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Welcome back to One Hundred Centuries! In our first full-length episode in a while, we discuss/review two graphic novels about historical scientists: The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage (by Sidney Padua) and Radioactive (by Lauren Redniss). Have a listen as we talk about Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage and Marie and Pierre Curie, the graphic novel form and the interesting ways these two books engage with history. At one point in the discussion, Stephen comments on Padua’s visual depiction of Lovelace. For reference, here is a contemporary portrait of her (on the right.) Portrait Image Credit: Alfred Edward Chalon [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons   Save Save

It’s back. After a long fall/winter of having a baby and publishing a book, this quick episode is the first of many this spring and summer. Today I’m spotlighting two teen books set in different historical periods: Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee (1840s West) and The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters (1900 Oregon). These are great choices for history buff readers, be they teens or adults. For more information and teacher’s guides, be sure to check out the authors’ websites. They also each have some spring releases coming soon/just released that look fantastic. Stacey Lee’s site Cat Winters’ site

This week’s episode is about the camera obscura (A.K.A. the pinhole camera). It’s a fun and historical device used by astronomers and artists. You can even make one yourself for safe eclipse viewing. Also, do check out pictures of Vermeer’s paintings here: Essential Vermeer Do you think he used a camera obscura to create his art? Does it matter? Sources: Hazen, W. A. (1999). Everyday life: Communication. Good Year Books: Parsipanny, N.J. Patti, T. (2003). Photography: The early stages. PSA Journal. 69 (9), 24. Steadman, P. (2011). Vermeer and the camera obscura. BBC History. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/vermeer_camera_01.shtml Williams, N. (2015). 5 insane theories that change how you see great works of art. Cracked. Retrieved from http://www.cracked.com/article_22358_5-crazy-but-plausible-theories-behind-great-pieces-art_p2.html Image Credit: Erik Gould, Flickr Creative Commons

In the third author interview, I talk with Paul Butler about his book, Hero. It’s set partly in World War I and partly in later years as the aftermath of the war affects different characters’ lives. Listen in above or view the interview as a video below. Paul has written multiple historical novels. His latest work, The Good Doctor focuses on medical missionaries at the turn of the 20th century.  You can find more from him here: https://paulbutlernovelist.wordpress.com/ Writers, be sure to check out his Instant Hook Writing Contest. And, of course, you can get Hero on Amazon.  

Quick announcement: If you try to get in touch with the show over the next few weeks but don’t get a response for a while, it’s because we’ve got a baby due soon and our silence means he came and we are super busy. We’re prescheduling content to come out on a regular schedule, but we may be poor correspondents for a while. In our second author interview, Leigh Shearin discusses life on the homefront of World War Two and her book for middle grade readers, John Bloom and the Victory Garden. For a fun discussion, have a listen above or see the (somewhat less polished) video below.  Leigh also has a sequel coming out in October: John Bloom and the Victory Garden: Digging In. Below, you’ll find a few pictures: the cover of the sequel, a map of the fictional town of Appleside, and, of course, an author photo.                           You can find out more about Leigh at http://leighshearin.weebly.com/. And you can get the book on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OKMZ8G0.  

Quick announcement: If you try to get in touch with the show over the next few weeks but don’t get a response for a while, it’s because we’ve got a baby due soon and our silence means he came and we are super busy. We’re prescheduling content to come out on a regular schedule, but we may be poor correspondents for a while. Today we’ve got our first interview. Author Julian David Stone talks about his book, The Strange Birth, Short Life, and Sudden Death of Justice Girl. It’s set in 1950s Hollywood and deals with the live TV filming environment and McCarthyism. Listen in for an interesting discussion. You can also check out the (slightly less polished) video of the interview below, as well as a few photos Julian has provided from ComiCon and other events, including one of him posing with “Justice Girl.”     Find more from Julian at http://juliandavidstone.com. You can find the book on Amazon.   

