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The Archdiocese of Khanbaliq

4/5/2025

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Medieval map of the world centered on Asia

In the 14th century, Pope Clement V sent several missionary friars to Khanbaliq (modern-day Beijing) to consecrate fellow missionary Franciscan John of Montecorvino the new archbishop of a new archdiocese that included most of China and India. Who was John of Montecorvino and why did the Latin Church feel an archdiocese was necessary in a place so far from Europe? Find out on this episode of Footnoting History.

Host: Josh

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Hummel and Howe – Attorneys at Crime

1/25/2025

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Side-by-side images of Hummel and Howe. Both are in black and white, and both men are older white men with large mustaches, wearing dark suits. Hummel's is a photograph while Howe's is an artist's rendering.

At the height of America’s Gilded Age, two men William F Howe and Abraham Hummel practiced criminal law in New York City. These unscrupulous lawyers represented some of the most notorious of NYC criminals of the era using theatrics and loopholes to find “justice” for their clients. On this episode of Footnoting History, come learn all about their misdeeds and misadventures as we explore the underbelly of American history.

Host: Josh

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The Adventure of Cabeza de Vaca

8/17/2024

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Mono-color drawing of Cabeza de Vaca. He has a long round beard and mustache and wears a floppy hat

In 1527, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca set off as a part of the Narvàez Expedition to conquer Florida. The expedition ended in disaster for the Spanish after several encounters with Native Americans defending their lands. Using makeshift boats, Cabeza de Vaca and a handful of other survivors drifted across the Gulf of Mexico before landing near modern day Galveston, TX. Cabeza de Vaca and three other men would spend the next 8 years wandering what is now the Southwestern United States. Come learn about their voyages on this episode of Footnoting History.

Host: Josh

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Alfred Packer, Notorious Cannibal?

5/4/2024

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Black and white photograph of Packer's face. He is a white man with a long mustache and beard

Alfred, or sometimes Alferd Packer, is one of the most infamous villains in Colorado history. As the story goes, Packer, a trail guide, led his party into disaster and then killed them one by one before consuming their bodies in order to survive. He was arrested, tried, convicted, and then escaped. Once reprehended Packer changed his story once again. And now more recent evidence has emerged that seems to have exonerated him. We’ll try to sort of this out on this week’s episode of Footnoting History.

Host: Josh

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Harry Washington

2/10/2024

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Portion of a painting where George Washington stands at the right wearing black in front of several enslaved men and women who are tending Mt Vernon

When someone says "Washington" and "revolution" in the same sentence, George immediately comes to mind. But there's another Washington that we should know, one that George Washington enslaved. Harry Washington escaped from his enslavement, fought for the British in during the American Revolution, and eventually fought in his own revolution in Sierra Leone. Let's take another look at the American Revolution in this episode of Footnoting History.

Host: Josh

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The Many Adventures of Pope innocent III

11/25/2023

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Fresco image of Innocent III looking very serious and having reddish hair

One of the most powerful popes of the Middle Ages, Innocent III made sure to have his hand in everything from religious wars like the Crusades to political squabbles with kings. Here, Josh and Christine take a look at some of the most interesting points in the life of the controversial pontiff.

Hosts: Christine and Josh

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Wyatt Earp and a Heavyweight Fix

7/22/2023

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Black and white photograph of an older Earp sitting in a wooden chair

In 1896, retired from his life in the so-called "Wild West," Wyatt Earp was asked to referee a boxing match. But not just any boxing match - a bout that would determine the new heavyweight champion. Two legendary boxers, Bob Fitzsimmons and Tom Sharkey, duked it out in San Francisco. The legendary lawman Earp allegedly fixed the fight. On this episode of Footnoting History, come along from a walk through the seedy underbelly of illegal prizefighting and learn how Earp found himself at the center of tremendous controversy.

Host: Josh

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The Public Arch

4/22/2023

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Black and white photograph of Etta Gray, seated woman in a dark gown from the late 1800s

While one of the safest cities in the United States today, El Paso, Texas was one of America's most dangerous cities in the 1880s. Run by gunslingers, gambling brokers, and brothel madams, the city often descended into significant bouts of violence. One such episode occurred when the most renowned madams in the city, Alice Abbott, invaded the home of her chief rival, Etta Clark. The dispute ended with Alice Abbot shot and Etta Clark arrested for attempted murder. Eventually, Clark's brothel burned down. On this episode we unpack these events and get to the root of what they can tell us about this lively border town.

Host: Josh

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Footnoting History's Favorite Historical Footnotes

2/11/2023

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Artist's rendition of Clio the Muse of History as a woman with wavy brown hair in a toga, holding an open scroll. There are two dark banners, one at the top left corner with a pair of green stars around the number 10 and on the bottom right corner with the letters FH on it

It's our birthday! Footnoting History first launched in February of 2013. To celebrate turning ten, all of our current hosts (yes, all!) picked out their favorite historical footnotes to share. This episode contains anecdotes from a variety of centuries covering things like music, fruit, medieval royalty, and presidential inaugurations. We hope you'll enjoy them as much as we do.

