In the early 1900s, Mary Mallon, a cook, was unknowingly ahealthy carrier of Typhoid fever.
Written by Claudia Jansen, Morgan Metz, and Marian MoserJones. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Hannah Keller. A transcript is available athttps://origins.osu.edu/read/who-was-typhoid-mary.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
Learn More:
· Ashurst, John V., Justina Truong, and Blair Woodbury. “Typhoid Fever (Salmonella Typhi),” StatPearls [online book] Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan–. PMID: 30085544. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519002/
· Bourdain, Anthony. Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010.
· Hasian, M.A. Power, Medical Knowledge, and theRhetorical Invention of “Typhoid Mary”. Journal of Medical Humanities 21, 123–139 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009074619421
· “Individual who tested positive for COVID-19being held in Spokane County Jail after refusing to self-isolate,” NBC Right Now (Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA), July 2, 2020, https://www.nbcrightnow.com/regional/individual-who-tested-positive-for-covid-19-being-held-in-spokane-county-jail-after-refusing/article_ee6606ca-a4b2-5dec-824c-c0d4f184d1e9.html
· Leavitt, Judith Waltzer. Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public’s Health (Boston: Beacon Press, 1996), pp. 16-18, 27-29, 45-46, 71. “Spokane health officer issues order to jail COVID-19 positive man who refused to self-isolate,” Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA), July 2, 2020. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/jul/02/spokane-health-officer-issues-order-to-jail-covid
· Teicher A. Typhoid Mary Was Not a Super-Spreader(and Super-Spreaders Are Not "Typhoid Marys"). Am J PublicHealth. 2023 Dec;113(12):1249-1253. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2023.307434. Epub 2023 Oct 12. PMID: 37824810; PMCID: PMC10632844, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37824810/
· “Tuberculosis patient in Washington who wasarrested for refusing treatment is finally cured,” NBC News, July 23, 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/washington-tuberculosis-patient-cured-arrested-refusing-treatment-rcna163302.
The Battle of Bosworth Field was one of the last majorbattles of the Wars of the Roses, a decades-long conflict between the House of York and the House of Lancaster over claims to the English throne.
Written and narrated by Hannah Keller. Video production byHannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/battle-bosworth-field.
Learn More:
Carpenter, Christine. The Wars of the Roses: Politics and the Constitution in England, c. 1437-1509. Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Foard, Glenn and Anne Curry. Bosworth 1485: A Battlefield Rediscovered. Oxbow Books, 2013.
Hicks, Michael. The Wars of the Roses. Yale University Press, 2010.
Jones, Dan. The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors. Penguin Books, 2015.
Jones, Michael. Bosworth 1485: Psychology of a Battle. Tempus, 2002.
Langley, Philippa. The Princes in the Tower: How History’s Greatest Cold Case Was Solved. Pegasus Books, 2023.
Pollard, A.J. The Wars of the Roses. Palgrave Macmillan, 2001.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events inHistorical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
President James A. Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881, byCharles Guiteau, a disgruntled political hopeful. Months later, Garfield died from an infection which ravaged Garfield’s body for two and half months. Who was responsible and what was their motivation?
Written by Lisa Zevorich Susner. Narration by Dr. NicholasB. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Hannah Keller. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/july-2016-assassination-president-garfield-135-years-ago.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
Percival Lowell was a prominent astronomer of the late 19thand early 20th centuries who believed in the existence of a planet beyond Neptune, which he called “Planet X.”
Written by Kevin Schindler. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B.Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/discovering-pluto.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events inHistorical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
Learn More:
Pluto and Lowell Observatory: A History of Discovery atFlagstaff. Kevin Schindler & Will Grundy. 2018. The History Press.
Discovering Pluto: Exploration at the Edge of the SolarSystem. Dale Cruikshank & William Sheehan. 2018. University of Arizona Press.
The Pluto System After New Horizons. Alan Stern, Jeffrey Moore, William Grundy, Leslie Young, Richard Binzel (editors). 2021. University of Arizona Press.
Planets X and Pluto. William Hoyt. 1980. University of Arizona Press.
Clyde Tombaugh: Discoverer of Planet Pluto. David Levy. 2007. Sky Publishing.
