Stuff You Missed in History Class

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class is a history podcast hosted by iHeartPodcasts, with 1,000 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

iHeartPodcasts hosts Stuff You Missed in History Class, a history show with 1,000 episodes published.

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  Stuff You Missed in History Class

  Two Screaming Skulls

  Oct 7, 202633 min

  Screaming skull lore is something that is unique to Britain, though specific skull lore varies. The first episode has roots in the English Civil war, and the second is tied to colonialism in the Caribbean and the slave trade.  Research: Berry, Helen. “Exclusion Crisis: Challenging James II’s Right to Rule.” History Today. May 5, 2026. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/exclusion-crisis-challenging-james-iis-right-rule “The Bettiscombe Skull – Pinney Family.” Bridport and Lyme Regis News. March 25, 1904. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1325106358/?match=18&terms=Azariah%20Pinney%20&search-id=f74cfd16-6d86-49a4-a9db-d190c38e3250&search-rank=1 Collinson, John. “The history and antiquities of the county of Somerset, collected from authentick records, and an actual survey made by the late Mr. Edmund Rack. Adorned with a map of the county and engravings of Roman and other reliques, town seals, baths, churches and gentlemen’s seats.” Vo. II. Bath. R. Crutwell. 1791. https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_the-history-and-antiquit_collinson-john_1791_2/page/n1/mode/2up?q=horrid Cooper, W.J. “Bridport’s Most Exciting Day 280 Years Ago.” Bridport and Lyme Regis News. June 11, 1965. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1325206100/?match=2&terms=Azariah%20Pinney%20&search-id=f74cfd16-6d86-49a4-a9db-d190c38e3250&search-rank=2 Davey, Tim. “A Slave to History.” Evening Post. Sept. 28, 1999. https://www.newspapers.com/image/909493603/?match=7&terms=Azariah%20Pinney%20&search-id=f74cfd16-6d86-49a4-a9db-d190c38e3250&search-rank=10 Frere, Sheppard Sunderland, et al. "United Kingdom". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Sep. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/place/United-Kingdom “Higher Farmhouse.” Historic England. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1296177?section=official-list-entry Hubbard, Vincent K. “Swords, Ships & Sugar: History of Nevis to 1900.” Premiere Editions. 1996.  Ingram, John H. “The Haunted Homes and Family Traditions of Great Britain.” London.Gibbings. 1901. https://archive.org/details/hauntedhomesand01ingrgoog Kelly’s Directory of Liverpool & Birkenhead, 1894. [Part 2: Birkenhead and Trade & Court Directories] . Kelly & Co. Ltd, 1894. JSTOR , https://jstor.org/stable/community.30135909 Prickett, Katy. “The Macabre Tale of Oliver Cromwell’s Head.” BBC. Nov. 17, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0j8vn2ne70o “Screaming Skull of Bettiscombe.” Dorset Echo. Aug. 14, 1963. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1325267462/?match=1&terms=Bettiscombe%20skull&search-id=0ee431ba-ab8d-4d60-a29c-7ac53b535399&search-rank=1 Thiselton-Dyer, T. F. “Strange Pages from Family Papers.” LONDON. SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY. 1895. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/17050/pg17050-images.html#CHAPTER_II Underwood, Peter. “Ghosts of Somerset.” Bossiness Books. 2011. Weaver, Frederic William, M.A., ed. “Notes and Queries for Somerset and Dorset. Vol. II.” Sherbourne. J.C. and A.T. Sawtell. 1891. https://archive.org/details/notesqueriesfors02brid/page/n3/mode/2up “A West Dorset Legend.” Dorset Echo. July 24, 1953. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1194417076/?match=7&terms=Bettiscombe%20Skull&search-id=f5da8122-4471-4f76-bbb5-a9d54fce9cc6&search-rank=11 West, John. “Britain’s Haunted Skulls.” Psychic News. October 2021. https://pocketmags.com/us/psychic-news-magazine/october-2021/articles/britain-s-haunted-skulls?srsltid=AU7gw4XzpYKPL3Gr5erHXG9udfTa62VhFURg_DaM9wBGEqMGPwm4YI-G See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Stuff You Missed in History Class

