As long as there’s been oppression, there’ve been people fighting it. This weekly podcast dives into history to drag up the wildest rebels, the most beautiful revolts, and all the people who long to be—and fight to be—free. It explores complex stories of resistance that offer lessons and inspiration for us today, focusing on the ensemble casts that make up each act of history. That is to say, this podcast focuses on Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff.
Margaret talks to you about the history of suicide prevention hotlines and the complications of state intervention in emergency mental health care Original Air Date: 10.20.2025 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Margaret finishes her talk with Cristen Conger about an organizer who was the first Black American woman to own a newspaper and once scared off the Klan Sources: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-may-20-op-anderson20-story.html https://www.npr.org/2021/05/04/993605428/beneath-the-santa-monica-freeway-lies-the-erasure-of-sugar-hill https://americacomesalive.com/california-eagle-newspaper-black-readership-ahead-time/ https://www.pbs.org/blackpress/news_bios/ca_eagle.html https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf6c60052d The Untold Story of Charlotta Spears Bass, Groundbreaking Politician, Nicole A. Mansfield https://www.history.com/articles/nat-turner-rebellion-literacy-slavery https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2021/02/brown-s-first-black-female-graduate-ethel-robinson-s-legacy-on-college-hill https://ncph.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Redlining-and-Racial-Covenants_pdfversion.pdf https://www.segregationbydesign.com/los-angeles/sugar-hill https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/progressive-party-platform-1948 https://mutterhood.com/charlotta-bass/ https://www.blackwomenradicals.com/blog-feed/charlotta-spears-bass https://lamag.com/lahistory/charlotta-bass-kkk/ https://web.archive.org/web/20090819013517/http://www.socallib.org/SCLWebsite/hiseagle.htm https://www.myblackhistory.net/Charlotta_Bass.htm https://www.aaihs.org/charlotta-bass-and-the-cold-war-peace-movement/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Margaret talks to Cristen Conger about an organizer who was the first Black American woman to own a newspaper and once scared off the Klan. Source: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-may-20-op-anderson20-story.html https://www.npr.org/2021/05/04/993605428/beneath-the-santa-monica-freeway-lies-the-erasure-of-sugar-hill https://americacomesalive.com/california-eagle-newspaper-black-readership-ahead-time/ https://www.pbs.org/blackpress/news_bios/ca_eagle.html https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf6c60052d The Untold Story of Charlotta Spears Bass, Groundbreaking Politician, Nicole A. Mansfield https://www.history.com/articles/nat-turner-rebellion-literacy-slavery https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2021/02/brown-s-first-black-female-graduate-ethel-robinson-s-legacy-on-college-hill https://ncph.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Redlining-and-Racial-Covenants_pdfversion.pdf https://www.segregationbydesign.com/los-angeles/sugar-hill https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/progressive-party-platform-1948 https://mutterhood.com/charlotta-bass/ https://www.blackwomenradicals.com/blog-feed/charlotta-spears-bass https://lamag.com/lahistory/charlotta-bass-kkk/ https://web.archive.org/web/20090819013517/http://www.socallib.org/SCLWebsite/hiseagle.htm https://www.myblackhistory.net/Charlotta_Bass.htm https://www.aaihs.org/charlotta-bass-and-the-cold-war-peace-movement/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Margaret continuing talking to Joe Kassabian about how Robin Hood might not have been real, but bandits who supported the peasantry was. Sources: https://mercian-as.co.uk/chester.html https://entertablementabroad.com/2026/06/sheriffs-and-shires-the-geography-of-governance/ https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/culture-leisure/country-parks/history-of-sherwood-forest-robin-hood-and-major-oak https://mercian-as.co.uk/about_sherwood.html https://www.etymonline.com/word/tithe https://www.etymonline.com/word/tour https://www.jstor.org/stable/3678889 https://mercian-as.co.uk/outlaws.html https://sites.nd.edu/manuscript-studies/tag/sloth/ https://www.medievalists.net/2021/05/piers-plowman-great-uprising-1381/ https://robinhoodlegend.com/the-legend/ https://web.archive.org/web/20201116124922/https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/gest-of-robyn-hode https://traditionalbritain.org/blog/walter-scott-as-a-conservative-thinker/ https://web.archive.org/web/20201115204031/https://d.lib.rochester.edu/robin-hood/text/chandler-robin-hood-development-of-a-popular-hero https://www.academia.edu/6274298/Robin_Hood_and_the_Social_Context_of_Late_Medieval_Archery https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Robin_Hood See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Margaret talks to Joe Kassabian about how Robin Hood might not have been real, but bandits who supported the peasantry was Sources: https://mercian-as.co.uk/chester.html https://entertablementabroad.com/2026/06/sheriffs-and-shires-the-geography-of-governance/ https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/culture-leisure/country-parks/history-of-sherwood-forest-robin-hood-and-major-oak https://mercian-as.co.uk/about_sherwood.html