- EP 55: The Lincoln Conspiracy Pt. 2
In the thrilling conclusion of our deep dive into the Lincoln Assassination, we focus on the Manhunt for John W. Booth and the other conspirators and their historic trial. Apologies on some of the audio quality for the first couple of minutes and at the very end of of the episode; there were technical difficulties in during editing. Also content warning for description of severe medical wounds.
Shownotes:
- Episode art: Lincoln Borne by Loving Hands, oil painting by Carl Berch depicting his eyewitness view of the transporting of President Lincoln's body away from Ford's
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
- Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
- Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson
- Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
- https://fs.blog/lincolns-last-public-address/
- http://livinghistoryofillinois.com/pdf_files/Trial-of-the-Assassins-and-Conspirators-for-the-Murder-of-President-Abraham-Lincoln.pdf
- https://lincolnconspirators.com/the-trial/may-15-1865
- https://www.nps.gov/rich/learn/historyculture/the-trial-of-jefferson-davis-cancelled-february-15-1869.htm
- https://www.fjc.gov/history/exhibits/circuit-court-opinions/Case-of-Davis
- https://www.nps.gov/drto/learn/historyculture/fort-jefferson.htm
- https://drmudd.org/about-dr-mudd/
- Presidents Reagan and Carter's letters on the Dr. Mudd situation, on pages 48-60 of https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/2023-05/40-744-5752507-019-012-2023.pdf
2h 0m - Apr 25, 2026 - EP 54: The Lincoln Conspiracy Pt. 1
Welcome back to another episode of History Spelunkers! In today's episode is part one of our in depth discussion about the Lincoln Assassination, and the surrounding conspiracy leading up to the moment John Wilkes Booth pulled the trigger.
Shownotes:
- Episode art: Benn Pitman's print of the assassination conspirators, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Episode music special: "The Ballad of Booth" by Stephen Sondheim from the musical Assassins
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
- Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
- Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson
1h 55m - Apr 13, 2026 - EP 53: Mormon Sucession Crisis
In this episode we revisit the Mormons and discuss how their early history caused a series of schisms which led to the plethora of so-called "Mormon denominations". These include presidential debates, a King of Beaver Island, and massive governmental raids!
Shownotes:
- https://northernmichiganhistory.com/james-strangs-assassination/
- https://gtjournal.tadl.org/2015/the-murder-of-james-jesse-strang-ruler-of-the-mormon-colony-at-beaver-island-1856/
- Special Thanks to American Zion: A New History of Mormonism; Book by Benjamin Park
- Music is an excerpt from "All-American Prophet" from The Book Of Mormon (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (2011) written by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone.
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
- LDS Resource on Polygamy: https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/polygamy-latter-day-saints-and-the-practice-of-plural-marriage
- https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mormons-polygamy/
- https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/06/02/church-that-traces-back-joseph/
- https://kutv.com/news/local/process-begins-to-select-new-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-leadership
- https://youtu.be/W-jrlaqqw00?si=A7KOuIwPqfaSzyHc
- https://youtu.be/r1ssF7PV27c?si=M4ydSZ58UlYF6S-9
- https://youtu.be/Fiorzo4nOwg?si=I27tylzqrVYFuoGX
- https://youtu.be/FtkYSuRY8Jc?si=w1V3au6w0ZBPWEhN
- https://youtu.be/aaDm_m9yYRQ?si=6UKiZD8KfD2_idhR
1h 44m - Jan 20, 2026 - EP 52: Please Leave a Message After the Death
Happy Halloween! Do you believe in ghosts? Well you aren't alone a lot of people believe that those who have gone on before us occasionally come back to help us on our own journeys. The Victorians Era had a lot of people believing in it, probably because they had people who were able to directly communicate with them. So dive into today's episode to find out what the ghosts were saying.
