In newly unearthed audio from Oct. 2015 about then-newly unearthed archaeological evidence, Robo-Ed, Robo-Tim, and regular John discuss the lost Colony of Roanoke. Sponsor us on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32327644Door The Bar Stool Historian

John, Ed, and Tim give recommendations for what to watch and what to read while you're in Corona lockdown.Door The Bar Stool Historian

The boys are back in town as they discuss yesterday in history, today. Patrick Henry, Werner Van Braun, NOT Coronavirus and Handel handling good things. Support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32327644Door The Bar Stool Historian

Warning! This episode is not for the squeamish! In this shocking (and supersized) episode, we profile three of the most abhorrent members of the History Hall of Shame: Hitler's uber-quack personal physician/drug pusher; the putrid, ravenous 18th century freak/accidental secret agent Tarrare; and the murderous proto-Dracula Elizabeth Bathory. If you…

The Bar Stool Historian returns, along with their blame-assigning technological marvel, the Blame-O-Meter 5000! In this episode. we measure how much the phrase "Read my lips, no new taxes..." was to blame for George H. W. Bush's re-election failure. Plus, Tim recalls his personal experiences of growing up in the bad-old days of crime-ridden NYC. Fo…

John, Ed, and Tim have pulled together another grab bag of historical curiosities, with a pinch of current events tossed in for good measure. Episode highlights include: The drinking (and non-drinking) habits of 2oth Century American presidents. Gubernatorial assassination and general mayhem in Kentucky. Shadowy pro-Russian forces in Montenegro, an…

Ed, John (suffering from a miserable cold), and Tim (hobbled by influenza), dive into the instructive and wildly entertaining book, Colonial Spirits: A Toast to Our Drunken History, and chat to its equally instructive and entertaining creators, author Steven Grasse and illustrator Michael Allen. Colonial Spirits: A Toast to Our Drunken History Othe…

Veteran's Day Parade, 11/11/2016, New York City - Photo by Tim We pulled our microphones together at the last minute to deliver this Veteran's Day episode of The Bar Stool Historian. Topics include: Future generals MacArthur and Patton meet on a World War I battlefield. The truly nightmarish story of how hundreds of returning Civil War veterans per…

The great early 19th-century American eccentric, "Lord" Timothy Dexter strolls his demesne pondering a 108 year-old curse. With an election just a couple days away, we're off to the races with presidential candidates of and other overachieving eccentrics. Topics include: The third party candidates of the 20th century who helped shape today's politi…

John, Tim and Ed kick off Bar Stool Season 2 with a celebration of our 40th birthdays. Join us as we explore (and in Tim’s case, severely criticize) the mystical number 40 and its special place in history. Topics include: The most meaningful events of the last 40 years (including the true story of when Tim and John met Mikhail Gorbachev.) The Lykov…

THE POUNDS, SHILLINGS, AND SIXPENCE OF THE PAST, DRAGGED KICKING AND SCREAMING INTO THE PRESENT. Welcome to a Bar Stool Historian time travel road trip, as we visit the bucolic fictional village of Crittling Stubbs-On-Skirdenback about 600 years ago. What transpired was a full-fledged live game show where contestants guess the price of everyday med…

SCORING BLAME-WORTHINESS THROUGHOUT HISTORY Wild accusations and historical libel get hurled around in this installment of Bar Stool Historian! With the help of the Blame-O-Meter, an advanced piece of technology sent from the future, we assign blame through history. In doing so we discover: How “history’s greatest monster” ruined sweaters Why no on…

PUTTING 17TH CENTURY PICK-UP LINES TO THE TEST Inspired by a post in one of our favorite sites, Ask the Past, we tapped into the treasure trove that is John Gough's 1684 book, The Academy of Complements (see below for its full, glorious title), and tried out some his suggestions for complimenting ladies on our unsuspecting spouses. With the censor'…

Leopold I and Margarita Teresa. Holy Roman Emperor & Empress. Husband and Wife. First Cousins. Uncle and Niece! (Ewww...) Genetic time bomb. Kids love their rancid butter! Themes, schmemes! In this “news n’ reviews” episode, we’re delivering an hour-long grab bag of historical curios, grotesqueries, and dubious culinary delights.... Thrill to the s…

Albrecht Durer's illustration of a syphilitic man in a 1496 broadsheet. Diseases that changed the course of history. After weeks of Ebola dominating the headlines, we thought it appropriate to look at some of history's most civilization-altering diseases. John spins a yarn about how wild fornication in the streets of Naples just might have foiled a…

Marking World War I's centennial with a classic book. John, Tim, and Ed travel back in time to the fateful days of 1914, with the help of Barbara Tuchman's masterful The Guns of August. How well does this book fare a half-century after its publication? Does it retain the power to surprise (or even shock) the modern reader? What lessons can we apply…