So many American's like their history manufactured and packaged to suit their world view. They prefer the history they injest to be highly palatable and easily digested, an entree meant to reassure themselves of their own exceptionalism. However, history is as complicated as humanity itself, why would it be anything else? History is, afterall, the study of our ansestors and thus, in a fashion, of ourselves. If history doesn't confront our miscoceptions with stark realities and lessons from the past, what good is it? Historians and authors London Talbot and Mark Iverson run towards these subjects! They enjoy diving in the mess that is American history. Highway to History is the recorded record of their attemot to have interesting and challenging conversations about America's past, present and future. Step on in our 1978 GMC Kingsley motorhome and listen up!
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So many American's like their history manufactured and packaged to suit their world view. They prefer the history they injest to be highly palatable and easily digested, an entree meant to reassure themselves of their own exceptionalism. However, history is as complicated as humanity itself, why would it be anything else? History is, afterall, the study of our ansestors and thus, in a fashion, of ourselves. If history doesn't confront our miscoceptions with stark realities and lessons from the past, what good is it? Historians and authors London Talbot and Mark Iverson run towards these subjects! They enjoy diving in the mess that is American history. Highway to History is the recorded record of their attemot to have interesting and challenging conversations about America's past, present and future. Step on in our 1978 GMC Kingsley motorhome and listen up!
Correction to the episode: enslaved people confiscated by the U.S. Navy after 1808 were freed.
This episode is very explicit and describes horrific acts of violence.
George Washington, like many fellow founding fathers, is a polarizing figure in United States history. In many ways he was the right man for the moment, just the leader to oppose the might of the British Empire of King George the III. However, as he fought tooth and nail to preserve the nation he had helped create alongside the men of the Continental Army, he also denied freedom to hundreds of the African Americans he kept in a state of bondage on his plantation at Mount Vernon, Virginia. He became conflicted as he grew older over the immoral system of slavery he profited from so much. One individual more than the others he enslaved best represents our first president's drive to claim "his "property" despite the ethical dilemma of slavery in the United States. This is the story of Martha Washington's personal servant Ona Maria Judge and her bid for freedom in 1796. Knowing she would never be freed by the Washington's, she fled bondage never to return.
Lindsay Van Allen constantly speaks her mind in the public arena, but not without preparation, an attribute we should all try harder to obtain these days. She is the host of the City Cast Boise Podcast and as such she discusses some of the most controversial issues affecting Boise and Idaho. She also skewers politicians and bigots on various social media platforms such as Tik Tok, Twitter and Instagram where she has the following of over 200,000 listeners. However, Lindsay has an interesting story to tell of the time before she was so well known and informed. In this episode of the IdaHistory Conversations Podcast, we talk about growing up Mormon in rural Idaho and how she came to rebel against the practices of a religion that did not represent her and Mormon women everywhere. She used history, in part, to liberate her mind from what she'd been taught her entire life and in the process, became the advocate for truth and justice she is today.
I met the Naked Neighbor through my friend Chelsea Major, the owner and operator of the Lit Room Book Lounge in Garden City, Idaho. The Naked neighbor, her name is Megan, is a fierce spirit who has had to fight for her identity all her life. I respect her and have already benefited by getting to know her. In this great conversation, we discuss the hurdles that stood and still stand in her way and how these expectations born of American style patriarchy still act as a barrier to equal rights for women in Idaho and America to this day. We also talk about the positive aspects of growing up an Idaho native, and how her family has supported her in becoming the bold artist and advocate for women's rights she is today. I came away from our conversation better for having had it and more invested in aiding the women in my life and beyond in attaining the rights they justly deserve as citizens of these United States.
Author Dean Worbois and I sat down at a picnic table in Boise's Julia Davis Park on a clear November day back in 2023 to talk about history...personal history. I wanted to know what it was like for Dean growing up as a gay child in Boise, Idaho as well as how he experienced his city of birth as a man. Additionally, I sought Dean's insight on America's past, where things stand now, and where he thinks the United States will be at in the future. The result is an honest conversation between two students of history about their experiences coming of age and living in America and the perennial struggle LGBTQ+ Americans must wage to simply live in their country as the people they are and were born to be. Thanks for listening!
To purchase a copy of Dean's book, Gay Bars in Boise, Idaho 1976 - 2021 - A General and Very Personal History, please visit Rediscovered Books in downtown Boise at 180 N 8th St, or online at https://www.rdbooks.org/.
So many American's like their history manufactured and packaged to suit their world view. They prefer the history they injest to be highly palatable and easily digested, an entree meant to reassure themselves of their own exceptionalism. However, history is as complicated as humanity itself, why would it be anything else? History is, afterall, the study of our ansestors and thus, in a fashion, of ourselves. If history doesn't confront our miscoceptions with stark realities and lessons from the past, what good is it? Historians and authors London Talbot and Mark Iverson run towards these subjects! They enjoy diving in the mess that is American history. Highway to History is the recorded record of their attemot to have interesting and challenging conversations about America's past, present and future. Step on in our 1978 GMC Kingsley motorhome and listen up!
