Episodes

  • The Many Meanings of the Bunker Hill Monument

    The Many Meanings of the Bunker Hill Monument
    Jun 29 2026

    Very soon after it was completed in 1842, the Bunker Hill monument started to be about a lot more than just the battle that took place on June 17, 1775.

    Research:

    • "Battle of Bunker Hill." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 Nov. 2025. libraries.state.ma.us/login?eburl=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.eb.com&ebtarget=%2Flevels%2Freferencecenter%2Farticle%2FBattle-of-Bunker-Hill%2F18086&ebboatid=9265928. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
    • Markoe, Lauren. “Gun Owners take Aim at New Law.” The Patriot Ledger. Oct. 10 and 11 1998.
    • National Park Service. “Peter Brown.” Last updated 2/26/2025. https://www.nps.gov/people/peter-brown.htm
    • National Park Service. “Remembering Revolution: Bunker Hill Monument.” Last updated 1/2/2025. https://www.nps.gov/bost/remembering-revolution.htm#27EBF851-37AB-4F4E-AA50-9BEDD914F0CC
    • Webster, Daniel. “Dedication Speech for the Unveiling of the Bunker Hill Monument.” 6/17/1843. Via American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/dedication-speech-unveiling-bunker-hill-monument
    • National Park Service. “The Bunker Hill Monument Association: Expressing Gratitude and Patriotism.” Last updated 1/22/2024. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bhma.htm
    • National Park Service. “Bunker Hill Lodge.” Last updated 1/12/2026. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bh-lodge.htm
    • National Park Service. “King Solomon's Lodge.” Last updated 3/30/2023. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bh-ksl.htm
    • Warren, George Washington. “The history of the Bunker Hill monument association during the first century of the United States of America.” Bunker Hill Monument Association. https://archive.org/details/historyofbunkerh00warr/
    • The Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire. “Caleb Stark.” https://www.socnh.org/caleb-stark/
    • Stebbins, G.B. “May Day – North and South.” The liberator. v.16:no.21(1846:May 22). Via Digital Commonwealth. https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:gb19h555q
    • Mansfield, Howard. “Silent Witness.” Yankee. Mar/Apr2025, Vol. 89 Issue 2, p80-106.
    • National Park Service. “Bunker Hill Monument Projection, 1998.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bunker-hill-monument-projection-1998.htm
    • Hay, John. “Broken Hearths: Melville's ‘Israel Potter’ and the Bunker Hill Monument.” The New England Quarterly , June 2016, Vol. 89, No. 2 (June 2016). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24718238
    • Purcell, Sarah J. “Commemoration, Public Art, and the Changing Meaning of the Bunker Hill Monument.” The Public Historian , Vol. 25, No. 2 (Spring 2003). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/tph.2003.25.2.55
    • Everett, Edward. “An oration delivered at Charlestown, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1850.” Boston. 1850. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822038214979
    • National Park Service. “Irish Claims to the Revolution.” 2/26/2025. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/irish-claims-to-the-revolution.htm
    • “Unworthy of Concord: A Know-nothing Appeal.” Pilot, Volume 38, Number 18, 1 May 1875. https://newspapers.bc.edu/?a=d&d=pilot18750501-01.2.19&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------+%2C+4----------------
    • National Park Service. “Operation POW.” March 1, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/operation-pow.htm

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    46 mins
  • SYMHC Classics: Four Paperclippers

    SYMHC Classics: Four Paperclippers
    Jun 27 2026

    This 2021 episode talks about several specialists – most with some involvement with the Nazi party – who entered the U.S. and became citizens through Operation Paperclip.

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    36 mins
  • Behind the Scenes Minis: Pacts and Facts

    Behind the Scenes Minis: Pacts and Facts
    Jun 26 2026

    Holly talks about the agreement known as the Pact of the Catacombs and recent developments related to it. There's then discussion of Daguerre's Legion of Honor medal.