Shownotes:
- Episode art is an engraving of the Fox Sisters, Margaretta and Catherine are on the left and center respectively, 1852, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
- "This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War" by Drew Gilpen Faust
- Audio clip is from Episode 102 of tv show Penny Dreadful created by John Logan
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
- https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2021/10/14/understanding-the-1920s-spiritualism-revival/
- https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/31/why-did-so-many-victorians-try-to-speak-with-the-dead
- https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/about-uc/what-we-do/uc-in-the-community/exhibitions-and-collections/southern-spirits/history-of-spiritualism
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0XMn095fd0&ab_channel=KazRowe
- https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/hayden-maria-b-ca-1852
- https://iapsop.com/spirithistory/spiritualists_petition_to_congress.html
- https://www.weirdhistorian.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-spirit-slate-writing-and-of-course-kindred-phenomena/
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61871
- https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/slate-writing
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/spirit-trumpets-dead-speak
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/ectoplasm-occultism
- https://www.britannica.com/science/ideomotor-effect
- https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/11950/pg11950-images.html
- Table Turning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrYamQTDagE
- Telegrams From the Dead (1994), PBS documentary available on Youtube via blackcentury, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk-lJJ3RdgI
1h 58m - Oct 30, 2025 - EP 51: The Animal Avengers
Hello one and all! History Spelunkers is back with even more of the niche history content you love. In today's episode we look at a class of animals who have gone above and beyond in serving alongside their humans on the fields of war. While we thank all military animals for their service we wanted to highlight some who's tales were just too incredible to believe were true.
Shownotes:
- Episode photo is Sgt. Stubby with his military medals. Public domain via Wikimedia commons
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
- https://www.history.com/articles/the-last-major-cavalry-charge-70-years-ago
- https://www.marines.mil/News/Marines-TV/videoid/296891/
- https://portal.ct.gov/MIL/MAPO/History/People/Stubby-the-Military-Dog
- https://sleeplessmusingsofawellgroomedmoustachedman.wordpress.com/2013/07/31/kurt-the-wonder-doberman-one-of-many-canine-heroes/
- https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/2009/08/15/heroic-warrior-canines-name-put-on-memorial
- https://uswardogsheritagemuseum.org/a-dog-called-chips/
- https://lenatoritch.com/project/chips-the-war-dog/
- https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/zz0002qbjp
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/7072669.stm
- https://pigeons-of-war.com/2022/10/26/pigeon-heroes-of-the-great-war-spike/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20131106012209/http://www.history.army.mil/news/2013/131025a_pigeon.html
- https://www.marines.mil/News/Marines-TV/videoid/651326/dvpTag/Animation/
- https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2022/11/23/the-marine-who-was-a-duck-yes-an-actual-duck/
- https://time.com/archive/6782570/marines-good-old-siwash/
- https://time.com/4731787/wojtek-the-bear-history/
- https://www.britannica.com/animal/Wojtek-the-Bear
1h 31m - Oct 18, 2025 - EP 50: A History of Football(s)
How many balls could a football foot, if a football could foot balls?
In today's episode, (our 50th WOW!!) worlds collide as the jocks and the nerds meld minds and the History Spelunkers becomes a sports podcast. Some of the issues we tackle in our conversation are as follows: How old are different sports? Does it makes sense for the United States to have their own football? Is soccer the better name? Can Kelvin pronounce indigenous names? Dive down the Rabbit hole to find out!!
SHOWNOTES:
- Episode art is a sketch of a Calcio Storico game from the 1600s, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
- https://darwinshistoryofsoccer.weebly.com/history.html
- https://web.archive.org/web/20121225025856/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/the-game/origins.html
- Highest Scoring College Game: https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2024-09-14/georgia-tech-222-cumberland-college-0-history-weird-facts
- Highest Scoring College Game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doZzrsDJo-4&ab_channel=JonBois
- Aussie Rules: https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/australian-rules-football
- First College Football Game: https://scarletknights.com/sports/2022/7/25/sports-m-footbl-archive-first-game-html.aspx
- Medival Football -- Calcio Storico: https://italysegreta.com/calcio-storico/
- Italian Fascist Football -- Volata: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie7y2DSkfW0&ab_channel=ArchivioLuceCinecitt%C3%A0
- Harpastrum: https://www.topendsports.com/sport/extinct/harpastum.htm
- Episkyros: https://www.britannica.com/sports/ball-sports#ref265840
- Eton Wall Game: https://www.etoncollege.com/news-and-diary/school-news/a-most-eton-sport-the-wall-game/
- Gaelic Football: https://www.gaa.ie/my-gaa/getting-involved/football-history-and-evolution
- Rugby: https://www.britannica.com/sports/rugby
- Modern Mob football: https://apnews.com/article/royal-shrovetide-ashbourne-ancient-soccer-murder-880658c923b33288df42af109d25e458
- Austus fusion sport: https://www.topendsports.com/sport/extinct/austus.htm
1h 46m - Mar 12, 2025 - EP 49: To Beard Or Not To Beard
That is the question every man through time has faced. In today's episode we will delve into the social, political, and economic pressures that have influenced whether or not men as a class favor hair on their face throughout history.
