Remember: just because you sit on the throne of Saint Peter doesn’t mean you can’t have a pet elephant or turn your palace into a brothel. This week, Jared and Abe plumb the depths of medieval history to explore the lurid, lascivious reigns of the un-holy men who led the Catholic Church. Yes, we’re talking about some BAD POPES. Tangents include but are not limited to Polish face, the snail-like Lombards, Julian Fellowes, and the ethical implications of sleeping with your friend’s older brother.

#popes #catholicchurch #catholics #medievalhistory #historypodcast #history #funnyhistory #forgottenhistory #hiddenhistory #funnystory #discover #religioushistory

Sources:

• The Bad Popes by E.R. Chamberlin
• “On Pornocracy” by Stefan Mattessich
• “TV’s Young Pope Is Scandalous, But the Real Youngest Pope Has the 'Worst Reputation'” by Ashley Hoffman, TIME Magazine
• Pope Leo X: The Most Extravagant Pope in History
• The 1527 Sack of Rome

THAT'S HISTORY, BABE! is hosted by Abe Merker and Jared Tetreau. This episode was produced by Jared Tetreau, Abe Merker, and Claudia Chiossone. Research Assistance by Madison Albertson. Music by Kinneret. Series Artwork by Sid Lugo. Intro Animations by Gemma Hill.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes when there’s a big problem no one wants to deal with, you gotta take matters into your own hands. Case in point: Carrie A. Nation; a devout woman, angry about alcohol, who started smashing up bars with a hatchet! In this episode, Abe and Jared dive deep into the life of Carrie Nation, aka Hatchet Granny, the fierce Temperance crusader and suffragist who’d had just about enough of this “alcohol” foolishness. Join us as we tell the story of this weapon-wielding diva, a tale that will make you ask “How pissed off do you have to be to set a barrel of whiskey on fire in the street?” Tangents include but are not limited to Beauregard Mercer IV esq., Lee Strasberg the first Methodist, and the feeling of the wind blowing through your bob.

Sources:

• Prohibition: America on the Rocks (Lucasfilm, made by JAK Documentary, 2007)
• The Use and Need of the Life of Carrie A Nation by Carrie A Nation (1909)
• Carry A. Nation: The Famous and Original Bar Room Smasher.” Kansas State Historical Society. http://www.kshs.org/exhibits/carry/carry1.htm
• https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/carrie-amelia-moore-nation-2514/
• “Hatchet Nation” by Mark Lawrence Schrad for Slate (2021)
• Vessel of Wrath: The Life and Times of Carry Nation by Robert Lewis Taylor (1966)
• https://www.wctu.org/history
• She’s not a Christian! She’s tampering in dark-sided stuff!

THAT'S HISTORY, BABE! is hosted by Abe Merker and Jared Tetreau. This episode was produced by Jared Tetreau, Abe Merker, and Claudia Chiossone. Research Assistance by Madison Albertson. Music by Kinneret. Series Artwork by Sid Lugo. Intro Animations by Gemma Hill.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some people say dogs are man’s best friend, but we say there are dogs worthy of winning Best Actor at the Academy Awards.

In this week’s episode, Jared and Abe grab their flea combs and diva into the hairy history of animal celebrities. From memes to movies and from the 1920s to the 2020s, we explore famous animals and what they tell us about ourselves. Tangents include but are not limited to The International Canine Semen Bank, projecting our fear of rejection onto baby zoo animals, and the ethics of giving your pet chimp wine and Xanax.

Sources:

• Life & Times Transcript of an interview with Alan Young, October 2007
• Info on Air Bud and the bizarre stuff with his owner
• Beethoven and the St Bernard
• Beethoven
• Koko the Gorilla
• Crystal the Monkey in NY Mag
• What happened with Travis the Chimpanzee
• More Travis
• Crystal PopSugar interview
• “RIN TIN TIN” in Silent Stars (2000) by Jeanine Basinger
• “What’s new pussycat? A genealogy of animal celebrity.” by John Blewitt (2013)
• The saga of Lassie by Vernon Scott - Saturday Evening Post,10/3/1964
• Animal Celebrities by David C Giles (2013)

THAT'S HISTORY, BABE! is hosted by Abe Merker and Jared Tetreau. This episode was produced by Jared Tetreau, Abe Merker, and Claudia Chiossone. Research Assistance by Madison Albertson. Music by Kinneret. Series Artwork by Sid Lugo. Intro Animations by Gemma Hill.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let’s face it: opinionated people can be polarizing. Jared knows it. Abe knows it. And Peggy Eaton – the 1820s political wife who brought the executive branch to a halt - definitely knew it too!

