Binge-able History

     I'm currently watching the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. It ran for 5 seasons and won twenty Emmys ( of 57 nominations), but I  didn't watch the original run. Wow! This show is great storytelling and great history combined. The lead character is Nucky Thompson, the corrupt politician, bootlegger, and gang leader in Atlantic City New Jersey in the 1920s, based on a real-life figure named Enoch Johnson. Many of the figures are based on real-life characters.  If you're a person who knows 1920s history, this show has it all:  Prohibition, organized crime, competing Irish, Jewish, and Italian mobs, women's suffrage, the temperance movement, the beginnings of improved women's healthcare, and the Ku Klux Klan.Real life figures are brought to life, like Al Capone, Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Luciano, Warren G. Harding, Eddie Cantor, and Andrew Mellon. Every episode is packed with twists and turns, double and triple crosses, and lots of sex and violence. It's becoming one of my favorite shows. ( https://www.hbo.com/boardwalk-empire )

    Here are some more great series based on history that you may have missed and that are worth a look. They may be available on a streaming service or On Demand from your TV provider.

    Hell on Wheels  and Deadwood are two of my favorite westerns ever.  Hell is about the race to build the transcontinental railroad, and features all the groups involved: Blacks, Irish, Chinese, Mormons, and others. ( https://www.amc.com/shows/hell-on-wheels--49 ) 

    Several people told me for years that I should watch Deadwood, but I resisted for a while. When I finally watched, I was blown away. The show follows the growth of Deadwood South Dakota from mining camp to town. Like Boardwalk, the show revolves around corrupt local politician/criminal Al Swearengen. Just as Boardwalk's  leading protagonist is masterfully played by Steve Bucsemi, Swearengen is played by Ian McShane. Also, like Boardwalk, the writing of the show takes it to a whole new lever. The dialogue in Deadwood is Shakespearean, beautiful. ( https://www.hbo.com/deadwood) 

    

    HBO's John Adams set a whole new level for limited series. It is based on the great David McCullough's Pulitzer prize-winning  biography, and dramatizes the life of Adams from the Boston Massacre in 1770 to his death in 1826. The biography and the series helped to humanize the founders, and, at least in my mind, greatly rehabilitated the image of John Adams. When I was growing up, I didn't really give much thought to Adams, favoring Jefferson. As I read and learned more, my estimation of Adams grew dramatically, and my opinion of Jefferson declined. The series covers so much of the conflict, division, triumphs, and failures of the early republic. Every American who wants learn this history should see it (and read the book). (https://www.hbo.com/john-adams)

    If you want to dig deeper in history, then Rome is the series for you. Running for two seasons, the series follows the lives of two Roman soldiers whose lives straddle the end of the republic and the beginning of the empire, and they find their lives intertwined with all the great players of the time, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian. ( https://www.hbo.com/rome) 

Eat Your History on Youtube, Part 2 of 2

     Here are some more Youtube Channels that combine two of my passions: food and history.  Check them out!

    Townsends is a Youtube Channel dedicated to exploring the culture of the 18th century.  There are hundreds of videos about 18th century living, cooking, clothing and more. Several of the Townsends videos feature my favorite culinary historian, Michael Twitty, the author of The Cooking Gene. ( https://www.youtube.com/user/jastownsendandson/featured )

    The Victorian Way is a channel produced by English Heritage, and, of course, it features food and recipes of the Victorian upper class.  ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx2QMoA1Th9deXXbo7htq21CUPqEPPGuc ) Here's the video for making squab pie.

 

    Mental Floss has a Youtube channel about food history, so you won't get recipes, but you will get entertaining stories about your favorite foods and how they came to be. ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYT7t0pcxEINn7R0XjGy3aj4cuLj8bn9U ) Want to know how ketchup and mustard originated?  Here you go:

    Finally, there are the Supersizers. There are two British Supersizers series, one called Supersizers Go and one called Supersizers Eat. You might have to search Youtube a bit, for those titles. Here is one channel that has many of the episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOE0VP0EZ0M&list=PLBD975732056866C4 .   In both series, restaurant critic and comedian and TV presenter, Sue Perkins, focus on a different historic period in each episode. They have roles to play and live the life of that period over the course of a week. They eat, they drink, they entertain, they exercise, they learn hobbies of the period, etc.  Every show is super entertaining and educational. I used a lot of the videos in my AP European History class because they cover daily life so well. Here's part 1 f the Wartime episode (On youtube, you might find episodes whole or divided into 6 or so segments.):

   

    These are just some suggestions to get you started. Go to Youtube and explore on your own, search for your favorites.

Eat Your History on Youtube, part 1of 2

     A big part of my historical interests revolves around food. Food is the great uniter of people from all over the world. Even though cuisines, ingredients, and dishes differ from culture to culture, everybody has to eat, and there are similarities across cultures. Exploring foodways is a great way to learn about a historical period or culture. One can learn about every aspect of life, political, social, and economic.  We have a lot of fun trying new foods and recipes.

    There are several channels on Youtube that take viewers through foods and recipes of different historical periods. One is Tasting History With Max Miller. On Tuesdays, Max cooks an historic recipe and tells the story of the culture. The videos are very interesting and are only 15-18 minutes long. There's not enough time to get bored. https://www.youtube.com/c/TastingHistory/videos

    Great Depression Cooking is another great watch. Unfortunately, Clara, the star, passed away in 2013, but her videos were filmed from 2007-2013, when she was in her 90s. She re-creates recipes from her childhood, during the Great Depression, when mothers had to really be creative. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRKls2LLMqU-uK2csT6FOKw

    Making It Modern " recreates a disgusting vintage recipe and then uses it as inspiration to make a new dish more suitable to modern taste buds" according to the channel's own description. The recipes are vintage mid-20th century, so there is a lot of SPAM and Jell-o, but the makeovers are neat. If you want a cool party theme, go mid-century and use some of these recipes. https://www.youtube.com/c/Theglamoroushousewife1/featured