Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
- SYWednesday · 38 min
Coley's Toxins and the Origins of Immunotherapy
William B. Coley started using a bacterial infection to treat cancers in the late 19th century, one of the earliest uses of immunotherapy. Research: Ahuja, Sana and Sufian Zaheer. “The evolution of cancer immunotherapy: a comprehensive review of its history and current perspectives.” Korean Journal of Clinical Oncology 2024; 20(2): 51-73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14216/kjco.24009 Atkins, Douglas. “Helen Coley Nauts: Advocate for Immunotherapy.” National Library of Medicine. 4/19/2016. https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2016/04/19/helen-coley-nauts-advocate-for-immunotherapy/ Cancer Research Institute. “The History of Cancer Immunotherapy.” Coley, William B. “Therapeutic Value of the Mixed Toxins of the Streptococcus of Erysipelas and Bacillus Prodigiosus in the Treatment of Inoperable Malignant Tumors. With a Report of 160 Cases.” American Journal of the Medical Sciences. September 1896. College of Physicians of Philadelphia. “Cancer Vaccines and Immunotherapy.” History of Vaccines. https://historyofvaccines.org/vaccines-101/future-immunization/cancer-vaccines-and-immunotherapy/ Colley, William B. “The Treatment of Inoperable Sarcoma by Bacterial Toxins (the Mixed Toxins of the Streptococcus erysipelas and the Bacillus prodigiosus).” Reprinted from the “ Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine,” November, 1909. London. John Bale, Sons & Danielsson, LTD. 1909. https://archive.org/details/b22425949/mode/1up Decker WK, da Silva RF, Sanabria MH, Angelo LS, Guimarães F, Burt BM, Kheradmand F and Paust S (2017) Cancer Immunotherapy: Historical Perspective of a Clinical Revolution and Emerging Preclinical Animal Models. Front. Immunol. 8:829. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00829 Devaraja, K. et al. “Coley’s Toxin to First Approved Therapeutic Vaccine—A Brief Historical Account in the Progression of Immunobiology-Based Cancer Treatment.” Biomedicines 2024, 12, 2746. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines12122746 Dobosz, Paula and Tomasz Dzieciatkowski.” The Intriguing History of Cancer Immunotherapy. Frontiers in Immunology. 12/17/2019. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02965 Hall, Stephen S. “A Commotion in the Blood: Life, Death, and the Immune System.” Henry Holt and Company. Excerpted at New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/hall-commotion.html Harutyunyan, Mariam. “How William Coley Became The Father of Cancer Immunotherapy.” OncoDaily Magazine. 7/31/2026. https://oncodaily.com/magazine/william-coley-549446 Hiroaki Ikeda, Cancer immunotherapy in progress—an overview of the past 130 years, International Immunology, Volume 37, Issue 5, May 2025, Pages 253–260, https://doi.org/10.1093/intimm/dxaf002 Journal of the American Medical Association. “Erysipelas Toxins in the Treatment of Malignant Tumors.” 10/27/1894. Journal of the American Medical Association. “The Failure of the Erysipelas Toxins.” Vol 23 Iss 24. 12/15/1894. Kokolus, Katie. “The History of Immunotherapy: Toxins, Targets & T Cells.” LabRoots. 10/18/2021. https://www.labroots.com/trending/cancer/21449/history-immunotherapy-toxins-targets-cells?srsltid=AfmBOooP1eoVP2LbWKR5m-HLu1PSBFhOyPH1jSJWWcxvyK6EA4-hBu47 Levine, David B. “The Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled: William Bradley Coley, third Surgeon-in-Chief 1925-1933.” HSS journal : the musculoskeletal journal of Hospital for Special Surgery vol. 4,1 (2008): 1-9. doi:10.1007/s11420-007-9063-2 McCarthy, Edward F. “The Toxins of William B. Coley and the Treatment of Bone and Soft-tissue Sarcomas.” The Iowa Orthopaedic Journal. Vol. 26. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. “MSK Immunotherapy — Timeline of Progress.” https://www.mskcc.org/timeline/immunotherapy-msk National Library of Medicine. “Harnessing the Power of You: The History of Immunotherapy.” https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/the-history-of-immunotherapy/index.html Nauts, Helen Coley. “Coley’s Toxins – The First Century.” Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients. June 2004. Nawrat, Allie. “Charting the history of immunotherapy, cancer treatment’s fourth pillar.” Pharmaceutical Technology. 7/28/2020. https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/charting-the-history-of-immunotherapy-cancer-treatments-fourth-pillar/?cf-view&cf-closed Oiseth SJ, Aziz MS. “Cancer immunotherapy: a brief review of the history, possibilities, and challenges ahead.” J Cancer Metastasis Treat. 2017;3:250-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-4722.2017.41 Tontonoz, Matthew. “What Ever Happened to Coley’s Toxins?.” Cancer Research Institute. 4/2/2015. https://www.cancerresearch.org/blog/what-ever-happened-to-coleys-toxins See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYMonday · 39 min
Philippe Pinel
