Podcast
Not Past It
Hosted by Gimlet · EN
Ever wonder why the world is the way it is? Like, 1000s of years of humanity and this is the version of the world we came up with. This one? Same. Each Wednesday on Not Past It host Simone Polanen will pick a moment from that very same week in history -- and tell you how it shaped our lives today.
12episodes
Episodes
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The Great Big Butter Battle
Mar 26, 202500:27:22Tap to summarize128 years ago this week, news broke of a small-town butter contest turned scandalous. Dairy experts and buttermakers gathered in Meadville, Pennsylvania to award the state’s best butter. Little did they know, there was a cheat in their midst. These treacherous events sparked important questions for Meadvilleans, and for us all: Who can we trust? And what the heck is in our food? This episode originally aired April 5, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →The Price of Blood
Mar 19, 202500:30:53Tap to summarizeOn March 15th, 1937—86 years ago this week— a new kind of bank opened in the US. That bank wouldn’t deal out money— it would deal out blood. Blood banks would help to revolutionize medicine, save countless lives, and make complex new surgeries possible. But who could put blood in those banks? Who couldn’t? And why? That has its own complicated history. One that we’ll look at through an event that happened not too long ago. This episode originally aired March 15, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →‘Come On Barbie, Let’s Go Party’
Mar 12, 202500:30:48Tap to summarizeHey, Barbie Girls! On March 9th, 1959, the now-legendary Barbie doll debuted at the International Toy Fair. She was controversial from the start; her hot bod scandalized parents and intrigued kids across the country. But while grown-ups were clutching their pearls, a more pointed battle was brewing -- over the purpose of Barbie and the nature of play. This episode originally aired March 8, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →A Notorious Life After Death
Mar 5, 202500:34:02Tap to summarizeThe Notorious B.I.G. was at the top of his game when he was murdered, 25 years ago this week. On March 9th, 1997, Christopher Wallace was gunned down in public. We’re telling the story of Biggie’s friendship with Tupac. Just not the one you may have heard. This episode originally aired March 9, 2022.Check out our Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac playlist to hear songs from the episode and other fan favorites. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →Korea’s Olympic Dream
Feb 26, 202500:29:24Tap to summarizeBefore Squid Game, BTS, and Parasite, South Korea dazzled the world in a different field… figure skating. All thanks to their queen of the ice, Yuna Kim. On February 25, 2010 she set a new world record at the Winter Olympics. But Yuna’s path to the Olympics was bigger than her — and charts the history of a nation emerging into a new chapter. This episode originally aired February 23, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →The Nazi Hunter
Feb 19, 202500:33:42Tap to summarizeSimon Wiesenthal walked out of the Mauthausen concentration camp a survivor determined to hold war criminals accountable. When it was discovered that one of the Holocaust’s primary architects was in hiding, Simon was on the case. His 15 year globe-spanning hunt ended in 1960 with some secret spy photography that would make Simon a legend. His story would inspire those seeking justice to this day. Even if Simon’s hunt wasn’t entirely truthful. This episode originally aired February 16, 2022.*A warning for our listeners: this story contains graphic descriptions of violence. please take care while you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →F*** Your Slave Laws
Feb 12, 202500:28:15Tap to summarize173 years ago this week, a new fugitive slave law loomed large over the city of Boston. Southern slave hunters were now empowered to travel up North, catch anyone who’d escaped slavery, and return them to bondage. That’s why, in 1851, they rolled through town looking for Shadrach Minkins, who fled from slavery in Virginia. The Black abolitionists of the city made it their mission to protect Shadrach. And they fought back — even if it meant breaking the law. This episode originally aired Feb. 15, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →TV’s Hail Mary Pass
Feb 5, 202500:37:26Tap to summarizeOn February 1st, 2004— 19 years ago this week— Americans witnessed, live on television, a Super Bowl mishap that would impact our culture and media consumption to this day. So put on your jersey, grab some nachos and gather around for the history of the gridiron. We’re joined by Sam Sanders, host of the Vulture podcast, Into It & co-host of the Stitcher podcast, Vibe Check. This episode originally aired February 1, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →The Last Queen of Hawaii
Jan 29, 202500:31:47Tap to summarizeBefore Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States of America, it was ruled by a monarchy. On January 29, 1891, Lili’uokalani was crowned Queen of Hawaii. She would be faced with the greed and violence of White sugar plantation owners that had been building under her brother, King Kalakaua. She was the first queen of the island nation and would be the last. This episode originally aired January 26, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →A New Sheriff in Town
Jan 22, 202500:34:08Tap to summarizeIn the 1960s Alabama was at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement. It’s the home of the years-long Montgomery Bus Boycotts and demonstrations in Selma for Black people to gain equal voting rights. But in Tuskegee, on January 16th, 1967 – history was made when Lucius Amerson was sworn in as Sheriff of Macon County, Alabama. He was the first Black documented sheriff in the South since Reconstruction. Amerson gained unprecedented power for a Black man in the South...and many people wanted to take that power away from him. This episode originally aired January 19, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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