Raspberry: History with Flavor

Episode 18 - Every Day is Sunday with Ken Belson

As we near the Super Bowl, we present a special episode with Ken Belson, author of the bestselling new book, Every Day is Sunday. We have a fun and insightful conversation about how the NFL, starting in 1993, launched itself from a successful sports league into a cultural and financial juggernaut.

Episode 17 - 1942 - War is Annoying as Hell

September 24-30, 1942 - World War II. History books of this week will focus on the huge battles taking place in Stalingrad and Guadalcanal. The newspapers, on the other hand, were way more focused on the home front. The one or two stories about these very famous battles were overshadowed by the endless stories of new rationing at home and the latest scrap metal drive. For soldiers at the front, life was hard. For those at home, life had become very annoying.

Episode 16 - 1980 - A New Chapter

July 20-26 1980 - A New Chapter. The summer of great movies was a cover to distract the country from the horrible economy. Amidst the cratering economy, the country was deciding between the moralizing and sweater-wearing world of Jimmy Carter, or the unlimited and mythical world of Ronald Reagan. Smalls cars against gas guzzlers. We know how that contest turned out. Hijacking to Cuba, East German women on steroids, and scientists telling use all about global warming but we refused to listen.

Episode 15 - 1925 - The Summer For the Gods with Edward Larson

July 12-18, 1925 - The Scopes Trial. In this special episode we are joined with Professor Edward Larson who wrote the definitive book on the famous trial, The Summer For the Gods, about the prosecution of John Scopes for the teaching of evolution. With Prof. Larson we discuss his Pulitzer-prize winning book, the shocking details of the trial, highlighting the two main characters, William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow, along with what this "Trial of the Century" means one hundred years later.

Episode 14 - 1945 - The End of WW 2 with historian and writer Lynne Olson

April 30-May 6, 1945. Europe. In this special episode we discuss the final week of World War 2 in Europe with best-selling author Lynne Olson. We focus on the incredible story of Ravensbruck, an all female concentration camp in Germany, which is at the center of her new book, The Sisterhood of Ravensbruck. As we discuss in the podcast, WW2 is long over, but the war is not truly dead.