Pinel’s work is considered the precursor to psychiatry. In the late 18th century, he overhauled the asylum system of Paris with his groundbreaking ideas about mental health. Research: Bicêtre Hospital. https://hopital-bicetre.aphp.fr/lhopital Boullerne, A.I., et al. “The origins and early history of neurochemistry and its societies.” Journal of Neurochemistry. 152: 8-28. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnc.14839 Chambers, William. “Chambers' Edinburgh journal.” Vol. 11-132. 1849. London. William Orr. https://archive.org/details/chambersedinburg1112cham/page/n179/mode/2up Charland, Louis C. 2018. “Lost in Myth, Lost in Translation: Philippe Pinel’s 1809 Medico-Philosophical Treatise on Mental Alienation.” International Journal of Mental Health 47 (3): 245–49. doi:10.1080/00207411.2018.1483053. Gallaher, John G. and Paul Stewart. “Fall of Robespierre.” EBSCO. 2023. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/fall-robespierre Hewitt, Jessie. “Gender and the Founding ‘Fathers’ of French Psychiatry.” Institutionalizing Gender: Madness, the Family, and Psychiatric Power in Nineteenth-Century France, Cornell University Press, 2020, pp. 19–42. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctv136c5pw.5 Huneman, Philippe. “Writing the Case—Pinel as Psychiatrist.” Republics of Letters: A Journal for the Study of Knowledge, Politics, and the Arts 3, no. 2 ( January 15, 2014): http://arcade.stanford.edu/rofl/writing-case -pinel-psychiatrist. KAVKA, JEROME. “PINEL’S CONCEPTION OF THE PSYCHOPATHIC STATE: An Historical Critique.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 23, no. 5, 1949, pp. 461–68. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44442272 Kendler, Kenneth S. “Philippe Pinel and the foundations of modern psychiatric nosology.” Psychological medicine vol. 50,16 (2020): 2667-2672. doi:10.1017/S0033291720004183 Lakritz, Kenneth, MD. “Michel Foucault’s Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason.” Psychiatric Times. Vol. 26, no. 6. June 4, 2009. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/michel-foucaults-madness-and-civilization-history-insanity-age-reason Paradowski, Robert J., PhD. “Philippe Pinel.” EBSCO. 2024. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/health-and-medicine/philippe-pinel Pearce, J.M.S. “The beginnings of humane psychiatry: Pinel and the Tukes.” Hektoen International. June 4, 2020. https://hekint.org/2020/06/04/the-beginnings-of-humane-psychiatry-pinel-and-the-tukes/ Pinel, Philippe. Tr. by Gordon Hickish, David Healy, Louis C. Charland. “MEDICO-PHILOSOPHICAL TREATISE ON MENTAL ALIENATION.” Wiley-Blackwell. 2008. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/9780470712238.fmatter Pinel, Philippe. “A Treatise on Insanity … “ Sheffield. W. Todd. 1806. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4snWNO1lETAC/page/n7/mode/2up Pinel, Philippe. “A Treatise on Insanity.” New York : Published under the auspices of the Library of the New York Academy of Medicine by Hafner Pub. Co. 1962. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/treatiseoninsani0000pine/page/n1/mode/2up Weiner, D B. “Philippe Pinel's "Memoir on Madness" of December 11, 1794: a fundamental text of modern psychiatry.” The American journal of psychiatry. vol. 149,6 (1992): 725-32. doi:10.1176/ajp.149.6.725 Weissmann, Gerald. “Citizen Pinel and the Madman at Bellevue.” The FASEB Journal. May 1, 2008. https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1096/fj.08-0501ufm WILLIAMS, ELIZABETH A. “Stomach and Psyche: Eating, Digestion, and Mental Illness in the Medicine of Philippe Pinel.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 84, no. 3, 2010, pp. 358–86. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44448968 WOODS, EVELYN A., and ERIC T. CARLSON. “THE PSYCHIATRY OF PHILIPPE PINEL.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 35, no. 1, 1961, pp. 14–25. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44446761 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYSaturday · 39 min
SYMHC Classics: Flexner Report
This 2020 episode covers the Flexner Report, which is often credited with changing the medical field and shaping what medical education looks like today. But this document negatively impacted medicine in the Black community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYSeptember 11 · 31 min
Behind the Scenes Minis: Paddles and The British Museum
Tracy and Holly talk about corporal punishment in schools and student loans. Tracy relays her experience at the British Museum. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYSeptember 9 · 37 min
Ashurbanipal
