In honor of Women’s History Month, we are sharing a special bonus episode featuring Chicana activist and artist Irma Lerma Barbosa. Her legacy will be preserved for years to come in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Collections. Irma attended college at a time when the Chicano movement was just gaining momentum – and she jumped right into fighting for her community. Picture this – a legacy that includes being welcomed into Cesar Chavez's family home through her time in the United Farm Workers Movement, leadership with the Brown Berets, spearheading a free breakfast program to help her community, and eventually founding her own woman-led arts collective. Listen to our first episode with Irma Lerma Barbosa and Smithsonian Curator Veronica Mendez here.  Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.  Show Notes: (00:00) - Introduction to Irma Lerma Barbosa, Chicano Movement, and Royal Chicano Air Force (3:42) - Being a Woman in Male-dominated Spaces (5:45) - Irma’s Place in History (7:04) - RCAF Women’s Mural named “Women Hold Up Half the Sky” (9:18) - Art as a Tool for Activism (10:47) - Co-Madres Artistas (13:30) - Standing Up Against Sexual Harassment (15:13) - Feeling Freedom with Art (15:58) - Closing Thoughts

In honor of Black History Month, Untextbooked is sharing a favorite episode from our archive. Women of color have been at the forefront of many movements, yet are often neglected, demonized, or ignored. Your history class probably didn’t teach you about Josephine Baker, who was not only a famous Black dancer and entertainer, but also a spy aiding in the French Resistance. You likely didn’t learn about Claudette Colvin either. She was the Black, pregnant fifteen year old whose civil disobedience kicked off the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We live in a world of whitewashed feminism, so there’s a lot to unlearn before our social movements are truly inclusive.  Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists by Mikki Kendall shares the stories of notable women of color whose stories have been left behind. Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.

In honor of Black History Month, UnTextbooked is sharing a favorite episode from our archive.  UnTextbooked producer Sydne Clarke thinks that African American history is often oversimplified or overlooked. Often that history is taught as things that happened to African Americans. We don’t often hear about the ways in which African Americans fought for and took care of themselves.  Dr. Leslie Alexander studies Black resistance movements, particularly in America. In her research Dr. Alexander has discovered communities and people who were vital to Black activism, but are often forgotten in re-telling African American history. On this episode of UnTextbooked, Sydne interviews Dr. Alexander about her book African or American? Black Identity and Political Activism in New York City, 1784-1861. They talk about the creation of Black-led organizations for mutual aid, and about how African heritage influenced Black activism then and now. Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.

In 2008, Anonymous posted a video declaring war against Scientology. Some people flocked to join the hacker collective while corporations started re-evaluating their security protocols. This week on Untextbooked, producer Caroline Somers dives into the history of the hacker collective and asks what can we learn about internet activism.  Gabriella Coleman is the author of “Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous”. She is a full professor in the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University. She is the founder and editor of Hack_Curio, a video portal into the cultures of hacking. In 2022, she hosted the BBC4 radio and podcast series, The Hackers.  Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.  Show Notes: (00:00) - Anonymous’s First Video  (1:42) - Introduction to Anthropologist Gabriella Coleman (3:18) - The Origins of Anonymous (4:25) - How did Anonymous Organize Hacks? (7:39) - Why did People Get Involved with Anonymous? (9:11) - Pseudonymous Names & Illegal Activity (12:02) - Trolling Culture & Chat Logs (14:56) - Anonymous Hacks & Leaks (19:35) - Phineas Fisher and Guayacama (21:59) - Reflections & Takeaways

In 1963, Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique was a galvanizing force for the Feminist movement. Now, nearly six decades later, feminist discourse has gone through several evolutions, Betty Friedan is no longer a household name, and her radical ideas don’t sound so radical anymore. This week, Producer Gavin Scott sits down with Rachel Shteir, author of “Betty Friedan: Magnificent Disrupter”, to talk about the legacy and controversy around Betty Friedan, including how she coined the term ‘Lavender Menace.’ Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.  Show Notes: (00:00) - Who is Betty Friedan? (1:35) - Why did the Feminine Mystique resonate? (4:51) - Critiques of the Feminine Mystique (6:25) - Creating the National Organization of Women (NOW) (7:26) - Betty Friedan’s Early Life (9:12) - Betty Friedan’s Perspective on Women’s Rights (10:45) - The “Lavender Menace” (12:18) - Marriage and Domestic Abuse (15:25) - Legacy & Impact (16:45) - Gavin’s closing thoughts

What does it mean to belong in the American imagination? That’s one question we explore on this week’s episode of UnTextbooked. In another installment of “UnTextbooking the Museum Collections”, we dive into the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History exhibit named “Mirror Mirror: Disney theme parks and American stories”. Producer Victor Ye speaks with original Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr about working with Walt Disney, designing original Disney rides, and queer identity. Smithsonian Curator Bethanee Bemis shares how Walt Disneyland is a microcosm of the American dream.   Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.  Show Notes: (00:00) - Mirror, Mirror: Disney Theme Parks and American Stories (4:29) - Bob Gurr, Original Disney Imagineer (9:29) - Bob Gurr on Designing the Monorail (14:44) - Bethanee Bemis on Disneyland and American Values (18:25) - Splash Mountain & Song of the South (21:07) - “Gay Days” at Disney Parks (25:33) - Being Gay as an Early Disney Employee (27:00) - Bob Gurr on the Disney Omnibus for Pride (31:17) - Iconic Disney Ears (34:34) - Reflections & Legacy

UnTextbooked is back with a new episode in our series, “UnTextbooking the Museum Collections.” We're sharing the untold story of Irma Lerma Barbosa, a Chicana activist and artist whose work will be preserved for years to come in the National Museum of American History's Collections. Curator Veronica Mendez tells us how this acquisition came to be and why it’s historically significant in telling the long history of the Latina/o Civil Rights Movement Irma attended college at a time when the Chicano movement was just gaining momentum – and she jumped right into fighting for her community. Picture this – a legacy that includes being welcomed into Cesar Chavez's family home through her time in the United Farm Workers Movement, leadership with the Brown Berets, spearheading a free breakfast program to help her community, and eventually founding her own woman-led arts collective. Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.  Show Notes: (00:00) - Introduction to Irma Lerma Barbosa (3:06) - Veronica Mendez, Smithsonian Curator (4:25) - Irma’s early life & joining Brown Berets (8:14) - What is the Chicano Movement? (10:41) - Connection to the Black Panthers (13:04) - Smithsonian Acquisition (15:01) - Brown Berets Flag (20:15) - Royal Chicano Air Force (24:38) - Irma’s Place in History & Gender (30:49) - What Sustains Political Movements? (34:13) - What’s Special About Youth Activism? (38:53) - Outro

In this new miniseries we’re calling “UnTextbooking the Museum Collections,” we dive into the vast collections of the Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum complex, made up of  21 museums and the National Zoological Park, as well as research facilities. This week, producer Jenny Fan talks with curator Katherine Ott, PhD, about curating medical history at the National Museum of American History. They talk about skin – the cultural lens we view medical diagnoses, the evolution of studying skin, and why early dermatologists were obsessed with syphilis. Plus, why does the Smithsonian have 150-year-old feces in its collection?  Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.  Show Notes:  00:00 - Introducing the “Untextbooking the Museum Collections” 2:18 - What does Dr. Katherine Ott research? 5:47 - History of skin and field of dermatology 9:57 - Early skin treatments & Syphilis 11:11 -  Jean-Louis-Marc Alibert 16:36 - Dr. Albert Kligman & Prison Experiments 20:51 - How does a Smithsonian curator select what’s in an exhibit? 27:05 - Takeaways & Reflections

This week, we are revisiting an important question: Is our democracy in danger? In the years after Trump’s presidency, it’s tempting to say “not anymore,” but nowadays threats to democracy are no longer as obvious as a military coup or revolution. Instead, a democracy in danger manifests in much more subtle ways including: the steady decline of longstanding political norms and weakening of essential institutions such as the United States press and its courts system, both of which are already in jeopardy. On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Jessica Chiriboga interviews New York Times best-selling author, Professor Daniel Ziblatt to discuss how to spot the signs of a dying democracy and how American democracy might be salvaged. Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.

