History Fix
In each episode of History Fix, I discuss lesser known stories from history that you won't be able to stop thinking about. Need your history fix? You've come to the right place.
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Episodes
92 episodes
Ep. 83 Historical Hauntings: How Characters Throughout History Have Reappeared From the Afterlife
This week, I'll examine several cases of historical hauntings. These are ghost stories where you actually get to find out the single most important question... who was that? We'll go all the way back to ancient Babylon, cruise through ancient G...
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Episode 83
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43:34
Ep. 82 Mary Shelley: How the Mind Behind Frankenstein Pushed All the Boundaries
Mary Shelley was just 18 years old when the idea for Frankenstein struck her on a rainy night in Geneva, Switzerland. Cooped up on vacation with nonstop rain, famous poet Lord Byron had challenged the group of literary geniuses to come up with ...
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Episode 82
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44:31
Ep. 81 Columbus Part 2: How a Villain Was Twisted Into America's Greatest Hero
This is part 2 of last week's episode on Christopher Columbus. This week, you'll learn about Columbus' disastrous third voyage to the Americas when he finally pays the price for governing like a power hungry tyrant. And yet consequences, of cou...
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Episode 81
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26:37
Ep. 80 Columbus Part 1: How a Villain Was Twisted Into America's Greatest Hero
Few humans in history have sent out more shockwaves than Christopher Columbus. His four voyages to the Americas changed our whole existence, culturally, spiritually, ethnically, economically, politically, geographically, morally possibly more t...
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Episode 80
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34:59
Ep. 79 Lucrezia Borgia: How History May Have Cast This Infamous Daughter All Wrong
Before Henry VIII, before Louis XVI, there was a dynasty in Italy so corrupt, so scandalous, gluttonous, hedonistic, that the others don’t even compare. But this was not a royal family. These were not kings, they were popes, cardinals, bishops....
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Episode 79
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37:28
Ep. 78 Childbirth: How a Deadly Ordeal Got Deadlier Before It Got Safer
The bloody history of childbirth is riddled with death and despair. It's a burden that was carried almost entirely by women, behind closed doors, something men took no part in. And, because of that, we know very little about it today. What we d...
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Episode 78
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40:44
Ep. 77 Triangle Factory Fire: How a Horrific Tragedy Sparked a Movement to Save Workers Lives
On March 25th, 1911, a fire erupted on the 8th floor of the Asch building in New York City. The 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of this building housed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory which employed around 500 people, mostly young immigrant women, to...
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Episode 77
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42:48
Ep. 76 Michael Rockefeller: How a Famous Son's Mysterious Disappearance May Not Be Such a Mystery After All
Michael Rockefeller was the great grandson of John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil and the richest man in the world. He was also the son of Nelson Rockefeller, New York governor, Vice President of the United States, and a well known...
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Episode 76
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42:13
Ep. 75 Jockey's Ridge: How a Fearless Mother Stood Down a Bulldozer to Save a Natural Wonder For All the People
Perched between the ocean and the sound in Nags Head, completely dominating the narrow sliver of land that makes up part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is a monumental sand dune, a mountain of lush golden sand. This dune system, known as Jock...
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Episode 75
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45:25
Ep. 74 Polio: Why a Disease Existing Since Ancient Times Took Millennia to Become a Problem
Polio has been around since ancient times but it was a very quiet disease for most of history, affecting few people and raising little alarm. It wasn’t until the 20th century that polio began to appear among the masses, terrifying epidemics, a ...
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Episode 74
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41:12
Ep. 73 Theodosia Burr: How a Famous Daughter's Disappearance Remains a Mystery
Check out Outer Lore! In January of 1812 a schooner named The Patriot disappeared off the coast of North Carolina's Outer Banks. This dangerous stretch of coastline has claimed som...
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Episode 73
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37:15
Ep. 72 Khmer Rouge: How a Violent Government Murdered 1/4 of Cambodia's Population
In 1975, the Khmer Rouge stormed into Cambodia's capital city of Phnom Penh victorious after 5 years of civil war. The people rejoiced. They thought the victors were there to liberate them, to restore peace and order after years of fighting. Th...