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    25 mins
  • Louis Le Prince, the Missing Inventor of Motion Pictures

    Louis Le Prince, the Missing Inventor of Motion Pictures
    Jun 24 2026

    On September 16, 1890, Louis Le Prince vanished. He was never seen or heard from again. While that is the most well-known thing about him, he had a whole life before that which involved some very intriguing things.

    Research:

    • “Amongst the persons …” The Leeds Mercury. August 2, 1870. https://www.newspapers.com/image/390297596/?match=1&terms=%22Louis%20Le Prince%22
    • Atreyee Gupta. “The Disappearance of Louis Le Prince.” Materials Today. Volume 11, Issues 7–8. 2008. Page 56, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-7021(08)70160-3.
    • Aulas, Jean-Jacques and Jacques Pfend. “Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince, inventeur et artiste, précurseur du cinéma.” 1895. Vol. 32. 2000. https://doi.org/10.4000/1895.110
    • Britannica Editors. "Étienne-Jules Marey". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 May. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Etienne-Jules-Marey
    • Casey, Keiron. “The mystery of Louis Le Prince, the father of cinematography.” Science + Media Museum. Aug. 29, 2013. https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/louis-le-prince-created-the-first-ever-moving-pictures/
    • “CINEMATOGRAPHY Pioneers of Early Cinema: Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince (1841-1890?).” National Media Museum. https://www.meiermovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/PioneersOfEarlyCinemaLouisLe Prince.pdf
    • “First Surviving Film.” Guinness World Records. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-surviving-film
    • Fischer, Paul. “The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession, Murder, and the Movies.” Simon & Schuster. 2022.
    • “Hannibal Goodwin.” National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/inductees/hannibal-goodwin
    • Kelley, Peter. “Louis A. A. Le Prince and the Whitley Family.” Oak Leaves. Oakwood and District Historical Society. Summer 2002. https://www.oakwoodchurch.info/Oak%20Leaves%20Part%203%20-%20Louis%20A%20A%20Le%20Prince%20and%20the%20Whitley%20Family%20by%20Peter%20Kelley.pdf
    • Le Prince, A. “METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ANIMATED PICTURES OF NATURAL SCENERY AND LIFE.” U.S. Patent Office. Jan. 10, 1888. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/26/13/3c/c0bd20490abc9b/US376247.pdf
    • Lewis, Maria. “The tragedy of Louis Le Prince.” ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image). https://www.acmi.net.au/stories-and-ideas/tragedy-louis-le-prince/
    • “The Life, Mystery and Legacy of Louis Le Prince.” Leeds Museums & Galleries. https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/blog-life-mystery-and-legacy-of-louis-le-prince-fylq
    • Marey, Etienne-Jules. “Chronophotographic gun.” Google Arts and Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/chronophotographic-gun-%C3%89tienne-jules-marey-otto-lund/KAFgqcxSaDadqw?hl=en
    • “New research centre honours father of film.” The Reporter. University of Leeds. May 19, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20120205020340/http://reporter.leeds.ac.uk/490/s6.htm
    • “PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT NITROBENZENE.” Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp140-c1-b.pdf
    • Rawlence, Christopher. “The Missing Reel: the untold story of the lost inventor of moving pictures.” New York : Atheneum : Maxwell Macmillan International. 1990. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/missingreeluntol0000rawl/mode/1up
    • “Single-lens Cine Camera by Louis Le Prince.” Science Museum Group. https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co18634/le-prince-single-lens-cine-camera-cine-camera-cinematograph
    • Swift, John. "Siege of Paris". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Jan. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Siege-of-Paris-1870-1871
    • Britannica Editors. "Franco-German War". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 May. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/event/Franco-German-War
    • Youngs, Ian. “Louis Le Prince, who shot the world's first film in Leeds.” BBC. June 23, 2015. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33198686

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    48 mins
  • Catacombs of Rome

