In honor of Veterans Day, we’re talking about the women who served in World War II in a Navy outfit called the WAVES. Â Specifically, their commanding officer, Mildred McAfee (later Mildred McAfee Horton). Â When the war started, she was president of Wellesley College, but before it was over, she would be the first woman to become a commissioned officer in the US Navy, commanding a force of nearly 100,000 people.
Continue reading Miss Mack, from Wellesley to the WAVES (episode 106)
In 1928, researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital demonstrated a groundbreaking medical advancement – the iron lung. Prior to the arrival of the polio vaccination in 1955, the deadly disease was the most feared illness in America. With this invention by two Harvard faculty members, the diaphragm paralysis that accompanied polio no longer had to be a death sentence.
For this week’s show, we’re revisiting three highlights from Bostonâs long and storied history of rioting. Weâll include stories from past episodes covering the 1919 Boston police strike, 1747 impressment riots, and the 1837 Broad Street riot.
Brighton is one of our westernmost neighborhoods, and it’s often associated with Bostonâs large and sometimes unruly student population, but in the mid 19th century, Brighton was home to all the elements of a western movie.  There were cattle drives, stockyards, saloons, and stampedes through the streets. Before it was tamed, unruly Brighton was our own wild west.
This week, weâre discussing Margaret Sangerâs thwarted attempt to present a lecture on birth control to the good citizens of Boston in April of 1929. Â The 1920s were a fairly liberating time for women – women were voting, drinking alcohol socially, cutting their hair short, and dancing the Charleston in short dresses. However, Boston was slow to let its hair down under the stern gaze of the Watch and Ward Society, and birth control remained one of the ultimate taboos.
This week, author Skip Desjardin tells us about his new book September 1918: War, Plague, and the World Series.  He introduces us to a pivotal month, when world history was being made in Boston and Bostonians were making history around the world.  The cast of characters ranges from Babe Ruth to Blackjack Pershing to EE Cummings. During our discussion, youâll learn about the Massachusetts National Guardsmen who fought the first American-led battle in World War I, youâll hear about the uncertainty surrounding the 1918 World Series, and youâll encounter more details about the deadly 1918 influenza outbreak.
Continue reading September 1918, with Skip Desjardin (episode 96)
On August 27, 1918 Boston became acquainted with the epidemic that has gone down in history as the âSpanish flu.â  A more accurate name for this disease outbreak might be the âBoston flu,â because our city is where this influenza variant mutated and first turned truly deadly.  The first cases of this new and deadly disease were reported in South Boston 100 years ago this week. Soon, Boston would suffer nearly a thousand deaths per week as the disease peaked. Before it was over, up to 20% of the worldâs population would be infected.  With up to 100 million people killed, the 1918 flu was the most deadly disease in human history.
You probably know about Amelia Earhart’s famous career as a groundbreaking aviator, and you almost certainly know about her famous disappearance over the Pacific. But you may not know about Amelia Earhartâs first career as a social worker in one of Bostonâs many settlement houses. This week, we discuss her early exposure to aviation, the famed Friendship crossing, and also her reflections on her career of service to newly immigrated Americans.
On August 8, 1920, an epic brawl broke out on Revere Beach when police attempted to arrest a group of four disorderly sailors. In the chaos that followed, 400 sailors attempted to storm the police station to free their comrades, even stealing rifles from the beachfront shooting galleries and turning them against the police. Soldiers from nearby Fort Banks had to be called out to restore order at the point of a bayonet. It was the height of Revere Beach’s early 20th century popularity, when it was seen as Bostonâs Coney Island, with roller coasters, restaurants, and dance halls lining the beach just north of the city. Â
On the evening of July 3, 1925, Boston’s Pickwick nightclub collapsed while couples packed the dance floor. Dozens were trapped in the rubble, while firefighters, police, and laborers worked desperately to free them. In the end, 44 people were killed and many more were injured. A rumor circulated that the disaster had been caused by a popular dance called the Charleston. This fake news soon became one of the most viral stories of the newspaper era, causing many cities to ban couples from dancing the Charleston. This weekâs show has it all⊠dirty dancing, illegal speakeasies, and a heroic rescue effort.
Continue reading Bostonâs Pickwick Disaster and the Dance of Death (episode 91)
