History Fix

History Fix

In each episode of History Fix, I discuss lesser known stories from history that you won't be able to stop thinking about. Need your history fix? You've come to the right place. Support the show at buymeacoffee.com/historyfix or Venmo @Shea-LaFountaine. Your donations make it possible for me to continue creating great episodes. Plus, I'll love you forever! Find more at historyfixpodcast.com

Episodes

August 24, 2025 46 mins

In this episode, I tackle the history of education from prehistoric hunter-gatherer days all the way to today. We'll look at the many motives that have shaped the education and formal schooling of children from the agricultural revolution, through ancient times, to the protestant reformation and the industrial revolution. Through it all, motives have been... questionable. We educated children because we needed them to work the...

Mark as Played

This week I'm tackling a topic that's been on my mind for quite some time: Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition. Shackleton was really a huge failure. Almost everything this man did failed. He failed to reach the South Pole first. He failed to cross the continent of Antarctica. He failed in many business endeavors, tobacco, stamp collecting, a Hungarian mining venture. He failed miserably in politics. He spent m...

Mark as Played

Discovered accidentally in the 1930s, studied as a possible psychiatric wonder drug, used by the CIA in highly unethical clandestine mind control experiments for project MKUltra during the cold war, adopted by the counterculture hippies of the summer of love, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is viewed by some for its potential to expand human consciousness and promote peace and by others for its potential to completely destroy our ...

Mark as Played

This episode was supposed to be about Lady Jane Grey, the "Nine Days Queen" who was hastily placed on the English throne following the death of Henry VIII's son Edward VI, usurping his older sister Mary. But as I researched Jane Grey, I came across another character entirely who desperately needed her story "fixed." Frances Grey was Jane Grey's mother (and the niece of Henry VIII). History has not reme...

Mark as Played

Join me this week as I recount the unbelievable true story of Joan of Arc, the 16 year old peasant girl who dressed in mens clothing and led French armies to victory in the 1420s. Something like this happening today seems near impossible, but in the 15th century when women had few rights, it was inconceivable. So how did a teenage girl with no military training come to lead successfully soldiers in battle? And what about the voices...

Mark as Played

This week is all about the history of salt! Yes, salt. You've probably never given it much thought. It sits in a salt shaker on your kitchen counter, spice rack, or cabinet. You can buy a pound of it for 76 cents at Walmart right now. But, believe it or not, salt was once an extremely valuable commodity. Whole civilizations rose up over salt. Trade routes were established. People became very wealthy. Salt allowed for the prese...

Mark as Played

Varina Howell Davis, wife of Jefferson Davis and First Lady of the Confederacy played the part well. She was educated, graceful, the picture of antebellum perfection. She hosted elegant soirees at the Confederate white house in Richmond, Virginia and managed a household of around 20 workers, black and white, enslaved and free. But Varina, when examined closely, was not what she seemed. In writing, she referred to herself as a “half...

Mark as Played

Thomas Jefferson was America's golden boy. Author of the Declaration of Independence, secretary of state under George Washington, vice president to John Adams, and 3rd president of the United States, he penned famous words like "all men are created equal," and "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." For this, he's often remembered as a moral champion who fought for equality and liberty for all. B...

Mark as Played

Back this week with one final, somewhat nautical episode to round out the month of June. This week we're talking about the Great Flood of Noah's Ark fame. It's one of the best known bible stories. But did you know, it doesn't end there? Almost every other major culture or religion that we know of has almost the same flood myth. The ancient Babylonians, the Greeks, Hindu, Buddhist, Aztec, Chinese, Norse, Aborigin...

Mark as Played

In keeping with the nautical theme I accidentally adopted this month, I'll be exploring the rather misleading story of sixteen century Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan this week. Magellan's claim to fame is being the first person to circumnavigate the globe, to sail all the way around the Earth, a full circle. That really is Magellan’s only claim to fame. Except for one thing. He never even did that. Did you know th...

Mark as Played

I'm back this week with four more shipwreck stories. We'll start with the horrific explosion of the Mississippi river steamboat, the Sultana in 1865. Next, we'll tackle the Titanic which famously sank in 1912, killing around 1,500 passengers. On to another famous ship, the Endeavor. The Endeavor was the British naval ship used by explorer Captain James Cook during his first voyage of discovery which landed him in Aus...

Mark as Played

This week, we'll uncover the stories of four different shipwrecks. I'll start with an ancient Roman ship found near the Greek island of Antikythera which sank around 60 to 70 BC with mind blowing treasures on board. Next, I'll talk about the sinking of King Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, in 1545 and it's rediscovery twice in the 400 years since. Then we'll move on to my personal favorite, the Qu...

Mark as Played

This week I teamed up with fellow podcaster and prolific world traveler, Gary Arndt, from the "Everything Everywhere Daily" podcast to talk about UNESCO, an organization with a mission to save natural wonders and cultural heritage sites around the world. You'll hear the story of how UNESCO got it's start, specifically the painstaking dismantling, transport, and reconstruction of one some ancient Egypt's gre...

Mark as Played

This week we're talking about the Vietnam War, one of the most unpopular wars in US history. Tomorrow is Memorial Day and while I very much want to honor and remember the over 58,000 Americans who lost their lives fighting for their country in Vietnam, around one third of them drafted, that’s not exactly the focus of this episode. Instead, I want to explore a side to the war we don’t often think about. I want to explore what h...

Mark as Played

This week I’m very excited to share with you some recent developments in the story of the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke. I’m joined by Scott Dawson, who runs the Lost Colony Museum in the town of Buxton, on Hatteras Island. For a long time, Scott has been working with British archaeologist Dr. Mark Horton to excavate sites of old Native American villages in Buxton, left by a group known as the Croatoan. What they have discovered recentl...

Mark as Played

This episode is all about the history of feeding babies which has been necessary and yet surprisingly difficult since the beginning of mankind. In fact, it's so necessary that to forgo it, up until very recently, the last hundred years or so, was a death sentence for the infant. We don’t often think about feeding babies. It’s something mothers take care of behind the scenes, part of the invisible load. We certainly don’t pause...

Mark as Played

This week, we'll continue digging into the story of infamous Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, beginning where we left off last week with the Reichstag Fire, a suspicious incident that led to the destruction of democracy and withdrawal of civil liberties in Germany. As you'll see, once those civil liberties were gone, Hitler was free to do as he pleased and what "he pleased" happened to include a world war and the mas...

Mark as Played

Throughout all of history there is one name that rises above all the others possibly as the most depraved, heinous, vile human being ever to have walked the planet. Humans worldwide almost unanimously agree, some from the start but most in hindsight, that this man was pure evil. Yes, I am talking of course about the infamous dictator Adolf Hitler. BBC writes quote “Few names from history inspire such immediate and emphatic revulsio...

Mark as Played

In April of 1722 Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen and his crew stumbled upon a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. They sailed for the Dutch West India Company in search of Terra Australis Incognita, a hypothetical undiscovered continent that doesn’t actually exist. The land they found instead was just a 64 square mile speck some 1,200 miles from the nearest island and over 2,000 miles from the nearest continent. This isl...

Mark as Played

In the 1950s, a strange story emerged about a ship called the USS Eldridge docked at a naval shipyard in Philadelphia. According to a man aboard another ship docked nearby, in October of 1948 the hull of the Eldridge suddenly glowed an eery blueish green and then the entire ship disappeared, became invisible. But that's not all. After it turned invisible, it then suddenly teleported 300 miles away to another naval shipyard in ...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

    My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

    New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce

    Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.