Gloria Frankel & The Seahorse: The South Bend LGBT Club’s Fight for Gay Rights
Transcript for Episode 3 of the 2024 Season of Talking…
The “Buzz Wagon:” Studebaker’s Electric Cars
Transcript for Episode 2 of the 2024 Season of Talking…
Raiderettes: The Womanpower Behind the P-47 Thunderbolt
The P-47 Thunderbolt is considered one of the most important fighter-bombers used by Allied Forces in World War II. Thunderbolts flew over half a million missions and are renowned by pilots for their durability and reliability.
Over one-third of all Thunderbolts were built at the Republic Aviation plant in Evansville. Notably, nearly half of the plant’s employees were women. Known as “Raiderettes,” they worked alongside male workers and boasted a variety of jobs including on the assembly lines, in the administrative offices, and even as test pilots. Many of the women were “two-job workers,” balancing 14-hour shifts at Republic with raising children while their partners fought overseas. Our new blog post examines the lived experiences of the Raiderettes and how they navigated being women workers in a “man’s” world, pushing against and often breaking the glass ceiling in the process.
This episode was written by Kelsey Green, produced by Jill Weiss Simins, and performed by Justin Clark. For show notes, sources, and links to more information visit the Talking Hoosier History homepage: https://podcast.history.in.gov/
George Ade, President Taft, and the Modern Political Campaign
In this episode of Talking Hoosier History, we visit the estate of writer George Ade where William Howard Taft launched his presidential campaign and changed politics forever. Learn about how campaigning has evolved, the origin of the “sound bite,” and Hoosier politician Samuel M. Ralston.
A Joyous Resistance: Fox Lake and Black Community Building
Fox Lake Resort provided Black Midwesterners with a refuge from the daily reality of living in a country gripped by Jim Crow. In this episode, we explore how Fox Lakers built their community and how they now are working to preserve it.
Monta Jean Payne and the “Roller Derby Mix Up”
In this episode, we skate through the history of the Roller Derby, and one Indianapolis woman’s stand out career as she and her family stage a strike at the height of her game.
Crispus Attucks: Challenging Segregation On and Off the Court
In this episode, we explore how Crispus Attucks High School went from being excluded from the Indiana High School Athletics Association to being the first all-Black school to win a high school state basketball championship in the nation.
Santa Claus, Indiana: “Where It’s Christmas Every Day”
“Nestled in the wooded hills of southern Indiana, lies a land of fantasy…where it’s Christmas every day.”
That place is Santa Claus, Indiana. On this episode, we take a tour of the oddly named Indiana town that embraces the holiday spirit all year round. Join us!
Petals, Not Pies: Queer Hoosiers Protest Anita Bryant
On October 14, 1977, gay rights activist Thom Higgins reserved his place in history when he threw a pie in the face of anti-gay crusader Anita Bryant during a Des Moines, Iowa press conference. When Bryant made her way to Indiana less than two weeks later for a rally, gay activists welcomed her not with a pie in the face, but with Hoosier kindness. In this episode, we examine Hoosier’s reactions to Bryant’s appearances in the state during the early years of the fight for gay rights.
Philo T. Farnsworth: Father of Television
Philo T. Farnsworth conceived of the idea for electronic television in the middle of an Idaho potato field at just 13 years old. At age 19, he produced the first functional prototype for his idea. For nearly three decades following that, he Farnsworth worked to bring his invention to the American home but was stymied every step of the way by financial, legal, and technological problems.