Door Key
I find myself drawn to the more social side of history than dates or battles. While I do think dates and battles are important, I find questions like ‘When did Catherine of Aragon realize she'd lost Henry VIII’s love to Anne Boleyn?’ or ‘Just what exactly was Aaron Burr's deal?’ to be what really fascinates me about history. This is the lens that I view history from on the Door Key Podcast (and the accompanying Substack newsletter) because I'm a dork with a deep love of history who wants to talk about it.
https://doorkey.substack.com/
Episodes
76 episodes
Houdini
The final episode of the 2024 Spooktacular talks about the life of Harry Houdini. Houdini would rise from a challenging childhood to becoming a world-renowned escape artist and magician. This episode talks about his iconic acts, his marriage to...
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Episode 76
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27:11
Causes of Death in 1632
The fourth episode of The Spooktacular looks at listed causes of death in 1632! It's a fascinating look into 1632, highlighting the main health issues and social conditions of the time. This list also shows the vulnerabilities and challenges fa...
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Episode 75
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20:31
The Donner Party
The third episode of the Spooktacuar is about The Donner Party! This was a group of American pioneers who left for California in 1846. They took a shortcut known as the Hastings Cutoff, which turned out to be much longer and more treache...
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Episode 74
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41:18
The Sweating Sickness
This episode of the Spooktacular is about The Sweating Sickness! This mysterious and deadly disease swept through England and Europe in the late 15th and 16th centuries. Beginning in 1485, this contagious illness caused sudden onset symptoms, a...
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Episode 73
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25:38
Jamestown
This first episode of 2024’s Spooktacular explores the history of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, established in 1607. The settlers faced a series of catastrophic challenges: a severe drought, poor relations w...
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Episode 72
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23:01
The Hatfields and McCoys
This episode looks into the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud. This was a bitter and violent rivalry between two American families along the West Virginia-Kentucky border from 1863 to 1891. This episode discusses how the feud started with wa...
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Episode 71
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19:54
The Princes in the Tower
This episode discusses the Princes in the Tower mystery! After the death of King Edward IV, his sons princes Edward and Richard went into the Tower of London to await Edward’s coronation. Their uncle Richard, who was regent, seized the throne a...
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Episode 70
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28:03
Marie Curie
This episode discusses Marie Curie, who was born in Warsaw in 1867. She eventually moved to Paris, where she conducted groundbreaking scientific research with her husband Pierre Curie. Marie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. Marie and P...
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Episode 69
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30:45
Helen Keller
This episode discusses the life of Helen Keller. Born in 1880, Helen was left blind and deaf from an illness at 19 months old. She overcame great challenges with the help of her devoted teacher, Anne Sullivan. From groundbreaking achievements l...
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Episode 68
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25:44
Bonus episode: 5K downloads!
Door Key has reached the milestone of five thousand downloads! This is a bonus episode to say thank you - going over some of my favorite moments throughout Door Key’s episodes.Thank you so very much for listening to Door Key - here’s to ...
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Episode 67
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10:23
Zheng Yi Sao, The Pirate Queen
Door Key is talking about Zheng Yi Sao, the Pirate Queen this episode!Zheng Yi Sao lived in China during the late 1700s and early 1800s, and from humble beginnings ended up becoming not only history's most successful female pirate, but o...
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Episode 66
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21:33
A Conversation with historian Jackson van Uden
My friend historian, political scientist, and author Jackson van Uden and I had a conversation about totalitarian regimes and the movie ‘The Death of Stalin’. The movie is a satire, so we were able to talk about this dark subject from a differe...
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Episode 65
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46:24
The Romanovs and Anastasia
During the episode about Rasputin, I promised to tell the story of what happened to the Romanovs after the death of Rasputin - this episode makes good on that promise!What would happen next would not be good: Russia’s Prime Mini...
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Episode 64
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27:52
Sally Ride
June is Pride Month, and Door Key is celebrating that by talking about Sally Ride!Sally Ride was an American astronaut and physicist. She joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in spa...
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Episode 63
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32:01
The Stonewall Uprising
June is Pride Month, and Door Key is celebrating that by talking about The Stonewall Uprising today!The Stonewall Uprising was a series of protests by members of the LGBTQ+ community. These protests were in response to a police raid of t...
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Episode 62
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39:29
Rasputin
Rasputin was a Russian mystic and holy man who lived from 1869 to 1916. He's best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia. He gained considerable influence in the final years of the Russian Emp...
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Episode 61
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38:55
The Villisca Axe Murders - with Traci and Jeremy from the Total Conundrum Podcast
I love history, but I also love all things Spooky and True Crime!So when I got a chance to team up with Traci and Jeremy from the Total Conundrum podcast to discuss some historical True Crime, I was in! In this episode: Tra...
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Episode 60
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45:57
Interview with historian Holley Snaith
My friend Holley Snaith is a historian, author, and editor.She was kind enough to spend some time talking with me to tell me about her amazing career. I hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it!
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Episode 59
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29:32
Clara Bow
this episode is about the actress clara bow.clara was an actress during the silent movie era, and successfully transitioned to 'talKies'. she wAs in the movie 'it', and became known as 'the it giRl'.clara bow caMe to personify the roAri...
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Episode 58
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36:01
A Cure
Do you find yourself lost in the maze of history? Are you interested in the past, but think learning about history is too much work, or boring?Introducing Door Key – an all-natural, non-harmful, multi-sourced history podcast....
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Episode 57
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2:49
Amelia Earhart
March is Women's History Month, and Door Key is celebrating that by discussing Amelia Earhart!Amelia Earhart is most well-known for being the first woman to fly a plane across the Atlantic Ocean by herself. Amelia's attempt ...
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Episode 56
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43:32
She Spies - a conversation with author Aly Riley
March is Women's History Month, and Door Key is celebrating that by having a discussion with author Aly Riley!Aly and I discuss her book 'She Spies: Women of the American Revolution, their historic missions, and agent 355 revealed'.
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Episode 55
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37:14
George Washington Carver
February is Black History Month, and Door Key is celebrating that by talking about George Washington Carver.Carver was one of the most prominent black scientists of the early 20th century. He was a professor at Tuskegee Institute, where he ...
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Episode 54
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30:24