Ashurbanipal was the ruler of the Assyrian empire in the 7th century BCE. His 38-year reign was marked by both scholarship and a terrifying brutality. Research: "Babylon." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 Mar. 2025. libraries.state.ma.us/login?eburl=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.eb.com&ebtarget=%2Flevels%2Freferencecenter%2Farticle%2FBabylon%2F11618&ebboatid=9265928. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026. Ashurbanipal Library Project. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/asbp/index.html " Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631000306/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=f497ef8d. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026. Bonatz, Dominik. “Ashurbanipal's Headhunt: An Anthropological Perspective.” Iraq , 2004, Vol. 66, Nineveh. Papers of the 49th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Part One (2004). https://www.jstor.org/stable/4200564 “Ashurbanipal.” https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/ashurbanipal Fincke, Jeanette C. “The British Museum's Ashurbanipal Library Project.” Iraq , 2004, Vol. 66, Nineveh. Papers of the 49th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Part One (2004). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4200559 Hughes, Tristan. “Ashurbanipal: The Last Great King of Assyria.” The Ancients podcast. 8/20/2025. https://shows.acast.com/the-ancients/episodes/ashurbanipal-the-last-great-king-of-assyria Osborne, James. “He tried to conquer knowledge itself – instead this ancient Mesopotamian king resorted to rule with terror.” History Extra. 8/14/2025. https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/he-tried-to-conquer-knowledge-itself/ Taylor, Jonathan. 'About the project', Ashurbanipal Library Project, The Ashurbanipal Library Project, Department of the Middle East, The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG, 2022 http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/asbp/Abouttheproject/ The British Museum. “Who was Ashurbanipal?” https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/who-was-ashurbanipal Urbanus, Jason. “Royal Bibliophile.” Archaeology. Jul/Aug2024, Vol. 77 Issue 4, p40-41. Wilkes, Jonny. “Ashurbanipal 'the Great', the Lion of Assyria.” History Extra. https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/who-was-ashurbanipal-lion-assyria-facts/ Wiseman, Donald John. "Ashurbanipal". Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 May. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ashurbanipal. Accessed 17 August 2026 Wisnom, Selena. “The Library of Ashurbanipal.” History Today. 4/4/2025. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/library-ashurbanipal See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYSeptember 7 · 41 min
Six Impossible Episodes: Back-to-Court
This episode takes a quick look at six U.S. Supreme Court cases that all have to do with the rights of children in public primary and secondary schools. Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/374/203 Bowman, Kristine. “West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943).” Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University. https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/west-virginia-state-board-of-education-v-barnette/ Cornell Law School. “Engel v. Vitale (1962).) https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/engel_v._vitale_(1962) Dynia, Philip A. “Rights of Students.” Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University. 8/11/2023, updated 5/27/2026. https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/rights-of-students/ Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/370/421/ Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/484/260/ Ingraham v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651 (1977). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/430/651/ Ingraham v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651 (1977). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/430/651/ National Education Association. “Corporal Punishment in Schools Still Legal in Many States.” https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/corporal-punishment-schools-still-legal-many-states Oyez. “West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette.” https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/319us624 Pfeffer, Leo. “THE NEW YORK REGENTS’ PRAYER CASE (ENGEL V. VITALE).” Journal of Church and State, vol. 4, no. 2, 1962, pp. 150–58. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org.proxy.bostonathenaeum.org/stable/23913195. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026. Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969) https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/393/503/ West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943) https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/319/624/#tab-opinion-1937809 Zinn Education Project. “June 14, 1943: Supreme Court Finds Compulsory Flag Salutes Unconstitutional.” https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/compulsory-flag-salutes-unconstitutional/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYSeptember 5 · 36 min
SYMHC Classics: Olympe de Gouges
This 2021 episode covers Olympe de Gouges, known primarily for her 1791 pamphlet “Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Citizen.” But her writing and political activity went far beyond that one pamphlet. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYSeptember 4 · 16 min