In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, police killed unarmed 17-year-old Bobby Hutton, and Aaron Dixon decided it was time to join the Black Panther Party. Aaron Dixon was co-founder and Captain of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party. As a college student at the University of Washington, Dixon played a key role in the formation of the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Seattle Chapter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In the spring of 1968, at the funeral of Bobby Hutton in Oakland, California, Dixon met Bobby Seale and later was appointed Captain of Seattle’s Black Panther Party, the first chapter outside of Oakland. He was 19 years old. Dixon led the chapter through its first four years, then moved to Party national headquarters in Oakland in 1972. There he worked with Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and served for a time as bodyguard to Elaine Brown.  Aaron Dixon’s  autobiography is titled “My People Are Rising: Memoir of a Black Panther Party Captain” (2012).   Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms. Show Notes:  00:00 - Who Were the Black Panthers? 1:39 - Why did Aaron Dixon Join the Black Panthers?  4:27 - Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.  6:06 - Little Bobby Hutton’s Death and Funeral  8:21 - Starting the Seattle Chapter  12:12 - Black Liberation & Rainbow Coalition  14:45 - COINTELPRO & “Enemy Number One” 16:32 - Assassination Attempts on Aaron Dixon’s Life  20:38 - Chicago Leader Fred Hampton’s Assassination 24:46 - Aaron Dixon’s Revolutionary Legacy  28:00 - Reflections

Thousands of protestors joined Indigenous activists at Standing Rock to fight for clean drinking water. At its core, this fight echoes the legacy of broken treaties and settler industrialization. Producer Lily Sones talks with Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes) about how industrialization halted traditional indigenous food ways and how extractive industries cause health effects across today’s indigenous communities.  Dina Gilio-Whitaker is an award-winning journalist and columnist. She is a lecturer of American Indian Studies at California State University San Marcos, and independent consultant and educator on environmental justice and other Indigenous policy-related issues. She is the author of "As Long As Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice from Colonization to Standing Rock" and co-author with Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz of "'All the Real Indians Died Off' and 20 Other Myths About Native Americans." She lives in San Clemente, California. Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.  Show Notes: (00:00) - Standing Rock Protests  (2:47) - Legacy of Broken Treaties  (6:06) - Settler Agricultural Complex & Eradication of Buffalo  (7:55) - Consequences of Industrialization  (12:14) - European vs Indigenous Ideas of Wilderness (14:48) - The Modern Environmental Movement & Indigenous Activism  (16:52) - Uranium Mining on Indigenous Lands (21:22) - Women of All Red Nations (23:51) - ‘Green Colonialism,’ Lithium Production, And What’s Changed Since Standing Rock?  (26:19) - Extractive Industry & Future of Society  (28:11) - Outro

The clothes we wear say a lot about how we express ourselves. But an investigation into how these clothes ended up in our closets reveals a complex history dating back 400 years ago at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Producer Ashley Kim sits down with Sofi Thanhauser, the author of “Worn: A People’s History of Clothing” to learn how clothing can teach us about economics, gender and imperialism.  Sofi Thanhauser teaches in the writing department at Pratt Institute. She has received fellowships from the Fulbright Program, MacDowell, and Ucross Foundation. Her writing has appeared in Vox, Essay Daily, and The Establishment, among other publications. Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.  Show Notes: (00:00) - What History Can You Find in a Thrift Store? (01:54) - The History of Clothing is Intertwined with Economics (04:40) - How the Clothing Industry Became Global (06:16) - Gender and Clothing Manufacturing (14:05) - Safety on the Factory Floor (17:31) - Being an Ethical Consumer (21:02) - Will Clothes Ever be Local Again? (22:29) - Outro

Spoken word poetry is an oral tradition dating back centuries. So why is this form of poetry not always taken seriously? Producer Sydne Clarke sits down with Dr. Joshua Bennett, the author of "Spoken Word: A Cultural History". His nonfiction debut is a personal investigation into the history of spoken word, specifically the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. This is a cultural hub that started in the Lower East Side living room of Miguel Algarin.  Bennett has authored several books of poetry, including  The Sobbing School, which was a National Poetry Series selection and a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. He has received fellowships and awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. He is a Professor of Literature and Distinguished Chair of the Humanities at MIT.  Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.  Show Notes: (00:00) - What is Spoken Word Poetry? (2:14) - Nuyorican Poetry (6:41) - Saul Williams (10:24) - Inspiration and Representation (14:36) - Is Slam Poetry the “Death of Art?”  (21:49) - Advice to Young Poets (23:47) - Outro

In World War One, millions of soldiers saw industrial warfare unlike anything they’ve seen before: artillery shells, flame throwers, poison gas. Those who saw the war on the frontlines came home with psychological wounds the world had never quite seen before. At one military hospital in Scotland named Craiglockhart, early psychiatrists treat PTSD and soldiers turn to poetry and brotherhood to heal.  UnTextbooked producer Faith Stanley sits down to talk with journalist and author Charles Glass. His recent book “Soldiers Don't Go Mad” is a comprehensive history of the Craiglockhart Military Hospital and the now famous poets to have come through its doors. Glass has also written “Americans in Paris”, “Tribes with Flags”, and “The Northern Front: An Iraq War Diary”, among other books. He divides his time among the south of France, Tuscany, London, and the Middle East. Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.  Show Notes:  (00:00) - World War One & Psychological Toll  (02:57) - Craiglockhart Military Psychiatric Hospital  (3:35) - Dr. William Halse Rivers and Dr. Arthur Brock  (6:25) - Literary Journal “The Hydra” and Poet Wilfred Owen (9:25) - War Poet Siegfried Sassoon  (13:13) - The Role of Psychiatrists in War  (15:18) - Brotherhood and Poetry (18:31) - Outro

Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and products like Chat GPT have been fueled by Venture Capital. In fact, some argue that Venture Capital has shaped our modern technology more than any other entity. But what is Venture Capital and what makes it unique?  This week, UnTextbooked producer and college student Oliver Wang talks to author Sebastian Mallaby to learn about the shadow history of venture capital. What once started as a way to liberate eight scientists from a difficult boss now is a medium to inspire innovation across the world. Sebastian Mallaby is the author of “The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future”. He is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.  Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Learn more about the podcast at UnTextbooked.com.  Show notes:  (0:00) - What is Venture Capital?  (4:13) - Arthur Rock and the Origins of Fairchild Semiconductor (9:36) - What makes Venture Capital Unique (12:24) - The Power Law and Risks in Venture Capital  (16:23) - Flaws in Venture Capital, Bubbles, and Disruption (20:19) - Venture Capital Investments in China (24:16) - Outro

J. Edgar Hoover was a man of contradictions. As the Director of the FBI from 1924 to 1972, he spearheaded homophobic, racist, and anti-communist policies – which arguably shaped half a century of the United States. But he also had an intimate personal relationship with a man and he believed in the role of government to support social conservatism.  Beverly Gage is the author of “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century”, which won a Pulitzer Prize in Biography. She is a 20th-century American historian at Yale. She also wrote “The Day Wall Street Exploded” which examined the history of terrorism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.  Show notes:  (0:00) - Who is J. Edgar Hoover? (1:54) - Intimate Relationship with Clyde Tolson (3:17) - The Lavender Scare and Government  (6:16) - Early Years and Racist Fraternity (8:04) - FBI surveilling Civil Rights Movement Leaders (10:58) - Impact of Anti Communism and McCarthyism  (14:30) - Social Conservatism and Big Government (16:50) - Process of Writing Biography  (20:39) - An “Incredibly Honest” Paper Trail (22:31) - Legacy and Impact  (23:55) - Reflection

Women including Ida B. Wells and Nellie Bly were on the front edge of investigative journalism in the 1800s. But even with these historical trailblazers, why were women excluded from reporting hard news until recent history?  Producer Jordan Pettiford sits down with author, journalist and professor Brooke Kroeger to find out. Brooke has authored six books and her most recent book is “Undaunted: How Women Changed American Journalism”.  Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Learn more about the podcast at UnTextbooked.com.  Show Notes:  (00:00) - Introduction  (1:08) - Who is Ida B. Wells? (2:08) - Journalist Nellie Bly and the Insane Asylum  (6:04) - Women Journalists & ‘Stunt Work’ (8:03) - Ida B. Wells’ Entry Into Journalism (10:05) - Ida B. Wells & Lynching Investigations  (11:24) - ‘Sob Sisters’ and ‘Front Page Girls’ of the 1920s  (12:48) - Women as War Correspondents  (14:43) - Impact of The Civil Rights Act of 1964  (18:18) - Scrutiny Women Face in Broadcast Journalism  (20:46) - Female Executive Editors at Top News Organizations (23:13) - Brooke Kroeger’s Advice for Young Journalists (26:27) - Reflections

This season, we talk to an original member of the Black Panther Party. We explore the extremely contradictory life of longtime FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. We talk to Smithsonian curators about the historical connection of Disneyland to American identity. Plus, we cover topics including censorship, fast fashion, women in journalism, PTSD, Internet hackers, and more.  History is full of gems to discover and pitfalls to avoid. But you wouldn’t know it when sitting in a high school history class. That’s why we created UnTextbooked, a history podcast for the future. We’re a group of high school and college students from across the country. We're here to show young people that history is more than just what we learn in schools. It's exciting, scary, creative, nuanced and surprising.  Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Learn more about the podcast at UnTextbooked.com.