https://www.etymonline.com/word/tithe https://www.etymonline.com/word/tour https://www.jstor.org/stable/3678889 https://mercian-as.co.uk/outlaws.html https://sites.nd.edu/manuscript-studies/tag/sloth/ https://www.medievalists.net/2021/05/piers-plowman-great-uprising-1381/ https://robinhoodlegend.com/the-legend/ https://web.archive.org/web/20201116124922/https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/gest-of-robyn-hode https://traditionalbritain.org/blog/walter-scott-as-a-conservative-thinker/ https://web.archive.org/web/20201115204031/https://d.lib.rochester.edu/robin-hood/text/chandler-robin-hood-development-of-a-popular-hero https://www.academia.edu/6274298/Robin_Hood_and_the_Social_Context_of_Late_Medieval_Archery https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Robin_Hood See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Margaret finished telling you about labor and class struggle in Ancient Egypt Sources: https://historyrise.com/article/slavery-and-forced-labor-and-comparative-history-across-egypt/ https://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/slaves.htm https://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/medina.htm https://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/ancient-egypt-kingdoms.html https://vintage.tn/why-is-there-a-city-named-thebes-in-greece-and-a/ https://spokenpast.com/articles/egyptian-dream-book/ https://ancientegypt.fandom.com/wiki/Papyrus_Chester_Beatty_3 https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/egyptian-dream-book-001621 https://www.touregypt.net/kingtomb.htm https://blogs.nature.com/houseofwisdom/2013/01/voluntary-slavery-ancient-egyptians-paid-a-monthly-fee-to-become-temple-slaves.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/11/great-pyramid-tombs-slaves-egypt https://www.thecollector.com/hatshepsut-egyptian-queen-king/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitocris https://historicaleve.com/how-many-cleopatras-were-there-in-egypt/ https://www.thecollector.com/interview-queen-cleopatra-with-prof-paul-cartledge-oxford/ https://www.workingnowandthen.com/blog/wage-theft-the-50-billion-crime-against-workers/ https://www.thecollector.com/how-ancient-egyptians-lived-and-worked-in-the-valley-of-kings/ https://www.google.be/books/edition/Brotherhood_of_Kings/JTvRCwAAQBAJ?hl=fr&gbpv=1&dq=chiefs+of+punt&pg=PA143&printsec=frontcover https://www.wonderfulmuseums.com/museum/why-does-the-british-museum-not-return-artifacts/ https://www.history.com/articles/what-is-the-rosetta-stone Oral correspondence https://www.history.com/articles/mummy-unwrapping-parties-egyptomania https://editions.covecollective.org/content/egypt-and-orientalism https://everydayorientalism.wordpress.com/2023/08/11/orientalism-through-time-and-place-a-virtual-exhibit/ https://ninercommons.charlotte.edu/record/2825?v=pdf https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1089/the-first-labor-strike-in-history/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Margaret talks to you about labor and class struggle in Ancient Egypt. Sources: https://historyrise.com/article/slavery-and-forced-labor-and-comparative-history-across-egypt/ https://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/slaves.htm https://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/medina.htm https://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/ancient-egypt-kingdoms.html https://vintage.tn/why-is-there-a-city-named-thebes-in-greece-and-a/ https://spokenpast.com/articles/egyptian-dream-book/ https://ancientegypt.fandom.com/wiki/Papyrus_Chester_Beatty_3 https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/egyptian-dream-book-001621 https://www.touregypt.net/kingtomb.htm https://blogs.nature.com/houseofwisdom/2013/01/voluntary-slavery-ancient-egyptians-paid-a-monthly-fee-to-become-temple-slaves.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/11/great-pyramid-tombs-slaves-egypt https://www.thecollector.com/hatshepsut-egyptian-queen-king/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitocris https://historicaleve.com/how-many-cleopatras-were-there-in-egypt/ https://www.thecollector.com/interview-queen-cleopatra-with-prof-paul-cartledge-oxford/ https://www.workingnowandthen.com/blog/wage-theft-the-50-billion-crime-against-workers/ https://www.thecollector.com/how-ancient-egyptians-lived-and-worked-in-the-valley-of-kings/ https://www.google.be/books/edition/Brotherhood_of_Kings/JTvRCwAAQBAJ?hl=fr&gbpv=1&dq=chiefs+of+punt&pg=PA143&printsec=frontcover https://www.wonderfulmuseums.com/museum/why-does-the-british-museum-not-return-artifacts/ https://www.history.com/articles/what-is-the-rosetta-stone Oral correspondence https://www.history.com/articles/mummy-unwrapping-parties-egyptomania https://editions.covecollective.org/content/egypt-and-orientalism https://everydayorientalism.wordpress.com/2023/08/11/orientalism-through-time-and-place-a-virtual-exhibit/ https://ninercommons.charlotte.edu/record/2825?v=pdf https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1089/the-first-labor-strike-in-history/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Margaret continues her talk with Bridget Todd about the origins of folk music and the man who dedicated his life to preserving traditional art. Sources: https://acousticguitar.com/alan-lomaxs-steel-string-discoveries/ https://pinemountainsettlement.net/biography-a-z/alan-and-elizabeth-lomax-visitors/ Alan Loman: The Man who Recorded the World, John Szwed Bring Judgment Day: Reclaiming