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One Hundred CenturiesEpisode 16: Lovelace and the Curies, Two Graphic NovelsWelcome back to One Hundred Centuries! In our first full-length episode in a while, we discuss/review two graphic novels about historical scientists: The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage (by Sidney Padua) and Radioactive (by Lauren Redniss). Have a listen as we talk about Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage and …2016-08-1826 minOne Hundred CenturiesBook Spotlight: Under a Painted Sky and The Cure for DreamingIt’s back. After a long fall/winter of having a baby and publishing a book, this quick episode is the first of many this spring and summer. Today I’m spotlighting two teen books set in different historical periods: Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee (1840s West) and The Cure for …2016-04-0713 minOne Hundred CenturiesEpisode Fourteen: The Camera ObscuraThis week’s episode is about the camera obscura (A.K.A. the pinhole camera). It’s a fun and historical device used by astronomers and artists. You can even make one yourself for safe eclipse viewing. Also, do check out pictures of Vermeer’s paintings here: Essential Vermeer Do you think he used a …2015-10-2315 minOne Hundred CenturiesEpisode Thirteen: World War One and the Meaning of Heroism: Interview with Paul ButlerIn the third author interview, I talk with Paul Butler about his book, Hero. It’s set partly in World War I and partly in later years as the aftermath of the war affects different characters’ lives. Listen in above or view the interview as a video below. Paul has written multiple …2015-10-0820 minOne Hundred CenturiesEpisode Twelve: Victory Gardens and Children’s Literature: Interview with Leigh ShearinQuick announcement: If you try to get in touch with the show over the next few weeks but don’t get a response for a while, it’s because we’ve got a baby due soon and our silence means he came and we are super busy. We’re prescheduling content to come out on a regular schedule, but we may be poor correspondents for a while.
In our second author interview, Leigh Shearin discusses life on the homefront of World War Two and her book for middle grade readers, John Bloom and the Victory Garden. For a fun discussion, have a l...2015-09-2426 minOne Hundred CenturiesEpisode Eleven: 1950s Hollywood and Justice Girl: Interview with Julian David StoneQuick announcement: If you try to get in touch with the show over the next few weeks but don’t get a response for a while, it’s because we’ve got a baby due soon and our silence means he came and we are super busy. We’re prescheduling content to come out …2015-09-1027 minOne Hundred CenturiesEpisode Ten: The Discovery of PlutoToday we’ve got some astronomical history for you. The dwarf planet Pluto has had a long and exciting history. There’s a number of fun further reading/viewing/listening resources if you’d like to learn more about Pluto when you’re done with the episode. The Planets by Dava Sobel How I Killed Pluto …2015-06-2431 minOne Hundred CenturiesEpisode Nine: Historical Verse Novels from the Kansas Soddy to VietnamToday we spotlight two historical fiction verse novels for middle grade readers (ages 8 to 12, though many older readers may enjoy them just as much). Both stories feature strong-willed girls with different language barriers who emerge from their tales more confident and resilient. MAY B. by Caroline Starr Rose tells the story of a 12-year-old girl in 1870s Kansas who struggles with dyslexia and finds herself stranded alone in a sod house as winter approaches. INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAINÂ by Thanhha Lai is inspired by the author's own experiences fleeing Vietnam during the fall of Saigon and relocating to Alabama. Th...2015-05-2630 minOne Hundred CenturiesPythagoras and “His” TheoremDue to some power outages, we’re a day late on this episode, but if you love math and science history, I hope we’ve made it up to you. Today we discuss Pythagoras, the theorem he made famous but did not actually discover, and his hippie commune in Croton. We’ve got …2015-05-0829 minOne Hundred CenturiesEpisode Seven: African-American Women’s Activism in the Progressive EraRemember our episode a few weeks ago on women’s clubs? We’d promised to get a little more detailed on African-American women’s activism specifically, and today we’ve got it. Today, it’s also just me, Connie, on the podcast. Stephen wasn’t able to record this time. He’ll be back for the next …2015-04-2320 minOne Hundred CenturiesEpisode Six: Take a Western Bath!No, we’re not talking cowboys. Today we’re talking Western cultures’ bathing traditions (or lack thereof for certain historical periods). What was ancient bathing like? (Our resident classicist, Stephen, draws from his wealth of knowledge on this one.) When did bathing fall out of favor and why did it come back? …2015-04-0929 minOne Hundred CenturiesEpisode Five: The Conquest of Wales and The Wicked and the JustThis week, we do our first historical fiction spotlight and talk about the history behind it. The show begins with the basics of the Edwardian conquest of Wales and leads to a spoiler free discussion of THE WICKED AND THE JUST by J. Anderson Coats, a young adult book about two teenage girls--one English, one Welsh--living in 13th Century Caernarfon (old spelling: Caernarvon).
Correction: I misspoke during the episode and said that Manx was a Brittonic language. In fact it belongs to the other branch of Celtic languages, Goidelic (think Gaelic).
Notes: Sorry about the occasional jingle or bonk in...2015-03-2623 minOne Hundred CenturiesEpisode Four: Women’s Clubs Taking ActionFor our first March podcast, we're honoring Women's History Month by focusing on
the the Women's Club Movement, a phenomenon associated with the later 19th and early 20th centuries. Women's clubs were a way for women to enact change in their communities and lobby for causes while many women across the United States couldn't vote to express their opinions. Join us as we learn about how women's clubs of that time gave women a voice and what they did with it. At the end of the episode, we spotlight the Athens Woman's Club of Athens, Georgia to get a glimpse...2015-03-1225 minOne Hundred CenturiesEpisode Three: What Is the Holy Grail?At last we have the relaunch episode of One Hundred Centuries! From now on, except for announced breaks, we should be releasing an episode every two weeks.
Today we look at two early sources for the grail legend: the earliest source, "Perceval or the The Story of the Grail" by Chrétien de Troyes and an outlier tale with many differences from more traditional grail tellings, "Peredur, Son of Efrawg."
These two sources raise plenty of questions about how this legend originated and what the intended message of the story really is.
What does the grail mean to you?
Play t...2015-02-2639 minOne Hundred CenturiesEpisode Two: The Hamilton-Burr DuelThis time we discuss the lives of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, as well as their famous duel that took place in 1804. It's kind of nutty to think that a vice president shot and killed a founding father. Was it murder? Was it legal (at the time) dueling? You decide.
P.S. As noted in the episode, Hamilton's wife's maiden name seems to be pronounced close to Skyler, but it is actually spelled Schuyler.
Sources:
Isenberg, N. (2007). Fallen founder: The life of Aaron Burr. New York, NY: Penguin.
Murray, J. A. (2007). Alexander Hamilton: America's forgotten founder. New York, NY: Algora Pu...2014-07-2444 minOne Hundred CenturiesEpisode One: Franz FerdinandFor our very first episode, we discuss the life of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. His assassination on June 28th, 1914 sparked the First World War. When you hear about his plans for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, you'll wonder how different 20th century history might have been had he not been killed before having the opportunity to rule.
Additionally, while podcasting, Stephen and I sampled some wine to go with the Austro-Hungarian theme: Steindorfer Apetlon Rouge from Austria and Evolucio Furmint from Hungary. I'm afraid Austria won this round.
The following are our sources for this episode. Beware! Some do contradict one...2014-06-281h 13