From banned books to freedom of speech in academic settings, censorship is a topic that affects the everyday lives of young people.  This week, UnTextbooked producer and college student Karly Shepherd talks to Eric Berkowitz, human rights lawyer, journalist and author. His latest book “Dangerous Ideas: A Brief History of Censorship from the Ancients to Fake News” covers about 2,000 years of censorship history. Censorship has existed since the dawn of language, consistently targeting themes like sex, religion and politics. But why does censorship exist? And does censorship even work?  Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Learn more about the podcast at UnTextbooked.com.  Show notes:  (00:00) - What can London Drill Music have to do with Censorship? (02:00) - China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang  (07:11) - Limits of Free Speech in Athens and Ancient Greece (13:58) - The Comstock Act and Censorship (15:34) - Social Media, The Supreme Court and Freedom of Speech Today (24:06) - Why Censorship Never Works

UnTextbooked heads to sunny San Diego, California, for the ASU+GSV Summit and we brought our microphones with us! Host Gabe Hostin and founding producer Victor Ye talked to innovative EdTech leaders, teachers and social entrepreneurs to discuss how we can collaboratively write a new chapter in the history of education. Plus, they ask the question, what else do we need to unlearn?  This week’s guests:  Steven Hernandez, ESQ, Executive Director for the Connecticut Commission on Women, Children and Seniors. Esther Wojcicki, Teacher, Author, and Founder of Palo Alto High School’s Media Arts Program David Adams, CEO of The Urban Assembly Gregg Behr, Founder & Co-chair of Remake Learning and Executive Director of The Grable Foundation Kim Smith, Innovator, Serial Social Entrepreneur and Founding Team Member of Teach For America UnTextbooked is a history podcast for the future. Listen to new episodes every Thursday starting October 19th. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Write us a review on your podcast app or tell a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Learn more about the podcast at UnTextbooked.com.

Bonus Episode in Partnership with History Detective: On this episode of History Detective, host Kelly Chase introduces us to Tarenorerer, the Tasmanian First Nations female warrior who led her tribe against the British colonists. About History Detective: History Detective is a podcast for teachers, students and lovers of history. It delves into stories from the past that don’t always get told in the textbooks. Every episode will include an original song that compliments the topic. This is a classroom friendly resource that aligns with history curriculums. Visit Amped Up Learning for accompanying teaching resources for every episode.

Bonus Episode in Partnership with Getting Smart: On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Nate McClennen is joined by three incredible students who recently competed in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, an event co-hosted with Society for Science. Check out our podcast episode with Maya Ajmera to hear more about Society for Science. The students are Christine Ye, a student at Eastlake High School Aseel Rawashdeh, a student at Anderson High School, and Elijah Burks, a student at Caddo Parish Magnet High School. Let’s listen in as they discuss their science projects, what project-based learning has done for them as learners, agency, and much more.  About Getting Smart:  This podcast highlights developing trends in K-12 education, postsecondary and lifelong learning. Each week, Getting Smart team members interview students, leading authors, experts and practitioners in research, tech, entrepreneurship and leadership to bring listeners innovative and actionable strategies in education leadership. This podcast is most frequently hosted by Tom Vander Ark, CEO of Getting Smart. Be sure to check out the Getting Smart Newsletter and Twitter Feed to stay on the cutting edge of innovations in learning.

Bonus Episode in Partnership with Changing Course: Host Jonathan Santos Silva speaks with leaders and educators from The Center for Black Educator Development in Philadelphia, PA, about how to create safe spaces that value and invest in young Black leaders. The Center is the first teaching academy in Philadelphia dedicated to investing in the next generation of Black teachers, starting as early as high school. Guided by the lens that excellent education is a political act, Sharif El-Mekki and his team at the Center demonstrate how restoring education to disenfranchised students is the purest form of activism. Changing Course is a podcast from Teach For America's One Day Studio. About Teach For America: Teach For America is a diverse network of leaders who work to confront the injustice of educational inequity through teaching, and at every sector of society. Learn how we are driving impact across the country to achieve our vision that one day, all children in this nation will have an opportunity to attain an excellent education. UnTextbooked is not affiliated with Teach For America.

We’re wrapping up this incredible third season of UnTextbooked by looking back at the great work of our team of young producers. They covered topics and questions that really matter, including the rise of authoritarianism, mass incarceration, unprecedented changes in the Supreme Court, and much more! Each topic highlights how history isn’t just in the past, but also present in all of our lives. In this episode, our host Gabe Hostin and our Youth Program Coordinator CeCe Payne discuss excerpts from episodes we couldn’t stop thinking about this season: Did the American Civil War ever truly end? Is the U.S. government spying on its own citizens? How do Democracies Die? MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. Want to be a part of our team for season 4? Apply Here. Episodes featured in this compilation: Episode 312 - Arya Barkesseh (producer) and Dr. Jeremi Suri (guest and author of Civil War By Other Means: America’s Long & Unfinished Fight For Democracy)  Episode 308 - Victor Ye (producer) and Professor Robert Scheer (guest and author of They Know Everything About You: How Data-Collecting Corporations and Snooping Government Agencies are Destroying Democracy) Episode 313 - Jessica Chiriboga (producer) and Professor Daniel Ziblatt (guest and author of How Democracies Die)

In 2020, the Supreme Court was on the verge of transformation. Seismic events like the death of former Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the appointment of conservative justice Amy Coney Barrett, and a polarizing presidential election laid the groundwork for major changes in decision-making seen today.    On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Karly Shepherd  interviews Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Linda Greenhouse to discuss the Supreme Court’s increasing politicization and domination by the religious right. With a supermajority of conservative Justices, how should we perceive the Supreme Court today and the effects of it’s political changes on the United States’ democracy?    BOOK: Justice on the Brink: A Requiem for the Supreme Court  GUEST: Linda Greenhouse PRODUCER: Karly Shepherd MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Link to Linda Greenhouse’s work

Is our democracy in danger? In the years after Trump’s presidency, it’s tempting to say “not anymore,” but nowadays threats to democracy are no longer as obvious as a military coup or revolution. Instead, a democracy in danger manifests in much more subtle ways including: the steady decline of longstanding political norms and weakening of essential institutions such as the United States press and its courts system, both of which are already in jeopardy.    On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Jessica Chiriboga interviews New York Times best-selling author, Professor Daniel Ziblatt to discuss how to spot the signs of a dying democracy and how American democracy might be salvaged.    BOOK: How Democracies Die GUEST: Professor Daniel Ziblatt PRODUCER: Jessica Chiriboga MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Link to Daniel Ziblatt’s work

Although the American Civil War ended many years ago, the fight for “a more perfect union” never quite did. A few months after the union army’s victory, confederate-style, white supremacist resistance emerged even stronger than before.    On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Arya Barkesseh interviews Dr. Jeremi Suri, who argues that opposition to the union army’s victory started almost immediately after the war ended, preventing Lincoln’s vision of a genuinely united country from actually taking root. Today, these deep wounds of division remain fresh as citizens of the United States continue to wrestle with competing visions of democracy, race, and freedom over 150 years later.    BOOK: Civil War By Other Means: America’s Long & Unfinished Fight For Democracy GUEST: Dr. Jeremi Suri PRODUCER: Arya Barkesseh MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Link to Dr. Jeremi Suri’s work  This is Democracy - podcast

