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That's History, Babe!

Tales for the girls, gays, and theys 🌈


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  • 19. The Treacherous Couple Who Sold Out America

    01:31:26||Ep. 19
    In a delayed salute to America’s 250th, we take a look this week at the couple whose certified VILLAINY nearly ended the Revolution and the nation itself: Benedict and Peggy Arnold. Learn about Benedict’s early heroics, Peggy’s sassy bratty kind-of-iconic upbringing, the espionage and wheeling and dealing that led to Benedict’s betrayal of the American cause and defection to the British, and speculate why we’re sitting on the floor instead of on the couch directly behind us. Tangents include Tim Gunn, Fergie national anthem, the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT, and an absolutely insane photo of Jared’s butt.SOURCES"From hero to traitor: Benedict Arnold’s day of infamy", National Constitution Center, September 21, 2020 A LESSER TRAGEDY OF ARNOLD'S TREASON, Florie Hutson Heyward, New York Times, March 15, 1931 "Benedict Arnold", National Parks Service Robinson, J. (2012). Benedict Arnold: American Hero, American Villain. On Point, 18(1), 36–43. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26363381 "Valiant Ambition: An Interview with Nathaniel Philbrick", George Washington's Mount Vernon Letter from Benedict Arnold to the Inhabitants of America (1780) "A Philadelphia Belle’s Fateful Marriage to a Traitor", Nancy Rubin Stuart, The Saturday Evening Post, February 13, 2024 "Margaret 'Peggy' Shippen Arnold", New-York Historical Society "The Spying Lady Shippen", History Design Lab, Oberlin College, Eliza Greenbaum Treacherous beauty : Peggy Shippen, the woman behind Benedict Arnold's plot to betray America by Mark Jacob and Stephen Chase (2012) The Colonial Mean Girl Who Almost Ended America Benedict Arnold and The Battle of Quebec | The American Revolution | PBS Benedict Arnold Turns Traitor and Defects to the British | The American Revolution | PBS Benedict Arnold's Raid on Richmond Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered. Interview: James Kirby Martin Nathaniel Philbrick, "Valiant Ambition" 14. Heroes and Villains

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  • 18. Is Colonial Williamsburg a tourist trap?? w/ Madison Albertson

    01:20:52||Ep. 18
    This week on the pod, the brilliant buxom scholaress Madison Albertson returns to teach us a thing or two about “living history”, the school of thought behind such storied American museums as Colonial Williamsburg, Plimoth Patuxet, and many others. What do these places teach us about history that books alone don’t? Where did the idea for them come from? How do they shape how we remember our past? And will they hire Jared to sit in a chair and sew? Tangents include Sheetz vs. Wawa, boob shelves, losing your Game Boy in a hospital waiting room, and the best ways to mourn a totaled 2010 Prius. SOURCESGeorge Washington Birthplace National Monument Here, George Washington Was Born : Memory, Material Culture, and the Public History of a National Monument, University of Georgia Press, 2008Creating Colonial Williamsburg: The Restoration of Virginia's Eighteenth Century Capital by Anders Greenspan“To Live Like a Slave” by Curtia James

  • 17. How Liza Minnelli Made Showbiz Herstory (Part Two)

    01:03:20||Ep. 17
    In part two of our series on mother-daughter showbiz legends Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, we explore how Liza overcame grief and addiction, emerged from her mother's shadow as a fully formed artist, and defended the rights of the LGBTQ community through a career that has spanned seven decades! Tangents include whether we’d have sex with a clone of ourselves, a vaccine for lesbianism, and the wonders of the Cape Cod Melody Tent.SOURCESLiza Minnelli Tells All In Exclusive PEOPLE Interview: 'If I Can Laugh, I Can Get Through Anything' - People Magazine, Liz McNeil, February 2026Be Kind Rewind - Best Actress 1973: Liza Minnelli wins for Cabaret Liza Minelli: ‘I’m Telling It All’ by Liz McNeil and Greg Gorman - People Magazine, March 2026“Place, space, and queer iconicity: Liza Minnelli in Cabaret (1972)” by Marie Josephine Bennett (2025)Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story (2024), dir. Bruce David Klein“Liza’s New York” by Elisa Lipsky-Karasz, Harper’s Bazaar, March 2011

  • 16. How Judy Garland Became the Ultimate Gay Icon (Part One)

    01:19:13||Ep. 16
    We’re not saying they’re bigger than Jesus, but we’re not not saying that either. In our first ever two-part series, Abe and Jared examine the lives of a mother-daughter duo whose names are synonymous with “gay icon”: showbiz legends Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli. In part one, Jared pulls us on a pepped up prance down the Yellow Brick Road to explore Judy’s impact on film and music as well as her personal struggles and comebacks, all with the goal of finally understanding why the queers (especially him) love her so much. Tangents include our first group of haters, The Greatest Showman being the worst movie ever, and Abe getting anxious at the Mermaid Parade.SOURCESJudy Garland on The Dick Cavett Show | The Dick Cavett ShowJudy Garland Beyond The Rainbow | 1997 A&E Biography Special Premiere FULL with Original Commercials Judy Garland COMPLETE 1967 InterviewJudy Garland - It's All For You - The Tonight Show - Johnny CarsonSlayyyter & Judy Garland - CRANK GOES THE TROLLEY The Chaos Behind The Wizard of Oz (and why it turned out ok anyway)Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall: The Greatest Night in Entertainment HistoryDecoder Ring podcast, "Friend of Dorothy: Why do gay people love Judy Garland so much?", Slate magazine, February 10, 2020 How Does a Pop Girl Earn "Gay Icon" Status? By Derek Deng, Byrdie, May 7, 2026 What Does It Take to Be a Gay Icon Today? by Steven Frank, September 25, 2007 Judy Garland: By Myself, American Masters PBS, 2004.

