Dead Guys in History

Welcome to the Web page of “Dead Guys in History,” a weekly video Podcast series that examines historical facts and explains why people who lived decades or even centuries ago are important to current events. During each show, I will offer some trivia and give viewers a chance to guess who current week’s “dead guy” is. I will also reveal the previous week’s dead guy and give credit to the first viewer who answered correctly on my blip.tv page. For a more thorough explanation of the rules, check out my first episode. You can also subscribe to the video Podcast through iTunes or any RSS service.

Episodes are listed in reverse chronological order.
Note: Due to matters beyond my control, “Dead Guys in History” will be on hiatus through the month of January and perhaps into February ‘09.

Episode 4: Shake it Like a Polaroid Picture
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Polaroid announced recently that the company will stop manufacturing its famous instant film at the end of the year–that’s less than two weeks from now. Polaroid instant cameras have been an integral part of many Americans’ childhoods, and so it seems fitting to release this video Podcast during the holiday season.

Episode 3: Voting Rights
Thursday, December 11, 2008
We all know that women gained the constitutional right to vote via the 19th Amendment in 1920. But did you know that this week in 1869, Wyoming became the first territory to explicitly grant women this right?

Selected resources regarding John Maynard Keynes and modern economics:
* John Maynard Keynes: Biographical profile from newschool.edu
* John Maynard Keynes, Economist and Investor: Further biographical reading from maynardkeynes.org
* Obama’s Mighty Economic Challenge: “[T]he only apt historical comparison for Obama’s predicament is that of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.” - from The Washington Post

Episode 2: It’s the Economy, Turkey.
Thursday, December 4, 2008

The government is spending billions in taxpayer money to bailout floundering corporations, and this has got some economists bringing back pre-free-market theory.

Episode 1: Turkey Pardoning?
Thursday, November 27, 2008
This is the first episode of “Dead Guys in History,” created Nov. 27, 2008. The video is self-explanatory and a definite must-watch before you take a look at any later videos. I hope you enjoy it!

Please note that any and all copyrighted materials in the above videos are used with the Fair Use doctrine in mind. As a journalist and educator who intends to make zero profit from these video Podcasts, I include these materials only as audiovisual aids to my presentations.