Amanda Holmes reads Walt Whitman’s poem, “O Captain! My Captain!” Have a suggestion for a poem by a (dead) writer? Email us: podcast@theamericanscholar.org. If we select your entry, you’ll win a copy of a poetry collection edited by David Lehman.
This episode was produced by Stephanie Bastek and features the song “Canvasback” by Chad Crouch.
This episode is the story of a man, who if you don’t know his name, you probably should: Joe Medicine Crow.
Joe Medicine Crow was a scholar, an author, a historian, a spokesperson, and a warrior. In fact, he was the last person to have earned the title of War Chief in the Crow Nation, and he earned that title in a way you probably wouldn’t imagine.
Major League Baseball has a long history of bad marketing ideas. From 10 cent beer night to baseball bat night, to giving fans balls they can throw on to the field as they entered the stadium, baseball has a long list of horrible ideas to bring people into the stadium.
However, the absolute worst idea, by far, occurred on July 12, 1979, when the Chicago White Sox decided to blow up a crate of disco records on an evening which would forever be known as Disco Demolition Night.
Every so often, an idea comes along that is so simple, yet so profound that you smack yourself in the head for not having thought of it yourself.
Even more rare is such an idea that can have global implications. An idea that can create empires, topple kingdoms, and establish economic orders which can last for centuries.
The Mona Lisa is unquestionably the most famous painting in the world. Heck, it is probably the most famous work of art in the world.
Yet the reason why it is so famous is due to an event which happened on the 21st of August 1911. It was wasn’t for the events of that day, the Mona Lisa would probably just be another painting hanging on the walls of the Louver.
Eric and journalist Errin Haines discuss how the current state of upheaval in our country might affect Senator Kamala Harris' chances of becoming Biden's VP running mate. Will voters, now focused on police brutality, support a former prosecutor?
2,000 years ago the Han Empire in China and the Roman Empire in Europe were the two greatest empires in the world. Between them, they covered an enormous amount of the Earth’s land and a large percentage of the world’s population.
But were these two great empires even aware of each other? If so, was there any contact between them?
You probably heard the expression that something is “the greatest thing since sliced bread”.
Well did you ever wonder what the greatest thing was before sliced bread? Or why we measure greatness in terms of sliced bread?
Well, there's an answer to these questions.
How do you advertise a product that's taboo? When Tampax became the first commercially-produced tampon in 1933, no one wanted to talk about menstruation. So the company embraced education as advertising. It’s a strategy that grew from door-to-door sales campaigns to middle school sex ed classes across the country today. But what does it mean when corporations lead the conversation about menstruation?