User:Enthusiasm girl/Stuff You Missed In History Class

Stuff You Missed In History Class is a podcast created and released by the website HowStuffWorks. It is currently hosted by Sarah Dowdey and Deblina Chakraborty, both writers at HowStuffWorks. The podcast is released every Monday and Wednesday and episodes are usually between 15 and 30 minutes in length. The purpose of the podcast is to educate listeners on a variety of important or notable historical people or events which they would not have necessarily learned about over the course of their education. Generally, each episode will also relate to a corresponding article written by a HowStuffWorks staff writer.

Podcast Origin and Evolution
The podcast released its first episode on June 9, 2008. Originally, it was hosted by HowStuffWorks history editor at the time Candace Keener (then Candace Gibson) and current Stuff You Should Know host Josh Clark, and was titled ''Fact or Fiction? History Stuff For The History Buff'' and episodes were only a few minutes in length. They focused largely on brief answers to historical questions, with episode titles such as "Did Genghis Khan Really Kill 1,748,000 in one hour?" and "What Was In Peter The Great's Cabinet Of Curiosities?". The episodes at this point in time were conversational in nature, featuring banter between Keener and Clark. Usually, Clark would present a historical myth or assumption to Candace and ask her to answer whether it could be considered fact or fiction. Due to the brevity with which topics were covered during this period as well as the difference in tone and style with which the information was delivered, many of the topics covered during this era of the show would later be repeated, such as the episodes discussing D.B. Cooper and Elizabeth Bathory.

Over time, the podcast evolved to become longer in length and to deal more in depth with its subjects. Following the departure of Josh Clark in November, 2008 and the name change, the show became less conversational and more about constructing a narrative surrounding each topic and presenting the topic in a more complete way. Josh Clark was replaced by HowStuffWorks staff writer Jane McGrath.

McGrath then left in June, 2009 and was replaced by editor Katie Lambert. Shortly after, in August 2009, Keener left to be replaced by editor Sarah Dowdey. Finally, in November, 2010, Lambert left and Dowdey was joined by current co-host, staff writer Deblina Chakraborty.

Common Themes and Topics
Over the years, a wide variety of people and events from around the world have been covered by the podcast. Often the hosts will solicit listener suggestions as to which topics to cover, particularly when they recognize a particular world region or period of time that is outside of their own particular knowledge.

Often, the hosts will focus the episodes over a particular period of time on a certain subject or even do serialized episodes that follow a particular theme. For example, there have been entire series of episodes focusing on the French Bourbons and the Medici family, as well as individual episodes focusing on different American Civil War spies. There are also usually episodes that are meant to coincide with particular holidays or anniversaries. A good example of this is the string of episodes about strong women in history meant to commemorate Women's History Month in 2011.

The hosts have also drawn attention to common threads throughout particular stories that have been unintended. For example, Arthur Conan Doyle and Queen Victoria both made appearances in various podcasts throughout 2011 that were unrelated to them specifically. Other common threads such as the exhumation of remains, decapitation of heads, or sad royal childhoods have also been pointed out.

Some of the most popular or requested topics the podcast has covered throughout its run include European royalty, military history, the lives of great artists and musicians, infamous murders and criminal cases and disastrous early expeditions to unexplored lands.

Interviews With Authors and Public Figures
Occasionally, episodes will break from the usual format and consist of interviews with authors or other public figures.

Throughout September 2009, a five-part series aired in which Candace Keener interviewed former president of the United States Jimmy Carter. In the interview, Carter discussed his work forging the Camp David Accords, the Carter Center's work towards the eradication of Guinea Worm Disease, and the human rights and foreign policy goals of the United States.

In May 2011, the current co-hosts interviewed author David McCullough and discussed his novel The Greater Journey: Americans In Paris. A second podcast with McCullough was released in August 2011.

Most recently, October 2011 saw the release of a two-part interview with Dr. Holly Tucker about her novel Bloodwork.

Notable Episodes
Fore a complete list of episodes, See User:Enthusiasm girl/List Of Stuff You Missed In History Class Episodes