The Cold War was marked by a bitter rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. Although former WWII NATO allies, what emerged was an atmosphere of constant fear for national security and a dangerous nuclear arms race.   On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Lap Nguyen and Professor Susan Colbourn unpack the power of citizen protest and the crucial factors that eventually brought the contentious war to a peaceful end.   BOOK: Euromissiles: The Nuclear Weapons that Nearly Destroyed NATO GUEST: Professor Susan Colbourn PRODUCER: Lap Nguyen MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Link to Susan Colbourn’s work

In the 1930s, six naval powers roamed the world’s oceans: Great Britain, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan. Each nation was subject to the Washington Naval Treaty, which granted 60% of the world’s battleships to the Royal and US Navy, 20% to Japan, and 20% to France and Italy. However by 1945, the United States Navy had expanded to a fleet larger than that of all the great powers. What exactly did that mean in the wake of WWII?   On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Will Bourell interviews Professor Paul Kennedy, who argues that the expansion of the U.S. Navy during WWII cemented them at the top of a new international world order.    BOOK: Victory at Sea: Naval Power and the Transformation of the Global Order in World War II GUEST: Paul Kennedy PRODUCER: Will Bourell MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Link to Paul Kennedy’s work

By 1945, the Soviet Union was a founding member of the United Nations and a  global superpower controlling half of Europe. By 1991, with five thousand nuclear missiles at its disposal and an army four million strong, the USSR was a formidable rival for the United States. But by the end of the year, the union would meet its untimely demise.   Most historians have argued that the fall of the USSR was inevitable, but Vlad Zubok author of Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union sees things differently. In his book, Zubok offers a major reinterpretation of the last years of this seismic event revealing how nationalist separatism and the misguided reforms of former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev ultimately destroyed the Soviet Union.   On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Ismail Assafi and  Professor Vlad Zubok revisit those final years of the USSR exploring whether it could’ve been saved, and what precedents its fall set for modern day geopolitical climates.    BOOK: Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union GUEST: Vladislav Zubok PRODUCER: Ismail Assafi MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Link to Vlad Zubok’s work

As human beings, our privacy is one of our most basic needs and most sacred rights. However, in the modern information age, these rights are constantly under attack. How does the American federal government collect our data and what happens when the institutions meant to protect our privacy opts to instead use that information for their gain?    On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Victor Ye interviews Robert Scheer to discuss how we can best protect ourselves in an era where the U.S. government has abandoned Constitutional privacy protections in favor of 24/7 citizen surveillance.   BOOK: They Know Everything About You: How Data-Collecting Corporations and Snooping Government Agencies are Destroying Democracy GUEST: Robert Scheer PRODUCER: Victor Ye MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Link to Robert Scheer’s work

Technology plays a vital role in our society day-to-day, but what exactly is our role when it comes to managing our tech? How do our internal biases impact the products we create? Can technological advances actually be “neutral” as a product of human imagination? These are all questions to consider as we take a look at how human and computational infrastructures overlap.   On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Caroline Somers interviews Professor Thomas S. Mullaney to discuss the impact of technology– good and bad–on modern society and our role in responsibly using it. If every advance is linked to a social issue from our past, what might history teach us about our technological future?   BOOK: Your Computer is on Fire GUEST: Thomas S. Mullaney PRODUCER: Caroline Somers MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Link to Thomas S. Mullaney’s work

The gay bar has long since been a locale of sexual expression, community, and most importantly, identity. If the gay bar was what Atherton Lin describes as, “a place where we hoped we could find ourselves,” what does it mean for queer identity when the spaces that once shaped and defined it are steadily vanishing in urban centers world-wide?  In his wistful personal and cultural memoir, Gay Bar: Why We Went Out (named one of the best books of 2021 by the New York Times, NPR, and Vogue),  essayist Jeremy Atherton Lin speaks to the impact of the gay bar on his own identity development and how the gathering space created a generation of chance encounters that shaped his life. On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Jenny Fan interviews Atherton Lin taking  a closer look at what recent shutdowns of such spaces have meant for those who came of age in them and the new generations now seeking to define their queer identity. BOOK: Gay Bar: Why We Went Out GUEST: Jeremy Atherton Lin PRODUCER: Jenny Fan MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Jeremy Atherton Lin’s playlists and sound essays can be heard on NTS Radio and Mixcloud, or by visiting his website.

More American residents are behind bars than any other nation. While the U.S. Criminal Justice System was established to regulate peace and order, it has since become the catalyst for criminalizing of people of color. Fueled by initiatives like Nixon’s “War on Drugs” campaign, which unfairly targeted communities of color, mass incarceration has steadily been on the rise. Despite the staggering amount of people behind bars, the crime rates haven’t exactly been on the decline, raising the question: do prisons actually keep us safe?   On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Sydne Clarke interviews Victoria Law whose groundbreaking book investigates the brutal history of mass incarceration in the United States, showing how dismantling mass incarceration starts with unpacking the myths surrounding it.  BOOK: Prisons Make Us Safer: And 20 Other Myths about Mass Incarceration GUEST: Victoria Law PRODUCER: Sydne Clarke MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Link to Victoria Law’s work

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has roots in strong firearm regulation and gun safety policy, but over the years, it’s become a mantra for gun rights advocates.   On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Ellie Carver-Horner interviews Professor Adam Winkler about how over time, the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (the right to bear arms) historically caused a major divide in the United States and the impact of that extreme split today.   BOOK: Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America GUEST: Professor Adam Winkler, J.D. PRODUCER: Ellie Carver-Horner MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Link to Professor Adam Winkler’s work

The first amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that everyone has the right to practice his or her own religion or no religion at all. A similar guarantee exists in Canada under its Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, this right to religious freedom hasn’t necessarily been assured for practitioners of traditional African religions throughout history in North America and beyond.   On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Jordan Pettiford interviews Dr. Danielle Boaz to discuss the impact of religious racism and how it’s been consistently used, from colonial times to modern day, to oppress practitioners of African diaspora religions.    BOOK: Banning Black Gods: Laws and Religions of the African Diaspora GUEST: Dr. Danielle N. Boaz PRODUCER: Jordan Pettiford MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Link to Dr. Boaz’s work

There are more than five hundred federally recognized Indigenous nations in the United States today, nearly three million people, but their stories have largely been omitted from the nation’s history.    On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Gavin Scott  interviews acclaimed historian and activist, Professor Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and takes a look at U.S. History through the lens of Indigenous Peoples and unpacks what we’ve been missing as a nation without their perspective.   BOOK: An Indigenous People's History of the United States GUEST: Professor Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz PRODUCER: Gavin Scott MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Link to Professor Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s work

Throughout the world, democratic progress has not only halted, but receded over the past few years and the United States has been one of the main perpetrators. On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Oliver Wang interviews Former Deputy National Security Advisor of the United States (Obama Administration), Ben Rhodes to discover who is to blame for the global fall of democracy and how we might return to a truly democratic identity.   BOOK: After the Fall: The Rise of Authoritarianism in the World We've Made GUEST: Ben Rhodes PRODUCER: Oliver Wang MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino. SHOW NOTES: Link to Ben Rhodes’ work

Untextbooked is a movement of curious students from around the world -- and we are BACK with new episodes and new questions. What perspectives do we miss in history class? What historical forces shape our lives today? We study up on topics that interest us -- indigenous history, the status of democracy, future of technology -- and then reach out to scholars to have a conversation for the podcast.    Listen every Thursday wherever you listen to podcasts. Hit the follow button on Spotify or the little plus sign on Apple podcasts. That way you never miss an episode.    Hear the stories that we want everyone to know more about so we can understand the world we are living in. These are the histories we want to uncover as we take history out of the textbook. Learn more about the podcast at UnTextbooked.com.