Lead Belly's Truths from Jim Crow's Lies, Sheila Curran Bernard Andy Cohen, personal correspondence https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loYoTc7Aw0A See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Margaret talks with Bridget Todd about the origins of folk music and the man who dedicated his life to preserving traditional art Sources: https://acousticguitar.com/alan-lomaxs-steel-string-discoveries/ https://pinemountainsettlement.net/biography-a-z/alan-and-elizabeth-lomax-visitors/ Alan Loman: The Man who Recorded the World, John Szwed Bring Judgment Day: Reclaiming Lead Belly's Truths from Jim Crow's Lies, Sheila Curran Bernard Andy Cohen, personal correspondence https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loYoTc7Aw0A See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For our longer summer read, Margaret reads you a novella about punk houses and identity and growing up written by a master of the medium See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Margaret continues her talk with Prop about the Texan musician who sung his way out of prison Bring Judgment Day: Reclaiming Lead Belly’s Truths from Jim Crow’s Lies, Sheila Curran Bernard: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/bring-judgment-day/63271E8000571D588BF52B0F7CA2121E (BJD26 for 20% off) Sources: Bring Judgment Day: Reclaiming Lead Belly’s Truths from Jim Crow’s Lies, Sheila Curran Bernard https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/20/archives/if-youre-woke-you-dig-it-no-mickey-mouse-can-be-expected-to-follow.html https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/12/22/what-is-woke-meaning-naacp-leaders-talk-about-the-word-martin-st-lucie-indian-river-treasure-coast/8091099001/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/09/what-is-woke-meaning/11425775002/ https://www.vox.com/culture/21437879/stay-woke-wokeness-history-origin-evolution-controversy https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/scottsboro-boys https://www.history.com/articles/scottsboro-boys https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/ledbetter-huddie-leadbelly See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Margaret talks with Prop about the Texan musician who sung his way out of prison. Bring Judgment Day: Reclaiming Lead Belly’s Truths from Jim Crow’s Lies, Sheila Curran Bernard: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/bring-judgment-day/63271E8000571D588BF52B0F7CA2121E (BJD26 for 20% off) Sources: Bring Judgment Day: Reclaiming Lead Belly’s Truths from Jim Crow’s Lies, Sheila Curran Bernard https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/20/archives/if-youre-woke-you-dig-it-no-mickey-mouse-can-be-expected-to-follow.html https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/12/22/what-is-woke-meaning-naacp-leaders-talk-about-the-word-martin-st-lucie-indian-river-treasure-coast/8091099001/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/09/what-is-woke-meaning/11425775002/ https://www.vox.com/culture/21437879/stay-woke-wokeness-history-origin-evolution-controversy https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/scottsboro-boys https://www.history.com/articles/scottsboro-boys https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/ledbetter-huddie-leadbelly See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Margaret continues talking with Kaveh Hoda about the complicated history of homosexuality and homoeroticism in one of the most important empires of the medieval era. Sources: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41299403 https://www.thecollector.com/osman-i-ottoman-founder/ https://islamichistory.org/osman-gazi/ https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/jmurj/vol9/iss1/4/ https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/homosexuality-ii/ https://www.webology.org/data-cms/articles/20220528061731pmwebology%2019%20(2)%20-%20670%20pdf.pdf https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6074556/ https://yoksis.bilkent.edu.tr/pdf/files/10.1177-0363199013519126.pdf https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/164086 https://www.juancole.com/2025/12/literature-societies-homoerotic.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Margaret talks with Kaveh Hoda about the complicated history of homosexuality and homoeroticism in one of the most important empires of the medieval era. Sources: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41299403 https://www.thecollector.com/osman-i-ottoman-founder/ https://islamichistory.org/osman-gazi/ https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/jmurj/vol9/iss1/4/ https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/homosexuality-ii/ https://www.webology.org/data-cms/articles/20220528061731pmwebology%2019%20(2)%20-%20670%20pdf.pdf https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6074556/ https://yoksis.bilkent.edu.tr/pdf/files/10.1177-0363199013519126.pdf https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/164086 https://www.juancole.com/2025/12/literature-societies-homoerotic.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Margaret reads you several short stories written by the one of the ideological leaders of the Mexican Revolution Original Air Date: 6.1.2025 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Producer's note
Steal the structure. Not the show.
Keep the useful structure, then change the audience, point of view, and voice until the idea is unmistakably yours.