Behind the Scenes Minis: Percy Theories
Holly shares additional details of Percy Fawcett's life, including theories about his interest in spiritualism leading him to some odd conclusions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYSeptember 2 · 37 min
Percy Fawcett, Manuscript 512, and a Lost City in the Amazon, Pt. 2
The second part of Percy Fawcett's story delves into his fascination with a document known as Manuscript 512 and how it impacted his life. His obsession led to his disappearance; there has been endless speculation about what exactly happened. Research: Biello, David. “Ancient Amazon Actually Highly Urbanized.” Scientific American. August 28, 2008. “The Brazilian Indigenous People.” Survival International. https://www.survivalinternational.org/peoples/brazilian Britannica Editors. "Mato Grosso". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Jan. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/place/Mato-Grosso Canal-Soler, Jordi. “The man who died searching for the Lost City of Z.” National geographic. June 13, 2024. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/percy-fawcett-search-lost-city-of-z Fawcett, Lt-Col P.H. “Exploration Fawcett.” Hutchinson & Co. London. 1953. “Fawcett’s Bones Believed Found; Explorer Lost in Brazil Jungle in ’25.” New York Times. April 4, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/04/04/82103136.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 “Fawcett Mystery Unsolved.” New York Times. Nov. 5, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/11/05/81775504.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 Grann, David. “The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon.” Doubleday. 2009. “Hidden City Is the Goal.” Los Angeles Times. Jan 12, 1925. https://www.newspapers.com/image/380427463/ Hutchison, Percy. “Hunting for Lost Explorers in the Jungles of Brazil.” New York Times. Jan. 26, 1930. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/01/26/96041140.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 Moutinho, Sofia. “A Foundation of Trust.” Science. Nov. 6, 2025. https://www.science.org/content/article/unearth-their-past-amazonian-people-turn-language-white-men-understand “'Lost' report exposes Brazilian Indian genocide.” Survival International. April 25, 2013. https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/9191 “On Colonel Fawcett’s Train in Unknown Brazil by Air and River.” Illustrated London News. Sep 10, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1143308620/?match=2&terms=%22Vincenzo%20Petrullo%22&search-id=72603589-1171-4291-b93b-9c5eeffb7d90&search-rank=1 “Percy Fawcett.” Spike Island. https://www.spikeislandcork.ie/percy-fawcett/ “Lieutenant Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett DSO, (MiD).” Tiegnmouth & Shaldon Remembers WW1. Teign Heritage. https://www.teignheritageworldwar.org.uk/index.php/lieutenant-colonel-percy-harrison-fawcett Pezzati, Alessandro. "The Lost Explorer." Expedition Magazine59, no. 2. September, 2017. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-lost-explorer/ Potts, Mary Anne. “Finding Machu Picchu: A Look at Explorer Hiram Bingham, A Real-Life Indiana Jones.” National Geographic. May 26, 2010. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/machu-picchu-hiram-bingham “Remembering Col. Fawcett in WWI.” Torquay Museum. Nov. 4, 2021. https://torquaymuseum.org/news/view/remembering-col-fawcett-in-wwi Ribeiro, Taisa Alves and André Luiz Alves Moreno. “Towards an Archaeology of the Written Culture of Chapada Diamantina-BA: The Case of Manuscript 512.” Garimpus: Journal of Languages, Education and Culture in Chapada Diamantina. Vol. 2, no. 1. 2021. https://www.revistas.uneb.br/garimpus/article/view/8740 “Son of Lost Explorer Says Bones Are Not Fawcett's.” New York Times. Nov. 4, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/11/04/96221387.html?pageNumber=66 Squires, Cole. “TRANSCRIPTION/TRANSLATION NOTES (Manuscript 512).” Harvard. https://people.math.harvard.edu/~knill/teaching/mathe320_2021/exhibits/manuscript512/translation.pdf “Sustainable Mato Grosso.” Amazon Fund. https://www.amazonfund.gov.br/en/projeto/Sustainable-Mato-Grosso/ “Swindon Woman Awaits News of Colonel Fawcett.” Swindon Advertiser. April 13, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1209686028/?match=2&terms=%22percy%20fawcett%22&search-id=667a33c0-fac9-457e-bcf9-349a1d9b7e9f&search-rank=2 “Why do they hide?” Survival International. https://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/3104-why-do-they-hide See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYAugust 31 · 34 min
Percy Fawcett, Manuscript 512, and a Lost City in the Amazon, Pt. 1