Shownotes
- Episode Photo is of President Rutherford Hayes, POTUS with the longest beard, public domain accessed via Wikimedia Commons
- Sound clip is from an interview of the Duck Dynasty cast on Jimmy Kimmel Live show, from youtube
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-had-best-civil-war-facial-hair-180951965/
- https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30037914
- https://daily.jstor.org/hair-gender-and-social-status-in-ancient-egypt/
- https://uk.bulldogskincare.com/blogs/news/when-in-rome-the-ancient-history-of-traditional-shaving#:~:text=Beards%20among%20Romans%20was%20revived,out%20of%20fashion%20ever%20since.
- https://www.grunge.com/790046/why-ancient-egyptians-shaved-all-their-hair/
- https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30037914
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/3829878
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9555278/
- https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/a-brief-history-of-beards/
- https://www.truefittandhill.com/blogs/journal/history-of-beards-and-facial-hair
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/beards-mustaches-weird-history
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/stubble-and-statecraft-how-beards-grew-political
- https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/1/28/21077676/beard-change-politics-beto-orourke-al-gore-david-letterman-conan-obrien
- https://www.politico.com/magazine/gallery/2015/12/politicians-with-beards-000559/?slide=0
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_hair_in_the_military
- https://www.wou.edu/history/files/2015/08/Walsh-Devan.pdf
- https://www.indianamuseum.org/blog-post/whiskers-for-votes-or-why-abraham-lincoln-grew-a-beard/
- https://medium.com/@evgeny_o/why-the-greeks-grew-a-beard-while-the-romans-did-not-5d52a91c989#:~:text=The%20Romans%20believed%20that%20a,age%20solemnly%20shaved%20it%20off.
- https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Barba.html
1h 40m - Jan 20, 2025 - EP 48: For the Love of Eggnog
Happy Holidays, History Spelunkers! What would you do to get your booze on? Well the cadets at the prestigious United States Military Academy at West Point are apparently willing to do a lot...
Shownotes:
- Episode art: The centennial of the United States Military academy at West Point, New York. 1802-1902, 1904, Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/egg-nog-its-all-fun-and-games-until-someone-starts-a-holiday-riot-180949281/
- https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/university-of-virginia-riot-of-1836/
31m - Dec 24, 2024 - Ep 47: Reliving the Glory Days of History Spelunkers University
Everyone gets up to some crazy stuff in college. For many it is the first time they are experiencing their first bouts of freedom and responsibility. Obviously the first thing we plan on doing with these new powers is to do something .... bizarre, but hey it cant be too weird if we are all doing it .... Right?
Content Warning: Animal Abuse
Shownotes:
- https://www.stltoday.com/news/archives/1952-mizzous-panty-raids-get-out-of-hand-the-national-guard-is-called-in/collection_47206b6e-f118-582c-b94f-411669d47431.html
- https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/12/1/panty-raids-retrospection/
- https://jimnicar.com/2014/11/24/the-great-panty-raid-of-november-1961/
- https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/1939-year-goldfish-gulping
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/great-goldfish-swallowing-craze-1939-180954429/
- https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/01/netherlands-catfish-swallowing/581359/
- https://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/digital/collection/ajc/id/7252/
- https://www.chattanoogan.com/2014/4/7/273658/The-Memorable-Streaking-Craze-Of-The.aspx
- https://www.americanheritage.com/streaking-fad
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gallaudet-rat-graves
- https://thedailytexan.com/2020/02/10/one-special-fish-named-loompa-brings-ut-austin-community-together/
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
- Episode Art: Photo of a successful Panty Raid at the University of Southern California accessed at the UT History Corner, link https://jimnicar.com/2014/11/24/the-great-panty-raid-of-november-1961/
54m - Dec 16, 2024 - EP 46: The Rise and Fall of the Invisible Empire
Content Warning: Racial and Sexual Violence
Welcome back to another episode of History Spelunkers. In this episode we learn about the Ku Klux Klan and how they managed to become such a large and influential organization during the 1920s. It is important to know one's enemy in order to fight against them effectively.
