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Footnoting History

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Rating
★★★★☆
4.3
from
463 reviews
Categories
Country
United States
This podcast has
300 episodes
Language
English
Explicit
No
Date created
2013/02/13
Latest episode
2026/10/10
Average duration
19 min.
Release period
15 days

Description

Footnoting History is a bi-weekly podcast series dedicated to overlooked, popularly unknown, and exciting stories plucked from the footnotes of history. For further reading suggestions, information about our hosts, our complete episode archive, and more visit us at FootnotingHistory.com!

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Podcast episodes

Check latest episodes from Footnoting History podcast


Imperial Japan and African American Activism in the early Twentieth Century
2026/10/10
(Host: Ben) Beginning in the early 20th century, African American intellectuals and organizers such as W.E.B. Dubois and Marcus Garvey held surprising views of solidarity towards the increasingly powerful Imperial Japanese government. Their views evolved in the years leading up to and during the Second World War, however perceptions of a sympathetic ally from both sides of the Pacific disseminated into many rural African American farming communities in the decades leading up to the Modern Civil Rights Movement. Join us on this episode of Footnoting History as we discuss this lesser known and very complicated relationship in recent history.   For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
Westward Ho!
2026/09/19
(Host: Lucy) A bestselling novel you’ve probably never heard of created pop culture waves and sparked a mid-Victorian tourist industry. Westward Ho! is full of daring adventures, exciting sea battles, lush landscapes, and romance, but – unlike the novels of Stevenson and Dickens – is mostly forgotten today. Its author, Charles Kingsley, was an Anglican clergyman, amateur historian, and zealous social reformer. Westward Ho! illustrates his passionate engagement with the issues of his time, from evolution and empire to religious practice. This episode explores these Victorian debates as well as the novel’s mythos of Elizabeth seafarers and the Devon coastline.    For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
More Than Makeup: Red Lipstick from Antiquity to WWII
2026/09/05
(Host: Jessica) Red lipstick is one of the oldest cosmetics on earth. From its oldest archaeological documentation in Bronze Age Ira n, to women in the military being issued 'Montezuma Red' lipstick to spite Hitler. This episode of Footnoting History explores the history and impact of this famous cosmetic.    For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
Henry Knox and the Noble Train of Artillery
2026/08/22
(Host: Ted) In the fall of 1775, the British and American forces were stuck in a prolonged stalemate around Boston, Massachusetts. Then, a young bookseller with a passion for fortifications and artillery, came to General Washington with a bold idea. Join me on Footnoting History as we learn about Henry Knox’s ambitious plan to save the fledgling American Revolution.   For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
The Origins of the Jury
2026/08/08
(Host: Samantha) Have ever had jury duty? Do you dread it or would you like to see what it’s like? The jury – or, rather, the right to a trial by jury – is a cornerstone of the Anglo-American tradition, but where did it come from? Tune into this episode of Footnoting History to learn more.   For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
The Thankful Villages of WWI
2026/07/25
(Host: Jessica) The human cost of World War I was extreme; enlisting meant you and the other men in your village went off to serve together. This also meant that in a single battle, one community might lose all of its young men. And yet there were a few villages where everyone came home; these 'Thankful Villages' became both a blessing and a curse.    For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
Christianity in the Ancient Kingdom of Aksum
2026/07/11
(Host: Ben) In the mid-4th century CE, the powerful Aksumite civilization officially adopted Christianity as its state religion. Join us on this episode of Footnoting History as we look at this often-forgotten chapter of African history and explore the kingdom’s broader trade relationship with the Greco-Roman world.   For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
The Affair of the Poisons
2026/06/27
(Host: Kristin) In 1676, the Marquise de Brinvilliers stood trial in Paris for poisoning. It was a shocking revelation – and result – and, as it turned out, only the beginning of a much larger scandal known as the Affair of the Poisons. Learn about the scandal that rocked Paris on this episode of Footnoting History!        For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
Leon Czolgosz and the Assassination of President McKinley
2026/06/13
(Host: Christine)  In 1901, a man named Leon Czolgosz decided to attend the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. While there, he attacked United States President William McKinley. This episode of Footnoting History looks at the lives of Czolgosz and McKinley, their fatal encounter, the aftermath of the assassination, and how it came to be depicted in a Stephen Sondheim musical.   For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
Drinking in Medieval England Revisited
2026/05/30
(Host: Samantha) Taverns are frequently imagined as bleak, rowdy places occupied exclusively by men but for the occasional buxom serving wench. The popular image, however, does not match the depiction of drinking establishments in medieval sources. Learn more about how medieval drinking establishments should be envisioned in this special revisiting episode of Footnoting History.   For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
Lord Edward's Crusade
2026/05/16
(Host: Ted) Before becoming King, the future Edward I of England fulfilled his vow of going on crusade to the Holy Land. Sometimes called the 9th Crusade, this would also be the last crusade to reach the Holy Land before the fall of Acre and the end of the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. Join me on Footnoting History to learn more about Lord Edward's crusade.   For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
James Smithson's Institution
2026/05/02
(Host: Christine) In the mid-18th century, the illegitimate son of a British noble was born in France. In the mid-19th century, the Smithsonian Institution was founded in the United States. What do these two seemingly unrelated things have to do with each other? Find out in this week’s episode of Footnoting History, as we look at the history of James Smithson–the man behind the creation of the Smithsonian Institution.   For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
“A Forgotten Spot in the Caribbean”: Nevis
2026/04/18
(Host: Jessica)  On the tiny Caribbean island of Nevis, sugar, slavery, and empire shaped the childhood of future Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and the early married life of naval hero Horatio Nelson. From bustling Charlestown streets to windswept plantation estates, this episode of Footnoting History uncovers how a so‑called “forgotten spot in the Caribbean” became the backdrop for global stories of revolution and war.    For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
Tsianina: Artist, Trailblazer… Princess?
2026/04/04
(Host: Lucy) The life of Tsianina Redfeather Blackstone was a remarkable one. It was also a life surrounded by myths, many of which she created herself. This episode explores the career of a Cherokee-Creek woman who lived through the violence of US expansion, forged a musical career that took her to the Metropolitan Opera and the Hollywood Bowl, and helped to create an enduring center for the study of Native American cultures and history.   For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com
The Dog at the Heart of the Corps of Discovery Expedition
2026/03/21
(Host: Ben)  One of the most famous members of the Corps of Discovery Expedition (aka, the Lewis and Clark Expedition) was a four legged 150-pound Newfoundland named Seaman. Join us on this episode of Footnoting History as we take a look at one dog’s remarkable journey, and learn about the lives of working dogs in the early years of the Republic.    For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com

