Episodes

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Listen. Never have I felt older than this moment, in which I am lecturing via podcast about the historical epoch that is the 1990s (or, as the kids refer to it, “The late 1900s.”) So, what were the 1990s about? It was confusing. We didn’t have a clear “enemy” in the world anymore. The internet boom glossed over rising inequality. The world became “globalized” and the country became obsessed with talking about “multiculturalism” and whether that was a good or bad thing. The 1990s are a hodge-pod...

Support the show on Patreon! Emily tries to avoid comment trolls as she covers the Reagan years, the AIDS Crisis, trickle-down economics, and whatever the HW Bush presidency was all about.

It's 1968. White middle-class Americans are tired. They’re tired of everyone complaining - it’s “systemic racism” this and “unjust war” that. Can’t we all just be happy? Isn’t it time we all just calmed down and got back to work? It’s time for some tough love and Nixon is the man to drag us out of the 1960s kicking and screaming… Today’s episode is all about the 1970s or “If an entire decade were the middle child.” This is Anti-Social Studies; I’m Emily Glankler: settle in and let’s go back in ...

Before we move on in time from LBJ to Nixon, I want to pause so that we can talk about the PLETHORA of social movements that were ongoing throughout these two presidencies. Today we’re talking about Civil Rights and Protest Movements of the 1960s and 70s or, “Free At Last? Check out www.choices.edu and use the code ANTI-SS for 15% off your purchase of educational materials!

This episode of Anti-Social Studies was sponsored by the LBJ Presidential Library and Foundation. If you're in the Austin area, visit the LBJ Library & Museum. If not, check out www.LBJLibrary.org to explore their eMuseum, digital archives, and educational resources. If JFK was the optimism of what the 1960s could be, then LBJ was the realism of what it actually was. Does that sentence make sense? I’m sure it will by the end of this episode. Remember last episode when I said that the 1960s wer...

I know you’ve all been anxiously awaiting the conclusion of this narrative that literally no one else has ever told in history. How does World War II end? Does Hitler create a Reich to last a thousand years? Am I actually speaking Japanese right now?! OK let’s get right to it. Today we’re finishing World …

Act 1: Wilson and the War We can’t really understand WWI in America without talking about Woodrow Wilson. And we can’t understand Woodrow Wilson without talking about Tommy Wilson, because that was actually his name. His dropped his first name “Thomas” when he decided that his middle name Woodrow was more distinguished. But personally, I …

All right. The ladies of American history have been dancing on the edges of our narrative for about 200 years. I think it’s about time we gave them an episode of their own. Shall we? Today’s episode is all about The Women’s Era or, “Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make It On This Podcast.” We’re going to …

So we’ve reached the 20th century – finally! – and the U.S. overall is doing pretty well. Our economy is booming, we’ve got colonies now… the nation is doing well. But the people that live in the nation… most of them aren’t doing as great. Remember the Gilded Age? Uber capitalism on steroids with absolutely …

Welcome back to Anti-Social Studies! Last episode we talked about the Gilded Age and it was dark. Like, Dickensian-level darkness: poverty, tiny child labor hands, fat corrupt politicians. But on the other hand, electricity! So it balances out, right? Today we’re not moving forward in time, but staying in the very end of the Gilded …

Last episode we talked about the end of Reconstruction and the rise of the Jim Crow South. But don’t worry! Because today we’re traveling North to see the glitz and glamor of city life in the era of industrialization! Electric lights! Millionnaires! Skyscrapers! Oh yeah, and also poverty, inequality, and corruption. Dang it! Can’t we …

We left last episode on a cliffhanger. I know you’ve all been desperately waiting for two weeks wondering “Who will win the Civil War???” Well then, let’s get right to it! Today’s episode is all about the post-Civil War South or, “Reconstruction. Reconstruction!” (That’s a deep-cut Grease 2 reference right there. And if you already …

Welcome back to Anti-Social Studies! Last time we talked about sectionalism. The federal government kept putting off talking about the horrific question of slavery but, ultimately, it was an issue that had to be resolved one way or another. The growing tension and disagreements amongst various sections of the U.S. was only exacerbated by American …

Welcome back to Anti-Social Studies! OK. Real talk. If you’re listening to me right now then either your teacher is making you or you really like my podcast. Let’s be honest, anyone who’s stuck around through the War of 1812 and a whole episode on slavery is a true fan. So I want you to …

Welcome back to “a very special episode” of Anti-Social Studies! Remember when TV shows did that back in the 90s? There would be a “very special” episode of Boy Meets World where Shawn joined a cult. That’s not a joke. That was a real episode. But today we do actually have a special episode because, …

Welcome back to Anti-Social Studies! Last week we rebelled against the British! And won! Who saw that one coming? Today we’re looking at the first generation of American history. Like I said throughout season 1, winning a war or conquering a place is the easy part; governing is way harder. What challenges did our first …

Welcome to Anti-Social Studies! Last episode we covered the entire colonial era in 45 minutes – it was pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. All the early colonies were led by men named John, apparently; some colonists wanted to get rich quick while others were looking for a place where they could be …

So, in theory, this first episode is covering everything that happened in the land that would come to be the United States before 1776. But that’s insane. We don’t need to know all of that. We can really understand all of US History if we just look at two colonies and one year. That’s right! …