746 episodes

Professor Buzzkill is an exciting podcast that explores history myths in an illuminating, entertaining, and humorous way.

Professor Buzzkill History Podcast Joe Coohill

    • History
    • 4.6 • 179 Ratings

Professor Buzzkill is an exciting podcast that explores history myths in an illuminating, entertaining, and humorous way.

    Irish America: Race and Politics

    Irish America: Race and Politics

    Professor Mary Burke destroys the myths and caricatures of Irish Americans as a monolithic cultural, racial, and political group. Figures from the Scots-Irish Andrew Jackson to the Caribbean-Irish Rihanna, as well as literature, film, caricature, and beauty discourse, convey how the Irish racially transformed multiple times: in the slave-holding Caribbean, on America's frontiers and antebellum plantations, and along its eastern seaboard. Her cultural history of race and centuries of Irishness in the Americas examines the forcibly transported Irish, the eighteenth-century Presbyterian Ulster-Scots, and post-1845 Famine immigrants. Episode 547.

    • 40 min
    Who Said "Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History"?

    Who Said "Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History"?

    Lots of people are credited with coining the great phrase, “well-behaved women rarely make history.” These include Marilyn Monroe, Gloria Steinem, Eleanor Roosevelt, Anne Boleyn, and many more. Given time, any powerful woman with self-respect, backbone, and verve will get credit for this phrase and sentiment. Listen and learn who said it first.

    • 4 min
    Green Book Sites: Local History and Architecture

    Green Book Sites: Local History and Architecture

    We've already learned about the importance of "The Negro Motorist Green Book" from our previous show. Here, historians Catherine Zipf and Susan Hellman discuss their project on the architecture of the sites found in the Green Book and what various efforts are being made to locate more Green Book sites and preserve them. Perhaps the best show we've ever done about local history! Episode 546.

    • 46 min
    Traveling While Black: The Green Book Guides to African-American Motoring - Encore!

    Traveling While Black: The Green Book Guides to African-American Motoring - Encore!

    20th-century automobile travel was supposed to represent freedom, but what else did it represent? Professor Cotten Seiler from Dickinson College joins us to discuss the difficulties and hazards of traveling in the United States faced by African-American motorists in the 20th Century, especially during the height of segregation and Jim Crow. Specifically, we learn how important guides like the Negro Motorist Green Book and the popular Travelguide: Vacation and Recreation Without Humiliation were to the reality of “traveling while black.” Encore Episode.

    • 39 min
    Henry Kissinger Part 2: Perpetual Power?

    Henry Kissinger Part 2: Perpetual Power?

    Professor Philip Nash joins us for Part 2 of our examination of the life and loves of Henry Kissinger, perhaps the most influential American foreign policy figure of the later Cold War. This episode discusses his time in power in the Nixon administration, his carefully crafted public image, and his continuing power after he left office. We puzzle over his continued influence and assess his responsibility for some of the worst crimes of the 20th century. Episode 546.

    • 1 hr 1 min
    Henry Kissinger Part 1: Meteoric Rise

    Henry Kissinger Part 1: Meteoric Rise

    Professor Philip Nash joins us for Part 1 of our examination of the life and loves of Henry Kissinger, perhaps the most influential American foreign policy figure of the later Cold War. We look at his origins, his education, his move into governing circles, and his meteoric rise to power in the 1970s. An amazing story that takes us from his escape from Nazi Germany, his World War II service, his education at Harvard, and his subsequent work in the early Nixon administration. Episode 545.

    • 49 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
179 Ratings

179 Ratings

Obi-norm ,

Brilliant Podcast

Absolutely brilliant podcast. Informative and entertaining.

joe coohill ,

Best History Show Out There

A welcome relief from the boring shows that just sound like they’re reading out a book. The Professor sometimes does shows on his own, sometimes interviews guests and experts. Nice diversity.

Minirw ,

My new favorite podcast

This podcast concisely delivers important information that is also interesting.

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