Historically Accurate: Recent Episodes
Historically Accurate
Historically Accurate is the history class nobody asked for. It is an educational comedy podcast hosted by Dawn-Michelle Lewis and various guests.
In the case of Pennsylvania State Treasurer R. Budd Dwyer, the end was only the beginning. In this episode of Historically Accurate, host Dawn-Michelle Lewis talks with Bob Davis, who witnessed Dwyer’s live broadcast suicide as a kid. The events leading up in his public death are much more complex than many are lead to believe. Dwyer’s death meant so much more than what most take away from it. Budd wasn’t just a politician. He was a father, a good citizen, and an honest man.
If you or someone you know is suicidal, please, contact your physician, go to your local ER, or call the suicide prevention hotline in your country. For the United States, the numbers are as follows: The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255), or message the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Both programs provide free, confidential support 24/7. If you want to learn more about suicide prevention, look into QPR Gatekeeper training.
The historical event that started it all... well, this podcast at least. Join host Dawn-Michelle Lewis and her guest, Eliott Bonds, as they explore the nearly unbelievable idea of spy cats.
Is she in Kansas? Maybe New York City? Have they checked somewhere over the rainbow? In this episode of Historically Accurate, host Dawn-Michelle Lewis and guest Sam Lease discuss what it means to be a “friend of Dorothy” and the government manhunt to find her.
Funny how a simple piece of fabric grew to become a peacocking statement and suddenly fell from popularity. In this episode of Historically Accurate, host Dawn-Michelle Lewis talks with clothing historian Kass McGann about the first true jock strap, the codpiece. This episode is full of creative words and alternative descriptions. If you’re sensitive to the topic of one-eyed trouser-snakes, you may want to sit this one out.
What’s liberty without responsibility? In this episode Dawn-Michelle Lewis speaks with real, live (milk toast) Libertarian, Brandon Rexrode. They discuss the Free State Project, bears, and Billie Eilish.
In this episode of Historically Accurate, we have everything from airplanes and technical issues to petty drama and serial killers! Join host Dawn-Michelle Lewis and guest Jelani Splawn as they dive into information provided by a meme. Bear witness to the research process and why you shouldn’t get information from memes. All that and more!
From 1930-1933, an unexpected craze swept American cities: everyone loved drag queens. In this episode of Historically Accurate, Dawn-Michelle is joined by Sushma Saha, theme song vocalist/lyricist and actor, to talk about the Pansy Craze, which is just one blip in the long and super gay history of America - a history you probably never learned about. Dawn-Michelle and Sushma talk about how the Great Depression and Prohibition sparked the rise of gay bars in America, at a time when even mainstream fashion promoted wearing gender non-conforming clothing. From the drag balls at Harlem’s Hamilton Lodge to the musical stylings of Gladys Alberta Bentley, a black lesbian blues singer who wore tuxedos on stage, there is so much to learn about the history of queerness in America -- and the laws (like Hollywood’s Haze Code) that silenced this history for so long. Tune in this week for unexpected historical connections and lots of gay pride! Quotes:
“We know what caused the Great Depression, and it was not gay people.” (29:41-29:46)
Sources: The title is also the name of a hit song from the 1930s “Stonewall 50: Rise and Fall of the 'Pansy Craze' (Episode 1, Part 1).” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 10 June 2019, www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/stonewall-50-the-revolution-episode-1-part-1-61596741892. Chauncey, George. Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Makings of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940. Basic Books, 1994. Harbin, Billy J., et al. The Gay & Lesbian Theatrical Legacy: a Biographical Dictionary of Major Figures in American Stage History in the Pre-Stonewall Era. University of Michigan Press, 2007. Smith, Reiss, et al. “The Pansy Craze: Where LGBTQ Nightlife Began.” PinkNews, 26 June 2019, www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/10/20/a-brief-history-of-the-pansy-craze-the-beginning-of-lgbtq-nightlife/. Links https://www.ringofkeys.org/ Instagram @ringofkeysorg Support this show thru Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheHApodcast Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hapodcast/ Theme Song Composed by: Daniel Dorty Lyricist and Vocalist: Sushma Saha Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sushmasahahaha/ Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing
There were plenty of missed opportunities for Spider-Man jokes in this episode of Historically Accurate, featuring co-host William Rosenwinkel. Join Dawn-Michelle and Will as they discuss not one, but two spider drugging experiments. Discover the bizarre reason a Swiss pharmacologist initiated the experiment in the first place and how NASA made it a study on psychoactive drugs on animals.
Sources: “NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS).” NASA, NASA, ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19950065352. Witt, Peter (December 1954). "Spider Webs and Drugs". Scientific American Rainer F. Foelix (2010). Biology of spiders. Oxford University Press. p. 179. ISBN 978-0199813247. Bennett Alan Weinberg, Bonnie K. Bealer (2001). The world of caffeine: the science and culture of the world's most popular drug. Routledge. pp. 237–239. ISBN 978-0-415-92723-9.
