S5E10: "Life Goes On: Life magazine as a reporter of historic eras"Life magazine has been in print since the 1880s, but the monthly photographic document publication that usually springs to mind began its run in 1936.  My drop-in guest at NH Makers Fair (apologies for background noise) and I spoke to all iterations of Life to decide how the publication has reflected the excitement of the 20th century in America.

S5E9: "From Stack to Streaming: Unsolved Mysteries as a continuous reflection of America."Author Ally Russell joins the show to discuss and compare the original run of "Unsolved Mysteries" with the Netflix update from 2019.  How have these shows informed, and been informed by, the society and culture of their respective times?Ally's latest book is Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave, which can be found wherever outstanding books are sold.  Her website is allyrussellbooks.comJoin our conversation at everything-history.comLearn more about EPS To Go! at everything-history.com/epstogo#podcast #history #popculture #unsolvedmysteries #tvhistory #robertstack #author #mysteryjames 

S5E8: "A Good Ol' Worker and A Good Ol' Pal: The Erie Canal as a Primary Source"This October is particularly Erie as it marks 200 years since the opening of New York's "Grand Canal."  Kevin Leisten, who teaches social studies within a few miles of the canal, joined me to discuss the Erie Canal as both a reflection of the time in which it was conceived, as well as a force for development and change after it was created.Visit everything-history.com/eriecanal to add to the conversationGo to everything-history.com/epstogo to learn more about the Everything is a Primary Source primary source rental service.#history #popculture #eriecanal #NYS #newyorkhistory #canal #19thcentury

S5E7: "A Walk on the Wilde Side: The Picture of Dorian Gray as a reflection of 1890s society and values"Daniel stopped by at the Makers Fair this Spring and selected to discuss Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray as a document of its era, 1891.  Is it possible that the famed Irish writer was forecasting our 21st century relationship with fame and celebrity, or is it something that people have always had to consider?  Join the conversation at everything-history.com#history #popculture #gothic #horror #oscarwilde #literature #gothicliterature #books

S5E6: "Representatives of Discontented Youth: Repo Man as a document of the early 80s"Richard Erdmann, owner of Mare Booksellers, joined me to talk about 1984's Sci-Fi/Punk Rock/Chase Comedy Repo Man as a reflection of the society and culture of the era.See how you can interact with the conversation, and learn more about EPS To Go! at everything-history.com#history #popculture #punk #repoman #1984 #80s

S5E5: "What Would Coach Bombay Do?: The Mighty Ducks (1992) as a indicator of youth sports in the modern era"This episode was actually recorded over two years ago when I set up my exhibit at just outside McCue's Comedy Club in the Roundabout Diner in Portsmouth, NH.  Comedian Liam Hales sat with me before the show he was hosting and we used The Mighty Ducks as a jumping off point to discuss the evolution of the youth sports coach up to and beyond the early 1990s, when Coach Gordon Bombay reluctantly took to training that ragtag District 5 team in Minneapolis.Join the conversation at everything-history.comLearn more about EPS To Go! at everything-history.com/epstogo#comedy #youthsports #hockey #themightyducks #gordonbombay #history #popculture #podcast

S5E4: "Mama Duck: Robert McCloskey's 'Make Way for Ducklings' as a document of 1941"Children's book author Ashlee Ridlon and I talk about 1941's Make Way for Ducklings and how it acts as a report from 1940s Boston.#history #popculture #makewayforducklings #boston #childrensbooks #picturebooks #caldecottaward 

S5E3: "Survivors: The things we hold onto and collect in storage units"I met with Tony, cohost of the podcast "Storage Unit 217," at the AES Ephemera Fair earlier this year, and we got to talking about our shared interest in helping otherwise forgotten pieces of the past survive as long as possible.Learn more about EPS To Go! and join the conversation at everything-history.com

S5E2: "Age of Enlightenment: Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson as a document of history"Gibby sat down with me at this year's Makers Fest at the Children's Museum of New Hampshire to talk about Calvin and Hobbes and the comic strip's role as a document of the era in which it ran.Learn more about EPS To Go! at everything-history.com/epstogoJoin the discussion at everything-history.com.#history #popculture #calvinandhobbes #comicstrip #sundaycomics #dailycomics 

Season Premiere! S5E1: "All's Fair: The New York State Fair as a living document of the 19th century"I spoke with Jason, a teacher with the NYS OCFS, about the significance of the New York State Fair to Central New York's history and identity.Learn more about EPS To Go! at everything-history.com/epstogoJoin the discussion at everything-history.com.#NYSFair #History #popculture #newyorkhistory #Fair

SEASON FINALE!  S4E50: "Never Forget What They Did Here: The Battle of Gettysburg, and its legacy' as primary sources"Picking up where episode 38 of this season left off, Danielle and I dissect the Battle of Gettysburg--what it connects to in other parts of American History, and its legacy as reflections of different time periods since July 1-3, 1863.Would you like to add your ideas to this conversation? Visit everything-history.com/classroom/epsproject to involve your voice in the dialogue.#history #popculture #civilwar #battleofgettysburg #gettysburg

