The Reluctant Historian

Liz and Dakota Lawson

Welcome to The Reluctant Historian, the podcast where I, a history teacher, try to show my husband that history IS actually pretty cool! Each week we sit down to talk about a different event in history. At the end, the reluctant historian gets to decide if history really is that boring.

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Top 10 The Reluctant Historian Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Reluctant Historian episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Reluctant Historian for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Reluctant Historian episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The Dark Side of Disney

The Reluctant Historian

03/09/22 • 57 min

Disney has worked hard to give itself a squeaky clean reputation, but, it has a dark side that it would rather we forget about. The Disney universe is one of talking animals, singing pirates and fairytale princesses, all underscored by a dark side that features sex, death, and ghosts. And a little bit of war time propaganda. Listen in on today's episode to hear all about that.

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Vladimir Putin: Likes Hand Stuff

The Reluctant Historian

03/16/22 • 56 min

This week, Liz and Dakota take a brief look at how Russia's Dictator - Vladimir Putin - came to power, and the influence that Russia has had on 21st century politics.

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Episode Notes

http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/politics/difference-between-prime-minister-and-president-in-russia/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-inauguration-president-duties-idUSL0718325420080507

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KGB

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vladimir-Putin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterintelligence

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections#:~:text=The%20Russian%20government%20interfered%20in,discord%20in%20the%20United%20States.

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The October Crisis

The Reluctant Historian

03/03/22 • 52 min

This week, inspired by the Truck Occupation of Ottawa, Liz and Dakota take a look at another tumultuous time in Canada: The October Crisis and the invocation of the War Measures Act during the 1970s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_de_lib%C3%A9ration_du_Qu%C3%A9bec#:~:text=The%20Front%20de%20lib%C3%A9ration%20du,group%20by%20the%20Canadian%20government

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Stock_Exchange_bombing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_of_the_deed

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Crisis

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/october-crisis

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/war-measures-act

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Sawney Bean: Cannibalistic Clams

The Reluctant Historian

02/23/22 • 32 min

On this month's Wicked Wednesday, Liz and Dakota share a terrifying tale of robbery, murder, cannibalism, and incest. But it begs the question, did it actually happen? Or was it the product of early 18th and 19th century tabloids? Listen to The Reluctant Historian to find out.

Episode Notes

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Sawney-Bean-Scotlands-most-famous-cannibal/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawney_Bean

https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/did-the-scottish-mass-murdering-cannibal-sawney-bean-actually-exist/

https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Legend-Of-Alexander-Sawney-Bean-And-His-Cannibal-Clan

http://www.douglashistory.co.uk/history/articles/Sawney_Bean+Black_Agnes_Douglas.html#.YgqaAN_MJRY

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redcap

A topical conversation podcast hosted by Eric Paul Erickson. Bringing the discovery of the open road into the discourse of modern conversation. The Open Highway brings conversation back to the world and allows us to learn about interesting topics and people. The show is available on Spotify, I Heart Radio, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and wherever you go for your favorite podcasts!

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Happy International Women's Day

The Reluctant Historian

03/17/21 • 54 min

Ooops! We missed the actual date of International Women's Day. But that doesn't mean you should miss this episode! In honour of International Women's Day (and month), Liz and Dakota talk about 7 interesting women from history, including:
1. Khutulun - a Mongolian wrestling princess
2. Ching Shih - the Pirate Lord and terror of the South China Seas
3. Hatshepsut - the Egyptian Pharaoh who built and traded widely during 1400 BCE
4. Ada Lovelace - the mother of computer programming
5. Bessie Coleman - airplane stuntwoman extraordinaire, and the first female Black and Indigenous pilot
6. Gertrude Ederle - Record breaking and making swimmer - the first lady to swim the English Channel
7. Queen Boudica of the Iceni - Celtic warrior queen, and Liz's new hero.
This episode contains 7 wonderful stories from history, highlighting the amazing feats of some extraordinary women.
Thanks for checking out our podcast, we appreciate each and every one of you! You can email us with corrections or future show topics at:
[email protected]
or
You can follow us on Instagram here @thereluctanthistorian
If you liked what we had to say, please leave us a review, and who knows, you might be featured on future shows.
Source Material:
https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/khutulun

https://allthatsinteresting.com/khutulun#:~:text=Khutulun%2C%20the%20only%20daughter%20of,Khutulun%20was%20his%20favorite%20child.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/ching-shih

