Feel Familiar? Emotionally Intelligent History

Andrew L. Erdman
  • 5.0 (2)
  • HISTORY

"Feel Familiar? Emotionally Intelligent History" explores important but sometimes overlooked events from the past to gain a clearer understanding of the present day. It connects broad, macro-level developments in politics and society to relatable, individual feelings and thoughts.

Episodes

  1. 11/14/2025

    The Day(s) After: Finger-Pointing, the Blame Game, and the Official Story

    The day after what was already being called "The Massacre Place" riots, people in New York City were mad as hell and nervous as hell. City elites and authorities convened juries and extracted verdicts with lightning speed. It seemed like civil war would break out in Manhattan. All this, plus: Mary does some great imitations, while Andy does a cringe-tastic take on Butt-Head. Join us as we do the aftermath of the deadly Astor Place Theatre Riot of 1849. To sign up for Andrew L. Erdman's newsletter, nERDism, click here. For a list of sources click here. Theme Music: Kelly Dwyer. Logo Design: Mary Birdsong. Producer/Editor: Joshua Dudley.

    47 min

  2. 11/07/2025

    "Fire Low."

    Talked into continuing his run of the Scottish Play by kid-gloved New Yorkers, William Charles Macready and his fellow thespians manage a remarkable rendering of Shakespeare—sometimes in mime—as rowdies loyal to Ned Forrest try to shut the whole damn thing down. Things get ugly. Then they get uglier. Then the army decides it's time to enter the fray. When has this ever worked out well? To sign up for Andrew L. Erdman's newsletter, nERDism, click here. For a list of sources click here. Theme Music: Kelly Dwyer. Logo Design: Mary Birdsong. Producer/Editor: Joshua Dudley.

    31 min

  3. 10/31/2025

    Macready Wonders: Should I Stay or Should I Go?!

    British actor William Charles Macready inks a deal to do Macbeth at the Astor Place Opera House. It gets off to a rocky, smelly start. He's not sure what to do. Meanwhile, a buncha Bowery B'Hoys try to lay their mitts on some muskets, while Washington Irving undertakes verily to crush "the mob." And gee, book titles were so very loooooooooooong back then. To sign up for Andrew L. Erdman's newsletter, nERDism, click here. For a list of sources click here.  Theme Music: Kelly Dwyer. Logo Design: Mary Birdsong. Producer/Editor: Joshua Dudley.

    50 min

  4. 10/24/2025

    Ned Forrest Gets His Grudge On

    Edwin "Ned" Forrest came from humble beginnings to become a megastar of the American stage by the 1820s. Heroic, demonstrative, and patriotic, he is the darling of Bowery B'hoys' subculture. Over time, Forrest grows to resent William Charles Macready, a British actor who rises to eminence for a naturalistic style. New York's wealthier classes love Macready. Forrest imagines the Brit is conspiring against him. Charges are made! Hisses are hissed! Sheep carcasses are thrown!  To sign up for Andrew L. Erdman's newsletter, nERDism, click here. For a list of sources click here.  Theme Music: Kelly Dwyer. Logo Design: Mary Birdsong. Producer/Editor: Joshua Dudley.

    41 min

  5. SEASON 1 TRAILER

    Season One: Trailer

    "Feel Familiar? Emotionally Intelligent History" explores crucial, though sometimes overlooked, people and events from the past to gain a better understanding of current events. It links macro-level developments in politics and society to relatable, individual feelings and thoughts. Season One focuses on the Astor Place Theatre Riot of 1849 in which two groups—those supporting "patriotic" American-born actor Edwin Forrest and fans of British stage legend William Charles Macready, respectively—came to blows in an early "culture war." Things turned violent when the army opened fire on a crowd outside the Astor Place Opera House in lower Manhattan, killing dozens, mostly innocent bystanders. It was rightly labeled as a massacre and a crucial moment in American history. The show's host and creator, Andrew L. Erdman, is an historian and psychotherapist. To help him unpack this disturbing and curiously foreshadowing event is actor-comedian Mary Birdsong ("Reno 911," "Succession.) To sign up for Andrew L. Erdman's newsletter, nERDism, click here.  Theme Music: Kelly Dwyer. Logo Design: Mary Birdsong. Producer/Editor: Joshua Dudley.

    2 min

  6. 10/14/2025

    New York, 1849: The “Upper Ten” & The Bowery B’hoys

    New York City in the 1840s is a vital, bustling, and deeply divided place. Cultural and political beliefs related to race, gender, and class animate different groups to hate certain celebrities and worship others. The nativist Bowery B'hoys love an actor named Edwin "Ned" Forrest, while the kid-gloved "Upper Ten" worship British tragedian William Charles Macready. Neither group is as noble as it would like to believe it is: both are racist, reactive, and possessed of strong, if divergent, notions of proper "manhood." Young men among the Bowery B'hoys are getting agitated about what they claim is an insult to their identity: New York's wealthy classes supporting a tour of William Macready as Macbeth at the fancy Astor Place Opera House.  To sign up for Andrew L. Erdman's newsletter, nERDism, click here. Full List of Sources   Theme Music: Kelly Dwyer. Logo Design: Mary Birdsong. Producer/Editor: Joshua Dudley.

    33 min

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

"Feel Familiar? Emotionally Intelligent History" explores important but sometimes overlooked events from the past to gain a clearer understanding of the present day. It connects broad, macro-level developments in politics and society to relatable, individual feelings and thoughts.

Information