Is the strange truer than fiction, and are nations weirder than their staid mythologies? This episode we put that question to the test by considering some of the mind-bendingly strange truths of the more distant past, as well as the nutty history happening in real time right outside our windows. So who you calling strange anyway? You better take a good look in history’s mirror with your HAG hosts and our very special guest this episode, to see how it all reflects. Sarah Schneewind, distinguished scholar of Chinese history at UC San Diego, joins us to chat about her textbook, and why preparing students to confront the very strange in history builds empathy and bolsters critical thinking, altogether a good skill set for managing the strangeness of our contemporary world.

History Against the Grain

Opening Theme by Jesse DeCarlo

Music Interludes:

Nick Shoulders, "All Bad"

Cindy Lee, "Diamond Jubilee"

Like rock climbers scaling a big wall, Josh and Chris take on the towering crag of higher education. Josh finds perspective on this adventure in tackling a monumental read, Peter Heather’s Christendom, a story of how paradise was lost in the orthodoxies and power drive of the hulking monolith known as the Roman Catholic Church. Wary of such heights, Chris stays closer to ground and belays the discussion, releasing the climber’s narrative rope with the story of David Walker’s Appeal, a saga from the early days of the radical freedom movement. In this episode, tall tales that might otherwise leave you lost in the thin alpine air, are safely and expertly scaled by your sure handed HAG guides, who promise to meet you at the summit of historical insight.

Website: HistoryagainsttheGrain.com

Email us: HistoryagainsttheGrain@gmail.com

Opening theme by Jesse DeCarlo

Music Interludes:

Gil Scott Heron and Makaya McCraven, "I'm New Here"

Mach-Hommy, "Magnum Band Remix"

AI needs copper. Yes. Sure. Okay. But what happens next? We live in a world of banal narrative - news media, politics, advertising - wherein our lives are curated with messages and stories of progress and performative empathy (think “thoughts and prayers” or “appreciate your patience and understanding”). Much of this gospel of progress and toxic positivity contradicts our own lived experiences - we know things don’t work, and the system sets up to screw us. History narratives often work that way too, with big national stories of shiny continuity and advancement, where the occasional “road bumps” — say, environmental destruction and labor impoverishment due to the strip mining of, oh, copper — get written off as collateral damage. Just aberrations in the narrative, with stories of people and places lost in the folds of a map, and unremembered lives hidden in the shadows of the archives. And the beat of progress goes on. Want the truth? Demand better stories about the past. Forget about “objectivity,” “both sides,” and god knows, “fair and balanced,” and make your inquiries avowedly truthful and ethical. Look into the shadows, examine the folds, investigate the cracks in the storytelling, because like Leonard Cohen said, cracks are where the light comes in.