Stuff You Missed in History Class

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.