Podcast reviews

Read Footnoting History podcast reviews


4.3 out of 5
463 reviews
★★★★★
Jpar2525 2025/12/10
Love
Find these podcasts super informative and interesting. My current driving podcast!
★★★★★
Grammy93 2023/09/01
Really enjoying!
I’m so happy to hear some history that isn’t about politics today!
★★★★☆
XFC6605 2023/05/14
Great podcast
I have listened to all the episodes this is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to. Highly recommend
★★★☆☆
tamichawk84 2022/11/08
Want to like this but hard to listen to delivery
Like the facts for the most part but delivery is like a script
★★★★★
Solanales 2022/10/09
Interesting podcast
Lots of informative vignettes from history often placed in a larger context that usually are not taught in formal courses. I’ve spent many hours enjoy...
★★★★★
MegMax127 2022/01/03
Quick, and very enjoyable!
I really enjoy listening to the podcast! The length is a little short, but the nice thing about that, is you just get these very interesting short sto...
★★★★★
Omnid 2021/08/18
Always Delightful and Obsure
I really enjoy this podcast and the effort all the presenters go to provide well researched information on obscure topics.
★☆☆☆☆
adwade 2021/04/18
The Evelyn Nesbit episode is atrocious
I like this podcast. But the Evelyn Nesbit episode needs to be addressed because the podcaster literally says that two historical figures raping child...
★★★★★
Civics&Coffee 2021/03/27
How did I not know?
Loving the stories, narrative and style of this podcast. This is a great podcast with an inviting hook - the stories you miss when you bypass the foot...
★★★★☆
cdm421 2021/03/22
Just skip Lucy’s
I thoroughly enjoy this podcast now.
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