Stuff You Missed in History Class

The origins of self-help writing are often traced back to ancient times. This episode talks through some early versions of it, the goal-setting advice of a founding father, and the beginnings of the modern self-help genre. Research: Brady, Diane. “Charles Manson’s Turning Point: Dale Carnegie Classes.” Bloomberg Businessweek. July 22, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130925204803/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-07-22/charles-mansons-turning-point-dale-carnegie-classes Britannica Editors. "Lunyu". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Jan. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lunyu Britannica Editors. "Norman Vincent Peale". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 May. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Norman-Vincent-Peale Carnegie, Dale. “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” London. Vermillion. Digital: https://dn720004.ca.archive.org/0/items/english-collections-1/How%20To%20Win%20Friends%20And%20Influence%20People%20-%20Carnegie%2C%20Dale.pdf Fairbanks, Douglas. “Laugh and Live.” New York. Britton Publishing Company. 1917. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12887/pg12887.txt Fontaine, Carole R. “A Modern Look at Ancient Wisdom: The Instruction of Ptahhotep Revisited.” The Biblical Archaeologist, vol. 44, no. 3, 1981, pp. 155–60. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3209606 Franklin, Benjamin. “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.” HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY. 1916. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/20203/20203-h/20203-h.htm#X Battiscombe G. “THE INSTRUCTION OF PTAH-HOTEP AND THE INSTRUCTION OFKE'GEMNI: THE OLDEST BOOKS IN THE WORLD.” London. John Murray. 1906. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30508/30508-h/30508-h.htm Lilienfeld, Scott O. and Hal Arkowitz. “Can positive thinking be negative?” Scientific American. May 1, 2011. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-positive-thinking-be-negative/ Ray, J. D. “Egyptian Wisdom Literature.” Wisdom in Ancient Israel. Ed. John Day, Robert P. Gordon, and Hugh Godfrey Maturin Williamson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. 17–29. Stableford, Brian. “Samuel Smiles.” Ebsco. 2023. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/samuel-smiles Seneca, Lucius Annaius, and Garth D. Williams (tr.). “On the Shortness of Life.” https://ia601705.us.archive.org/25/items/SenecaOnTheShortnessOfLife/Seneca%20on%20the%20Shortness%20of%20Life.pdf Tabor, Nick. "Dale Carnegie". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Nov. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dale-Carnegie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2019 episode covers Paul Julius Reuter, who had a knack for filling in the gaps in communication systems, and making a lot of money doing so.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly talks about the ways Joseph Medill could be both problematic and surprising. Tracy shares her additional thoughts on the book about caroling she used during research that wasn't always about caroling.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

William Sandys was an antiquarian who published a collection of Christmas carols in the 19th century that turned out to be really influential. Research: Archambo, Shelley Batt. “The Development of the English Carol Through the Fifteenth Century.” The Choral Journal, OCTOBER 1986, Vol. 27, No. 3. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23547224REFERENCES Brain, Jessica. “History of Christmas Carols.” Historic UK. 12/13/2024. https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/History-Christmas-Carols/ “Carol, N.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2025, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1684298837. Carter, Michael. “The origins of Christmas carols.” English Heritage. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/origins-of-christmas-carols/ Cartwright, Mark. "The History of Christmas Carols." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 05 Dec 2023, https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2339/the-history-of-christmas-carols/. Web. 03 Dec 2025. Davey, Henry, and Elizabeth Baigent. "Sandys, William (1792–1874), writer on music and antiquary." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 23, 2004. Oxford University Press. Date of access 3 Dec. 2025, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-24654 Ditchfield, Peter Hampson. “Old English customs extant at the present time; an account of local observances.” London, G. Redway. 1896. https://archive.org/details/studentshistoryo00gardrich Dreamer, Percy R. et al. “The Oxford Book Of Carols.” Oxford University Press. 1928. English Heritage. “A Brief History of Christmas Carols.” https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/members-area/members-magazine/podcast-extras/history-of-carols/ Sandys, William. “Christmas carols, ancient and modern; including the most popular in the west of England, and the airs to which they are sung. Also specimens of French provincial carols. With an introduction and notes.” London, R. Beckley. 1833. https://archive.org/details/christmascarolsa00sandrich/mode/1up Sandys, William. “Christmastide: Its History, Festivities and Carols.” London: John Russell Smith. 1860. https://archive.org/details/christmastideits00sandrich/ The Law Bod Blog. “Heading towards Christmas.” 12/2/2013. https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/lawbod/2013/12/02/heading-towards-christmas/ Huxtable, Sally-Anne. “Wassailing: ritual and revelry.” National Trust. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/art-collections/wassailing-ritual-and-revelry See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joseph Medill was a powerhouse in 19th century journalism who made no attempt to conceal his bias when it came to political writing. He also had a fascinating second career due to a tragedy, when he became a politician. Research: Anderson, Jeffrey Justin. “JOSEPH MEDILL: HOW ONE MAN INFLUENCED THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION OF 1860.” Thesis. Roosevelt University. 2011. https://www.proquest.com/openview/6c0d810b769e5f18c08a028835deba88/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750 Britannica Editors. "Joseph Medill". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Medill Britannica Editors. "Chicago Tribune". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Aug. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chicago-Tribune “Chicago History.” Chicago.gov. https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/about/history.html#:~:text=Incorporated%20as%20a%20city%20in,Hare%20and%20Midway%20International%20airports. Hughes, Frank. “Lincoln and the Tribune: A Great American and a Great Paper to Mold U.S. History.” Chicago Tribune. June 10, 1947. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/169275545/ “Joseph Medill, Giant of Journalism.” Chicago Tribune. June 10, 1947. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/370685102/?match=1&terms=Joseph%20Medill “Joseph Medill Is Dead.” Chicago Tribune. March. 17, 1899. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/355009623/?fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjM1NTAwOTYyMywiaWF0IjoxNzY1MjUwOTIxLCJleHAiOjE3NjUzMzczMjF9.T6Xs_g5fD6JZTwZSYECT73-0gILoXji25OQ_fIX1MI4 McKinney, Megan. “The Magnificent Medills: America's Royal Family of Journalism During a Century of Turbulent Splendor.” Harper Collins. 2011. Medill, Joseph. “Mayor Joseph Medill Inaugural Address, 1871.” https://www.chipublib.org/mayor-joseph-medill-inaugural-address-1871/ Moses, John. “Biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of the representative men of the United States : Illinois volume.” Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co. 1896. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/biographicaldi1271mose/page/12/mode/2up Smith, Richard Norton. “The Colonel: The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick 1880-1955.” Houghton Mifflin. 1997. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.