HIST 1302 – Podcast Response Assignment
DIRECTIONS: Podcasts can be an entertaining way to learn about history. This is an individual assignment designed to expose you to a new historical topic that you might not otherwise learn much about in a history class. Before you complete this assignment, you must listen to ONE of the podcast episodes listed below. When you finish listening to your chosen podcast episode, you must answer the questions below. You can submit this assignment at any time during the semester, but there is a hard deadline of before 11:59 pm on April 24. Listen to your chosen podcast sometime around when it is assigned so that you have the necessary context to understand the material and the necessary information to answer the questions.
Please type your answers in complete sentences in a separate Word document and save as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file. Submit to the Podcast Assignment under the Assignments module on our Canvas page.
Choose ONE podcast episode:
1. The Black Congressmen of Reconstruction: Death of Representation https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gZUlL1742jGBOpbbgxYzW?si=d0a9ac0023534bb1
2. Bayard Rustin: The Man Behind the March on Washington (2021)
https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072465899/bayard-rustin-the-man-behind-the-march-
on-washington-2021
3. A Taste of Freedom: Juneteenth
https://www.stitcher.com/show/american-history-tellers/episode/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage-the-trial-of-susan-b-anthony-2-201095516
4. The Fight for Women’s Suffrage | The Trial of Susan B. Anthony
Bittersweet: Sugar, Slavery, Empire and Consumerism in the Atlantic World
5. The Manhattan Project
6. American Socialist: Eugene Debs
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/18/817837651/american-socialist
7. Hooked: Drugs, Prohibition, and American Cities
https://ehistory.osu.edu/videos/hooked-drugs-prohibition-and-american-cities-history-talk-podcast
8. Unresolved: Emmitt Till
9. How Reagan Changed Conservatism
https://www.npr.org/2020/08/26/906212220/how-reagan-changed-conservatism
Answer the following questions about the podcast episode:
1. What is the topic of the podcast episode, and what podcast is it from?
2. Who were the host(s) and/or guests (if applicable) of this podcast episode? What are their credentials? What are the potential biases? Do you find the host(s) and/or guest to be a credible source on this topic?
3. Briefly summarize the podcast episode (1-2 paragraphs). DO NOT use outside sources!
4. What are FIVE interesting things you learned from the podcast about the topic that you didn’t know before?
5. Was there anything from the podcast episode about the topic that you already knew? If so, what?
6. What is ONE question you have about the topic that was not answered by the podcast?
7. How did the podcast change or add to your understanding of U.S. history?
8. How does this podcast relate to/enhance what you have read from the book or heard in pre-recorded lectures?
9. Compared with more traditional methods of learning history (listening to lecture, reading a textbook, etc.), how useful do you think history podcasts are? Is there anything you get from the podcast that you couldn’t get from a more traditional method?
10. Would you recommend this podcast to somebody else interested in history? Why or why not?