The World Series has been played annually since 1903 (withtwo exceptions in 1904 and 1994). Here, Origins offers ten 20th Century World Series contests that are landmark moments in baseball’s evolution as a commercial enterprise and its adaptation to the significant social and culturalchanges of modern America.
Written by Russell Field. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Hannah Keller. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/connecting-history/top-ten-origins-world-series.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at the Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos andpodcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
Gwangju, a major city in southwestern South Korea, has beenwidely recognized as a center of civil resistance since May 1980, when a brutal military crackdown targeted citizens protesting against dictatorship.
Written by Hieyoon Kim. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B.Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/gwangju-isnt-over.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events inHistorical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
Learn More About Gwangju:
Human Acts by Han Kang, translated by Deborah Smith https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/536652/human-acts-by-han-kang/
Mirror Nation by Don Mee Choi https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/violence-repeated-on-don-mee-chois-mirror-nation/Gwangju uprising: the rebellion for democracy inSouth Korea. Edited by Hwang Sok-yong, Lee Jae-eui, and Jeon Yong-ho, compiled by the Gwangju Democratization Movement Commemoration Committee, translated bySlin Jung. https://www.versobooks.com/products/932-gwangju-uprising?srsltid=AfmBOoo0LMGm_zCFYHSL6b91jzhNjyukxd2OSC0lHfpyiC4iSlHBvc_m
Headquartered at Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, OH, Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force’s investigation into UFOs, ran for 12 years beginning in March of 1952.
Written by Paul McAllister. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Hannah Keller. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/air-force-investigation-ufos.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University.
Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
Learn More:
The Man Who Introduced the World to Flying Saucers https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/the-man-who-introduced-the-world-to-flying-saucers/372732/
1947: The Year of the Flying Saucer https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/1947-year-flying-saucer
Public Interest in UFOs Persists 50 years After Project BlueBook Termination https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/project-blue-book-50th-anniversary
Project Blue Book Part 1 (UFO Reports) https://www.osi.af.mil/News/Features/Display/Article/2302429/project-blue-book-part-1-ufo-reports/
50 Years Ago: Government Stops Investigating UFOs https://archivesfoundation.org/documents/50-years-ago-government-stops-investigating-ufos/
Unidentified Flying Objects and Air Force Project Blue Book
https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104590/unidentified-flying-objects-and-air-force-project-blue-book/
The CIA’s Role in the Study of UFOs https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/cia-role-study-UFOs.pdfUFO Study: Condon Group Finds No Evidence ofVisits from Outer Space https://www.jstor.org/stable/1725090ColdWar
The Battle of Hastings, which took place on October 14, 1066 was a pivotal moment in the invasion from across the English Channel that resulted in the conquest of Anglo-Saxon England by William, the French Duke of Normandy.
Written by Wenxi Liu. In honor of Wenxi Liu, April 21, 1949 - October 30, 2023.
Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production byHannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/october-2016-norman-conquest-england-1066
This is a production of Origins: Current Events inHistorical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
The War of the Pacific, which pitted Chile against the allied forces of Peru and Bolivia, had a profound, long-lasting impact on the geopolitical balance of South America.
Written by Candela Marini. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B.Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Hannah Keller. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/war-pacific-and-fate-south-america.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University.
Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
On the night of 2-3 December 1984, a Union Carbide chemical facility at Bhopal leaked over 27 tons of the highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate, poisoning tens of thousands of people in the middle of the night, most of whom were sleeping in their homes nearby.
Written by Madhumita Dutta. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B.Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/bhopal-chemical-gas-disaster.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events inHistorical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
Learn More:
“40 Years of Confronting Corporate Crime: Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Disaster,” https://www.bhopal.net/40th/
“Remembering Bhopal: The World's Worst Industrial Disaster,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Aa2DMsXzEM
“The BhopalMedical Appeal,” https://www.bhopal.org/continuing-disaster/the-bhopal-gas-disaster/union-carbides-disaster/basic-facts-figures-numbers-of-dead-and-injured-bhopal-disaster/
“Bhopal gas leak: Battling water woes in land of tragedy,”
Bhopal Plant Disaster. Appendix A: Chronology
1969-1979: Union Carbide Enters Bhopal
June 15, 1215, witnessed the signing of the landmark Magna Carta, the medieval English historic legal document that is seen as the origin of many modern-day legal rights and constitutional principles. At that time, England was in civil war as disaffected barons took up arms against King John, who reigned 1199-1216.
