Our Fake History
A podcast about myths we think are history and history that might be hidden in myths! Awesome stories that really (maybe) happened!
Episode #256 - Is Paul Bunyan Fakelore?
Season 12 begins with the trip to the Northwoods! For over a century Paul Bunyan has been America's best loved lumberjack hero. Statues honoring the gigantic woodsman dot the mid-west. His smiling face has been used to sell everything from building materials to loaves of bread. But, in the 1950's one of America's leading folklorists declared that Paul Bunyan was a prime example of something he called "fakelore." These were tales invented by authors that mimicked stories that came out of oral traditions. He accused Paul Bunyan of being a corporate mascot masquerading as an authentic American myth. Have these accusations stood the test of time? Is Paul Bunyan a fake myth? Tune-in and find out how lumberjack improv teams, mythical Quebec potholes, and the best man in Ottawa all play a role in the story!Listen to more Staring Contest Here
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Podcast Episodes
Episode #257 - Was There a Children's Crusade?
In the year 1212 something strange happened in Western Europe, but none of the contemporary historic sources can agree on exactly what it was. Later historians would claim that a religious movement made up of children un…
OFH Throwback - Episode #149 - Who Was the Real Stagger Lee?
In this throwback episode Sebastian takes you to an episode that is one of his personal favorites. Is it "secretly" one of the best episode of OFH? The character of Stagger Lee has been one of America’s most enduring fol…
"You're Dead to Me" from the BBC
With a new star-studded film adaptation of The Odyssey bringing Homer's world back to the big screen, it’s the perfect time to share a teaser clip from our friends at You're Dead To Me. It's the BBC comedy podcast that t…
OFH Throwback - Episode #117 - What Went Down On Easter Island? (Part II)
In this throwback episode Sebastian takes you to the conclusion of one of the podcast's most discussed series. The island of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, has been called “the clearest example of a society that destroyed i…
OFH Throwback - Episode #116 - What Went Down on Easter Island? (Part I)
In this Throwback Episode Sebastian revisits one of the best loved series from Season 6. Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as the indigenous islanders call it, may be the most misunderstood place on planet Earth. For centuries…
OFH Throwback - Episode #145 - Real Gryphons?
In this Throwback Episode Sebastian revisits one of his favourite episodes from Season 7 and brings in some new critiques that did not make it into the original show! The legendary hybrid creature known as the gryphon wa…
Episode #255 - Rhiannon Giddens: Can the Banjo Explain American History?
Rhiannon Giddens is a multi-instrumentalist, a singer, and a composer. She is a MacArthur Genius fellow, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and one the most dynamic voices in American folk and roots music performing today. She’s a…
Bonus Episode - Plagiarizing Patriots, Human Chickens, and Canadian Character Assassination
On this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions about the recent series on the Knights of the Air and the one-off on the Midnight Ride. The host grapples with questions about the American perception of Canadian history,…
Episode #254 - What Went Down on the Midnight Ride?
Paul Revere is one of the best remembered heroes of the American Revolution. The Boston silversmith is often credited with rousing the Massachusetts countryside to resist the King's army as they moved against the towns o…
Episode #253 - Were the Knights of the Air a Myth? (Part II)
By 1916 the airplane had proven itself as an important new weapon in the Great War. Arguably just as important was the image of the glamorous flying aces. Entire flying units, like France's Lafayette Escadrille made up o…