We’ve completed our second season of UnTextbooked! Our team of young producers have done phenomenal work exploring topics and questions that really matter, including episodes about the War on Terror, Native American boarding schools, population control, and much more. In this episode our editor Bethany Denton shares excerpts from four of her favorite Season 2 episodes: Is every presidency doomed to fail? Can the War on Terror ever truly end? Does population control work? Why were Native American kids required to attend boarding schools? Want to be part of our team for season 3? Apply here.  Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

The Cold War was a decades-long military conflict that dominated geopolitics in the latter half of the 20th century. And as Americans, we often see it framed as a binary conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union; one that ended around the time the Berlin Wall came down in 1989.  But historian Odd Arne Westad, author of The Global Cold War, thinks that version of the story is incomplete. The US and USSR never engaged in direct combat with one another, so the Cold War was fought indirectly via proxy wars and embargoes, and many Third World countries are still dealing with the effects.  On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Anya Dua interviews Dr. Westad about the global impacts of the Cold War, more than thirty years after it ended. Book: The Global Cold War Guest: Dr. Odd Arne Westad, Professor of history at Yale University Producer: Anya Dua Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

The United States is still reckoning with its history of racism. For a century after slavery ended, US businesses, banks, schools, and neighborhoods were segregated by race. It took a series of Supreme Court cases and acts of Congress to legally ban discrimination based on race, but discrimination isn’t just a switch that can be turned from “on” to “off.”  The legacy of these unfair laws still affect Black Americans today. One example of this is is a method of housing discrimination called “redlining”. It refers to the practice of banks and federal agencies denying loans for homes in neighborhoods deemed too “high risk”, which was often code for “not white.” This made it harder for Black Americans to buy homes, which made it harder to accrue generational wealth. As a result, Black Americans are more likely to live in neighborhoods with lower property values.  And in a country where public schools are funded by property taxes, this is a difficult cycle to break. In effect, the United States is still segregated, but unofficially. Richard Rothstein has been studying this disparity for a long time. He wrote about it in his book The Color of Law. On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Jonathan Dabel interviews Mr. Rothstein about the lasting effects of redlining on Black Americans. Book: The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Guest: Richard Rothstein, PhD, Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute and a Senior Fellow (emeritus) at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Producer: Jonathan Dabel Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

There is a fundamental duality in how Asian Americans are perceived in our country. They’ve at times been held up as the “model minority”, affirming this idea that the American Dream is alive and well if only immigrants could work harder.  At other times they’ve been regarded as threatening and perpetually foreign. A recent example of this is the dramatic rise in anti-Asian violence in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic. On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Victor Ye interviews Dr. Erika Lee, author of The Making of Asian America: A History. They discuss the history of Asians in America and why stereotypes from hundreds of years ago still persist today. Book: The Making of Asian America: A History Guest: Erika Lee, PhD, History Professor at the University of Minnesota Producer: Victor Ye Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

American food is unlike anything else in the world. And it goes a lot deeper than hamburgers and pizza. The thing that makes American food special is the stunning variety of options and how accessible it is to the average consumer. Also some regional American dishes that are impossible to find anywhere else on the planet Dr. Paul Freedman is a historian who thinks that all of these factors--standardization, variety, and regionality--can tell us a lot about American culture and identity. On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Grace Davis interviews Dr. Freedman about his book American Cuisine: and How it Got This Way. Book: American Cuisine: and How it Got This Way Guest: Dr. Paul Freedman, Professor of History at Yale University  Producer: Grace Davis Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

It’s no secret that society will eventually have to transition away from fossil fuels. Some governments and businesses think the answer is biofuels,like ethanol.  Ethanol is a type of alcohol—the same type of alcohol that humans have been producing for millenia.  And so, in much of the world, the techniques to produce ethanol are already known and exploited.  All it takes is the fermentation of sugary crop, like potatoes, corn, or sugarcane.  The result is a clear liquid fuel that can power engines, similar to gasoline.  Brazil has long been the world’s leading producer of sugarcane.  In the 1970’s, Brazil started switching more and more of its fuel supply over to ethanol.  What started as an effort to combat the trade embargoes turned into a large-scale experiment on alternative fuels.  But the story of Brazilian ethanol is complicated—It’s a worldwide industry predicated on exploitative labor and has significant environmental problems of its own.  On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Jessica Chiriboga interviews Jennifer Eaglin,  about the history of Brazil’s ethanol industry. They discuss the conditions that primed Brazil to make the transition, and the lessons learned along the way. Book: Sweet Fuel: A Political and Environmental History of Brazilian Ethanol  Guest:  Jennifer Eaglin, PhD, Assistant Professor of Environmental History and Sustainability at Ohio State University Producer: Jessica Chiriboga Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

For centuries, Iran had a strict social hierarchy that prevented women—particularly upper class women—from participating in public life. This started to change in the early 20th century when Iranians became disillusioned with the ruling class and had a constitutional revolution. This new constitution established a parliament, public schools, and also opened the door for women to start asserting their own rights to education and employment.  Following the constitutional revolution was a period of rapid modernization in Iran. Girls were allowed to go to school, and women were encouraged to stop veiling to look more like their European counterparts. Over the course of a few decades, women’s role in society changed dramatically. In 1979, their roles changed again. Islamic fundamentalists were frustrated by Western influence on Iran’s culture and economy, and ushered in another revolution. Almost overnight, women were once again restricted from participating in public life. This history fascinates UnTextbooked producer Arya Barkesseh. He’s Iranian American, and after witnessing a White Wednesday protest while on a family trip to Tehran, he wanted to know more about the evolution of women’s rights in Iran.  On this episode of UnTextbooked, Arya interviews Dr. Janet Afary, author of the book Sexual Politics in Modern Iran. They discuss the cultural context for both the constitutional and Islamic revolutions, and the ways in which Persian women have asserted agency in big and small ways throughout history. Book: Sexual Politics in Modern Iran Guest: Janet Afary, PhD, professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara Producer: Arya Barkesseh Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

There’s a lot of evidence that America is more divided than ever. Our politics, media, and ideologies are so polarized that it puts a stress on our unity as a country. But Dr. Denis Lacorne says that, in spite of that tension, America’s strength comes from our nation’s commitment to tolerance. The trick is figuring out the balance of tolerating the intolerant. On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Karly Shepherd interviews Dr. Lacorne about his book The Limits of Tolerance. They explore the origins of the concept, and its impact on American culture. Book: The Limits of Tolerance. Enlightenment Values and Religious Fanaticism Guest: Dr. Denis Lacorne, senior research fellow at the Paris Institute of Political Studies  Producer: Karly Shepherd Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

The Founders of the United States envisioned the presidency as an office that would be minimal in reach.  They didn’t want the USA to be a monarchy.  But incrementally, the executive branch has expanded.  And now, scholars like Dr. Jeremi Suri argue that the modern presidency is crushed by its own power and unable to be fully wielded by the President, leading to decades of broken promises and deep disillusionment amongst citizens. On this episode, UnTextbooked producer Lap Nguyen interviews Professor Suri about the shifting nature of the presidency and why FDR is such a hard act to follow.  Book: The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America's Highest Office Guest: Dr. Jeremi Suri, Professor of Public Affairs and History at University of Texas, Austin Producer: Lap Nguyen Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

UnTextbooked producer Sydne Clarke thinks that African American history is often oversimplified or overlooked. Often that history is taught as things that happened to African Americans. We don’t often hear about the ways in which African Americans fought for and took care of themselves.  Dr. Leslie Alexander studies Black resistance movements, particularly in America. In her research Dr. Alexander has discovered communities and people who were vital to Black activism, but are often forgotten in re-telling African American history. On this episode of UnTextbooked, Sydne interviews Dr. Alexander about her book African or American? Black Identity and Political Activism in New York City, 1784-1861. They talk about the creation of Black-led organizations for mutual aid, and about how African heritage influenced Black activism then and now. Book: African or American? Black Identity and Political Activism in New York City, 1784-1861 Guest: Dr. Leslie Alexander, associate professor of history and African American studies at Arizona State University Producer: Sydne Clarke Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

The Greek poet Archilochus said “a fox knows many things, a hedgehog knows one big thing.”  This phrase inspired a famous essay by a 20th century philosopher named Isaiah Berlin, who said that pretty much all people can be categorized as either “foxes” or “hedgehogs”. Foxes tend to be agile and perceptive, whereas hedgehogs tend to be resolute and hyper-focused on their end goal.  Historian John Lewis Gaddis took Berlin’s framework one step further. In his book On Grand Strategy, Dr. Gaddis categorizes great political leaders as landing somewhere on the fox-hedgehog spectrum: Xerxes I, Philip II, Ronald Reagan are all classic hedgehogs. Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, and Hillary Clinton are all examples of foxes. And Gaddis says if you’re lucky, you’ll sometimes have a leader who embodies both, as was the case with Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt. On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Will Bourell interviews Dr. Gaddis about the traits that make for effective and ineffective leaders. Book: On Grand Strategy Guest: John Lewis Gaddis, Professor of history at Yale University Producer: Will Bourell Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