S4E49: "Magic Moments: Walt Disney World Silhouette Portrait Souvenirs as Primary Sources"I met with Lenore at the Ephemera Fair this past Winter and we talked about the Walt Disney World silhouette portrait souvenir I had on display, something she and her siblings had made when visiting the park in the 1970s.  Although Walt Disney had passed away by the time his company's second park opened that decade, these kinds of souvenirs (which, despite what I report on the podcast, you can still have made), and the Main Street USA section of the park where they can be found, are reminders of his affinity for the simplicity of early 20th Century America.  Lenore and I talk about this trait of Disney's parks as they act as an anchor of sorts, balancing out the high-tech imagineering taking place elsewhere on the same property.#disney #popculture #history #waltdisneyworld #disneyworld #early20thcentury

S4E48: "A Literal Deep-Dive: Scuba diving as a document of modern history"I met Paul at the Ephemera Fair in Greenwich Conn. this past Winter as he was looking to learn about some financial documents that have been in his family since the mid 19th century.  A "Diver's Log" in my collection caught his eye and so we ended up doing a deep dive on the underwater archaeology activity that he is quite familiar with.  #history #popculture #scuba #ephemera #deepdive

S4E47: "Ciencia Publica: Analyzing Popular Science magazine as a primary source"Sylvia is an archivist and a practitioner of material culture analysis.  I was delighted to speak with her a few months ago at the Ephemera Fair in Old Greenwich Connecticut regarding a 1931 issue of Popular Science (or cover thereof) that a student gifted me last year.  In the ultimate coincidence, we just happened to be having our discussion in the former home of Conde Nast publishing, the maker of several popular magazine titles of the 20th century, including Glamour, Vogue, House & Garden, and Vanity Fair.Add to the conversation at everything-history.com/classroom/epsproject#magazines #popularscience #1920s #1930s #history #popculture

S4E46: "In Memorial: ' A Young Man on the Front Line' as a Primary SourceI caught up with Elaine Makas last Fall at the NCSS conference in Boston where she was promoting her book,  A Young Man on the Front Line: Lessons of War.  It is a World War II story following the experiences in the conflict and afterwards by her father, Sgt. Chris Makas.  We discuss not only how his generation and how they handled the crisis that was World War II is a reflection of time and place, but the practice of memorializing them through films, audio and books is a indicator of who we are in the modern era, too.#wwii #memorialday #memoirs #history #popculture

S4E45: "Highways and Byways: Gas station roadmaps of the 20th century as primary sources."Chris has a fondness for the many road trips he and his family took when he was growing up in the second half of the 20th century.  Perhaps it was collecting and studying the maps they picked up at gas stations which propelled him to a career in graphic design.  Even if it didn't, we had a great conversation this past winter at the Ephemera Fair based on the stack of glove-compartment maps I brought along.Join the conversation at everything-history.com/classroom/epsproject#highway #roadsideamericana #byways #roadtrip #memorialdayweekend #roadside #popculture #history

S4E44: "Gilbert & Salmonsen Present 'Space Opera': The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy as documents of their time"I met Gilbert, a social studies teacher in Louisiana, at the NCSS conference in Boston last year.  While Star Wars has been a consistent topic on this podcast, the prequel trilogy has yet to be covered, so Gilbert and I remedied that.  These movies certainly have their flaws, but just like everything else, they are still very telling of time and place. Take part in the conversation at everything-history.com  #starwars #prequels #starwarsprequeltrilogy #starwarsprequels #episodeI #episodeII #episodeIII #Starwarsday #mayforce #may4thbewithyou #history #popculture #modernhistory 

S4E43: "Profile of an Old Stone Face: The Old Man of the Mountain as a reflection of modern New Hampshire."A series of rocky ledges on Cannon Mountain which formed the profile of a man's face in what is now called Franconia Notch, New Hampshire, has been held in importance by the people of the area for thousands of years.  In the modern era, the "Old Man of the Mountain" became the symbol of the state of New Hampshire, unofficially replacing the Seal of the state, even after it collapsed on May 3rd, 2003.  My drop-in guest, Gregg, an educator with Grand Classroom, an experiential education company, shared with me his connection with, and insights about the Great Stone Face last year when we met in Boston.Join the conversation at everything-history.com#nh #oldmanofthemountain #history #newhampshire #popculture

S4E42: "Have You Read Your Atari Today?: looking at the companion comic book to the Atari as a primary source"Dave is a collector of vintage items and ephemera, and a host of The Million Dollar Peddlers on YouTube.  He joined me in Old Greenwich, CT at the ESA Ephemera Fair, to discuss Atari Force, the print companion to the Atari video game systems in the 1980s.  Join the conversation at everything-history,com#history #popculture #atari #comicbooks #freecomicbookday #videogames

S4E41: "Bat TV: Analyzing the 1960s  Batman TV series as a document of its times"Batman returns...after all it's the second time this season we've covered the character, and third time overall (season 1 episode 1 is on the 1989 movie).  Matt, a social studies teacher from Haverhill, MA, by way of Kansas and Rochester, NY, joined me in Boston last Fall to talk about a number of pop culture topics before landing on one of the finest examples of 60s camp there is.Join the conversation at everything-history.com.#batman #adamwest #1960s #tv #joker #1960stv #history #popculture