Stuff You Missed in History Class

This 2021 episode unpacks the theories of what happened to the sons of Edward IV. The conflict between the House of York and the House of Lancaster has many layers, and any account is colored by the alliances of who gave it.

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Tracy discusses horse- and tennis-related deaths in history. Holly talks about cash being supplanted by credit and debit cards as a preferred method of transaction. 

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Credit cards are integral to the way we bank and shop today, but many of the technologies involved in their daily use were invented in the last 65 years. How did we get from written notes to track money owed for purchases to tap-and-go spending?

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Anne of Brittany experienced a lot of loss from the time she was very young. As she aged and became more and more central to political events of her day, she remained dedicated to protecting the autonomy of the duchy of Brittany.

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This 2013 episode covers Princess Alexandra Amelie of Bavaria who was frail and she exhibited unusual behavior. She told her parents that she had swallowed a glass piano as a child, and was afraid that she would shatter.

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Tracy talks about how she came to love onions after disliking them as a child. Holly discusses her fear of heights, and questions evidence in Ludwig II's death.

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Bernhard von Gudden was renowned as a reformer of asylums in Germany. But that legacy has been eclipsed by his part in getting King Ludwig II of Bavaria deposed.

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In the 1950s, two men tried to corner the market on onions on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and manipulate futures contracts. Then Congress took up legislation to expressly forbid contracts for the sale of onion futures. 

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This 2022 episode covers Helen Duncan, sometimes described inaccurately as Scotland’s last witch, or the last person imprisoned for witchcraft in Britain, or the last person to be tried under the UK’s 1735 Witchcraft Act.

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Tracy shares her surprise at discovering some of the details of Montague Summers's life. Holly talks about bickering within the Society for Psychical Research.

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Major Edward Moor reported strange bell ringing at his home in Great Bealings in 1834. Was it a poltergeist, a hoax, or something else?

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Montague Summers wrote numerous books on witches, werewolves, vampires, black magic, and ghosts, and he edited and published numerous works and claimed to be a clergyman. But who was he, really?

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This 2021 episode covers William Palmer, who was convicted in 1855 as a poisoner though there wasn't any hard evidence. 

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Tracy talks about the frequency of news from research institutions getting reported years after the fact. She also clears up a misunderstanding Holly had about a painting that was discussed this week.

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Part two of the autumn 2026 edition of Unearthed! kicks off with the catch-all potpourri category, then covers edibles and potables, shipwrecks, art, and Halloween-appropriate topics.

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Part one of this autumn edition of Unearthed! covers updates, medical finds, animals, and lots books and letters.

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This 2015 kickoff to the Six Impossible Episodes series features Stagecoach Mary, Edward Mordrake, Robert the Haunted Doll, the London Beer Flood, the Lost Army of Cambyses and La Maupin.

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Holly shares an odd detail about the red barn murder case. She and Tracy also discuss the way Forrest Mars may have affected the way his father's life is described.

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This installment of the eponymous foods series covers candy bars, including Snickers, Mars Bars, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and some side mentions of other candies.

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In the spring of 1828, a news story broke in Suffolk, England about the horrific murder of Maria Marten. Her paramour was the only suspect, but he evaded authorities for some time before he was captured and put on trial.

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This 2022 episode covers Giordano Bruno, a mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, occultist, and according to the Catholic church of 16th-century Italy, a heretic. He met a bad end because of his views, but he started out as a friar.

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Tracy ponders how Sara Weiss knew some of the things she knew and whether her husband characterized her as less informed than she was. Holly talks about a possible relative of Theophilus Brome.

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Screaming skull lore is something that is unique to Britain, though specific skull lore varies. The first episode has roots in the English Civil war, and the second is tied to colonialism in the Caribbean and the slave trade. 

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Sara Weiss wrote a lengthy account of life and afterlife on Mars, a place she said she visited through psychic travels starting in 1892. 

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This 2021 episode covers Colchester, who claimed to be psychic and may have warned President Abraham Lincoln that he was going to be assassinated. 

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Tracy talks about how the beer riots may sound silly, but were underpinned by serious issues. Holly talks about the Elizabeth Fry’s daughters polishing their mother’s image when publishing her diaries.

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Elizabeth Fry is lauded as an early 19th century prison reformer. But she had no formal background or training in prison or social work.

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The Munich Beer Riot of 1844 was a reaction to the price of beer set by the Bavarian government. The Lager Beer Riot took place in Chicago in 1855, and was a response to municipal policies put in place by mayor Levi Boone that targeted the city’s Catholic and immigrant populations.

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This episode from 2017 covers several moments in history when the world came perilously close to a full-scale nuclear war, due to false alarms or miscommunication.

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Holly and Tracy unpack the accusation that Robert Moses purposely built overpass bridges too low for busses to drive under them as a way to keep Black New Yorkers away from Jones Beach.

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The second part of our two-parter on Robert Moses looks at the vast amount of power he amassed in New York’s government, and the many controversies that surrounded the second half of his career.

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Robert Moses is responsible for so much of the infrastructure of New York, including parks, bridges, highways and more. And he remains a divisive figure. The first part of this two-parter covers his rise in New York government.

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This 2021 episode covers smallpox, a viral disease that has existed for millennia. But it’s now one of only two diseases that’s been eradicated through human activity, and a global plan was enacted to do it.

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Holly talks about the lack information about Pinel’s family, and how much she’d like to see Oscar Wilde use social media. Tracy discusses the way the Cooley episode narrowed down the scope of her originally planned topic.

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William B. Coley started using a bacterial infection to treat cancers in the late 19th century, one of the earliest uses of immunotherapy.

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Pinel’s work is considered the precursor to psychiatry. In the late 18th century, he overhauled the asylum system of Paris with his groundbreaking ideas about mental health.

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This 2020 episode covers the Flexner Report, which is often credited with changing the medical field and shaping what medical education looks like today. But this document negatively impacted medicine in the Black community. 

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Tracy and Holly talk about corporal punishment in schools and student loans. Tracy relays her experience at the British Museum.

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Ashurbanipal was the ruler of the Assyrian empire in the 7th century BCE. His 38-year reign was marked by both scholarship and a terrifying brutality.

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This episode takes a quick look at six U.S. Supreme Court cases that all have to do with the rights of children in public primary and secondary schools.