This episode tells the story of the Lavender Scare through the experience of a woman, Helen James, who was serving in the US military when she was dishonorably discharged for accusations that she was a lesbian. The episode situates her experiences within the broader Cold War-era Lavender Scare and concludes by discussing how veterans sharing this experience challenged this institutionalized homophobia.
The episode uses oral history interviews to describe the context and famous riot at the Long Binh Jail - a prison built by the US military outside of Saigon to house US soldiers during the Vietnam War. The episode focuses on the racial context that precipitated the riot, as more than half of the jail's population were African Americans.
The episode is a short overview of Carry Nation's leadership in the Temperance Movement in the late 1800s. You learn about how the hatchet became a symbol of her fiery political agenda in the Progressive era. Check out the variety of ways you can incorporate primary source analysis into your class along with this podcast.
In an interview, Gayle King corrected Virginia Governor Ralph Northam who claimed that in 1619 the first Africans arrived in Virginia as indentured servants. But where the first Africans in Virginia enslaved or contract laborers? And what were the legacies of these early laws governing indentured servitude in the New World? Here are some podcast episodes recommended for discussing the distinctions between indentured servitude and enslavement and their legacies today.
The episode, as part of the show's series Seeing White on race in America, focuses on the relationship between race, labor, and capitalism in American colonies. The episode argues that certain laws and structure - "innovations" - became part of the foundation in the construction of whiteness as we understand it today.
The episode focuses on an indentured servant named John Punch who attempted to flee a tobacco farm with two other indentured servants in the Virginia colony in 1640. The episode unravels the impact of the conviction once all three were caught - while the two white men were sentenced to contract work for a period of time, Punch as an African American was sentenced to a lifetime of enslavement.
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This episode includes a lengthy interview with Fred Korematsu's daughter and includes past recordings of him reflecting on his experience protesting Executive Order 6066 that forcibly removed all Japanese and Japanese Americans from the west coast during WW2. Check out our recommendations for digital archives that can be paired with this podcast assignment.
The episode focuses on the trial of Celia, an enslaved woman, who murdered her rapist/slave owner. The podcast's conversational nature featuring a group of historians allows students to "sit in" on a historical discussion. Click for recommendations on how to assign this podcast with primary sources and even a theoretical discussion.
This episode provides an overview of the origin of the Negro Motorist's Green Book - a travel guide for African Americans during post-WW2 Jim Crow America. It situates this guide within the context of the rise of car culture and the Civil Rights Movement.
Teaching with Podcasts 