Fawcett’s life has invited controversy and speculation, because he was a man who did a mix of great and shady things. Part one covers his early life, marriage, military service, and early visits to South America. Research: Biello, David. “Ancient Amazon Actually Highly Urbanized.” Scientific American. August 28, 2008. “The Brazilian Indigenous People.” Survival International. https://www.survivalinternational.org/peoples/brazilian Britannica Editors. "Mato Grosso". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Jan. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/place/Mato-Grosso Canal-Soler, Jordi. “The man who died searching for the Lost City of Z.” National geographic. June 13, 2024. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/percy-fawcett-search-lost-city-of-z Fawcett, Lt-Col P.H. “Exploration Fawcett.” Hutchinson & Co. London. 1953. “Fawcett’s Bones Believed Found; Explorer Lost in Brazil Jungle in ’25.” New York Times. April 4, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/04/04/82103136.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 “Fawcett Mystery Unsolved.” New York Times. Nov. 5, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/11/05/81775504.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 Grann, David. “The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon.” Doubleday. 2009. “Hidden City Is the Goal.” Los Angeles Times. Jan 12, 1925. https://www.newspapers.com/image/380427463/ Hutchison, Percy. “Hunting for Lost Explorers in the Jungles of Brazil.” New York Times. Jan. 26, 1930. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/01/26/96041140.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 Moutinho, Sofia. “A Foundation of Trust.” Science. Nov. 6, 2025. https://www.science.org/content/article/unearth-their-past-amazonian-people-turn-language-white-men-understand “'Lost' report exposes Brazilian Indian genocide.” Survival International. April 25, 2013. https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/9191 “On Colonel Fawcett’s Train in Unknown Brazil by Air and River.” Illustrated London News. Sep 10, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1143308620/?match=2&terms=%22Vincenzo%20Petrullo%22&search-id=72603589-1171-4291-b93b-9c5eeffb7d90&search-rank=1 “Percy Fawcett.” Spike Island. https://www.spikeislandcork.ie/percy-fawcett/ “Lieutenant Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett DSO, (MiD).” Tiegnmouth & Shaldon Remembers WW1. Teign Heritage. https://www.teignheritageworldwar.org.uk/index.php/lieutenant-colonel-percy-harrison-fawcett Pezzati, Alessandro. "The Lost Explorer." Expedition Magazine59, no. 2. September, 2017. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-lost-explorer/ Potts, Mary Anne. “Finding Machu Picchu: A Look at Explorer Hiram Bingham, A Real-Life Indiana Jones.” National Geographic. May 26, 2010. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/machu-picchu-hiram-bingham “Remembering Col. Fawcett in WWI.” Torquay Museum. Nov. 4, 2021. https://torquaymuseum.org/news/view/remembering-col-fawcett-in-wwi Ribeiro, Taisa Alves and André Luiz Alves Moreno. “Towards an Archaeology of the Written Culture of Chapada Diamantina-BA: The Case of Manuscript 512.” Garimpus: Journal of Languages, Education and Culture in Chapada Diamantina. Vol. 2, no. 1. 2021. https://www.revistas.uneb.br/garimpus/article/view/8740 “Son of Lost Explorer Says Bones Are Not Fawcett's.” New York Times. Nov. 4, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/11/04/96221387.html?pageNumber=66 Squires, Cole. “TRANSCRIPTION/TRANSLATION NOTES (Manuscript 512).” Harvard. https://people.math.harvard.edu/~knill/teaching/mathe320_2021/exhibits/manuscript512/translation.pdf “Sustainable Mato Grosso.” Amazon Fund. https://www.amazonfund.gov.br/en/projeto/Sustainable-Mato-Grosso/ “Swindon Woman Awaits News of Colonel Fawcett.” Swindon Advertiser. April 13, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1209686028/?match=2&terms=%22percy%20fawcett%22&search-id=667a33c0-fac9-457e-bcf9-349a1d9b7e9f&search-rank=2 “Why do they hide?” Survival International. https://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/3104-why-do-they-hide See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYAugust 29 · 39 min
SYMHC Classics: Swill Milk
This 2021 episode covers a period of time when the milk supply in New York was anything but appetizing and wholesome – it was often deadly. But efforts to address the problem were blocked by corrupt officials. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYAugust 28 · 33 min
Behind the Scenes Minis: Mary, Beulah, Baby Alive
Tracy shares a story of looking for an article in the wrong historical journal. Holly reads a section of the U.S. flag code, and waxes rhapsodic about toys. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYAugust 26 · 39 min
Beulah Louise Henry
