Raised in Jamaica, Mary Seacole first came to England in the 1850s after working in Panama. She wanted to volunteer as a nurse and aide during the Crimean War. When her services were rejected, she financed her own expedition to Balaclava, where her reputation for her nursing—and for her compassion—became almost legendary. Popularly known as ‘Mother Seacole’, ... Show More
Nov 13
Ronald Angelo Johnson, "Entangled Alliances: Racialized Freedom and Atlantic Diplomacy During the American Revolution" (Cornell UP, 2025)
Entangled Alliances is a reinterpretation of the American Revolution through analysis of diplomacy in the emerging United States during decades of hemispheric transformation. Ronald Angelo Johnson brings to light the fascinating story of American patriots and rebels from Saint-Do ... Show More
1h 25m
Nov 4
James Scorer, "Latin American Comics in the Twenty-First Century: Transgressing the Frame" (U Texas Press, 2024)
How do comics cross boarders? In Latin American Comics in the Twenty-First Century: Transgressing the Frame James Scorer, a Professor of Latin American Studies at the University of Manchester, considers the rise of a distinctively Latin American comics culture, capturing the inte ... Show More
41m 10s
Oct 27
Daniel B. Rood, "The Reinvention of Atlantic Slavery: Technology, Labor, Race, and Capitalism in the Greater Caribbean" (Oxford UP, 2020)
The period of the "second slavery" was marked by geographic expansion of zones of slavery into the Upper US South, Cuba, and Brazil and chronological expansion into the industrial age. As The Reinvention of Atlantic Slavery: Technology, Labor, Race, and Capitalism in the Greater ... Show More
41m 9s
Aug 2023
Folk Heroes: Mother Shipton (Ursula Southeil)
Ursula Southeil (c. 1488-1561), better known as “Mother Shipton,” was an English prophetess and seeress known for her predictions about the future. In the decades following her death, Ursula’s own life became the source of speculation and rumor. She was called Devil’s spawn, a wi ... Show More
5m 38s
Aug 2023
Folk Heroes: Margaret "Molly" Brown
Margaret Brown (1867-1932), now known as "the Unsinkable Molly Brown," was a socialite who survived the sinking of the Titanic and desperately tried to convince her fellow lifeboat passengers to return to the debris and search for survivors.
This month, we're talking about Folk H ... Show More
7m 57s
Feb 2024
Revolutionaries: Catherine Flon
Catherine Flon (c. 18th century) was a prominent figure in Haitian history, known for her role in the creation of the Haitian flag. During the Haitian Revolution in 1803, she sewed together the first Haitian flag, symbolizing the nation's fight for independence from French coloni ... Show More
5m 35s
Sep 2023
84. A Tale of Two Nurses: Seacole & Nightingale
The Lady with the Lamp, the great nurse who forever changed public health for the better: Florence Nightingale lives large in the national consciousness. Mary Seacole, however, has been largely forgotten by history, even though she too played a significant role in the Crimean War ... Show More
54m 9s