Woman in Male-dominated Spaces
(5:45) - Irma’s Place in History
(7:04) - RCAF Women’s Mural named “Women Hold Up Half the Sky”
(9:18) - Art as a Tool for Activism
(10:47) - Co-Madres Artistas
(13:30) - Standing Up Against Sexual Harassment
(15:13) - Feeling Freedom with Art
(15:58) - Closing Thoughts -
Encore: History fails when it ignores the BIPOC women who made it
In honor of Black History Month, Untextbooked is sharing a favorite episode from our archive.
Women of color have been at the forefront of many movements, yet are often neglected, demonized, or ignored. Your history class probably didn’t teach you about Josephine Baker, who was not only a famous Black dancer and entertainer, but also a spy aiding in the French Resistance. You likely didn’t learn about Claudette Colvin either. She was the Black, pregnant fifteen year old whose civil disobedience kicked off the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We live in a world of whitewashed feminism, so there’s a lot to unlearn before our social movements are truly inclusive.
Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists by Mikki Kendall shares the stories of notable women of color whose stories have been left behind.
Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.
Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.
Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms. -
Encore: How did Black Americans forge a cultural identity?
In honor of Black History Month, UnTextbooked is sharing a favorite episode from our archive.
UnTextbooked producer Sydne Clarke thinks that African American history is often oversimplified or overlooked. Often that history is taught as things that happened to African Americans. We don’t often hear about the ways in which African Americans fought for and took care of themselves.
Dr. Leslie Alexander studies Black resistance movements, particularly in America. In her research Dr. Alexander has discovered communities and people who were vital to Black activism, but are often forgotten in re-telling African American history.
On this episode of UnTextbooked, Sydne interviews Dr. Alexander about her book African or American? Black Identity and Political Activism in New York City, 1784-1861. They talk about the creation of Black-led organizations for mutual aid, and about how African heritage influenced Black activism then and now.
Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.
Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.
Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms. -
What Can Anonymous & Hacker Collectives Teach Us About Internet Activism?
In 2008, Anonymous posted a video declaring war against Scientology. Some people flocked to join the hacker collective while corporations started re-evaluating their security protocols. This week on Untextbooked, producer Caroline Somers dives into the history of the hacker collective and asks what can we learn about internet activism.
Gabriella Coleman is the author of “Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous”. She is a full professor in the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University. She is the founder and editor of Hack_Curio, a video portal into the cultures of hacking. In 2022, she hosted the BBC4 radio and podcast series, The Hackers.
Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.
Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.
Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.
Show Notes:
(00:00) - Anonymous’s First Video
(1:42) - Introduction to Anthropologist Gabriella Coleman
(3:18) - The Origins of Anonymous
(4:25) - How did Anonymous Organize Hacks?
(7:39) - Why did People Get Involved with Anonymous?
(9:11) - Pseudonymous Names & Illegal Activity
(12:02) - Trolling Culture & Chat Logs
(14:56) - Anonymous Hacks & Leaks
(19:35) - Phineas Fisher and Guayacama
(21:59) - Reflections & Takeaways -
What’s the Complicated Legacy of Betty Friedan?
In 1963, Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique was a galvanizing force for the Feminist movement. Now, nearly six decades later, feminist discourse has gone through several evolutions, Betty Friedan is no longer a household name, and her radical ideas don’t sound so radical anymore. This week, Producer Gavin Scott sits down with Rachel Shteir, author of “Betty Friedan: Magnificent Disrupter”, to talk about the legacy and controversy around Betty Friedan, including how she coined the term ‘Lavender Menace.’
Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.
Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.
Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.
Show Notes:
(00:00) - Who is Betty Friedan?
(1:35) - Why did the Feminine Mystique resonate?
(4:51) - Critiques of the Feminine Mystique
(6:25) - Creating the National Organization of Women (NOW)
(7:26) - Betty Friedan’s Early Life
(9:12) - Betty Friedan’s Perspective on Women’s Rights
(10:45) - The “Lavender Menace”
(12:18) - Marriage and Domestic Abuse
(15:25) - Legacy & Impact
(16:45) - Gavin’s closing thoughts -
How does Disneyland Reflect the American Dream?
What does it mean to belong in the American imagination? That’s one question we explore on this week’s episode of UnTextbooked. In another installment of “UnTextbooking the Museum Collections”, we dive into the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History exhibit named “Mirror Mirror: Disney theme parks and American stories”. Producer Victor Ye speaks with original Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr about working with Walt Disney, designing original Disney rides, and queer identity. Smithsonian Curator Bethanee Bemis shares how Walt Disneyland is a microcosm of the American dream.
Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.
Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.
Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.
Show Notes:
(00:00) - Mirror, Mirror: Disney Theme Parks and American Stories
(4:29) - Bob Gurr, Original Disney Imagineer
(9:29) - Bob Gurr on Designing the Monorail
(14:44) - Bethanee Bemis on Disneyland and American Values
(18:25) - Splash Mountain & Song of the South
(21:07) - “Gay Days” at Disney Parks
(25:33) - Being Gay as an Early Disney Employee
(27:00) - Bob Gurr on the Disney Omnibus for Pride
(31:17) - Iconic Disney Ears
(34:34) - Reflections & Legacy
Customer Reviews
Black Panthers
The Black Panthers episode was phenomenal. There is so much misinformation about what the Panthers were about. It was great to hear from a former Panther. Excellent interview, well produced.
Unique Approach
Love this fresh and unique approach to history produced by our next generation of podcasters.
Powerful history lessons for any age!
You sure will learn about things not taught to you in your history classes. These student producers do such a thorough job of interviewing experts. The production and development of the series just keeps getting better. This is our future y’all and it gives me hope.