    Catacombs of Rome
    Jun 22 2026
    The story of the Roman catacombs is vastly different than that of the catacombs of Paris, as Rome’s are much older and were created for very different reasons. Research: Bonello, Giovanni. “Charting the enigmatic life of Antonio Bosio.” Times of Malta. Dec. 6, 2014. https://timesofmalta.com/article/Charting-the-enigmatic-life-of-Antonio-Bosio.547468Bonello, Giovanni. “How Antonio Bosio Became famous Worldwide.” Times of Malta. Dec. 13, 2014. https://timesofmalta.com/article/How-Antonio-Bosio-became-famous-worldwide.548393Bosio, Antonio. “Roma sotteranea.” 1650. Accessed online: https://books.google.com/books?id=zCXXSKqq3nQC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=falseBritannica Editors. "Edict of Milan". Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Aug. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Edict-of-MilanBritannica Editors. "First Jewish Revolt". Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Mar. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/First-Jewish-RevoltBritannica Editors. "Law of the Twelve Tables". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Mar. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Law-of-the-Twelve-Tables“The Catacombs of Rome.” The Atlantic Monthly. March 1858. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1858/03/the-catacombs-of-rome/627225/Coleman-Norton, Paul R. “The Twelve Tables.” 2024 (eBook). https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/14783/pg14783-images.html“Diocletianic Persecution.” Ebsco. 2023. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/religion-and-philosophy/diocletianic-persecution“Jews in Roman Times.” The Roman Empire. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/jews.htmlLamberton, Clark D. “The Development of Christian Symbolism as Illustrated in Roman Catacomb Painting.” American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 15, no. 4, 1911, pp. 507–22. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/497187Munro, Dana Carleton et al. “Translations and reprints from the original sources of European history : series for 1897.” University of Pennsylvania. 1898. https://archive.org/details/translationsrepr00munr/page/n3/mode/2upNorthcote, James Spencer. “The Roman Catacombs.” Sophia Institute Press. 2017. (Reprint)Northcote, James Spencer. ““The Roman Catacombs; or Some Accounts of the Burial Places of the Early Christians in Rome.” Philadelphia. Peter F. Cunningham. 1857. (Reprint)Osborne, J. “The Roman Catacombs in the Middle Ages.” Papers of the British School at Rome , 1985, Vol. 53 (1985), pp. 278-328. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40310821Perrottet, Tony. “Explore Rome’s Hidden Underworld, Where a City Lurks Beneath a City.” Smithsonian. April/May 2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/explore-romes-hidden-underworld-city-beneath-city-180986228/“PONTIFICAL COMMISSION FOR SACRED ARCHAEOLOGY – Historical Notes.” Vatican. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_commissions/archeo/inglese/documents/rc_com_archeo_doc_20011010_cenni_en.htmlRichter, J. P. “Early Christian Art in the Roman Catacombs.” The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, vol. 6, no. 22, 1905, pp. 286–262. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/856226“The Roman Catacombs.” Architecture. April 20, 1888. No. 414, p. 224. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433084078983&seq=414&q1=catacombs“The Roman Catacombs.” Scientific American, vol. 58, no. 20, 1888, pp. 312–312. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26094597Rossi, Giovannie Battista de, et all. “Roma sotterranea : or, Some account of the Roman catacombs, especially of the cemetery of San Callisto ; comp. from the works of Commendatore de Rossi with the consent of the author.” Longmans, Green, Reader and Dyer. London. 1869. https://archive.org/details/a606740800rossuoft/a606740800rossuoft/page/6/mode/2upRUTGERS, LEONARD VICTOR, and לאונרד רוטגרס. “הקטקומבות היהודיות ברומא: הערכה מחודשת / THE JEWISH CATACOMBS OF ROME RECONSIDERED.” Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies / דברי הקונגרס העולמי למדעי היהדות, י, 1989, pp. 29–36. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23535611Terry, Andrea, and John Osborne. “Un Canadien Errant: Charles Smeaton and the Earliest Photographs of the Roman Catacombs.” RACAR: Revue d’art Canadienne / Canadian Art Review, vol. 32, no. 1/2, 2007, pp. 94–106. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42630755Yeomans, Sarah. “City of the Dead.” Archaeology, vol. 61, no. 4, 2008, pp. 55–62. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41780388See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    41 mins
  • SYMHC Classics: Operation Paperclip

    SYMHC Classics: Operation Paperclip
    Jun 20 2026

    This 2021 episode covers Operation Paperclip, which was the U.S. effort to bring German scientists to work in the U.S. after World War II.

