Welcome to History Lessons for Misanthropes
Hosted by Dr. Mildred Strange and Lou Branchaud. We strive to bring you stories from history that are strange, dark, upsetting, difficult, or otherwise hidden. We are committed to bringing you well-researched, academically sound episodes that are educational and entertaining.
Dr. Strange holds a PhD in Cultural Studies specializing in dress and labour history, and has interests in the occult, art, and queer history, and has been a researcher on topics related to African Canadian history. She has training as an archivist and was a theatre costumer, once upon a time. Dr. Strange also holds two degrees in Canadian history. Lou likes bawdy humour and dinosaurs, and makes sure we sound good. He also makes sure that pre-history is included in the discussion.
Sometimes we have guests who are experts in fields of study that fit our mandate, since our academic friends are equally odd.
We begin each episode with a history-related news story as a way of engaging with current scholarship outside of episode topics, and to demonstrate that you don’t need to be an academic to find history in everyday life. We situate each topic within the time period, what’s moving and shaking at the time, by listing contemporary global events, to exemplify that history does not happen in a silo.
Join us on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month (and sometimes the fifth Tuesday) wherever you listen to podcasts.