Shownotes:
- Episode Art is a photo of a KKK march in Washington D.C. in 1928, public domain, accessed via Wikimedia commons
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
- https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/ku-klux-klan
- https://www.tpr.org/show/texas-matters/2017-03-17/texas-matters-how-the-kkk-took-control-of-texas-and-how-dan-moody-broke-them
- https://www.austincc.edu/jlw/klan
- https://billofrightsinstitute.org/essays/the-ku-klux-klan-in-the-1920s
- https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/vocesnovae/vol11/iss1/2/
- https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/second-klan/509468/
- https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/lily-white-movement
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/2197800
- https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-kkk/
- https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/ku-klux-klan-in-the-reconstruction-era/
- https://lynchinginamerica.eji.org/explore
- https://plaintalkhistory.com/monroeandflorencework/context/lynching.html
- https://www.tuskegee.edu/news/tuskegee-university-hosts-lynchings-and-liberators-exhibition-throughout-february#:~:text=Tuskegee%20University%20now%20houses%20the,African%20Americans%20and%201%2C297%20whites.
- https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/packets/1
- https://wacohistory.org/items/show/200
- https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc279068/m2/1/high_res_d/1002659471-morris.pdf
- https://baylor-ir.tdl.org/bitstream/handle/2104/5376/richard_fair_thesis.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
- https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/archive/html/exec/governors/12.html
- https://vtuhr.org/articles/10.21061/vtuhr.v11i1.145
- https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-birth-of-a-nation#:~:text=Pressure%20from%20black%20voters%20causes,ban%20screenings%20of%20the%20film.&text=An%20African%20American%20newspaper%20in%20Denver%20argues%20against%20film%20coming%20to%20town.&text=Group%20of%20ministers%20in%20Iowa%20passes%20resolution%20denouncing%20film.&text=Birth%20of%20a%20Nation%20banned%20in%20Ohio.
- https://egrove.olemiss.edu/womenkkk/
- https://19thnews.org/2020/12/first-came-suffrage-then-came-the-women-of-the-ku-klux-klan/
- https://labs.library.vcu.edu/klan/learn
1h 24m - Nov 22, 2024 - EP 45: Reasonable and Christian Thoughts on the Origin of the Vampires
Happy Halloween! Welcome back to another spooky episode of History Spelunkers in which we discuss the stories that led us to the modern perception of the most infamous of blood sucking beasties.... the vampire!!!
Shownotes:
- Episode art is a scene from the 1922 film Nosferatu.
- The Vampyre: A Tale by John Polidori; accessible via Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/6087/6087-h/6087-h.htm
- Dracula by Bram Stokerl accessible via Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/345/345-h/345-h.htm
- Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu; accessible via Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10007/10007-h/10007-h.htm
- Varney the Vampire by James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest, accessible via the Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/VarneyTheVampyre/page/n1/mode/1up
- Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants of Hungary, Moravia, et al. by Antoine Augustin Calmet; accessible via Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/29412/29412-h/29412-h.htm
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grave-mercy-brown
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-englands-mystery-vampire-was-likely-farmer-named-john-180972815/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=teFCP69trOI&ab_channel=CaitlinDoughty
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EQ_axr1y7Y&ab_channel=KazRowe
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF9FIPSLMeM&ab_channel=ESOTERICA
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS-KMoEjXBQ&t=509s&ab_channel=Let%27sTalkReligion
- Portrait of Vladislav Dracula, Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vlad_Tepes_002.jpg
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
2h 14m - Oct 30, 2024 - EP 44: Can I Pick None of the Above?
Hello all, and happy Election Season! 2024 is shapeing up to be one of the most dramatic and consequential year for national elections around the world. In the US many voters have expressed a desire for more options than the two main political parties, and they might be told that "this is how its always been". In this episode, we work to undo that myth and examine the long history of "third parties" in this country and hear about the most successful.