  Sara Weiss’s Journeys to the Planet Mars

  Oct 5, 202640 min

  Sara Weiss wrote a lengthy account of life and afterlife on Mars, a place she said she visited through psychic travels starting in 1892.  Research: Calanchi, A. (2024). “Renewed in health”: Meeting Giordano Bruno on planet Mars. Between, 14(27), 93-109. https://doi.org/10.13125/2039-6597/5444 Crossley, Robert. “Mars and the Paranormal.” Science Fiction Studies , Nov., 2008, Vol. 35, No. 3 (Nov., 2008). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25475179 Daly, Liza. “Journeys to the Planet Mars (1903).” 2/23/2022. https://lizadaly.com/utopian-novels/journeys-to-the-planet-mars/ Daly, Liza. “Sara Ditto Weiss.” https://ayonmuya.org/21-biography.html Dickey, Colin. “Sara Weiss’ Journeys to the Planet Mars (1903).” The Public Domain Review. 2/3/2026. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/journeys-to-the-planet-mars/ “Funeral of Mrs. S. Weiss.” The St. Louis Republic (St. Louis, Mo.), March 25, 1904. Page 14. Hennesy, Roger. “The Martian Century.” History Today. 7/7/1998. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/martian-century Hyslop, James H. “Journeys to the Planet Mars.” Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. Vol. 7, Issue 5. 1913. Lane, K. Maria D. “Mapping the Mars Canal Mania: Cartographic Projection and the Creation of a Popular Icon.” Imago Mundi, 2006, Vol. 58, No. 2 (2006). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40234145 Mason, Brian D. “The Navy’s Greatest Refractor Turns 150.” Astronomy. February 2023. “Mrs. Sara Weiss Passes Away.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Page 1. 3/23/1904. Myers, F.W.H. “The Subliminal Self.” Chapter VIII. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research. Vol. 11. 1895. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Proceedings_of_the_Society_for_Psychical/iuZAAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. “26-inch ‘Great Equatorial’ telescope.” https://www.cnmoc.usff.navy.mil/Our-Commands/United-States-Naval-Observatory/Our-Telescopes/The-26-inch-Great-Equatorial-telescope/ Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. “Our Telescopes.” https://www.cnmoc.usff.navy.mil/Our-Commands/United-States-Naval-Observatory/Our-Telescopes/ “Romance, Philosophy, Morals.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Page 11. 1/15/1904. “Spirit Bands In Mars.” Boston Evening Transcript. January 06, 1904. Page 16. Louis Post-Dispatch. “A St. Louis Woman’s Journey to Mars.” Page 52. Dec 20, 1903. Louis Post-Dispatch. “St. Louis Woman Draws Under Spirit Influence.” 6/2/1901. The St Louis Republic. “What the Spirits Say of Mars.” Page 41. 4/9/1899. The St. Louis Republic. (Saint Louis, MO) 12 Dec. 1903, p. 10. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84020274/1903-12-12/ed-1/. The St. Louis Republic. (Saint Louis, MO) 25 Mar. 1904, p. 10. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84020274/1904-03-25/ed-1/. “The ‘Weiss’ Books.” Reason. August 1910. “WEISS.” Obituary. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Page 7. 3/24/1904. Weiss, Sara. “Journeys to the planet Mars, or, Our mission to Ento.” The Bradford Press. 1903. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Stuff You Missed in History Class

  SYMHC Classics: Charles Colchester

  Oct 3, 202634 min

  This 2021 episode covers Colchester, who claimed to be psychic and may have warned President Abraham Lincoln that he was going to be assassinated.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Stuff You Missed in History Class

  Behind the Scenes Minis: Lager, Ale, Emo Girl

  Oct 2, 202625 min

  Tracy talks about how the beer riots may sound silly, but were underpinned by serious issues. Holly talks about the Elizabeth Fry’s daughters polishing their mother’s image when publishing her diaries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Stuff You Missed in History Class

  Elizabeth Fry

  Sep 30, 202641 min

  Elizabeth Fry is lauded as an early 19th century prison reformer. But she had no formal background or training in prison or social work. Research: BREED, ANNA. “ELIZABETH FRY.” Advocate of Peace (1847-1884), vol. 13, no. 3, 1882, pp. 21–22. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27906270  Britannica Editors. "Elizabeth Fry". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 May. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-Fry Britannica Editors. "Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Mar. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sir-Thomas-Fowell-Buxton-1st-Baronet Buxton, Thomas Fowell. “An inquiry, whether crime and misery are produced or prevented, by our present system of prison discipline.” London. J. and A. Arch. 1818. https://archive.org/details/b33283333/page/14/mode/2up Cooper, Robert Alan. “THE ENGLISH QUAKERS AND PRISON REFORM 1809-23.” Quaker History, vol. 68, no. 1, 1979, pp. 3–19. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41946871 Cooper, Robert Alan. “Jeremy Bentham, Elizabeth Fry, and English Prison Reform.”  Journal of the History of Ideas , vol. 42, no. 4, 1981, pp. 675–90.  JSTOR , https://doi.org/10.2307/2709127 Corder, Susanna. “Life of Elizabeth Fry.” Philadelphia. H. Lonstreth. 1853. https://archive.org/details/lifeofelizabethf00cordiala/page/n9/mode/2up Craig, Russell L. “Correctional Education Historical Vignette: WOMEN IN CORRECTIONS: Elizabeth Gurney Fry.” Journal of Correctional Education, vol. 57, no. 2, 2006, pp. 141–44. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23282705 Crawford, William, and Whitworth Russell. “Extracts from the second report of William Crawford and Whitworth Russell, Esqs., the Inspectors of Prisons for the Home District ; addressed to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Home Department.” National Library of medicine. Philadelphia : Republished by the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, 1838. https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-101596454-bk Foxhall K. From convicts to colonists: the health of prisoners and the voyage to Australia, 1823-53. J Imp Commonw Hist. 2011;39(1):1-19. doi: 10.1080/03086534.2011.543793 Griffiths, Arthur. “The Chronicles of Newgate.” LONDON: CHAPMAN AND HALL (Limited). 1884. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46746/46746-h/46746-h.htm Kent, John. “Elizabeth Fry.” London. B. Batsford. 1962. Rose, June. “Elizabeth Fry.” New York. St. Martin’s Press, 1981.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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