This week at the In The Past Lane history podcast, we take up some timely questions: Who was Harriet Tubman and why did the U.S. Treasury Dept. choose her as the first woman to appear on the $20 bill? And why has President Andrew Jackson been demoted to the backside of the bill? Along the way, we’ll … [Read more...]
Episode 009 Taxes and Tax Revolts in US History and More
This week at In The Past Lane, in honor (if that's the right word) of Tax Day, we take a close look at the history of the fraught relationship between Americans and their taxes. This episode features three segments: 1) an interview with historian William Hogeland about his terrific book on one … [Read more...]
Episode 008 How America Got Cool
This week In The Past Lane looks into the little know and yet hugely significant development of the ice and refrigeration industries in US history. 1) first we tell the story of the Frederick Tudor, The "Ice King," who single-handedly invented the ice industry way back in 1806. This development … [Read more...]
Why Do We Hold Presidential Primaries?
As the citizens of the United States follow this wild and often bewildering presidential primary process, few stop to ask a very important question: why do we have primaries in the first place? In the history of American democracy, political primaries are of relatively recent origin, so when and why … [Read more...]
Episode 006 Why Do We Hold Political Primaries?
This week at In The Past Lane, we take a look at the history behind something that's dominating the news these days: political primaries. 1. First, I present a feature that explores when we invented the political primary and why. 2. This episode also features a History Skinny segment where we … [Read more...]