Beulah was such a prolific inventor in the early 20th century that the press nicknamed her Lady Edison. She was an outlier as an unmarried woman who got her foot in the door as an inventor by pounding the pavement in 1920s New York. Research: Bengtson, Harlan H. “Beulah Louise Henry.” EBSCO. 2021. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/beulah-louise-henry “Beulah Louise Henry.” National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/inductees/beulah-louise-henry Dick, Gerry. “Beulah henry Sits in Chiffon Laboratory Inventing Almost Everything But Excuses.” The Rockford Argus. April 8. 1937. https://www.newspapers.com/image/531344097/?match=1&terms=%22Beulah%20Henry%22&search-id=22e1b59c-1edb-4d9c-895d-9454b6343852&search-rank=7 Hart, Alicia. “Meet Beulah henry, the Inventor.” The Salisbury Post. Sept. 1, 1955. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1026874682/?match=1&terms=%22Beulah%20Henry%22&search-id=be53d62d-90f0-4084-8868-9b0e0a4dbb37&search-rank=3 Henry, B.L. “DOUBLE CHAIN STITCH SEWING MACHINE.” April 21, 1936. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-2037901-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiI4NTA2NjMxNi1kZTRmLTRlNzQtOGJhYS1kYTRjMzhhMGZkNmYiLCJ2ZXIiOiJjY2M5MGE0NS02ZGRhLTQ5YTAtOTQzZS1lOTIyMzBhMjI0MjEiLCJleHAiOjB9 Henry, B.L. “DUPLICATING ATTACHMENT FOR TYPEWRITERS.” Aug. 30, 1932. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/e7/a5/7d/a7e3bbcd163f09/US1874749.pdf Henry, B.L. “Hand Bag.” U.S. Patent Office. May 27, 1913. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/0a/6d/16/4d8139d4025580/US1063031.pdf Henry, B.L. “Ice Cream Freezer.” U.S. Patent Office. Sept. 3, 1912. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/dc/d8/5c/1c61ca65b0339b/US1037762.pdf Henry, B.L. “Indicator Top.” U.S. Patent Office. March 2, 1926. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-1575264-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiIxMzU2NTdlNi03OWNkLTQyZGUtYTgwNi0yYzRhYmM3OGU5OGIiLCJ2ZXIiOiI2MzIxNTg0Yy1iOTZjLTRhYmItOTZhNC04OGUxNTI3ODY3NjUiLCJleHAiOjB9 Henry, B.L. “Parasol.” U.S. Patent Office. Nov. 18, 1913. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/6e/fe/25/726c19533c2b0f/US1079240.pdf Henry, B.L. “Parasol.” U.S. Patent Office. May 6, 1924. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/5c/ad/88/868b750b1d9c44/US1492725.pdf Henry, B.L. “Radio Doll.” U.S. Patent Office. Dec. 8, 1925. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-1565145-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiJhMTUwM2E5YS04MzYzLTRmYTgtYjRmOS1lZDU5OGIyMDllNGEiLCJ2ZXIiOiI2MjZkN2M5OS05OGVkLTQzY2EtOGE2YS02NTU2ZWIzYzY0MzgiLCJleHAiOjB9 Henry, B.L. “SEAM AND METHOD OF FORMING SEAMS.” U.S. Patent Office. Feb 4. 1941. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-2230896-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiI4NTA2NjMxNi1kZTRmLTRlNzQtOGJhYS1kYTRjMzhhMGZkNmYiLCJ2ZXIiOiJjY2M5MGE0NS02ZGRhLTQ5YTAtOTQzZS1lOTIyMzBhMjI0MjEiLCJleHAiOjB9 Henry, B.L. “Simulated Dispensing Device.” U.S. Patent Office. Dec. 11, 1951. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/6d/80/75/d6a9df36c75df0/US2577849.pdf Henry, B.L. “Water Sport Apparatus.” U.S. Patent Office. August 16, 1927. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-1639607-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiIxMzU2NTdlNi03OWNkLTQyZGUtYTgwNi0yYzRhYmM3OGU5OGIiLCJ2ZXIiOiI2MzIxNTg0Yy1iOTZjLTRhYmItOTZhNC04OGUxNTI3ODY3NjUiLCJleHAiOjB9 Jones, Stacy. “A Single Unit Serves for Mailing and Also Returning.” New York Times. Jan. 27, 1962. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/01/27/90129637.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 LaRiccia, Dante. “Electricity Consumption: Culture, Gender and Power.” Energy History Online. Yale University. https://energyhistory.yale.edu/electricity-consumption-culture-gender-and-power/ Mydans, Seth. “Overlooked No More: Beulah Henry, Inventor With an Endless Imagination.” New York Times. March 14, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/obituaries/beulah-henry-overlooked.html “Synesthesia.” Cleveland Clinic. May 3, 2023. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/24995-synesthesia “"There's a better way of doing that." USPTO. https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/journeys-innovation/historical-stories/theres-better-way-doing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYAugust 24 · 39 min
Mary Mallon & Typhoid Revisited
Mary Mallon became known as Typhoid Mary in the early 20th century. She has often been vilified in in modern references, though her story is actually quite complex. Research: "Mary Mallon." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 21, Gale, 2001. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631007781/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=23f34010. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026. Brooks, J. “The sad and tragic life of Typhoid Mary.” CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne vol. 154,6 (1996): 915-6. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1487781/ Brooks, Janet. “The Sad and Tragic Life of Typhoid Mary.” Canadian Medical Association Journal. Vol. 154, No. 6. 3/15/1996. Cutter, Laura. “Typhoid Mary/Mary Mallon: An Asymptomatic Carrier of Salmonella typhi.” National Museum of Health and Medicine. 