With a name like “The United States of America”, it can be easy to forget that this country’s borders extend well beyond the fifty states of the union.  In fact, millions of American citizens live on US territory well outside those borders.  It’s not just Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, and the North Mariana Islands, but the many military bases we occupy across the globe too.  “Empire” might not always be a word associated with the USA, but some historians  think the label fits.  Dr. Daniel Immerwahr is one of them, and he thinks that the country’s trajectory in capturing new territory bears a striking resemblance to the British Empire—the same one that the country’s architects were so often critical of.  Book: How to Hide an Empire: a History of the Greater United States Guest: Dr. Daniel Immerwahr, Professor of history at Northwestern University Producer: Elliot Smith Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

A hundred years ago, there were roughly 2 billion people in the world. Today, there are almost 8 billion.  This rapid quadrupling of the world’s population has people asking, is the planet overpopulated? Some say, yes. Others say that it’s not so simple. This isn’t a new question. Researchers in the 19th and 20th centuries warned that unfettered population growth would lead to famine, poverty, and climate destruction. Some governments and aid agencies took those warnings to heart, and implemented programs to try and lower fertility rates. These programs were sometimes coercive, often incentivizing poor people to be sterilized or have abortions they didn’t want. Some societies are still living with unintended consequences of these efforts to control population. Still, the question of whether the earth is overpopulated is still contested UnTextbooked producer Oliver Wang had always been curious about population control. He’s Chinese American, and his family had been shaped by the One-Child policy. So he read the book Fatal Misconception by Dr. Matthew Connelly to learn more. On this episode of UnTextbooked, Oliver and Dr. Connelly explore the origin and impact of population control efforts. Book: Fatal Misconception: The Struggle to Control World Population Guest: Dr. Matthew Connelly Producer: Oliver Wang Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

In the spring of 2021, UnTextbooked producer Gavin Scott read a headline that made his heart sink. The remains of 215 indigenous children were discovered buried in a mass grave near the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia. Over the next few months, more mass graves were found outside of other Canadian residential schools.  Before they died, these children had been part of a program of forced assimilation. For more than a century, thousands of indigenous children in Canada were required to attend residential schools. The purpose of these schools was to teach them English and encourage them to behave more like white settlers. Survivors of the residential school system say the environment was often harsh. Lots of kids ran away, and some didn’t survive their time at school. Producer Gavin Scott is Native American, and even though he didn’t have a personal connection to the Canadian residential schools, he knew that the United States had also operated boarding schools with similar intentions. But Gavin didn’t really learn much about this history when he was in school. He wanted to know how these schools operated and how they affected the lives of students that attended them. In this episode of UnTextbooked, Gavin interviews Dr. Brenda Child. Dr. Child is a scholar of American Indian studies, and she wrote the book Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families 1900-1940 after reading hundreds of letters written by students, families, and administrators at the Flandreau Indian School and the Haskell Institute. Gavin also interviews his Great Aunt, Babe, about her experiences attending Haskell and the Concho Indian School as a child. Book: Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families 1900-1940 Guest: Dr. Brenda Child, Professor of American Studies and American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota Producer: Gavin Scott Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

One morning in 1991, Senator Jesse Helms’ house was covered with a giant fake condom in an act of protest.  Helms had been a vocal opponent of funding AIDS research and he had introduced an infamous and popular bill amendment that prevented federal money from being spent on AIDS research.  There were few treatments available at the time, and with no help from the government, HIV was actively spreading across the country.  In 1991 alone, nearly 30,000 American died of AIDS, and the numbers would keep rising until the late nineties.  The condom on Helms’ house was courtesy of the protest group ACT UP, which led a number of high profile direct actions meant to call attention to the AIDS crisis and get people angry.   UnTextbooked’s Jordan Pettiford was curious about queer history.  She came out to her family around the same time the Covid-19 pandemic began.  While the context of Covid felt different, she noticed some strange similarities between the present day and the history of AIDS—especially the way in which viruses become political.  In this episode, Jordan interviews David France, author of How to Survive a Plague.  David France was a first-hand witness to the AIDS epidemic in New York City.  He covered the unique actions of the protest movement that called out the government’s inaction and discrimination.   Book: How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed Aids Guest: David France, writer and filmmaker Producer: Jordan Pettiford Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

The War On Terror is the longest foreign war the United States has ever fought. So long that many of the soldiers fighting weren’t even alive when it started. But the WoT seems unusual for another reason—it’s not a war on a nation, or even an organization—it’s a war against a concept.  September 11, 2001 was the alleged start date of this conflict, after the Twin Towers fell.  President George W. Bush stood before congress announcing, “Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.” For many young people, the WoT is all they’ve ever known, and it can be hard to imagine a time before the United States fought this kind of war.  But Dr. Alex Lubin counters this idea in his book: Never-Ending War on Terror.  He argues that the United States often prefers this kind of conceptual warfare, and those examples can be seen in the American Indian Wars and the response to movements such as the Black Panthers.  In this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Ruba Memon talks to Dr. Lubin about living with the casual Islamophobia that’s permeated her entire life, the true meaning of the word “terrorist,” and the story of Malik Jalal, a Pakistani villager who petitioned to have his name removed from the United States’ drone-strike kill-list.  Book: Never-Ending War on Terror Guest: Dr. Alex Lubin, Professor of African American Studies at Penn State  Producer: Ruba Memon Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

Season 2 of UnTextbooked is near! New episodes starting Monday, Octoberr 18th, 2021. Join us for 15 more interviews where young people ask historians the questions that matter most. Watch the video trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB46hxDFQ58 And come to our launch party: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkcO6vqTkiGdRvraFhbERExj8gxGWbW2DR

We’ve wrapped our first season of UnTextbooked!  Our producers have explored race, food, piracy, gender, medicine and so much more.   In this episode, UnTextbooked editor Bethany Denton shares five of her favorite moments from the season: How a Black teenager and his young lawyer changed America's criminal justice system.  Most Americans eat like kings without realizing it.  Damnation to the governor and confusion to the colony. Germany addressed its racist past. Can America do the same? History fails when it ignores the BIPOC women who made it.  Would you like to be on UnTextbooked Season 2? https://www.untextbooked.org/apply Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

Throughout this series, we’ve heard historians say that the way Americans think about race is changing, as evidenced by the unprecedented numbers of Americans marching after George Floyd’s death. And along with this surge in action are critical conversations about what it means to be an ally, and what it means to “perform” allyship. UnTextbooked producer Daniel Ardity noticed what he thought to be a lot of empty support for the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020--particularly when his Instagram feed was full of black squares one day in June. It made him wonder how he and other non-Black allies could meaningfully contribute to the movement without just adding to the noise.  These questions reminded him of a lecture he’d heard about the Black-Jewish alliance during the Civil Rights Movement. Daniel is Jewish himself, and was inspired by the activism of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and his contemporaries. For many American Jews, supporting Black liberation was an expression of tikkun olam, Hebrew for “heal the world”. According to historian Cheryl Greenberg, author of Troubling the Waters: Black-Jewish Relations in the American Century, support for the Civil Rights Movement was integral to the American Jewish identity. She says this was, at least in part, because both groups are vulnerable to white supremacist violence. On this episode of UnTextbooked, Daniel interviews Cheryl Greenberg about how the Black-Jewish alliance evolved, and how it was effective even when it was not perfectly harmonious. Guest: Dr. Cheryl Lynn Greenberg Book: Troubling the Waters: Black-Jewish Relations in the American Century Producer: Daniel Ardity Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

People in the West have many harmful perceptions about Muslim women being submissive or oppressed. In fact, a study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that only 19% of Americans believed that Islam is respectful of women. These beliefs have been reinforced for centuries through media portrayals and stereotypes. One of those persistent stereotypes is that Muslim women are forced against their will to wear hijab, and as a result the veil has come to symbolize women’s oppression. These misconceptions have led to some countries to ban or restrict hijab. UnTextbooked producer Jana Amin grew up in Egypt, and never thought much about women around her wearing veils. It wasn’t until she moved to the United States that she started hearing about what Americans believed about Muslims wearing hijab. It wasn’t her experience that women in Egypt were forced to veil, and she wanted to understand why so many non-Muslims had such strong opinions about Muslim women’s expression of faith and identity. Jana found the work of historian Leila Ahmed, author of A Quiet Revolution: The Veil’s Resurgence, from the Middle East to America. The book explores not only the evolution of the veil’s popularity throughout history, but also contends that Western misconceptions of the veil’s symbolism are a vestige of British colonialism. And from that perspective, donning the veil could be understood as an act of resistance.  Book: A Quiet Revolution: The Veil’s Resurgence, from the Middle East to America Guest: Dr. Leila Ahmed Producer: Jana Amin Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