Lowell Observatory Today we’ve got some astronomical history for you. The dwarf planet Pluto has had a long and exciting history. There’s a number of fun further reading/viewing/listening resources if you’d like to learn more about Pluto when you’re done with the episode. The Planets by Dava Sobel How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown The Pluto Files by Neil DeGrasse Tyson The Pluto Files [Documentary] We also figured out what the tangentially related Stuff You Missed in History Class episodes (there were two!) were. They’re not about Pluto, but about the moon and the crazy things people used to imagine were crawling around on celestial bodies. Part One Part Two And here’s where you can find new pictures of Pluto and more. So what do you think? Should Pluto have remained a planet? Do you approve of its dwarf planet status? Is there another, better option? [Tweet “What do you think? Should Pluto have remained a planet?”] Image Credit: Michael Wilson, Flickr Creative Commons

Today we spotlight two historical fiction verse novels for middle grade readers (ages 8 to 12, though many older readers may enjoy them just as much). Both stories feature strong-willed girls with different language barriers who emerge from their tales more confident and resilient. MAY B. by Caroline Starr Rose tells the story of a 12-year-old girl in 1870s Kansas who struggles with dyslexia and finds herself stranded alone in a sod house as winter approaches. INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN  by Thanhha Lai is inspired by the author’s own experiences fleeing Vietnam during the fall of Saigon and relocating to Alabama. The book’s heroine, Hà describes the fear and joy of living in Saigon before the fall, life on the fleeing navy vessel, two refugee camps and the culture shock of moving to a completely foreign land and learning a new language. For those who want to learn more or share these books with young people in their lives, I suggest visiting the following websites: Thanhha Lai’s website Pronunciation guide for Thanhha Lai’s name Discussion guide for INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN Caroline Starr Rose’s website Teacher’s guide for MAY B. Goodreads list of middle grade verse novels New Goodreads list of historical fiction verse novels (Since we didn’t find one to link to for you all, we started one of our own. Please visit and add your own favorite historical fiction verse novel for any age range to the list.)  

Due to some power outages, we’re a day late on this episode, but if you love math and science history, I hope we’ve made it up to you. Today we discuss Pythagoras, the theorem he made famous but did not actually discover, and his hippie commune in Croton. We’ve got a list of recommended reading to be posted to this page shortly. Image Credit: Peter Boothe, Flickr Creative Commons

Remember our episode a few weeks ago on women’s clubs? We’d promised to get a little more detailed on African-American women’s activism specifically, and today we’ve got it. Mary Church Terrell, first president of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs Today, it’s also just me, Connie, on the podcast. Stephen wasn’t able to record this time. He’ll be back for the next episode for sure. If you’d like to learn more about these amazing ladies and what they did, check out the sources and links below. Sources: Busch, A. M. (2004). Lifting as we climb: The National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs. Gateway Heritage Magazine. 24(4), 1-6. Retrieved from http://collections.mohistory.org/media/CDM/gateway/72.pdf Holland, E. (2010, February 1). Lifting as we climb: The women’s club movement [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.edwardianpromenade.com/african-american/lifting-as-we-climb/ Schneider, D. & Schneider C. J. (1993). American women in the progressive era. New York, NY: Facts on File. Wormer, R. (2002). National Association of Colored Women. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_org_nacw.html P.S.: That last source has a link to read an address to the NACW by Mary Church Terrell. Further Reading: Comic about Ida B. Wells by Kate Beaton NACWC website Image Credit: Washington Area Spark, Flickr Creative Commons

No, we’re not talking cowboys. Today we’re talking Western cultures’ bathing traditions (or lack thereof for certain historical periods). What was ancient bathing like? (Our resident classicist, Stephen, draws from his wealth of knowledge on this one.)  When did bathing fall out of favor and why did it come back? …

This week, we do our first historical fiction spotlight and talk about the history behind it. The show begins with the basics of the Edwardian conquest of Wales and leads to a spoiler free discussion of THE WICKED AND THE JUST by J. Anderson Coats, a young adult book about …

For our first March podcast, we’re honoring Women’s History Month by focusing on the the Women’s Club Movement, a phenomenon associated with the later 19th and early 20th centuries. Women’s clubs were a way for women to enact change in their communities and lobby for causes while many women across …

At last we have the relaunch episode of One Hundred Centuries! From now on, except for announced breaks, we should be releasing an episode every two weeks. Today we look at two early sources for the grail legend: the earliest source, “Perceval or the The Story of the Grail” by …

This time we discuss the lives of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, as well as their famous duel that took place in 1804. It’s kind of nutty to think that a vice president shot and killed a founding father. Was it murder? Was it legal (at the time) dueling? You …

For our very first episode, we discuss the life of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. His assassination on June 28th, 1914 sparked the First World War. When you hear about his plans for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, you’ll wonder how different 20th century history might have been had he not been …