Episodes

In 2015 the musical Hamilton debuted in New York and for a few years after that it seems like that was all anybody was talking about. The show received unmatched critical acclaim and countless awards, but what was amazing was the way it became a cultural phenomenon. Lin-Manuel Miranda was suddenly America’s “it-man,” and his start hasn’t faded that much since then, especially since in the last year a filmed version of the production was released on Disney +, briefly reviving the Hamilton fervor. We watched it and it was interesting because we all found something in it that struck a chord deep within us. My husband was taken with the choreography, I was floored by the acting and the music, and my ten-year-old, oddly enough, was completely enamored with the lighting. They were all separate things that went into making a singular aesthetic experience that spoke to multitudes of people. I know there are many criticisms of Hamilton, and it’s not as cool as it once was to like it – but politics aside, one can’t deny the artistry of the production. [Read More]

If you want to speak in broad strokes, Joseph McCarthy was brought down by two men: Edward R. Murrow and Joseph Welch. Murrow put in the work. He launched a sustained attack on McCarthy and his antics by highlighting the awfulness of them on his popular show. It was a bold and brave move, one that not too many people were willing to make at the time, and it is why it seems like every journalism school in the world is named the Edward R. Murrow School of Journalism. [Read More]

Due to extenuating circumstances we can’t be with you this week. But we look forward to spending time with you next week! [Read More]

This week was Martin Luther King Day, which is a really important day. We absolutely should celebrate the life and work of Dr. King. But it always irks me a little (okay, a lot) to see white people on Facebook throw up out-of-context quotes from MLK without any thought to what his work was about or what he was fighting for then go right back to straight up supporting systems of white supremacy in their everyday lives. [Read More]

Earlier in the holiday season I asked Kairoticast listeners what they would like to hear from us during this seasonal time and one listener recommended a uchronia or a counterfactual. I’m not prepared to do any Middle-Earth style world building, but I thought in light of the upcoming electoral college events, and future inauguration I would defer to my listeners and take a minute to think about what the world would be like if certain events had gone differently. What would our world look like? So let’s make every historian we know mad and think creatively for a few minutes. [Read More]