
Stuff You Missed in History Class
HowStuffWorks
Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.
Location:
United States
Description:
Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.
Twitter:
@MissedinHistory
Language:
English
Contact:
HowStuffWorks.com One Capital City Plaza 3350 Peachtree Road, Suite 1500 Atlanta, GA 30326 404-760-4729
Website:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/
Email:
media@howstuffworks.com
Episodes
Paracelsus and the Doctrine of Signatures
8/6/2025
16th-century Swiss physician Paracelsus was frustrated with established medical practice and academia and he was sometimes on the lam because of his beliefs. He wrote at length about the idea that items in the natural world carried “signatures” in their appearance that could tell you visually how they could be used medicinally.
Research:
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:35:57
Introducing: Hoax!
8/5/2025
Hi, Stuff You Missed in History Class listeners! We're excited to share with you a sneak peek at iHeartPodcasts' latest release, Hoax!
Hoax!: Why do so many people believe things that aren’t true? In an era when claims of “fake news” come as naturally as breathing, and social media allows lies to spread and multiply like viruses, the question feels more relevant than ever. From the teenage girls who convinced Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that fairies were real in the 19th century to “Balloon boy” in 2009, Hoax! will explore the most audacious and ambitious tricks in history. Along the way, we’ll uncover the reasons people let themselves be fooled and how we can live our lives and engage with the media with a more critical eye. Co-hosted by Noble Blood’s Dana Schwartz and pop culture writer Lizzie Logan, we’ll bring you stories of pranks and grifts throughout history so big and bold they make us question why we believe what we believe in the first place.
Listen to Hoax! on the iHeartRadio App or wherever you get your podcasts!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:01:40
Fitz Hugh Ludlow
8/4/2025
Fitz Hugh Ludlow’s fame as a writer was directly tied to his drug use initially. In his final years, his advocacy for treatment of the illness of addiction was really ahead of its time.
Research:
American QuarterlyJSTORSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:40:38
SYMHC Classics: James Baldwin
8/2/2025
This 2020 episode covers James Baldwin, who was a brilliant essayist, one of the chroniclers of the Civil Rights Movement, and a powerful voice against racism.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:29:04
Behind the Scenes Minis: Opera and Joyous Research
8/1/2025
Holly talks about an opera based on the life of Eadweard Muybridge. Tracy and Holly talk about how they learned about periods as kids.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:29:00
Beatrice Kenner and Midred Smith: Sister Inventors
7/30/2025
Beatrice Kenner’s inventions were focused largely on making life easier and less annoying for herself and the people around her, including period products. Mildred Smith’s invention was about family, and it grew from her disability after she developed multiple sclerosis.
Research:
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:40:52
Eadweard Muybridge
7/28/2025
The invention Eadweard Muybridge is known for is his zoopraxiscope, an early movie technology. But he also innovated in photography, had some other inventions, and was the defendant in a murder trial.
Research:
Encyclopedia BritannicaEncyclopedia BritannicaHistory of PhotographySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:39:16
SYMHC Classics: Mary Winston Jackson
7/26/2025
This 2019 episode covers Mary Winston Jackson, best known as the first black woman to become an engineer at NASA. But she also worked to clear the way for other underrepresented people at NASA.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:29:32
Behind the Scenes Minis: Good News, Bad News
7/25/2025
Tracy talks about current events and how they relate to the show and education. She and Holly also talk about the people who work in national parks and historical sites.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:25:35
Unearthed! in July 2025, Part 2
7/23/2025
This edition of Unearthed! continues, this time covering the mixed items we call potpourri, shipwrecks, edibles and potables, books and letters, and exhumations.
Research:
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:43:11
Unearthed! in July 2025, Part 1
7/21/2025
This installment of Unearthed! starts with lots of updates! And then some art-related unearthings, and a few things at the end that fall under the category of adult content.
Research:
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:45:15
SYMHC Classics: Lady Jane Grey
7/19/2025
This 2017 episode covers a very short time between Edward VI and Mary I when Lady Jane was, at least nominally, Queen of England and Ireland. Whether she had any right to the title is still the subject of dispute.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:28:08
Behind the Scenes Minis: Sewing Basket
7/18/2025
Holly and Tracy discuss the challenge of enlarging sewing patterns from small diagrams. They also talk about one of Butterick's most popular patterns of all time -- the 1952 walk-away dress.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:19:10
Introducing: American History Hotline
7/16/2025
Hi, Stuff You Missed in History Class listeners! We're excited to share with you a sneak peek at iHeartPodcasts' latest release, American History Hotline.
American History Hotline: Bob Crawford searches for the best historians and experts to answer listener questions about American history — from the Revolutionary War to rock & roll feuds. Got a question? Send it to AmericanHistoryHotline@gmail.com.
Listen to American History Hotline on the iHeartRadio App or wherever you get your podcasts!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:01:13
Paper Sewing Patterns, Part 2
7/16/2025
Ellen Curtis Demorest and Ebeneezer Butterick are the two names most often invoked as the start of multi-sized patterns printed for home sewists. Once they proved it was a viable business, a lot of other offerings appeared.
Research:
Journal of Design HistoryJSTOREncyclopedia BritannicaEncyclopedia BritannicaThe Journal of American HistoryJSTORSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:34:49
Paper Sewing Patterns, Part 1
7/14/2025
Commercially available sewing patterns have been a cornerstone of home stitching for a century. But well before they existed, there were people trying to share sewing patterns.
Research:
Journal of Design HistoryJSTOREncyclopedia BritannicaEncyclopedia BritannicaThe Journal of American HistoryJSTORSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:38:21
SYMHC Class: Poison Control
7/12/2025
This 2020 episode examines how the U.S. got to the point of having one resource, specifically for poisoning, that’s so reliable and available that it gets printed on the labels of consumer products.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:36:04
Behind the Scenes Minis: Pens and Dog Radios
7/11/2025
Tracy and Holly talk about their favorite pens, and Tracy describes a unique radio she had as a child.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:20:27
Edwin Howard Armstrong
7/9/2025
Edwin Howard Armstrong isn’t exactly a well-known inventor, but his work in radio literally changed communications around the globe. But his most famous invention – FM radio – became a source of constant frustration after he developed it.
Research:
The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social ScienceJSTORScientific AmericanJSTOREncyclopedia BritannicaScientific AmericanThe Scientific MonthlyJSTORSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:33:22
The Humble Ballpoint Pen
7/7/2025
Before the ballpoint pen, people used their hands, reeds, bamboo, brushes, quills, and eventually nibs to write or draw. But how did things evolve from there to get to things like the fountain pen, and eventually, a ballpoint?
Research:
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:35:35