  • 15. The Club Kids: How a Group of Misfits Took Over NYC

    01:19:24||Ep. 15
    Did a corrupted video file ruin an hour of footage from this episode? Yes. Would we ever let that stop us? No. In the 80s and 90s, a pack of queer party animals burst into NYC’s backrooms, bringing a haze of gritty glamour, fashion, drugs, and dance wherever they went. They were the Club Kids; RuPaul, Richie Rich, Amanda LePore, Waltpaper, just to name a few. Join us as we dive into the club kids’ scene, exploring who they were, why they were so sensational, what impacts they had on queer culture, and how their era came to a crushing, violent end. Tangents include making a baby gay cry, Mitchell Musso, pansexual king Wayne Brady, and being lifelong fans of the NBA champion New York Knicks.SOURCESParty Monster: The ShockumentaryMichael Alig & NYC Club Kids on Geraldo 1994 "Beyond the Glitz & Glamour" Michael Alig NYC Club Kids on Geraldo 1992 New York Club Kids on Phil Donahue talkshow 1993 (complete TV show) Club Kids fashion show Joan Rivers RuPaul Welcome Back Party RuPaul Explains The Difficulties of Go-Go Dancing in 1988 The 5 Ninth Avenue Project“Walt Cassidy Walks Us Through the Wild Glamorama of New York City’s Club Kids”, Interview magazine, Christopher Bollen, September 3, 2019Vivacious interview for Standard Hotels, January 25, 2019“Michael Musto on the Prevailing Influence of Club Kid Fashion”, The Fader, Marissa G. Muller, May 2, 2014"After Prison, No After-Hours", New York Times, Kevin Gray, May 14, 2014Michael Alig interview in Interview magazine, Christopher Bollen, April 19, 2010"Club Kids: An Aesthetic Emphasised by Outrageousness, Fabulousness, and Sex", February 15, 2022 "Club USA - Dazzling Photos From 1990s Glitziest NYC Club", Patch “What Michael Alig’s Club Kids Are Doing Now” by William Van Meter, New York magazine, May 20, 2014

  • 14. The Mafia Pope and His Terrible Children: The Story of the Borgias

    01:16:31||Ep. 14
    POV: you’re at the sickest rave of your life. Candles flickering. Incense burning. Gregorians chanting. The place: Vatican City. The year: 1492. The man behind it all: Pope Alexander VI aka Rodrigo Borgia. This week, we return to a place of pope as we tell the story of the most ruthless family in papal history. Hear about the depravity and delusion of the entire Borgia clan in an episode rife with sex and greed, two of Jared’s favorite things. And please PLEASE don’t ask why Abe is wearing sunglasses inside. It’s a private matter. Tangents include Kermit the Frog’s nephew Robin, the show Vikings, Pope Leo blind item, and “Lose Yourself” by Eminem.SOURCES: The Bad Popes by E.R. Chamberlin The Prince by Niccolo MachiavelliHillgarth, J. N. (1996). The Image of Alexander VI and Cesare Borgia in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 59, 119–129. https://doi.org/10.2307/751400 “The Borgias” In Our Time podcast, BBC Radio 4 https://open.spotify.com/episode/10PVoxVIv1iTSt56TNSqpC?si=TI7DR1a-TNOaoNPMWJ6QSANajemy, J. M. (2013). Machiavelli and Cesare Borgia: A Reconsideration of Chapter 7 of “The Prince.” The Review of Politics, 75(4), 539–556. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43670906 Lucrezia Borgia: Poison, Power, and Papal Scandal | Full Documentary | BiographyPope Alexander VI: The Infamous "Borgia Pope"

  • 13. How Bernie Madoff Stole 65 Billion Dollars

    01:07:28||Ep. 13
    “Fake it 'til you make it”, right? Well Bernie Madoff faked it so hard he was sentenced to 150 years in prison! Come with us on a journey through the worst financial crime in US history (that we know of), the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, where one man with a crippling fear of failure scammed thousands of people out of a sickening amount of money (we’re talking tens of billions, girl.) Tangents include but are not limited to the concept of renting a home, crying over dog poop, Sam Levinson and his dad, and whether Abe will marry Claudia or Jared for a different passport.SOURCESA Case Study of a Con Man by Diana Henriques (2018) Bernie Madoff and the largest known Ponzi scheme in history | 60 Minutes The Madoff Affair (full documentary) | FRONTLINE PBS “Latest Batch Of Payouts To 25,000 Victims Of Madoff Ponzi Scheme Total Almost $160 Million” by James Farrell, Forbes 2023The Wizard of Lies (2017) dir. Barry Levinson