6/18/2020. https://medicalmuseum.health.mil/micrograph/index.cfm/posts/2020/typhoid_mary_mary_mallon_salmonella “Research Starter: Typhoid Mary.” https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/life-sciences/typhoid-mary Faherty, Anna. “The cook who became a pariah.” Wellcome Collection. 6/29/2017. https://wellcomecollection.org/stories/WsT4Ex8AAHruGfW_ Leavitt, Judith Walzer. “‘Typhoid Mary’ Strikes Back: Bacteriological Theory and Practice in Early Twentieth-Century Public Health.” Isis , Dec., 1992, Vol. 83, No. 4 (Dec., 1992). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/234261 Leavitt, Judith Walzer. "Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public Health." Beacon Press. 1997. Mallon, Mary. Letter to Dr. William H. Park. June 1909. Via PBS NOVA. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/typhoid/letter.html Marineli, Filio et al. “Mary Mallon (1869-1938) and the history of typhoid fever.” Annals of gastroenterology vol. 26,2 (2013): 132-134. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3959940/ Mason, W.P. “Typhoid Mary.” Science. Vol. 30, No. 760. 7/23/1909. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1635174 Murtagh, Joseh. “David DeKok presents gripping, heartbreaking view into Ithaca’s 1903 typhoid outbreak.” Ithica.com. 4/11/2012. https://www.ithaca.com/visit_ithaca/david-dekok-presents-gripping-heartbreaking-view-into-ithaca-s-1903-typhoid-outbreak/article_943a556c-6b6d-11e0-92b9-001cc4c002e0.html New York Times. “Hospital Epidemic from Typhoid Mary.” 3/28/1915. New York Times. “HOSPITAL EPIDEMIC FROM TYPHOID MARY; Germ Carrier, Cooking Under False Name, Spread Disease in Sloane Institution. CAUGHT HIDING IN QUEENS Blamed for Twenty-five Cases of Fever Among Doctors and Nurses -- Now In Quarantine.” 2/28/1915. https://www.nytimes.com/1915/03/28/archives/hospital-epidemic-from-typhoid-mary-germ-carrier-cooking-under.html?eafs_enabled=false Ogan, ML. “Immunization in a Typhoid Outbreak in the Sloane Hospital for Women.” New York Medical Journal. 3/27/1915. 609-610. Othman, Amani and William W. Darrow. “The Wall, the Ban, and the Objectification of Women.” The International Journal of Social Quality, Winter 2019, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Winter 2019). https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26948452 Poczai P and Karvalics LZ (2022) The little-known history of cleanliness and the forgotten pioneers of handwashing. Front. Public Health 10:979464. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.979464 Prabhu, Maya. “The tragedy of Typhoid Mary.” Gavi. 6/18/2021. https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/tragedy-typhoid-mary Pusey, Allen. “Precedents.” ABA Journal. Vol. 104, No. 3. March 2018. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26516280 Sawyer, Wilbur. “The Efficiency of Various Anti-Typhoid Vaccines.” Journal of the American Medical Association. Vol. LXV, No. 17. 10/13/2015. Soper, G A. “The Curious Career of Typhoid Mary.” Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine vol. 15,10 (1939): 698-712. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1911442/ Soper, George A. “The Curious Career of Typhoid Mary.” Read May 10, 1939 before the Section of Historical and Cultural Medicine. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine. Vol. 15, No. 10. October 1939. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1911442/ Soper, George A. “Typhoid Mary.” The Military Surgeon. Vol. XLV. No. 1. July 1919. Soper, George. A. “The Work of a Chronic Typhoid Germ Distributor.” Journal of the American Medical Association. Vol. XLVIII. No. 24. 6/15/1907. Teicher, Amir. “Typhoid Mary Was Not a Super-Spreader (and Super-Spreaders Are Not "Typhoid Marys").” American journal of public health vol. 113,12 (2023): 1249-1253. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2023.307434 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYAugust 22 · 36 min
SYMHC Classics: Astronaut Origins of Food Safety
This 2022 episode examines the development of a systematic approach to food safety, which didn’t happen until the 20th century. And it's tied directly to NASA trying to make sure astronauts didn’t get food poisoning in space. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYAugust 21 · 22 min
Behind the Scenes Minis: Morocco and Bavaria
Tracy and Holly talk about their time visiting Chefchaouen during their Morocco trip. Holly shares her belief that secret societies don't work very well. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYAugust 19 · 43 min
Adam Weishaupt and the Bavarian Illuminati