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    39 mins
  • Behind the Scenes Minis: Unexpected Information

    Behind the Scenes Minis: Unexpected Information
    Jun 19 2026

    Tracy talks about how she first became interested in Casimir Pulaski's story, and how her focus changed during research. She also talks about selecting episode topics and later learning the subject is problematic.

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    27 mins
  • Rebecca Smith Pollard, aka Kate Harrington

    Rebecca Smith Pollard, aka Kate Harrington
    Jun 17 2026

    Rebecca Smith Pollard published a book of poems to mark the U.S. centennial in 1876, and also a novel with some questionable messages. She also developed a method to teach children to read that was ahead of its time.

    Research:

    • Chetwynd, Sally Morong “Sam.” “Birth of Rebecca Smith Pollard, Education pioneer – Sept. 20, 1831.” Brass Castle Arts. 9/20/2014. https://brasscastlearts.blogspot.com/2014/09/birth-of-rebecca-smith-pollard.html
    • The Writer’s Almanac. “Tuesday, September 20, 2011.” https://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php%3Fdate=2011%252F09%252F20.html
    • History of Literacy. “Pollard Nominated to Reading Hall of Fame.” History of Reading News. Vol.XXVI No.1 (2002:Fall). Via Archive.org Wayback Machine. https://web.archive.org/web/20160729031119/https://historyliteracy.org/scripts/search_display.php?Article_ID=240
    • Haefner, Marie. “An American Lady.” The Palimpsest. The State Historical Society of Iowa. April 1957. The Palimpsest archive 38(4), 129-176. doi: https://doi.org/10.17077/0031-0360.22585
    • Pollard, Rebecca S. “The Prayers of Eleven Hundred Children.” Our Dumb Animals. Vol. 24, No. 8. January, 1892. https://archive.org/details/sim_animals_our-dumb-animals_1892-01_24_8/
    • The Catholic Educational Review. “Phonetics, Their Origin and Function.” Vol. 24. May 1926. https://archive.org/details/sim_catholic-educational-review_1926-05_24/
    • “Pollard’s Advanced Speller.” Education. Vol. 18, Issue 1. September 1897. https://archive.org/details/sim_education-us_1897-09_18_1/
    • Pollard, R.S. “Educational Appliance.” U.S. Patent No. 375,095. December 20, 1887.
    • Heilman, Arthur W. “Principles and practices of teaching reading.” Columbus, Ohio, C. E. Merrill Books. 1961.
    • Huey, Edmund Burke. “The History And Pedagogy Of Reading With A Review Of The History Of Reading And Writing And Of Methods Texts And Hygiene In Reading.” The Macmillan Company. 1915.
    • “A New Road to Learning.” The Des Moines Register. Page 23. 12/3/1911.
    • Wheatley, Jeffrey. “The Wrong Feeling of Feeling Right: Fanaticism and Sentiment in Anti-Abolitionist Novels.” From Religion and Social Change. Edited by Sabrina Danielsen. Journal of Religion and Society. Supplement 26 (2025.)
    • Harrington, Kate and Miss M.E. Wilson. “The Moonlight Tryst.” Louisville Journal. 1/7/1854.
    • Pollard, Rebecca S. “Emma Bartlett: or, Prejudice and fanaticism.” Cincinnati, Moore, Wilstach, Keys & Overend. 1856.
    • “Emma Bartlett: or, Prejudice and Fanaticism.” Ottumwa Semi-Weekly Courier. 4/16/1857.
    • Pollard, Rebecca S. “Centennial and Other Poems.” Philadelphia : Lippincott. 1876.
    • Kirkham, Samuel. “English Grammar in Familiar Lectures.” New York. Robert B. Collins.
    • “Portrait and Biographical Album of Lee County, Iowa.” Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1887. https://sites.rootsweb.com/~iabiog/lee/pbh1887/pbh1887-s.htm

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    42 mins