Links: https://www.lancasterimprovplayers.org/ Support this show thru Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheHApodcast Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hapodcast/ Theme Song Composed by: Daniel Dorty Lyricist and Vocalist: Sushma Saha Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sushmasahahaha/
What’s the best way to win a world war? Strap a napalm bomb on a bat and see what kind of damage it can do! In this episode of Historically Accurate, host Dawn-Michelle and actor and co-host John Rearick dive into two little known projects of World War II: bat bombers and pigeon-guided missiles. World War II was the era of the atom bomb. But before that, FDR signed off on a few less conventional wartime projects. Without reliable electronic guides for missiles, military scientists were looking for a way to get missiles to hit targets in Germany and Japan. The best candidates for the job? Mexican free-tailed bats and the common pigeon. Tune in to learn about the nuances of pigeon missile retargeting, why the military put bats in ice cube trays, the day bat bombs accidentally wiped out a base in New Mexico, and so much more. Sources: 08 Apr 2011 | Posted by Video Blogger. “The Pidgeon-Guided Missile.” Military.com, www.military.com/video/operations-and-strategy/second-world-war/project-orcon-pidgeon-guided-missile/897399315001. “B.F. Skinner.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/biography/B-F-Skinner. “B.F. Skinner's Nose Cone of a Pigeon-Guided Missile.” National Museum of American History, americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_690069. Lewis, Danny. “Bats and Balloon Bombs: The Weird Weapons That Could Have Won WWII.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 10 Aug. 2015, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/bats-balloon-bombs-world-war-ii-180956203/. Ripley's Believe It or Not!, et al. “Bat Bombs Were In Competition With the Atom Bomb.” Ripley's Believe It or Not!, 19 Feb. 2020, www.ripleys.com/weird-news/bat-bombs/. Stromberg, Joseph. “B.F. Skinner's Pigeon-Guided Rocket.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 18 Aug. 2011, www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/bf-skinners-pigeon-guided-rocket-53443995/. Quotes:
“At no point did anyone question the morality or the ecological consequences of sacrificing a few million bats.” (13:21-13:28)
Links: Instagram: @john_rearick Support this show thru Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheHApodcast Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hapodcast/ Theme Song Composed by: Daniel Dorty Lyricist and Vocalist: Sushma Saha Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sushmasahahaha/ Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing
How do you fight a war against emus? With machine guns. At least, that was the tactic used by a few chosen members of the Australian military in 1932 when 20,000 emus started destroying farms owned by Australia’s World War I veterans. Major GPW Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery and a few other military personnel banded together with veteran-farmers to conquer the flock of emus taking over government-granted land. Except… they lost. In this episode of Historically Accurate, host Dawn-Michelle Lewis and co-host Rebecca Lease, friend of host and hater of emus, talk about bad aim, the “guerilla tactics” of emus, and ponder one vital question: why didn’t they just build really tall fences? Sources: Gore, Jasper Garner “Looking Back: Australia's Emu Wars.” Australian Geographic, 29 July 2020, www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2016/10/on-this-day-the-emu-wars-begin/. Johnson, Murray "'Feathered foes': soldier settlers and Western Australia's 'Emu War' of 1932 [Paper in: Discordant Notes.]". Journal of Australian Studies. 88 2006. 147-157,185-187. Milzarski, Eric. “Why the Emu War Wasn't as Silly as Folks Make It out to Be.” We Are The Mighty, We Are The Mighty, 30 Oct. 2020, www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/australian-emu-war-was-serious/. Quotes:
“I personally think you could have found better ways to keep the emus out of your crops.” (27:08-27:13)
Links: Support this show thru Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheHApodcast Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hapodcast/ Theme Song Composed by: Daniel Dorty Lyricist and Vocalist: Sushma Saha Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sushmasahahaha/ Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing
“This one time, in the United States, we may or may not have had a notoriously clumsy ship.” The very clumsy ship in question in this episode of Historically Accurate was the USS William Porter, also known as the Willie Dee, which blew a boiler tube, lost a man to an enormous wave, and accidentally launched a torpedo at Franklin D. Roosevelt… all on the same day. Join host Dawn-Michelle and her guest Keith Bowerman, friend and first Patreon supporter, as they investigate the true adventures of the Willie Dee -- and the many myths that follow this accident-prone boat. All of this leads Dawn-Michelle and Keith to explore the real meaning of history, and how to use deduction and thorough research to separate myth from fact. Quotes:
“I’ve always heard that history is best described as a point of view.” (7:49-7:56)
“This one time, in the United States, we may or may not have had a notoriously clumsy ship” (9:55-10:04)
Sources: Ingram, B.D. USS William D. Porter, DD-579, Blogger, 18 July 2020, uncommonsenseok.blogspot.com/2020/02/uss-william-d-porter-dd-579.html?m=1. “Why Do Ships Have a Gender?” Imperial War Museums, www.iwm.org.uk/history/why-do-ships-have-a-gender. Goldstein, Dana. “Two States. Eight Textbooks. Two American Stories.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Jan. 2020, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/12/us/texas-vs-california-history-textbooks.html. Links Support this show thru Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheHApodcast Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hapodcast/ Theme Song Composed by: Daniel Dorty Lyricist and Vocalist: Sushma Saha Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sushmasahahaha/ Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing
