History on Air

AHA Takes Notice

After four years of podcasting history the American Historical Association (AHA) has finally taken notice of History on Air.  Today they mentioned us on their blog:

History on Air
Started in 2005, History on Air features over one hundred different podcasts on a wide range of historic people, places, and events, including:  Benedict Arnold, John Brown, the Crimean War, the six wives of King Henry VIII, cave paintings, and more.

While I don’t believe we have ever had a podcast on cave paintings, I do appreciate the fact that the AHA finally taking notice of our little podcasts.  Somehow, I feel the podcast is more official now.  Thank you AHA!

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Timeline Software

I used BeeDocs Timeline 3D to create the animated timeline used in our last podcast.  For those of you who want to play with timelines for free (BeeDocs Timeline is $40 or so, but well worth it) you might want to give timetoast a try. Image credit: choreographics

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Listen to History Podcast on Your Zune

The recently launched Zune market place has a page for History Podcast.  So all you Microsoft fan boys and girls and subscribe to history podcast on your Zune.

Image credit: Peter Boden

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John Adams

Today I would like to talk about the John Adams (HBO Miniseries). This originally aired March 16, 2008, but since we don’t have HBO we never watched it. Recently, we were giving a Netflix account from family for Christmas. Michelle, Samantha and I all watched it. As you may know it is largely based on the novel John Adams by David McCullough. I have not yet read McCullough’s book on Adams, but I have read 1776 and think McCullough did a great job covering that momentous year for the new US.

Now that I have watched the HBO mini-series on Adams, I really look forward to reading the book. If you have not watched this series on John Adams you really should, check your local library, use Netflix, like I did or buy it from amazon. You will not be disappointed. But don’t take my word for it. It won 12 Emmy’s, 4 Golden Globes, 2 SAG’s, and many other awards and nominations. This is not to be missed for anyone who is into history, especially those who are into the American Revolution.

Other McCullough Books:
Truman
The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt
Brave Companions

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Want to Podcast?

Start your own podcast.  Here are some books to get you started:

I have not read Podcasting Bible or Podcasting Solutions, but I started my podcast with only the information in Podcasting DIY, and later History Podcast was written up in Podcasting for Dummies.  Don’t let the title of that last one throw you.  One of the best books I have read on hockey was a Hockey for Dummies book!

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Book Review: The Pirate Queen: The Story of Grace O’Malley, Irish Pirate

The first thing I should mention about The Pirate Queen: The Story of Grace O’Malley, Irish Pirate by Alan Gold, is that it is a fictional piece.  For any listeners that enjoyed History Podcast episode 72: Grace O’Malley and would like to read an interesting, but fictional story about the pirate, I would recommend this novel.  However, please be aware that the books language is not for the fainted hearted.  The strong language was a major turn off for me.  The other warning I will give, is the book sometimes reads more like a romance novel than anything else.  All in all, I would say that you should read this book, if you are at all interested in female pirates.  I did enjoy the novel, despite the strong language and minor love scenes.

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at History Podcast,

Jason, Michelle and Samantha

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Spammer Attack

From Flickr User freezelight

In early February spammers (lowliest of the low) attacked the History Podcast Forums.  I have taken down the forums until I can implement new code to stop them.

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Merry Christmas

I know I have not posted in a while, but today is very important!  Merry Christmas to all!  You will be hearing from me in 2009!

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The Surprisingly Cool History of Ice

Until two centuries ago, ice was just an unfortunate side effect of winter. But in the early 1800s, one man saw dollar signs in frozen ponds. Frederic Tudor not only introduced the world to cold glasses of water on hot summer days, he created a thirst people never realized they had.

In 1805, two wealthy brothers from Boston were at a family picnic, enjoying the rare luxuries of cold beverages and ice cream. They joked about how their chilled refreshments would be the envy of all the colonists sweating in the West Indies. It was a passing remark, but it stuck with one of the brothers. His name was Frederic Tudor, and 30 years later, he would ship nearly 200 tons of ice halfway around the globe to become the “Ice King”.

Read the rest on mental_floss

History Podcast: behind the scenes:  Today Samantha is 2 month’s old!

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