History Hack

The gang reunites for what we hope will be a monthly jaunt to The Mary Rose. Tonight, it's folklore madness from history. How do people come up with these stories? Which one is the nuttiest? What did Clive have for dinner? And just what lengths will James go to to convince people to visit Birmingham?

Just days after John Lewis's casket crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge for the final time, Historian, entrepreneur and Selma native Mark Peterson joins us to talk about Dr. King. We discuss his life, and more specifically the impact of the protest of 1965 carried out by King, Lewis and their compatriots on Mark's hometown, what this meant for Mark's own upbringing, and what America lost with Dr. King's untimely death. The answer is: a giant. 

Historian and Poet Zellie Rainey Orr joins us to talk about marching for her rights as a thirteen year old in Mississippi, desegregating her local high school and how events threw her into the path of Charlie Scattergood: one man who spent his life trying to make the world a better place. 

Jessica Marie Johnson widens the scope for us with a talk based on her book: Wicked Flesh: Black Women, Intimacy, and Freedom in the Atlantic World. We learn about the variety of different human experiences encountered, and that the line between slavery and freedom is not always clear cut. 

 

Journalist and author Tim Madigan joins us to discuss the harrowing events that occurred in an affluent African American neighbourhood known as "Black Wall Street" in 1921. 

The headlines are full of historical figures whose reputations are under fire in 2020. Based on her book, The Hemingses of Monticello, we sat down with Pulitzer winner Annette Gordon-Reed to discuss one of America's founding fathers. We discussed his slaves, her groundbreaking research into his extended relationship with one of them, Sally Hemings, and his consequent place in history.

In this episode we plan a historical house party with Nicolai Eberholst. Who's getting an invite? Who isn't? The phrase "murderous sausagefest" is used. 

Former Red Bull, Jordan and Cosworth man Mark Gallagher weaves a fascinating tale of 1930s motor racing and Nazi attempts to commandeer the sport. We talk Auto Union, Mercedes Benz, and how the legacy of such associations is still seen in the sport today and felt by current drivers.

Breeze Barrington joins us to talk all about her research into prominent female artists in the 16th and 17th centuries

Olivia Alford joins Alina to talk about this tragic, much requested piece of Polish history.