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Episode 72
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45:19
Ep. 71 Aqua Tofana: How A Ring of Female Serial Killers Liberated Italian Women
This episode explores the famed poison, Aqua Tofana, that desperate housewives used to murder their husbands in 17th century Italy. I'll delve into the legend of Giulia Tofana, the apparent namesake behind the poison who was supposedly responsi...
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43:10
Ep. 70 Coffee: How Coffee Changed the World, for Better and for Worse
Coffee may seem like an innocent breakfast beverage to accompany your bacon and eggs, a mid afternoon office pick me up. But did you know, coffee is so much more than that? Did you know that coffee helped spark human enlightenment, the scientif...
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Episode 70
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34:01
Ep. 69 Washington: How We Barely Know America's First President
George Washington - most of you know him as America’s first president, Revolutionary War hero, founding father, face of the one dollar bill, chopped down a cherry tree, wooden teeth, real man’s man if you know what I mean. I think that’s all mo...
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Episode 69
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39:49
Ep. 68 Lost Technology: How Ancient Knowledge Has Been Erased By Time
This episode is all about inventions, techniques, and resources that have been lost or forgotten throughout the ages. From ancient construction techniques to puzzling inventions like the Antikythera mechanism, Greek Fire, and the Archimedes Hea...
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43:25
Ep. 67 Bone Wars: How Dueling Fossil Hunters Put Dinosaurs on the Map
Join the Patreon for exclusive bonus content! Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope were American paleontologists during the second half of the 19th century. Although they started a...
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Episode 67
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38:42
Ep. 66 Uncivil: How Lack of Punishment for Confederate Leaders Set a Dangerous Precedent
I recently stumbled across a photograph of Confederate president Jefferson Davis with his family. He is sitting on the porch of his Mississippi home bouncing his granddaughter on his knee while a Black woman stands behind him in a servants unif...
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Episode 66
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43:11
Ep. 65 Laundry: "The Most Trying Department of Housekeeping" with Lori Davis
This week, as promised, I welcomed special guest Lori Davis, host of Her Half of History podcast. Join Lori and me as we chat about the unknown history of laundry. Find out just what has made l...
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Episode 65
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37:44
Ep. 64 Ranavalona I: How This Powerful Queen of Madagascar Might Be Totally Misunderstood
Ranavalona I, Queen of Madagascar has a bad reputation, to say the least. Few biographical sources exist about her but they all make their opinions well known in the titles alone: "Ranavalona I: Reign of Terror,” “Female Caligula: Ranavalona th...
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Episode 64
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38:50
Ep. 63 Nazca Lines: How These Magnificent Creations Became One of History's Greatest Mysteries
Join me as I explore the Nazca lines of Peru, one of the most enduring historical mysteries. We'll talk about the Nazca people including all of the juicy details... like pooping in people's mouths? Yeah. We'll also explore some of the prevailin...
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Episode 63
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40:43
Mini Fix #9: How Antibiotics Ruined My Life
PLEASE SHARE! This is the tell all story of how fluoroquinolone antibiotics led to disabling and potentially permanent side effects for my previously healthy 32 year old husband. Since taking Cipro in March of 2021, Joey has suffered fro...
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13:52
Ep. 62 Antibiotics: How This Accidental Discovery Changed the World Forever
This week, I'll delve into the surprising history of antibiotics. You'll learn how penicillin was discovered by accident and how its development was helped along by a moldy cantaloupe from a Peoria, Illinois farmers market. I'll also uncover ho...
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Episode 62
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43:51
Ep. 61 Feral Children: How Mysterious Wild Children Dot the Pages of Our History Books
This week I tell the stories of 9 feral children found surviving alone in the wilderness. Some even appear to have been cared for by wild animals - wolves, bears, dogs, and monkeys. Most walked on all fours, ate raw meat, and could only communi...
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Episode 61
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45:27
Ep. 60 Mental Health: How the Human Mind Has Been Misunderstood and Mistreated Throughout History
Mental health has been one of the greatest mysteries throughout human history. An illness with an invisible cause, no surgery will fix it, no tonic, no bandage. Is it supernatural? Evil spirits? Demonic possession? Our lack of understanding abo...
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Episode 60
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42:52