Written by Rebecca Favorito. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/january-2015-magna-carta-and-its-legacy.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
On October 17, 1945, hundreds of thousands of Juan Perón's supporters clogged the streets of Buenos Aires marking a consequential moment in Argentina’s history and the birth of Peronism.
Written by Steven Hyland. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/argentina-s-day-loyalty-and-birth-peronism.
More Resources:
Mariano Ben Plotkin, Mañana es San Perón: A Cultural History of Perón's Argentina (2002).
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
Professor Kristina Sessa, an historian of Late Antiquity, presents her top 10 popes based on overall historical significance, appetite for intrigue, and messy electoral politics.
Written and narrated by Dr. Kristina Sessa. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/top-ten-popes-1500.
10. St. Peter (01:42)
9. Alexander VI (03:08)
8. Symmachus and Laurentius (04:05)
7. Damasus (05:16)
6. Boniface VIII (06:07)
5. Silvester I (06:50
4. Gregory I (07:49)
3. Vigilius (08:30)
2. Gregory VII (09:31)
1. John Anglicus, aka “Pope Joan” (10:07)
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
In November 1938, Albert Hofmann November 1938, first created a derivative of ergot that would later be dubbed lysergic acid diethalyamide: LSD.
Written by Dr. Benjamin Breen. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/april-2013-albert-hofmann-discovers-lsd.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
On September 2, 1998, the first conviction for the crime of genocide was entered by an international tribunal. The date is an essential milestone in the development of criminal responsibility imposed by the international community for the commission of mass atrocities.
Written by Dr. John B. Quigley. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/september-2018-genocide-and-rwanda.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
Mid-July, 64 CE, in the heart of Rome, tragedy struck as fire erupted into a massive inferno. Did Emperor Nero, regent at the time, purposely set the city ablaze or merely preside over the disaster?
Written by Matthew Reich. Narration by Dr. Nicholas Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/great-fire-rome.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
Learn more -
Roman History Introduction:
Potter, David S. Ancient Rome: A New History. Third Edition. New York, New York: Thames & Hudson, 2018.
On the Great Fire:
Walsh, Joseph J. The Great Fire of Rome: Life and Death in the Ancient City. Witness to Ancient History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019.
Dando-Collins, Stephen. The Great Fire of Rome: The Fall of the Emperor Nero and His City. 1. ed. Cambridge, Mass: Da Capo Press, 2010.
Ancient Authors:
Tacitus, Annals, https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/tacitus/annals/15b*.html
Suetonius, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html
On June 30, 1908, a massive mysterious explosion of a cosmic body shook the skies of Tunguska (in Siberia), on a date that would come to be known as International Asteroid Day. But was it an asteroid? Andy Bruno discusses the history surrounding the event.
Written by Andy Bruno. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/june-2018-1908-tunguska-event-and-threats-tomorrow.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
Narrator Nicholas Breyfogle gives voice to author Stephen M. Norris' 10 Great World War II films. Video production by Laura Seeger and Nicholas Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/connecting-history/top-ten-origins-world-war-ii-films.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.
Haile Selassie’s triumphant return to Ethiopia on May 5, 1941, signaled the re‐establishment of the Solomonic Dynasty and a sovereign Ethiopia.
Written by Andrew Carlson. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video and written versions of this podcase are available athttps://origins.osu.edu/milestones/may-2016-emperor-haile-selassie-i-returns-triumphant-ethiopia.
This is a production ofOrigins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University.
Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information aboutOrigins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visitorigins.osu.edu.
According to the traditional narrative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith was visited on September 21, 1823 by an angel who told him of an ancient record buried nearby his farm in western New York.
Written by Benjamin E. Park. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video and textual versions of this podcast are available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/joseph-smith-discovers-gold-plates.
This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.