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatshepsut

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/hatshepsut

https://www.biography.com/scholar/ada-lovelace

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/bessie-coleman

https://www.factinate.com/people/42-heroic-facts-queen-boudicca-scourge-romans/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Boudicca

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Ederle

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QAnon: That Time When We Owned QAnon

The Reluctant Historian

04/28/21 • 71 min

This week, Dakota and Liz dive into the world of QAnon and the many different beliefs that people who adhere to this conspiracy theory hold. Starting with it's inception, Liz takes us on a journey through the wild world of QAnon, while Dakota shares his disbelief. Listen in to hear all about Pizzagate, Save The Children, Human Trafficking Rings, and how this relates to MMORPGs.... trust us, this is one episode you don't want to miss.
Episode Notes
https://www.insider.com/qanon-history-who-is-q-conspiracy-theory-what-does-believe-2021-2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-53416247

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/wayfair-online-conspiracy-theory-1.5657192

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millenarianism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypticism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_flag

https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-qanon.html

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The Donner Party - Part II: How to Stay Alive

The Reluctant Historian

06/23/21 • 48 min

This week, Liz and Dakota conclude the story of the Donner Party, sharing what happened when the group ended up trapped in the mountains, and the tactics they went to in order to survive. Warning - it's not for the faint hearted.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thehistorian)

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The Evolution of the Dog: That Time When We Tamed a Wolf

The Reluctant Historian

03/03/21 • 48 min

In the seventh ever episode, Dakota and Liz trace the evolution of the dog from pre-history to the Victorian Era to today. Diving into the disputes that exist surrounding the where, when, and how dogs were domesticated, Liz takes the listener on a journey to understand how we have come to grow with and tame our furry best friend. They also take some time to talk about the Victorian Explosion, and Darwin's influence on the creation of the more than 400 dog breeds that we know today.
If you love dogs, or know someone who does, this is an excellent episode to take a listen to. The story is fun and easy to follow, and our reluctant historian asks many interesting questions that listeners may also ponder.
Check out the source material for this episode to get a picture of what certain dog breeds looked like in the Victorian Era vs. what they look like now.
Thanks for checking out our podcast, we appreciate each and every one of you! You can email us with corrections or future show topics at:
[email protected]
or
You can follow us on Instagram here @thereluctanthistorian
If you liked what we had to say, please leave us a review, and who knows, you might be featured on future shows.
Source Material:
Dogs 100 Years Ago: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/dogs-evolutionary-tree-genes-breeds-related-human-diseases-a7701371.html#gallery

https://www.voanews.com/usa/native-americans-call-rethink-bering-strait-theory

https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms16082

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(17)30456-4

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6290/1228

https://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/article/evolution-of-dogs

https://thebark.com/content/darwins-dogs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_domestic_dog

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/06/the-origin-of-dogs/484976/

https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/18/15992572/dog-genetics-archaeology-fossils-evolution-domestication-wolves

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07039-z

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The Satanic Panic Part I: That Time When We Played Dungeons and Dragons too Hard

The Reluctant Historian

04/07/21 • 58 min

Welcome back to The Reluctant Historian. Here we are with our first TWO PART episode! In this episode, Liz and Dakota take a look at the cultural and historical movements that helped to drive the strange, and dangerous, 80s phenomenon: The Satanic Ritual Abuse Trials. This episode looks at what was going on in the culture at the time that made people just so darned afraid of stranger danger, Ouija boards, satanic cults, and dungeons and dragons. Dakota also gets to practice being a small town lawyer, and shares his thoughts about Pokémon and the dangers that lurk there.
Also, Liz mentions that there were a number of people accused of Satanic Ritual Abuse and an article by Vox, which you can read in it's entirety here:
https://www.vox.com/2016/10/30/13413864/satanic-panic-ritual-abuse-history-explained
Episode Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_ritual_abuse

https://www.vox.com/2016/10/30/13413864/satanic-panic-ritual-abuse-history-explained

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_memory_syndrome

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/187-uncover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plEImKEIRm8

https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/satanic-panic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Remembers

https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-qanon.html

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The Spanish Inquisition: That Time When We Played on the Rack

The Reluctant Historian

05/12/21 • 41 min

This week, Liz and Dakota talk about the Spanish Inquisition. This episode discusses the reasons for the Spanish Inquisition, what it hoped to accomplish, and some torture tactics used by inquisitors.
Episode Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heresy_in_Christianity

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-da-f%C3%A9

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Spanish-Inquisition

https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/spanish-inquisition1.htm

https://www.history.com/topics/religion/inquisition

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