Stuff You Missed in History Class

The story of how strawberries went from small forage item to one of the world’s most popular fruits – though they're technically not a true fruit – involves lots of crossbreeding experimentation, as you might expect, but also a bit of spy craft. Research: Encyclopedia BritannicaEncyclopedia BritannicaNew World Objects of Knowledge: A Cabinet of CuriositiesJSTOREncyclopedia BritannicaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dorothy Arzner wasn’t the first female film director in the U.S., but she was really the only one working in the studio system during most of the period that’s known as the Hollywood Golden Age. Her short career was still incredibly prolific. Research: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2017 episode covers the early days of Hollywood, and its reputation for debauchery. When a high-profile director was murdered, it added to that image, and revealed that Taylor, like so many in Hollywood, had lots of secrets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy talks about the difficulty of finding English-language writing about another strike she'd like to cover. Holly talks about why Kurt Vonnegut appeals so deeply to teenagers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly is joined by guest host Bryan Young for a live show at Indiana Comic Con, focused on the life and work of the author Kurt Vonnegut, known for his dark humor and dystopian visions of the future. Research: Encyclopedia BritannicaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 1946 Oakland General Strike was part of a massive wave of strikes that took place in the U.S. in 1945 and 1946. Over two days in Oakland, California, and the surrounding area, thousands of strikers shut the city down. Research: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This late 2021 episode covers a strike in Flint, Michigan, which was at the heart of auto manufacturing for General Motors in 1936. And while the strike was largely centered around Flint, it also involved workers at GM factories all over the U.S. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy discuss the creepy nature of the Children's Morality Code project. Tracy covers the varied conflicts that Mary Hunter Austin had with numerous people. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mary Hunter Austin was a U.S. writer known for walking throughout the American Southwest. But her life of activism was far more complicated than brief bios usually mention. Research: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1916, the National Institution for Moral Instruction had a contest to see who could come up with the best morality code. For kids. Evolving views on childhood, child labor laws, patriotism, and eugenics influenced this effort. Research: The Clearing HouseJSTORReligious Education25The Journal of EducationJSTORSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2019 episode looks at Couney's incubator sideshows of premature babies. This is complicated; Couney made money from this, and his medical experience was questionable. But premature babies weren’t getting a lot of care otherwise. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy notes the wild array of incorrect information that circulates about Lillian Exum Clement. Then she and Holly talk about childhood reading habits. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi, Stuff You Missed In History Class Fans! We want to share a new season of SNAFU with Ed Helms. About the show: This is the story of Prohibition you haven't heard. Sure, Prohibition was a gigantic SNAFU to begin with. But it turns out Prohibition was actually darker than any of us could have imagined. Flappers and jazz? Not the full picture. Season 3 of SNAFU follows an unlikely pair of sleuths trying to uncover what was behind a mass wave of deadly poisonings that killed thousands of people during Prohibition. Why were so many people dying when they imbibed? And what do gun-slinging Prohibition agents, Washington politicians, and a raging culture war have to do with it? Find out on SNAFU Season 3: Formula 6. Listen here and subscribe to SNAFU with Ed Helms on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gertrude Chandler Warner's most well known writing is "The Boxcar Children." But that series is far from the only professional writing Chandler did – she made a career as a writer while also teaching elementary school for decades. Research: The Boxcar ChildrenChild Lit Educ47The English JournalJSTORElementary EnglishJSTORThe Reading TeacherJSTORSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lillian Exum Clement Stafford was one of the first women in North Carolina to practice law, and the first woman in the South to be elected to a state legislature. Research: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2020 episode covers the myth of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. The Lost Cause was a distortion of the history of the U.S. Civil War that’s still affecting the world today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy shares issues she has with overly reductive internet videos that misrepresent the story of nixtamalization. She and Holly also discuss the various ways they like to eat corn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode on the pellagra epidemic focuses on its prevalence in the U.S. in the early 20th century. Some of the scientific work done to understand it involves self-experimentation, and some of it is ethically problematic by today’s standards. Research: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pellagra epidemic of the early 20th century may have been the deadliest epidemic of a specific nutrient deficiency in U.S. history. Part one covers what it is, its appearance in 19th-century Italy, and the first reports of it in the U.S. Research: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2020 episode covers the first protest march on Washington, D.C., led by Jacob Sechler Coxey in the 1890s. His plan was job creation for the nation's unemployed population with projects that would build the country's infrastructure. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.