Episode 185: Typhoid Mary, Revisited

 

There are quite a few parallels between Mary Mallon’s story (a series of typhoid outbreaks) and our present-day pandemic, and so there are things we can learn from it.

But was Mary a villain?

Or simply a victim of circumstances?

This episode also serves as a little hint for the one we’re working on right now for next time!

TIME TRAVEL WITH THE HISTORY CHICKS

For photos, things we discuss, and our media recommendations click on over to Mary’s ORIGINAL SHOWNOTES.

 

Episode 182: Marjorie Merriweather Post, Part Two

Portrait of Marjorie that hangs in the Marjorie Merriweather Post parlor in the Women’s Democratic Club in Washington, DC. (If you donate enough money to refurbish and furnish a mansion, you get a room named after you.) photo credit, us

When we left Marjorie, she was on her second marriage, this one to E.F. Hutton, and they were moving and shaking up New York and Palm Beach society. Marjorie had “strongly suggested” that the Postum Company should buy a new frozen food company, owned by one Clarence Birdseye, despite most homes and grocery stores not having freezers– and she had begun work on a very unique home in Palm Beach she named Mar a Lago. (more…)

Episode 175: Maya Angelou, Part One

Dave Allocca LIFE Photo Collection 1994

This episode includes non-graphic descriptions of assaults, including one of a child. We give a heads-up in the body of the episode.

Maya Angelou was a writer, poet, memoirist, civil rights activist, entertainer, teacher, director, producer, mom, and friend but she was most masterful at sharing her life and wisdom with the most perfect collections of words. We use the bests one we can muster up to share her remarkable life story.

This is going to take us two three episodes.

(more…)

Episode 166: Pocahontas, Revisited


As we in the US celebrate our Thanksgiving this week, we thought that this was a perfect time to revisit Pocahontas, the real story not the Disneyfied one. All links to things we talked about can be found on the original shownotes from 2017, POCAHONTAS SHOWNOTES.

Break music: Courtesy of James Harper of Harper Active; End Music: Daughters of History by Morning Spy