american_history

In this episode, Sharon talks about a 19th century American Lawyer, Francis Scott Key, whose best-known contribution to American history was writing the US National Anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner. We all know the words “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave,” but what do we know about the man who penned them? Listen to learn the true legacy of Francis Scott Key, a man with drastically incongruent convictions about matters of national security, including war and slavery. Francis Scott Key will challenge you to question how we interpret and fulfill historic articles of our nation’s history from the Star Spangled Banner to the Constitution and beyond in the modern-day United States.

For more information on this episode including all resources and links discussed go to https://www.sharonmcmahon.com/podcast

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We often think of memes as living solely online. But the term “meme” was coined in the 1970s -- before the birth of the internet -- by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. And, more surprisingly, the image that's often considered to "the first meme" appeared as early as the 1940s. 

A figure with a bulbous head and sausage fingers, peering over a wall, mysteriously popped up all over the globe during World War II, accompanied with three simple words: “Kilroy Was Here.” The phrase’s original meaning may come from the belly of warships, but what it came to represent bears many characteristics of a true-blue internet meme. In the first episode of our meme series, we tell the story of where "Kilroy Was Here" came from, how it spread, and what it tells us about the essence of memes. 

Do you know what year Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that Thanksgiving should be a national holiday celebrated in November? Do you know why that’s significant—and relevant to the culture war going on in the U.S. right now? On today's episode, Andy talks about the one simple thing every real American can do—every day—to win the battle for our nation’s soul.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." These words, penned by Thomas Jefferson more than 240 years ago, continue to inspire many Americans. And yet they were written by a man who owned hundreds of slaves, and fathered six children by an enslaved woman. As we mark Independence Day this week, we return to a 2018 episode with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed. We explore the contradictions in Jefferson's life — and how those contradictions might resonate in our own lives.

On May 4, 1970, four days of anti-war protests at Kent State University in Ohio culminated in the unthinkable when Ohio guardsmen opened fire on protesters, killing four students. How could this tragedy take place? Learn more in this classic episode.

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