In this episode, Jared and Abe take you back to the age of Andrew Jackson with the story of a scandal that paralyzed his presidency. Learn how snubs and sideways glances in the parlors of Washington, DC cost an entire cabinet their jobs and changed the course of American political history. Tangents include, but are not limited to, Charli XCX x Guy Fieri, the mail, and Mary from SLC marrying her grandpa.

#womenshistory #historypodcast #history #funnyhistory #hiddenhistory #americanhistory #presidentialhistory #thepresidents #andrewjackson #gossip

SOURCES

• Booknotes - C-SPAN | The Petticoat Affair by John Marszalek
• The Jackson Era: Democracy and the Mob | The Cynical Historian
• "One Woman so Dangerous to Public Morals": Gender and Power in the Eaton Affair by Kristen E. Wood
• Andrew Jackson: The American Franchise By Daniel Feller
• The Petticoat Affair: Manners, Mutiny, and Sex in Andrew Jackson's White House by John F. Marszalek

THAT'S HISTORY, BABE! is hosted by Abe Merker and Jared Tetreau. This episode was produced by Jared Tetreau, Abe Merker, and Claudia Chiossone. Research Assistance by Madison Albertson. Music by Kinneret. Series Artwork by Sid Lugo. Intro Animations by Gemma Hill.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nineties television; a hellscape of trashy talk shows. Maury. Jerry. Sally. Ricki. But only one show remains on the airwaves to this day, arguably stronger now than it’s ever been: THE VIEW.

In this episode, Jared and Abe explore the origins of TV’s last highly-rated daytime talk show. What made THE VIEW different from its competitors? Who still watches it and why? How does THE VIEW keep booking all these political guests? And why is Meaghan McCain the way she is? Tangents include, but are not limited to, Sean Connery, the difference between a shark and a sunfish, and Jared’s coaching advice to the Boston Celtics.

SOURCES

• https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/magazine/the-view-politics-tv.html
• https://www.npr.org/2021/12/07/1062175139/the-view-is-cultural-and-political-canon
• https://ew.com/tv/view-hosts-why-they-left/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xht0HcPryWA
• Talking Trash: The Cultural Politics of Daytime TV Talk Shows by Julie Manga
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d62JBdqsG94&t=8s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIDDKKjejbU
• Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV
• https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/barbara-walters?chapter=4&clip=125185&full=true#full-interview

THAT'S HISTORY, BABE! is hosted by Abe Merker and Jared Tetreau. This episode was produced by Jared Tetreau, Abe Merker, and Claudia Chiossone. Research Assistance by Madison Albertson. Music by Kinneret. Series Artwork by Sid Lugo. Intro Animations by Gemma Hill.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don’t you hate when your girlfriend has a husband and you can’t hang with your philosopher bestie due to a silly little war about whether the church should slay or not? Christina of Sweden definitely did.

Take a trip with us to 17th century Sweden, from Christina’s strange childhood and mommy issues to her ascension to the throne and blossoming desire to kiss her lady in waiting. Tangents include, but are not limited to, circumcision, Bunny the cat, and whether Jared is trying to steal Abe’s partner Sam.

SOURCES

Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-89) by Anchi Hoh (2016)

The Making of a Queen: The Education of Christina of Sweden by M.L. Clarke (1978)

Queen Christina, Lesbian Icon? On Sweden’s Delightfully Nonconformist Monarch by Eleanor Medhurst (2024)

The Afterlife of Christina of Sweden: Gender and Sexuality in Heritage and Fiction by Amy Saunders (2019)

https://www-jstor-org.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/stable/1395418?searchText=queen+christina+sweden&seq=1

https://youtu.be/6JDKEUqcjKA?si=eseHdwmOpzk81XgV

'A Girton Girl on a Throne': Queen Christina and Versions of Lesbianism, 1906-1933' by Sarah Waters (1994)

The Court of Christina of Sweden and the Later Adventures of the Queen in Exile by Francis Gribble (1913)

Christina of Sweden by Marguerite Horan Gowen (1944)

The Girl King, dir. Mika Kaurimaski (2015)

Queen Christina, dir. Rouben Mamoulian (1933)

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

02:26 My Annals

06:00 Five Ws

10:14 Xtina’s Bio

24:39 Xtina’s Sexuality

30:42 Xtina’s Gender Expression

32:53 Ebba Sparre

38:32 Was Xtina intersex?

43:56 Descartes at Xtina’s court?

45:38 Xtina’s Cultural Legacy: Garbo’s “Queen Christina”

53:54 Xtina’s Cultural Legacy: “The Girl King”

1:06:38 Follow us on socials!