The reality of the Bavarian Illuminati is much less dramatic than conspiracy theories would indicate. It wasn’t a mystical organization, but a protest organization formed by a rather conceited man who was frustrated with the Catholic church. Research: Britannica Editors. "illuminati". Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/illuminati-group-designation Carlson, Michael. “Robert Anton Wilson [Obituary].” The Guardian. Jan. 17, 2007. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jan/18/guardianobituaries.usa “Two Letters from Adam Weishaupt, Founder of the Order of the Illuminati (1776).” German History Intersections. https://germanhistory-intersections.org/en/knowledge-and-education/ghis:document-190 “1776.” Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. https://www.lmu.de/en/about-lmu/lmu-at-a-glance/history/1776/ Goldenbaum, Annika. “250 Years of the Order of the Illuminati: New Research Puts Gotha in the Spotlight.” Centre for Transcultural Studies. Universitat Erfurt. https://www.uni-erfurt.de/en/forschungskolleg-transkulturelle-studien/ueber-uns/aktuelles/news/news-detail/250-years-of-the-order-of-the-illuminati-new-research-puts-gotha-in-the-spotlight Greene, Jim, MFA. Discordianism. EBSCO. 2024. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/religion-and-philosophy/discordianism Hernandez, Isabel. “Meet the Man Who Started the Illuminati.” National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/profile-adam-weishaupt-illuminati-secret-society “To the Fathers Departing for Germany.” Georgetown University Library. https://library.georgetown.edu/woodstock/ignatius-letters/letter12 Galer, Sophia Smith. “The accidental invention of the Illuminati conspiracy.” BBC. July 11, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170809-the-accidental-invention-of-the-illuminati-conspiracy Stauffer, Vernon. “New England and the Bavarian Illuminati.” Columbia University. New York, 1918. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/newenglandbavari00stauuoft Taylor, Michael. “British Conservatism, the Illuminati, and the Conspiracy Theory of the French Revolution, 1797–1802.” Eighteenth-Century Studies, vol. 47, no. 3, 2014, pp. 293–312. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24690289 Miller, Shari Parsons. “Illuminati.” EBSCO. 2022. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/illuminati#bibliography Robison, John. “Proofs of a conspiracy against all the religions and governments of Europe, carried on in the secret meetings of Free masons, Illuminati, and reading societies.” Philadelphia : T. Dobson. 1798. https://archive.org/details/proofsofconspira00r/page/n9/mode/2up Vickery, Matthew. “The Birthplace of the Illuminati.” BBC. Nov. 28, 2017. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20171127-the-birthplace-of-the-illuminati See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYAugust 17 · 36 min
Sayyida al-Hurra, Moroccan Queen
A lot of European accounts of Sayyida al-Hurra’s life characterize her as a pirate, but that really isn't accurate. She was a a leader of a city-state and a queen of a sultanate. Research: Ali, Adam. “The Pirate Queen of the Mediterranean: The Story of Al-Sayyida al-Hurra.” Medievalists.net. https://www.medievalists.net/2022/08/pirate-queen-mediterranean-al-sayyida-al-hurra/ Britannica Editors. "Barbarossa". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barbarossa. Accessed 29 July 2026. El Haimeur, A. (2024). Sayyida Alhurra: A forgotten North African queen and war leader: A forgotten North African queen and war leader. Africana Annual, 1(1), 44-60. https://doi.org/10.17161/africana.v1i1.19207 Hellman, Rick. “Researcher reclaims 16th century Moroccan woman leader from obscurity.” University of Kansas. 4/17/2024. https://news.ku.edu/news/article/researcher-reclaims-16th-century-moroccan-woman-leader-from-obscurity Lebbady, “Women in Northern Morocco: Between the Documentary and the Imaginary.” Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics, No. 32. 2012. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41850741 Mourtada-Sabbah, Nada and Adrian Gully. “'I Am, by God, Fit for High Positions': On the Political Role of Women in al-Andalus.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies , Nov., 2003, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Nov., 2003). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3593222 Rafferty, John P.. "From Pirate to Admiral: The Tale of Barbarossa". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Jun. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/story/from-pirate-to-admiral-the-tale-of-barbarossa. Accessed 29 July 2026. Sparkes, Jason Idriss. “Sayyida al‑Hurra: An Early Modern Decolonial Muslim Exemplar.” Religions 16: 1362. 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16111362 Verde, Tom. “Malika VI: Sayyida Al-Hurra.” AramcoWorld. 1/4/2017. https://www.aramcoworld.com/articles/2017/malika-vi-sayyida-al-hurra Williams, Terry. “Pirate Profile: Sayyida al-Hurra.” Queen Anne’s Revenge Project. 5/25/2020. https://www.qaronline.org/blog/2020-05-25/pirate-profile-sayyida-al-hurra See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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- SYAugust 15 · 35 min
SYMHC Classics: Jethro Tull
This 2021 episode covers Jethro Tull. Today, most people only know that as the name of a band, but Tull was an 18th-century gentleman farmer often credited with inventing the seed drill. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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