As I record this, the US Congress has just begun its 116th session and is, in theory, getting to work. Although, I don’t know who they got to swear in the new members because the government is shut down. I guess the guy reading the oaths is an “essential employee”… How does one “shut down” …
Author: eglankler
Episode 209: Thanksgiving or, “The Squanto Treatment”
Fair warning: I’ve given myself a challenge this episode. I’m going to try to teach you a story from American history without cynicism. I’ve realized that my US history class has become a Who’s Who of land stealers, exploiters, and politicians and, while I’m confident that I’m teaching our history the right way; it can …
Episode 208: Central American Migration or, “THE CARAVAN!”
They’re coming… Can you feel it?… Their footsteps reverberating across Mexico… all along the border American troops and border patrol stand guard, gazing into the distance, waiting for them to arrive… The caravan.
Episode 207: Voting or, “Sorry George”
Hey! I don’t know if y’all have heard but, there’s an election going on. I know! Thankfully 3,000 of my Facebook friends have been posting about it nonstop over the last two years so I remembered to vote. But maybe you haven’t heard. So, if I’m the first person to tell you this, then let …
Episode 206: Indigenous Americans (pt. 2) or “1491”
I hope everyone had a great Columbus Day weekend! I did not because I’m from Austin and as of last year, we don’t celebrate Columbus Day. So I had a fantastic Indigenous Peoples’ Day! Take that, Columbus! There’s some Montezuma’s Revenge for you – 500 years too late. This is my second episode in a …
Episode 205: Indigenous Americans (pt. 1), or “Dang I wish I was an Inca”
Two months ago, I traveled around Peru with twelve teenagers. We visited churches and underground crypts filled with artistic displays of human bones. We got altitude sickness and chewed a lot of coca leaves. We were tourists who had to stop and take pictures in front of every beautiful plant or succulent we saw. My …
Episode 204: Immigration or, “Good fences make tense neighbors”
Early in the morning on September 16, 1810, a priest was warned that he would soon be arrested by Spanish officials. His brother and a band of followers took immediate action. They went to the local jail and freed dozens of prisoners, behind bars because, like the priest, they had also been planning to fight …
Episode 203: Sports and Protest or, “Martin, Malcolm, and Colin”
As my husband continues to remind me, we are only a few days away from the start of a new football season. And usually I’m wholly uninterested in what goes on on the field. And I still am. But I am now highly interested in what goes on off the field. With a new football …
Episode 202: History at the Movies or, “The Hungry Panther Games”
Y’all. I just got home from seeing Black Klansman and it’s necessary viewing. Set in the 70s, this movie is not a period piece – it’s not meant to depict a different time. It’s clear that Spike Lee sees parallels between the black experience in the past and our country today and he is not …
Episode 201: Russia, or “What the Helsinki?!”
In 1223, Genghis Khan’s army invaded the territory of the Kievan Rus. They established the Khanate of the Golden Horde and most of eastern Europe fell under Mongol control. It was under this oppressive regime that one principality rose to unite the people of Eastern Europe against Mongol rule. Ivan III joined the various princes …