It’s undeniable that the way people eat has changed drastically in the last century. It took thousands of years for human societies to transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers. By contrast, it’s only been in the last hundred years or so that people have moved away from growing their own crops and raising their own livestock to getting most of their food from a restaurant or store.   Food historian Rachel Laudan thinks that this recent and rapid transition is ultimately a good thing. She takes issue with the conventional wisdom that industrialized food is a blight. In her book Cuisine and Empire, she details the rise of “middling cuisine”—the food of the middle class. On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Grace Davis interviews Rachel Laudan about how greater access to a wide variety of food is a marker of social equality. Book: Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History and “A Plea for Culinary Modernism” Guest: Dr. Rachel Laudan Producer: Grace Davis Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

On April 13, 1919, thousands of Indians gathered in Amritsar, Punjab to celebrate Baisakhi - a religious holiday. Such gatherings had been banned by the British colonial government, but the people gathered anyway to celebrate and to protest British imperialism.  What followed was the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre; British General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to open fire without warning on the crowd of unarmed protesters. They fired until they ran out of ammunition, killing 379 and wounding more than a thousand people (though the final death toll has been disputed over the years.) The massacre is considered a turning point that sparked anti-British resistance for many Indians, including Gandhi. It was one of the deadliest acts of colonial aggression in Britain’s history, but for many historians, it exemplifies the kind of violence Britain relied on to maintain its colonial power.  UnTextbooked producer Hassan Javed grew up hearing stories from his grandparents about what it was like growing up in British India. They told him about how humiliation and degradation were a part of daily life for many Indians in British India. But when Hassan learned about British imperialism in school, he was shocked that his curriculum portrayed Britain as a “modernizing” force for good. He wanted more context, and his research brought him to The Blood Never Dried: A People’s History of the British Empire by historian John Newsinger. The book contends that all empires are inherently criminal, and that Britain’s was one of the worst. Book: The Blood Never Dried: A People’s History of the British Empire Guest: John Newsinger Producer: Hassan Javed Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

During the Cold War, the United States feared the rise of Communism across the world. But in Latin America, the United States took action.  In 1970, Salvador Allende won the Chilean presidency with just a third of the vote.  He was a  socialist who started shaking things up across the country. Within just a couple years, a military coup removed him from power, and Augusto Pinochet, the American-backed strongman, replaced him.  The ensuing Pinochet regime left thousands of Chileans dead and missing.  The government actively persecuted alleged dissonants both domestically and abroad, leading to the eventual assassinations of Orlando Letelier and Ronni Karpen Moffitt, who were killed with a car bomb in Washington D.C.   The story of the United States’ involvement in South American upheaval is still unfolding. But declassified documents show that then National Security Advisor Henry Kissenger was fairly un-bothered about the upheaval of South American democracy, so long as the Communists lost influence. Historian Alan McPherson says that the United States’ relation with democracies in Latin America is incredibly complex and nuanced. In this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Jessica Chiriboga asks why stories about foreign intervention are never simple.  Book: Intimate Ties, Bitter Struggles: the United States and Latin America since 1945 Guest: Alan McPherson Producer: Jessica Chiriboga Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

Pop culture misremembers the Golden Age of piracy, and usually portrays pirates as apolitical agents of chaos.  But historians now believe that many pirates followed a democratic and egalitarian structure that put them directly at odds with the world’s biggest governments.  In the 1700’s, life as a European sailor left a lot to be desired.  Wages were low, conditions were dangerous, and captains could be cruel. A lot of sailors wanted out. Pirates, on the other hand, were recruiting disenchanted sailors from captured ships and escaped slaves, offering them better living conditions. Life under the Jolly Roger was still rough though, and as such, pirate codes of conduct emerged, like the one issued by Captain Bartholomew Roberts, which stated that each pirate should receive equal shares of loot, that gambling shouldn’t take place on the ship, that pirates should receive compensation for injuries sustained in battle, that arguments should be settled by duels, but only on land, and more (see page 231).  “A merry life and a short one, shall be my motto,” said Captain Roberts. This sounds a lot like a more modern phrase: “I’m here for a good time, not a long time”, which wound up in music by Trooper, George Strait and Drake. Historian Marcus Rediker thinks it’s no surprise that these ideals still persist.  Despite the eventual decline of piracy in the Atlantic, Rediker believes that pirates may have won the longer war of influence; most of us can name pirates, but few remember the names of those who hanged them.   On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Ming-Wei Cyprien Fasquelle interviews Marcus Rediker on what the pirates of the Atlantic can teach us about resisting corrupt authority.  Book: Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in The Golden Age Guest: Marcus Rediker Producer: Ming-Wei Cyprien Fasquelle Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

In 1987, the historian Paul Kennedy published a massive, nearly 700 page book called The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. In normal circumstances, the book might have been lumped in with the rest of academic writing that’s seen only by scholars…if it weren’t for the book’s conclusion, which flew in the face of American exceptionalism and certainly upset some people. In that final section of the book, Kennedy suggests that the United States had begun a period of relative decline that began in the 1960’s. Kennedy focussed on two major elements in his claim of the US’s decline: military strength and economic power. The United States’ military was (and still is) largely unmatched. Kennedy worried about overreach though, having observed the United States’ dramatic and failed attempt to fight communism in Vietnam. And economically, Kennedy saw the United States weakening due to domestic policy and the rising economies in nations like India and China. At the time of the book’s publishing, he received criticism from the political scientist Joseph Nye, who argued that Kennedy had undervalued the significance of so-called “soft power.” Nye coined this phrase. He uses “soft power” to describe the forms of persuasion that countries hold, ie. all the ways to coerce on the world stage that don’t involve guns or dollars. Soft powers include social values like culture, charisma, values, politics, NGOs, reputation, etc. This all provides an avenue for countries to maintain relevance even when their “hard powers” (military and economics) decline. Kennedy recognized Nye’s criticism and now sees his conclusion with more nuance. On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Will Bourell interviews Paul Kennedy on the recent erosions in the United States’ soft power and the ways in which the country can manage its relative decline and reverse its most harmful effects. Book: The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers Guest: Paul Kennedy Producer: Will Bourell Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

James Marion Sims has a complicated legacy. He was a surgeon in the 19th century who, for decades, was heralded as the ‘Father of American Gynecology’ for his contributions to the field, including inventing the speculum. But those innovations came at the expense of the poor and enslaved women that he performed experimental surgeries on. Not much is known about the Black enslaved women and poor Irish immigrants he experimented on, but without their contributions, gynecology would not be what it is today. On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Ruba Memon interviews Deirdre Cooper Owens, author of the book Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology. They talk about how America’s history of slavery and racism continues to influence medicine in ways that harm Black people at disproportionate rates. Book: Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology Guest: Deirdre Cooper Owens Producer: Ruba Memon Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

For decades, experts have warned that the average American diet is potentially harmful. Americans tend to eat food that is laden with too much sodium, fat, and added sugars, and it's making people sick. What’s insidious about this is that a lot of Americans don’t even know that the food they’re eating is unhealthy. A lot of foods are deceptively sweeter, saliter, and fattier than one would assume. And those added ingredients make processed foods addictive. UnTextbooked producer and host, Gabe Hostin, wanted to understand how the American food industry got this way. He found the work of journalist Michael Moss, who’s the author of Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. In it, Michael Moss writes about “food giants”, enormous companies that produce the vast majority of processed food products in America. He contends that these companies became so powerful because they figured out how to make their products irresistible, and that these innovations coincided with other societal shifts that were changing American eating habits. Book: Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us Guest: Michael Moss Producer: Gabe Hostin Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