Shownotes:
- Episode Art: 1912 Progressive Party Campaign Button; Anonymous/Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/parliamentaryauthority/revolution/overview/whigstories/
- Political Platforms: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/app-categories/elections-and-transitions/party-platforms
- https://news.gallup.com/poll/651278/support-third-political-party-dips.aspx
- https://www.state.gov/briefings-foreign-press-centers/elections-2024/third-parties-in-elections
- Former and Current Third Party Legislators:
- https://www.senate.gov/senators/SenatorsRepresentingThirdorMinorParties.htm
- https://history.house.gov/Institution/Party-Divisions/Party-Divisions/
- https://ballotpedia.org/Current_independent_and_minor_party_federal_and_state_officeholders
- Political Platforms for Minor Parties:
- https://www.lp.org/platform/
- https://www.gp.org/platform
- https://constitutionparty.com/principles/platform/
- https://www.prohibitionparty.org/platform
- https://www.solidarity-party.org/platform
- https://pslweb.org/program/
- Wizard of Oz Analysis: https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/populism-and-world-oz
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
- https://www.archives.gov/files/legislative/resources/ebooks/two-party-system.pdf
- https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/full-text
- John C. Calhoun Picture: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/John_C_Calhoun_by_Mathew_Brady%2C_1849.jpg
1h 49m - Oct 9, 2024 - EP 43: Lets Make It Rain!!
Are you a fan of a nice summer day? How about a cool fall wind? Do you like the look of a light snowfall in your yard? What if you could have whatever you wanted at a moments notice and all you had to do was call your local government? Well what if I told you that thanks to your tax dollars, you just might be able to get a permit for that.....
Shownotes:
- https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-donald-trump-suggest-nuking-hurricanes-1535171
- https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title15/chapter9A&edition=prelim#:~:text=No%20person%20may%20engage%2C%20or,Secretary%20may%20by%20rule%20prescribe.
- https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/weather/
- https://archive.org/details/Galaxy_v19n03_1961-02/page/n36/mode/1up?view=theater
- https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/weather-modification
- https://orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/nuclear-weapons/hiroshima/black-rain.html
- https://www.science.org/content/article/can-nuclear-fallout-make-it-rain
- https://web.archive.org/web/20150828101449/http://www.knmi.nl/publications/fulltexts/hailcannons2_preprint.pdf
- http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/hailcan/hailcan.htm
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-us-government-tried-make-rain-exploding-dynamite-sky-180970193/
- https://grist.org/politics/believe-it-or-not-trump-isnt-the-first-to-propose-nuking-hurricanes/
- https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/10/17218872/nasa-rocket-engine-test-stennis-space-center-cloud-generation
- https://www.nytimes.com/video/arts/television/1247465789178/excerpt-conspiracy-theory.html
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXuc7SAyk2s&ab_channel=FOX10Phoenix
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl2JnXjwWBM&ab_channel=WFAA
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
- Episode art is a sketch of the 1901 International Hail Cannon Congress; Plumandon, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
57m - Sep 25, 2024 - EP 42: Everything is Better with Pirates
In the Americas the United States is considered the first experiment at non-monarchical rule and democracy. But what if I told you that there might be a group that might've tested the sails of democracy on the high seas?
Show Notes:
- Episode art is a photo of one of the few Jolly Roger flags that we know existed. The photo belongs to Karlsson, Anneli, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
- Recommend reading: The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodard; https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/442239.The_Republic_of_Pirates
- Text of A General History of the Pyrates by Capt. Charles Johnson https://www.gutenberg.org/files/40580/40580-h/40580-h.htm
- Pirates of the Caribbean clip audio clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSPBKt-x2Cw (OG belongs to Disney)
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
1h 50m - Sep 7, 2024 - EP 41: To Be Or Not To Be … In Ohio?
With there being so many states, it understandable that sometimes it would be confusing to know which one you are in. But it gets more confusing when people begin arguing over which state you should be in and are willing to stab you if you disagree with them.
Shownotes:
- Episode art is a map of Ellis Island from the NPS that shows the approximate boundary of the original island
- https://www.michigan.gov/dmva/about/history/military-events/highlights/the-toledo-war
- https://www.heritage.org/immigration/heritage-explains/the-toledo-war
- https://ohiomemory.ohiohistory.org/archives/4196
- https://newengland.com/today/living/new-england-history/vermontflag/
- https://www.statueofliberty.org/ellis-island/overview-history/
- https://www.nps.gov/elis/faqs.htm
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
1h 7m - Jul 29, 2024 - EP 40: A Constellation of Lone Stars
Hey yall! This is part two of the Texas Revolution deep dive and in this one we focus on the sister republic of Texas down in Yucatan. Texas might not be as unique in its independence than we like to think...