Hosts: Christine, Kristin, Josh, Lucy, Samantha

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Further Reading

The Papal Fleet

1/14/2023

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Illuminated manuscript image of Pope Clement 7 in a floating black basin

It’s POPE NAVY time! When Church leaders gathered at the Council of Vienne in 1311, King Henry II of Cyprus promised Pope Clement V a fleet of ships which would have the purpose of enforcing trade embargoes the papacy had enacted. These trade embargoes aimed to prevent Latin Christians from engaging in trade with Muslims and certain non-Latin Christians. While not built until later in the fourteenth century, the papal fleet appeared in many crusade proposals in the first few decades of that century. Come sail the heretical sea on this voyage of Footnoting History.

Host: Josh

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Further Reading

History for the Holidays II

12/3/2022

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New Year's Day, United States, from the Holidays series (N80) for Duke brand cigarettes, 1890

The so-called holiday season that ends every year is filled with fascinating history. For our second year in a row, we are bringing you some holiday-themed history to help you say goodbye to 2022 in style.

Hosts: Christine, Josh, Kristin

Further Reading

The Oneida Community, Part II

8/27/2022

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The Industrial Revolution of the 1830s provoked a considerable amount of anxiety in the United States. While some turned their attention to combatting the scourge of alcohol, others ran away from the new society created by industrialization. Looking for connection and a return to simpler times, many Americans joined groups that offered the perfect society. One such community, in Oneida, New York promised such a society, but as we'll discover this week, they found a bit more than they may have bargained for.

Host: Josh

Further Reading

The Oneida Community, Part I

8/13/2022

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The Industrial Revolution of the 1830s provoked a considerable amount of anxiety in the United States. While some turned their attention to combatting the scourge of alcohol, others ran away from the new society created by industrialization. Looking for connection and a return to simpler times, many Americans joined groups that offered the perfect society. One such community, in Oneida, New York promised such a society, but as we'll discover this week, they found a bit more than they may have bargained for.

Host: Josh

Further Reading

special edition: Listener Q & A

7/2/2022

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Illustration of a light bulb with a question mark in the center on a black background

You asked, we answered! Join Footnoting History's producers for our first-ever episode entirely dedicated to answering your questions about everything and anything related to history and our show.

Hosts: Christine and Kristin

Further Reading

The Gold Cure

4/23/2022

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To know American History is to know the history of substance abuse. Whether alcohol, tobacco, or narcotics, Americans have sought the comfort of substances to ease the pains of the world and to "lubricate" life. And as long as there have been addicts in the United States, there have been others who claim to know the way out of addiction. At the end of the nineteenth century, Dr. Leslie Keeley claimed to have invented a cure to solve the addiction crisis he saw in the US. In order to deliver this cure, Keeley opened at least one treatment center in every US state. His cure? Injecting gold into the veins of patients. Chase a dragon along a gilded path on this episode of Footnoting History.

Host: Josh

Further Reading

History for the Holidays

12/11/2021

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New Year's Day in Old New York, from "The Graphic" Christmas Number, 1882 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

Join us as we say goodbye to 2021 with a series of historical anecdotes related to holidays, from Christmas to Hanukkah to ringing in the New Year.

Podcasters: Christine, Kristin, and Josh

Further Reading

Sicilian Vespers, Part II: The Massacre and the War of the Vespers

9/18/2021

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Manfred of House Hohenstaufen is dead; Charles of Anjou, in the name of the papacy, has claimed Sicily and awaits coronation. Across the Ionian and Aegean Seas, Michael Palaeologus looks to the Latin West and waits. In Germany, Conradin, son of the last "rightful" king of Sicily, desires to seize his own claim to the throne. And the House of Aragon begins to stir and look towards Sicily with its own ambitions. This week on Footnoting History, the thrilling conclusion to our saga of the Sicilian Vespers which sees 4000 Frenchmen dead.

Podcaster: Josh

Further Reading

Sicilian Vespers, Part I: Uprising

9/4/2021

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In the middle of the 13th Century, a violent uprising began on the island of Sicily in an attempt to oust the French King, Charles I of Anjou, that left approximately 13,000 people dead over the course of six weeks. This violent uprising also sparked a wider pan-Mediterranean war between the Spanish crown of Aragon, the Angevin Kingdom of Naples, the Byzantine Empire, and the Kingdom of France. In part one of this two-part series, Josh explores the causes of the uprising and the immediate aftermath.

Podcaster: Josh

Further Reading

Christopher Columbus and the Book of Prophecies

5/29/2021

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Christopher Columbus inaugurated unprecedented global changed when he sailed from Europe to the Caribbean in 1492. But he brought with him expectations that his “discovery” of this new found route to “India” would see the beginning of the end of the world. He wrote about these expectations in his Book of Prophecies. Come behold the apocalypse on today’s Footnoting History.

Host: Josh

Further Reading

The Martyrs of Thana

3/6/2021

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Martyrdom of the Franciscans (Ambrogio Lorenzetti)

In the early fourteenth century, four Franciscan friars set out for East Asia to preach the Gospel among the Mongols. In the city of Thana (modern Mumbai), however, they met their end after running afoul of the local administrators. We explore their story, a Latin Christian understanding of Asia, and more in this episode of Footnoting History.

Podcaster: Josh

Further Reading

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