As a kid, UnTextbooked producer Gavin Scott loved listening to his grandfather tell stories about their people. He used to like to imagine what his home was like back before white settlers came. As much as Gavin enjoyed learning about his culture, he sometimes felt out of place as the only gay person he knew of in his small hometown. So when he had the opportunity to work on this podcast, he decided to research LGBT Native Americans to learn more about people who were like him. He learned about “Two Spirit”, a term that was adopted in 1990 at a gathering of gay and lesbian Native Americans. “Two Spirit” is an umbrella term that encompasses many understandings of queer and gender variant identities for Native Americans. The term alludes to traditional third and fourth gender people; as in, people who were both/neither male and/or female. Many Native American cultures accepted and celebrated these people before white settlers forced assimilation. Gavin’s research eventually brought him to an unlikely source: Sabine Lang, a German anthropologist who has studied Native American cultures for decades. In her book Men as Women, Women as Men, Sabine Lang writes about the traditional roles of “men-women” and “women-men”, as she calls them. She uses those terms in order to avoid using “Two Spirit”, a contemporary term, when discussing historical identities. Guest: Sabine Lang Book: Men as Women, Women as Men: Changing Gender in Native American Cultures Producer: Gavin Scott Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

Picture this: You’re nineteen years old, it’s a summer afternoon, and you’re driving around your hometown. You notice a group of other teenagers on the side of the road. As you get closer you realize that two of them are your cousin and nephew. You can tell by body language that things are getting heated, tempers are flaring. So you pull over. You get out of your car. You step in between your family and the other teenagers that are trying to fight them, and in the process you put your hand on the other kid’s arm. One more thing: you are Black, and the kid who just touched on the arm is white. Also, it’s 1966 and you live in Louisiana. So you get arrested and charged with simple battery, a misdemeanor. In 1960’s Louisiana, it means you won’t get a jury trial, you won’t get that chance to tell your side of the story to a jury of your peers. Instead, your case is going to be decided by just one man. And that man just happens to be Leander Perez, one of the most virulent white supremacists in the American South. For the crime of simple battery you could go to prison for two years. This is the story of Gary Duncan. Instead of accepting his fate, Gary found a lawyer named Richard Sobol and they appealed. The case made its way to the Supreme Court in Duncan v. Louisiana. Matthew Van Meter, author of Deep Delta Justice, explains how Gary Duncan’s case changed the criminal justice system. While most Americans assume that criminal cases are decided by a jury, Louisiana and many other states did not require a jury. This is because even though the Constitution guaranteed citizens the right to a jury trial, that only applied to federal crimes at the time. This essentially gave judges, who were predominantly white and beholden to racist laws, the ability to decide the future of people like Gary Duncan. According to Matthew Van Meter, this is just one example of how the criminal justice system has been used to uphold white supremacy. Thanks to Gary Duncan’s case, the Supreme Court ruled that jury trials are fundamental to American justice, and that all states were obligated to provide them. Despite this victory, jury trials have all but disappeared in the United States. Guest: Matthew Van Meter Book: Deep Delta Justice: A Black Teen, His Lawyer, and Their Groundbreaking Battle for Civil Rights in the South Producer: Elliot Smith Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

There’s a certain mythos around the founders of the United States. George Washington gets this treatment to the extreme. He’s painted riding brilliant white horses, standing up in boats, and puffing out his chest as he presides over the signing of the Constitution. He’s essentially an American folk hero. What’s odd is that this mythical understanding of a real person conceals the truth of what real leadership looks like. At least, that’s the perspective of General Stanley McChrystal, who rose through the ranks of the military and had to learn a lot about leadership along the way. General McChrystal thinks that too many people view our leaders as if they’re cut from a different cloth, when in fact, leaders are fallible, and reliant on the people around them to succeed. He co-wrote the book Leaders: Myth and Reality, wherein he profiles many influential leaders, both moral and corrupt. The book is loosely structured on Plutarch’s Parallel Lives biographies. In the book, he profiles the leadership strategies of Martin Luther, Coco Chanel, Walt Disney, William “Boss” Tweed and others. He also gives one chapter to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an Al Qaeda leader that he fought for years. General McChrystal is quick to separate his respect for a leader’s style from that leader’s actions. While that’s certainly true of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, McChrystal also attempts to clarify his complicated relationship with General Robert E Lee, a man who he grew up nearly worshipping as a leader. In his years since childhood, McChrystal’s tried to balance his respect for Lee’s leadership with a moral obligation to fight bigotry and symbols of hate. After his military career ended, General McChrystal became the Board Chair of the Service Year Alliance, which helps youth to do a paid year of civil service. Guest: General Stanley McChrystal Book: Leaders: Myth and Reality Producer: Victor Ye Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

Democracy: a small word and a big concept foundational to the United States. Ideally, we’re a country of pluralism and self determination, but the reality is often different. Many dark chapters exist in our history: Slavery and the extermination of Native Americans, Disenfranchisement and voter suppression. Japanese internment and white supremacy. And yet, many of the ideals that surround the founding of our country do slowly bend us towards justice. So how is it that one nation could be founded on principles of equality while also oppressing so many people throughout its history? UnTextbooked producer Anya Dua wanted to better understand these contradictions. Anya is herself an amalgamation of many different American experiences: Her mom’s side of the family were European settlers who came to the United States before it was even a country. Her dad is Indian and immigrated to America by way of Australia. Both of these are fundamentally American experiences, and gave Anya very different perspectives on American history. In her research, Anya found the work of historian Jill Lepore, and read her book These Truths: A History of the United States. The “truths” in the book’s title—political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people—are gleaned from the Declaration of Independence. In her introduction, Jill Lepore asks one question essential to a better understanding of our nation: “Does American history prove these truths, or does it belie them?” Guest: Jill Lepore Book: These Truths: A History of the Uniited States Producer: Anya Dua Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

Women of color have been at the forefront of many movements, yet are often neglected, demonized, or ignored. Your history class probably didn’t teach you about Josephine Baker, who was not only a famous Black dancer and entertainer, but also a spy aiding in the French Resistance. You likely didn’t learn about Claudette Colvin either. She was the Black, pregnant fifteen year old whose civil disobedience kicked off the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We live in a world of whitewashed feminism, so there’s a lot to unlearn before our social movements are truly inclusive. Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists by Mikki Kendall shares the stories of notable women of color whose stories have been left behind. Guest: Mikki Kendall Book: Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women's Fight for Their Rights Producer: Sophia Andrews Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

As the ashes of the Third Reich settled, a divided Germany struggled to come to terms with what just occurred. Generations of German philosophers, politicians, academics, and common citizens slowly and collectively decided to confront the horrific actions of the Nazis. They called this process “Vergangenheitsaufarbeitung”, or “working off the past”, though it has several names. Step by step, through a feeling of collective guilt and moral responsibility, they were able to make amends with the world and build legal and societal safeguards against hatred and extremism. Compared to the Germans, the United States has only barely confronted our legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. Throughout the South, the “Lost Cause Narrative” is still common. Confederate generals are still hailed as heroes and the banner of the defeated flies proudly at our halls of power. Like an infected wound that festers, the refusal to face the past and address wrongs have led to voter suppression, police brutality, wealth inequality, systemic racism and a million other things. Unlike Germany, the U.S. has weak legal and societal safeguards against bigotry and racism. And with the resurgence of Black Lives Matter demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd, it is clear that the United States must finally step up to the challenge and confront our legacy of slavery and racism. Untextbooked producer Lap Ngyuen became fascinated with America’s response to slavery, the Civil War, and the era of Jim Crow that followed. Lap immigrated to the U.S. as a kid, and has spent years trying to understand its complicated history. His curiosity led him to the work of philosopher and historian Susan Neiman. In her book Learning from the Germans, Susan Neiman discusses the importance of an American “Vergangenheitsaufarbeitung”. She believes that reparations, education reform, and destroying all vestiges of a glorified Confederacy are just a few ways to allow societal healing to take place.She is hopeful, since young Americans are poised to be the beacon of reconciliation like the German youth were in the 1960s. Guest: Susan Neiman Book: Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil Producer: Lap Nguyen Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editor: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

UnTextbooked is a history podcast for the future. Brought to you by teen changemakers who are looking for answers to big questions. We interview famous historians who have some of the answers. These intergenerational conversations bring the full power of history to you with the depth and vividness that most textbooks lack. Real history, to help you find answers to your big questions. UnTextbooked makes history unboring forever. Full episodes coming Fall 2020. Subscribe now in your favorite podcast app.