Shownotes:
- https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2020/03/the-republic-of-yucatan/
- https://militaryhistorynow.com/2022/04/28/the-yucatan-republic-how-a-mayan-independence-movement-became-a-sideshow-of-the-mexican-american-war/
- Episode art is an 1848 map of Yucatan by Augustus Le Plongeon
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
53m - May 18, 2024 - EP 39: You Can Blame Texas on Napoleon
Howdy y'all and welcome back to History Spelunkers. In this episode we discuss the Texas Revolution and all of the convoluted history that led up to it. In this episode yes we do remember the Alamo, it just takes us about a while to get to that point.
Shownotes:
- Episode art is The Fall of the Alamo by Robert Onderdonk;Public Domain via Wiki Commons
- https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/texas-revolution
- https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/santa-anna-antonio-lopez-de
- https://libraries.uta.edu/usmexicowar/node/4883
- https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/revolutionary-army
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
1h 19m - May 18, 2024 - EP 38: POTUS- "Pets of the United States"
Almost everyone loves animals. Join us as we go through the list of the famous pets of the POTUS. Now including a surprising number of alligators!
Shownotes:
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
- Episode Photo is of First Lady Grace Coolidge and her racoon Rebecca; in the public domain through the Library of Congress and Wikimedia Commons
- https://www.forbes.com/advisor/pet-insurance/pet-ownership-statistics/#:~:text=Dogs%20are%20the%20most%20popular,and%20baby%20boomers%20(24%25).
- https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/sheep/
- https://www.lancasterhistory.org/all-the-presidents-pets/
- https://www.whitehousehistory.org/presidents-as-horsemen
- https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/alligators-white-house-pets/
- https://ethiopianism411.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/americas-first-presidential-hyena/
- https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/laddie-boy-harding-dog-collar/iQF5o_cxt0aaiA?hl=en
- https://coolidgefoundation.org/resources/the-coolidge-pets/
- https://americacomesalive.com/the-truman-dogs/
- https://www.nps.gov/thri/learn/kidsyouth/teddybearhistory.htm
1h 28m - Apr 3, 2024 - EP 37: Aloha America! Why are you here?
Aloha everyone! In this episode we travel to the beautiful paradise in the middle of the Pacific know as the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii is one of the few states in these United States that can have the privilege of being their own independent nation. So today's question: why are these islands no longer independent?
Shownotes:
- Episode photo is of the US Sailors and Marines from the USS Boston during the 1893 coup which deposed the monarch.
- Good books on the subject:
- How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr
- A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
- Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen by Queen Lili'uokalani
- The Morgan Report: https://books.google.com/books?id=tBkiAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA363#v=onepage&q&f=false
- The Blount Report: https://libweb.hawaii.edu/digicoll/annexation/blount.php
- https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/raising-the-united-states-flag/
- https://bulletin.punahou.edu/ending-the-kapu/
- https://talesofhawaii.net/2020/10/20/kapu-system-of-traditional-hawaiian-religious-practice/
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Hawaii
- chrome-extension://bdfcnmeidppjeaggnmidamkiddifkdib/viewer.html?file=https://files.hawaii.gov/dcca/reb/real_ed/re_ed/ce_prelic/land_in_hawaii.pdf
- https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/captain-cook-killed-in-hawaii
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
1h 21m - Feb 14, 2024 - EP 36: The Tragedy of the Essex
Welcome back to the continuation of our tragic tale of one of the most infamous events to ever occur on the high seas: The wreck of the whaleship Essex. Once we finish learning about the fates of these poor souls we go on to examine a variety of related stories.
CW: death, murder, and cannibalism... a lot of cannibalism
- Cover art is a sketch by Thomas Nickerson of the whaleship Essex compared to the whale which sank it; public domain access via Wikimedia commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Essex_photo_03_b.jpg
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/cannibalism-human-behaviour
- https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2000/05/essex-200005
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Essex-whaling-ship
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_Dudley_and_Stephens#Cultural_impact
- https://www.google.com/books/edition/Arthur_Gordon_Pym/GvhDAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
- https://www.google.com/books/edition/Moby_Dick/XV8XAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
- https://iwc.int/en/
46m - Jan 30, 2024