THAT'S HISTORY, BABE! is hosted by Abe Merker and Jared Tetreau. This episode was produced by Jared Tetreau, Abe Merker, and Claudia Chiossone. Research Assistance by Madison Albertson. Music by Kinneret. Series Artwork by Sid Lugo. Intro Animations by Gemma Hill.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roswell. Hoax photos. Desert people. Racist and factually incorrect History Channel shows. What do all of these things have in common? Aliens.

In this episode, Jared and Abe uncover the truth about the history of alien abductions, tackling tough questions such as: Where did this phenomenon come from? What is the first recorded alien abduction? What’s up with the probing? And most importantly, what the hell was going on in New Hampshire? Tangents include, but are not limited to, barefoot shoes, the jump scare from the movie E.T., and the medieval mentally ill.

This episode was produced by Jared Tetreau, Abe Merker, and Claudia Chiossone, and edited by Jared Tetreau. Music by Kinneret, intro animation by Gemma Hill, research assistance by Madison Albertson, and show artwork by Niall Lowrie.

SOURCES

Abduction, Surgery, and Madness: An Account of a Little Red Man in Thomas Walsingham's Chronica Maiora

They Know Us Better Than We Know Ourselves: The History and Politics of Alien Abduction (2007) by Bridget Brown

After the Flying Saucers Came: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon by Greg Eghigian

Indeed They Have Invaded. Look Around.: POPULAR CULTURE New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Jun 15, 1997 by Phil Patton

“When Did Alien Sightings Turn into Alien Abductions?”(2017) By Greg Eghigian

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Introduction

01:40 - My Annals

06:14 - The Five Ws

09:42 - An interstellar overview

10:59 - Thomas Walsingham and “The Chronica Maiora”

16:32 - Biblical Aliens

18:42 - Is there life on Mars?? Percival Lowell says yes.

21:09 - Aliens invade the public consciousness.

25:52 - Alien conspiracies and the psychology of believers in aliens.

34:28 - George Adamski was ON one.

40:46 - Alien abductions!

45:05 - New Age wellness goop aliens

48:52 - lololol aliens might be real

56:08 - Follow us on socials!

THAT'S HISTORY, BABE! is hosted by Abe Merker and Jared Tetreau. This episode was produced by Jared Tetreau, Abe Merker, and Claudia Chiossone. Research Assistance by Madison Albertson. Music by Kinneret. Series Artwork by Sid Lugo. Intro Animations by Gemma Hill.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The year 2000. A new millennium and, for America, a new president. But who will the people choose?? Twenty-six years later, we still don’t know.

In this episode, Jared and Abe remove their glasses in disbelief as the race between George Bush and Al Gore goes down to the wire in Florida. Recounts. Hanging chads. The Miami Sound Machine. The only thing at stake is the United States of America. Tangents include, but are not limited to, giving out your number at karaoke, fidget rings, bath salts, and which member of the Bush cabinet you’d smoke a blunt with.

This episode was produced by Jared Tetreau, Abe Merker, and Claudia Chiossone, and edited by Jared Tetreau. Research assistance by Madison Albertson. Original music by Kinneret. Intro animation and artwork by Gemma Hill and Niall Lowrie.

SOURCES

537 VOTES, HBO Documentary

https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/publications/butterfly-did-it-aberrant-vote-buchanan-palm-beach-county-florida

https://web.archive.org/web/20100731000517/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/media/election2000/election_night.html

https://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/11/10/election.president.02/

https://guides.law.stanford.edu/c.php?g=991108&p=7170216

https://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~goguen/courses/275f00/abc-chads.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wufOcpTH0HU&list=PLmZWNw4ieD05KKWV7PbErdHrXS1yQu8hM&index=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWETjjTniWo&list=PLmZWNw4ieD05KKWV7PbErdHrXS1yQu8hM&index=5

https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/04/20020430.html

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2000-republican-party-platform

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

03:47 - My Annals

06:50 - The Five W’s

08:38 - The Year 2000

10:41 - Clinton/Gore

12:44 - George W. Bush and Compassionate Conservatism

18:46 - Al Gore’s “Prosperity and Progress”

23:50 - Election Night

31:18 - Florida Florida Florida does a recount recount recount

34:46 - Elian Gonzalez

39:11 - Taking it to the courts!

41:56 - Brooks Brothers Riot

44:55 - Surprise! We all lose!

53:40 - Follow us on socials!

THAT'S HISTORY, BABE! is hosted by Abe Merker and Jared Tetreau. This episode was produced by Jared Tetreau, Abe Merker, and Claudia Chiossone. Research Assistance by Madison Albertson. Music by Kinneret. Series Artwork by Sid Lugo. Intro Animations by Gemma Hill.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.