Anti-Vietnam War Activists + LSD = Levitating The Pentagon? That’s right. Join host Dawn-Michelle and her guest, Anthony Geraci, as they discuss one of the most significant political demonstrations of the 1960’s. The March on the Pentagon drew more than 100,000 anti-war demonstrators and had major political ramifications as the military surrounded the crowd with pointed rifles. Ever heard of “flower power”? That famous phrase from “the sixties” came from a photograph documenting the protesters at this event inserting carnations into the barrels of rifles. What’s less famous about this event? A semi-mystic, reportedly drug-fueled attempt to levitate the Pentagon. Did the building ever get off the ground? Listen and learn more! Sources: Buck, Stephanie. “The Plan to Levitate the Pentagon Was the Perfect Absurdly Inspiring Protest for the Time.” Medium, Timeline, 27 Feb. 2017, timeline.com/amp/p/ae0aad1b55c5. Manseau, Peter. “Fifty Years Ago, a Rag-Tag Group of Acid-Dropping Activists Tried to ‘Levitate’ the Pentagon.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 20 Oct. 2017, www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-rag-tag-group-acid-dropping-activists-tried-levitate-pentagon-180965338/. Mettler, Katie. “The Day Anti-Vietnam War Protesters Tried to Levitate the Pentagon.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 June 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/10/19/the-day-anti-vietnam-war-protesters-tried-to-levitate-the-pentagon/?outputType=amp. Links: Support this show thru Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheHApodcast Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hapodcast/ Theme Song Composed by: Daniel Dorty Lyricist and Vocalist: Sushma Saha Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sushmasahahaha/ Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing
Big Bird is out for blood in this episode of Historically Accurate, where host Dawn-Michelle partners with long-time friend and voiceover artist Erin Grey to talk about a long forgotten hockey game from December 21, 1975. The line-up? The Black Hawks v. Sesame Street. Dawn-Michelle tells Erin all about this historic game, which didn’t seem to have a winner, but which, obviously “America won.” To celebrate the holiday season, go back in time and watch Cookie Monster mistake a hockey puck for his favorite treat. A video of the match will be available on Instagram and Facebook. For more nerdy content, check out Erin Grey’s appearances on the Youtube Channels @GeeksforFun, @SmugStick, and @SilvaGunna. Sources: “1975 Blackhawks Battle Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Other Sesame Street Crew.” RSN, 8 May 2020, www.nbcsports.com/chicago/blackhawks/1975-blackhawks-battle-big-bird-cookie-monster-and-other-sesame-street-crew. NHL.com. “#TBT: 1975 Black Hawks Battle Sesame Street Stars.” NHL.com, NHL.com, 16 Mar. 2017, www.nhl.com/news/black-hawks-sesame-street-1975-tbt/c-287761256. Price, Satchel. “Watch This Video of the Blackhawks Playing 'Sesame Street' Characters in 1970.” Second City Hockey, Second City Hockey, 26 June 2015, www.secondcityhockey.com/platform/amp/2015/6/26/8851005/blackhawks-play-sesame-street-characters-hockey-big-bird-video-1970. Quotes:
“As you’re watching the game you would notice that Big Bird really liked to body check people!” (7:51-8:00)
Links: Guest Info: Erin Grey’s Twitter Handle @ErinGreyVO Support this show through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheHApodcast Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hapodcast/ Theme Song Composed by: Daniel Dorty Lyricist and Vocalist: Sushma Saha Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sushmasahahaha/ Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing
What brought Elvis and Nixon together on December 21, 1970? A Narcotics badge. In the first episode of Historically Accurate, host Dawn-Michelle Lewis and Katie Lewis, King-Sized Elvis fan (and Dawn-Michelle’s sister) sit down and talk about this strange historical moment, which happened 50 years ago today. The photo that was taken of Elvis and President Nixon on December 21, 1970 is one of the most requested archival photos in world history. But that meeting wasn’t just about press - Elvis was on a mission. He wanted to be an undercover Narcotics agent, and he wanted the badge to prove it. Dawn-Michelle and Katie provide an overview of this historical moment, including background on Elvis, Richard Nixon, Kent State, and the Watergate Scandal. They also debunk some Elvis myths, both about this meeting and some of other Elvis oddities (like the myth that he enjoyed doing karate for various American mayors). So what happened? Did Elvis get his narc badge? Did he fight crime from inside his rock and roll kingdom? Tune in this week to find out. Citations: Carlson, Peter. “When Elvis Met Nixon.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Dec. 2010, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-elvis-met-nixon-69892425/. History.com Editors. “President Nixon Meets Elvis Presley.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 16 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nixon-meets-elvis-presley. Waxman, Olivia B. “Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon: The Story Behind the Photo.” Time, Time, 15 Aug. 2017, time.com/4894301/elvis-president-nixon-photo/. Quotes:
“Mr. President, do you know who I am? Do you know who I am? I’m Elvis.” (16:12-16:17)
Links: Support this show thru Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheHApodcast Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hapodcast/ Theme Song Composed by: Daniel Dorty Lyricist and Vocalist: Sushma Saha Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sushmasahahaha/ Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing