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Student-created content originally broadcast on Hillsdale College's student radio station, WRFH 101.7 FM.
Welcome to This Week in History with Mikaela and Gavin.
Michaela:The show where we highlight historical events from world, American, and pop cultural history. Okay. So we're starting with world history. Right?
Gavin:World history.
Michaela:World history. Okay. So my first date, June 10, 1940, Italy, under the rule of Benito Mussolini, declares war against France and Great Britain entering World War 2.
Gavin:Damn.
Michaela:I will say I was, like, really, really sad when I studied history growing up as a little girl in, you know, elementary school. And I learned about World War 2, and I learned about Italy. I love Italy. Yeah. And I learned that they were the bad guys.
Gavin:And that they were really bad at being the bad guys.
Michaela:It just crushed me. I was like, they are great people. How could they be bad?
Gavin:So sad. Apparently, he has, like, I just saw this recently. You know how, like, Hitler's kids, or, like, his relatives decided we're gonna, like, cut off the bloodline? We're, like, we're not gonna have kids or anything?
Michaela:I literally didn't know that.
Gavin:Oh, you did? That's, like,
Michaela:something that
Gavin:they've done. That's a thing. So, like, so that the bloodline
Michaela:doesn't continue.
Gavin:Understandable. Wow. Apparently, Benito Mussolini has, like, a granddaughter who's in, like, politics.
Michaela:Oh my goodness. She's gonna become the next female leader of Italy.
Gavin:The the next big one. Yep.
Michaela:That is crazy. Alright, Gavin. What do you have?
Gavin:Well, mine goes a little bit further back to June 15th 12 15. So the Magna Carta was sealed by King John of England. He put a seal on the Magna Carta at Runnymede granting rights to his barons and laying the foundation for constitutional governance.
Michaela:Let's go. That's great.
Gavin:This is like I think I think last week was the the signing of it. But I think the ceiling is pretty important because it's showing that, like, the king is giving up some of his power.
Michaela:Is the ceiling is that, like, with his signet ring? Do you think they did that?
Gavin:Someone who's, like, a big waxed
Michaela:or whatever?
Gavin:Probably.
Michaela:So good.
Gavin:I wonder if they broke the seal at some point.
Michaela:That'd be sad.
Gavin:Yeah. Maybe maybe it's still there.
Michaela:Does that mean it's not official? Like, do we lose all our rights if they break the seal?
Gavin:All of America crumbles if they break the seal.
Michaela:That would be really tough, honestly. Alright. My next one is June 11, 1509. Oh, I love this one. Harry the 8th, wed his first wife, Catherine of Aragorn.
Michaela:And I just found it really funny because then on the site that I found this Yeah. It just proceeded to tell the whole story of Henry the 8th and all of his wives, and it reminded me of the song. Again, going back to elementary school where I I had to, like, memorize some song about all of his wives and their heads getting chopped off and all this stuff. It was crazy.
Gavin:But did you have, like, that weird, like, rhyming, like, beheaded, like Like divorced, beheaded, died
Michaela:Yeah.
Gavin:Divorce, beheaded, survived or something?
Michaela:Yes. Is
Gavin:that it?
Michaela:That's it.
Gavin:Well, look at me.
Michaela:But it's like a fancy song. I could not sing it now. I don't remember it. But, yeah, that's basically what it is. Similar similar thing, to Mary's.
Gavin:Speaking of Beheaded. Oh, Beheaded. Okay. Execution of Louis the 16th's wife, Marie Antoinette, on June 13, 17, 93. Former queen of France faced trial and was eventually executed during the French Revolution.
Michaela:That was a big deal.
Gavin:One of many who went to the guillotine.
Michaela:The one who said let them eat cake. Yeah.
Gavin:But I don't think she actually said that.
Michaela:That was just like a rumor.
Gavin:Yeah. It sounds cool. But I she definitely was disconnected. That's for sure. She had, like, at their palace, she had, like, a a fake it would look like the Disneyland equivalent of, like, a peasant village, like, that she made for herself so she could, like, live as a peasant.
Gavin:But it wasn't actually peasant.
Michaela:Just because?
Gavin:Just because. Wow. Because it she didn't wanna be too fancy. She wouldn't be So she
Michaela:had some humility. Yeah. Just some humility.
Gavin:So she had a huge fake village built
Michaela:herself. That is crazy. Yeah. She was executed after her husband. Right?
Michaela:After the king? I think that's
Gavin:right. And I feel like definitely they got to him first. The bigger the bigger issue.
Michaela:We don't like you.
Gavin:And then they just executed half their population or whatever after that.
Michaela:They really did. That was a crazy the French Revolution really just went chaotic.
Gavin:They got the guillotine and they're like, we gotta try this out.
Michaela:I'm I'm not sure if it works. Let's try it again. Keep going.
Gavin:That's how you do things in science. You test them over and over again. Repeated process. Yeah.
Michaela:Oh my gosh. I mean, my last day is June 12th 1987. So in more recent history Yep. Kinda crazy, kind of in our parents' like lives.
Gavin:1980.
Michaela:Yep. 19 1987. It was one of the most famous Cold War speeches. It was when president Ronald Reagan went to the Soviet Union and challenged the leader Mikhail I'm not gonna say it right.
Gavin:Gorbachev?
Michaela:Gorbachev. Thank you. The leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall, the wall at the Berlin the Berlin Wall that was there since World War 2 dividing east and western Berlin, and it kind of was a symbolic representation of the end of the communist era.
Gavin:Jeez.
Michaela:Can you imagine living through the cold war? My mom would talk about, like Yeah. Like, cold war drills where they would, like, go under their desks.
Gavin:Oh my god.
Michaela:Kinda like a fire drill or a tornado drill or whatever, but it was, like, for a nuclear war.
Gavin:It's insane.
Michaela:Isn't that crazy?
Gavin:It's just like a weird, like, thing to be looming over your head all the time. You're like, well, at any moment, we could get blown up. Yeah. I wonder how that changes, like, your outlook on this.
Michaela:I'm not gonna I'm not gonna lie. I literally remember the day that my dad explained that concept to me, and I was really young. And let me just say that my outlook on life really changed, and it was a really tough night. It was hard to sleep. It was not fun.
Gavin:Man. Apparently, we have a piece of the Berlin Wall. Do we actually? In, like, right in front of the Heritage Room. Like, there's there's like all this stuff.
Michaela:Oh, like Hillsdale has it?
Gavin:Yeah. Hillsdale is. Not my family. I was there. So I I just checked up a piece.
Michaela:My my parents were there. Yeah.
Gavin:Whatever. It's like this it's like this little, like it's like a the size of, like, a I don't even know. Like, a a grape tomato.
Michaela:Have you seen it? Yeah.
Gavin:It's just like on display.
Michaela:Dude, how does how come no one talks about that?
Gavin:It's, you know, like, right next
Michaela:to my about the 20 the Heritage Room. Right? Yeah. The 27 Eagles. Everyone talks about the 27 Eagles.
Michaela:We should talk about the fact that we have the Berlin Wall. Literally. That's crazy.
Gavin:Allegedly. It's just a piece of cement. So who who actually knows what it is. Oh my goodness.
Michaela:All those rumors at Hillsdale. Okay. Give us your last date.
Gavin:My last one is kind of a sad one. Kind of sad note. No. Nero commits suicide in June 9th June 9th 68 AD, ending his 13 year rule. And, he was the 1st emperor to commit suicide.
Gavin:And it is because classic, reason to leave power because the senators were, like, staging a coup. And so the emperor was kind of run out of town, and then he committed suicide.
Michaela:It was so dangerous to be a political leader back then. All those Roman empires who just, like, got killed and
Gavin:Yeah.
Michaela:Aren't empires emperors who got killed and committed to that?
Gavin:All all in like, as long as the senators like you, you're good. But the minute they don't like you, then you're gone.
Michaela:Did he say how old he was? Wasn't he, like, really young?
Gavin:30 years old.
Michaela:Wow.
Gavin:Wow. Yeah. He so he was young considering,
Michaela:30 years old. Who's in his twenties? No. When he was reigning. Yeah.
Michaela:He was like
Gavin:Oh my gosh. Geez, man.
Michaela:Isn't that wild?
Gavin:People were mad at him.
Michaela:Crazy. What are we doing? Yeah.
Gavin:Why are we persecuting Christians? Jesus. Get our lives together.
Michaela:Okay. That's
Gavin:a wonderful segue into Turn
Michaela:it to American history, what we all know and love. Mhmm. So my first date that I have, this is actually kind of also a very sad note. This was before the founding of America, but it was on continental territory at Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was the first conviction for the Salem witch trials, which is really tough.
Michaela:In 16/92, let's see what was her name. Bridgette Bishop was the first person to be hanged during the Salem witch trials. Did you study the Salem witch trials?
Gavin:I did, but I feel like I'm still not clear on, like
Michaela:Right?
Gavin:What actually went on. Like, were they actually witches or were they just, like, bad people? Like like, I don't know.
Michaela:I don't know. It's confusing. And I think there was a lot of I could be wrong about this, but I think, like, there was corruption going on. Yeah. But then there was a lot of, like, panic.
Gavin:Okay. At least It seemed like there was, like, false conviction
Michaela:and people,
Gavin:like, just kind of like, you're a witch. You're a witch. Yeah. I don't know.
Michaela:It was crazy. Alright. What do you have, Gavin?
Gavin:Fast forward to America becoming a country.
Michaela:That's great.
Gavin:The 2nd Continental Congress approved the formation of the Continental Army on June 14, 17, 75.
Michaela:Hey. That's awesome.
Gavin:Yeah. It placed the legislation, placed the militia forces, then fighting outside Boston under federal control. These troops formed the nucleus of the army. The date is still celebrated as the birthday of the US Army. So pretty pretty exciting.
Gavin:And, of course, our guy, George Washington, was in charge of them. So what's your second one?
Michaela:Okay. So my second one, we're just moving progressively forward. Epic. June 14, 18 11, the American author Harriet Beecher Stowe, she wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Gavin:Oh.
Michaela:And she was the one that president Lincoln took her hand and said, so you're the little woman who wrote that little art not the little woman. No. He said, you're the woman who wrote that little novel that started this great war, something along those lines. Have you read Uncle Tom's Cabin? Not.
Michaela:Oh, it is so good.
Gavin:Have you read it?
Michaela:Yes. Oh. It's a tearjerker.
Gavin:Like, what's the the premise?
Michaela:It's basically yeah. It's the story of a slave and then a slave owner, but it it's like a slave in all of his family. And they kind of you have very different episodes because they all get separated.
Gavin:Oh, jeez.
Michaela:You kinda follow all of them.
Gavin:Gotcha. So it was just kinda bringing to light, like, what was going on?
Michaela:Yeah. It's really, really moving, and it's just filled with scripture. I loved it. I loved reading it. I read it for doctor Birzer's class, which was Oh.
Michaela:One of the best classes I've ever taken.
Gavin:He's great. Doctor Birzer.
Michaela:Shout him out. Love him.
Gavin:Wow. That's that's a good one.
Michaela:Yeah. Alright. Give me yours.
Gavin:Oh, going back a little bit back to the revolution. Oh, no. Battle of Bunker. Sorry. No.
Gavin:Battle of Bunker Hill Yes. June 17, 17, 75. This was technically well, actually, I I wanna know if you know. Was this a a win or a loss for America?
Michaela:I remember studying this.
Gavin:That's I had to look this up.
Michaela:Wasn't it 3 days long? I think and it was kind of a draw, but, also, it was the closest thing that they'd come to a victory. Yes.
Gavin:You were
Michaela:a good person. The British were, like, very morally defeated.
Gavin:Yeah. Because they we had they had, like, twice as many casualties Dang. As America. So, technically, they won, and we, like, retreated. But
Michaela:Okay.
Gavin:It was a phyric victory. That's what they call it.
Michaela:Wow.
Gavin:Yeah. So
Michaela:That's fancy.
Gavin:I didn't know that. I always like, you know, people always say, like, Bunker Hill was a great battle, and then I know I can never remember who actually won. So now we know.
Michaela:There now we know.
Gavin:Yep. Bunker Hill.
Michaela:Alright. So my last one, we're moving forward, past the revolution. June 13, 1866, the US House of Representatives passed the 14th amendment. So immediately following, the end of the Civil War, and this granted civil rights to all the freed slaves that president Lincoln had freed in his emancipation proclamation.
Gavin:Let's go. That's a good one. That is a It's
Michaela:a good historic moment.
Gavin:It's yeah. A big win for rights and for a big loss for slavery. So
Michaela:All good things.
Gavin:All very good.
Michaela:Alright. What's your last one?
Gavin:My last one is something that I feel like everyone has to learn when they're at Hillsdale. If you take constitution, is one of the, like, the foundational, like, cases in the Supreme Court. And it's Marbury versus Madison. And this decision was effectively implemented, establishing the principle of judicial review in the United States. And so that's really important because it kind of gave the supreme court, like, the authority to to do stuff.
Gavin:Because there was, like, kind of a a vacuum of, like, who gets to do this and who gets to have the authority of judicial review. And the Supreme Court's like, that's ours. Thank you very much. We'll take that.
Michaela:Nice.
Gavin:But it's cool. It's like it reminds you that, like, a lot of our government, although it's in the constitution, is, like, also built on precedent. Like Yeah. It's just how things were done the first time, and so we honor them. And that's why we still learn about it.
Gavin:So June 13, 1804.
Michaela:Wow. That's a really good date, and I think one that most
Gavin:people don't know. You're currently listening to This Week in History with Mikaela and Gavin, Andre Dufry Hillsdale 101.7 FM. Alright. Next up, the most important dates of the day, the pop culture
Michaela:and pop
Gavin:culture dates.
Michaela:Oh, Gavin, do I have one for you?
Gavin:Okay.
Michaela:Okay. June 11th 2002, the reality TV show American Idol debuted.
Gavin:Oh, boy.
Michaela:Did you watch American Idol?
Gavin:I've I was more of a voice guy.
Michaela:No. Yeah. Really? Okay. It's okay.
Michaela:The voice is good. I don't know when it aired, but American Idol, I I never got into it until actually someone I knew.
Gavin:Oh, really?
Michaela:Like, went pretty far on the show. Woah. I knew him, like, by name. I didn't really know him that well.
Gavin:But still, like, more than most people can say.
Michaela:I got I got into it. It was pretty great. I'm not I don't watch anymore.
Gavin:Do you remember, like, some of the judges on that show being, like, really nice and then Harry Connick Jr. Being, like, really mean?
Michaela:Wow.
Gavin:It's so good. I I love it when that happens. It's funny. It's just so good. Everyone needs that dose of, like, reality sometimes.
Michaela:That's so true. You gotta laugh. Laugh for yourself. Laugh
Gavin:for yourself and prove yourself.
Michaela:Alright, Gavin. What's yours?
Gavin:Alright. Another TV show. David Letterman's final episode on NBC's The Late Night, aired on June 13, 1993.
Michaela:Wow.
Gavin:Yeah. I never, obviously, wasn't around to see that, but I know my parents watched a lot of David Letterman. And he was he's kinda like the Jimmy Fallon. Right? He's kinda the Jimmy Fallon of, you know, the the seventies eighties
Michaela:and Wow. Okay. My second pop culture date is that in 1993, June 11, 1993 Mhmm. Jurassic Park, directed by Steven Spielberg, and it brought in a record of $502,000,000. Isn't that insane?
Gavin:Wow. Yeah. That that is a lot of money. It's a
Michaela:lot of money.
Gavin:I know, actually, I've never seen that. Have you?
Michaela:I haven't either. I
Gavin:feel like I need to see those.
Michaela:Wow. Maybe we're lame.
Gavin:Yeah.
Michaela:We're just in the studio.
Gavin:I love Spielberg. You know, I love, you know,
Michaela:each of you. Is great. Yeah.
Gavin:And all those movies are great. But I I feel like and they were, like, revolutionary too, right, with the CGI and the Right. All the stuff, and I've I've just never seen them. Oops. I wasn't around.
Gavin:So, you know, like, you can't blame me.
Michaela:I had a boss who gave me a hard time for not watching Jurassic Park. And so then I was just kinda, like, turned off
Gavin:all the time. Like, I'm just
Michaela:not gonna do it. You just remind me every day that I haven't seen these. So
Gavin:that's annoying.
Michaela:Kinda tough. Alright. What's yours?
Gavin:Okay. Another movie, Disney Cars, was released in theaters.
Michaela:I love Cars.
Gavin:June 9, 2006.
Michaela:So good.
Gavin:Great movie. I think, in my opinion, the golden age of of Disney, Pixar releases was, like, 2003 to 2009. Good movie.
Michaela:Okay. Speaking of something that's good, it's not a movie. Well, actually, it is a movie now, but it also was a musical. Oh. June 16, 1902, The Wizard of Oz
Gavin:opened in Chicago, Illinois. So It's not.
Michaela:Have you seen that?
Gavin:The, the VeggieTales version.
Michaela:Wait. Which one's that one? I know what that is.
Gavin:I forget what it's called, but they
Michaela:know what you're talking about.
Gavin:What is it called? Veggie Tales?
Michaela:It's yes.
Gavin:Wizard of
Michaela:They're, like, on a farm. It's basically The
Gavin:Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Michaela:Of Oz. It's based off of the prodigal son, but then
Gavin:Oh, that makes sense.
Michaela:It is also
Gavin:Wizard of Oz.
Michaela:The Wizard of Oz.
Gavin:This is still This Week in History with Mikaela and Gavin on Radio Free Hillsdale 1 1.7 FM.
Michaela:Alright. What time is it now?
Gavin:It's guess that year time. Oh, boy. Yeah. That's a part of the show where we give each other the the, what happened on that date, and then we have to give the other person the date as an answer.
Michaela:This was the year that Alexander the great died in Babylon. So way back.
Gavin:Yeah. Definitely. We're we're working in BC for sure.
Michaela:Well done.
Gavin:Two points. In Babylon?
Michaela:Yeah. I'm trying to
Gavin:think of any other reference dates I know.
Michaela:That's tough. I
Gavin:I wanna say, like, 200 something. You're
Michaela:yeah. I mean, you're decently close. It's 300 something. But
Gavin:300 something. Okay. 350.
Michaela:Lower. 3. VC makes it confusing.
Gavin:Oh, okay. So, like, earlier or later?
Michaela:Later, but
Gavin:like closer to Jesus or further away from Jesus?
Michaela:Closer to Jesus, but the date gets less.
Gavin:320.
Michaela:Yeah. 323. Okay.
Gavin:That's good enough. That's Good job. That'll get you
Michaela:You got real you did process of elimination there.
Gavin:Yeah. But the thing is I did I guessed. Oh, well. You got there. Very important date, you know.
Gavin:That was the only thing that stopped him from conquering was his death because he was he was on a roll.
Michaela:Like, the Hellenization and all of that happened.
Gavin:Big deal. Big deal. We owe a
Michaela:lot of great.
Gavin:Yeah. We owe a lot to him as, Westerners.
Michaela:Yeah. That's for sure.
Gavin:Okay. A little bit more recent.
Michaela:Okay. That's great.
Gavin:South Africa hosts the FIFA World Cup for the first time.
Michaela:Oh, boy. Okay. FIFA World Cup for the first time.
Gavin:Do you watch soccer or the World Cup?
Michaela:Well, I watched it a couple years ago when it was happening.
Gavin:Okay. So it's it's not those a little bit earlier.
Michaela:Thanks.
Gavin:It happens Probably not in our lifetime.
Michaela:It happened yes.
Gavin:It is in our lifetime.
Michaela:It is in our lifetime. Okay.
Gavin:It happens every 4 years. The last one was 2022. 2022? Mhmm. So that's 4 years.
Gavin:So if, technically, you just guess 4 years backwards at some point, you'll get it right.
Michaela:And it's in our lifetime.
Gavin:Yeah.
Michaela:So 2018.
Gavin:Yep.
Michaela:We're gonna go with a nice round 2010. Yeah. Really? Yes. 2010.
Michaela:Let's go.
Gavin:2010 South South South African, World Cup. You know who won?
Michaela:South Africa.
Gavin:No. No. Dang it. They they went out pretty early. But, no, Spain.
Gavin:Spain won.
Michaela:Spain won.
Gavin:They beat the Netherlands. Wow. So very important day.
Michaela:Didn't France win a couple?
Gavin:Yeah. They won 2018.
Michaela:Okay.
Gavin:And then they lost to Argentina last time.
Michaela:Oh, yeah.
Gavin:So Messi finally won.
Michaela:Tough. Yeah. Oh, Messi. Yes. I remember him.
Gavin:You know that name?
Michaela:I do know that name.
Gavin:Messi or Ronaldo. That's the question.
Michaela:Messi. Messi. Okay. I think. Good.
Gavin:Yeah. Yeah.
Michaela:That's that's the right answer. Phew. Phew.
Gavin:Okay. It's
Michaela:on air. I gotta make sure and keep my reputation. Okay. This one's kind of interesting. This date is the day that Ben Franklin flew a kite in a thunderstorm and then discovered, like, the electrical charge through electricity.
Gavin:A classic story.
Michaela:So what year was that?
Gavin:Before the revolution.
Michaela:Well done.
Gavin:Yep. So 17 Mhmm. 1761.
Michaela:Go a decade earlier.
Gavin:1751.
Michaela:1752. Thought 50. You're pretty close.
Gavin:Okay.
Michaela:Yeah. I heard you say almost 50. Like, I could tell. I could tell it was coming and then you went up. But it's okay.
Michaela:You got there. Wow. That's that's good for him. He did that. Isn't that kinda crazy?
Gavin:Yeah. That seems so funny. You mentioned someone was doing that now.
Michaela:I know.
Gavin:And it, like, something's, like, weird like that, and then it led to, like, a great discovery in Texas.
Michaela:Praises it. And I was like, wow. That's awesome.
Gavin:Like, that's a weirdo who stands out in the ring with a kite.
Michaela:He's so great. Alright. Give me one.
Gavin:Good. Let's go. Okay. Oh, k. This is gonna I don't think I don't know why you would know this, but the first predecessor of the bicycle is demonstrated.
Michaela:Like a predecessor to the bicycle?
Gavin:Yeah. So, like, early versions of the bicycle. Oh my
Michaela:gosh. Okay. Well, they had bicycles during, I think, for a very long time.
Gavin:Let's start with a century,
Michaela:ladies. Let's start oh, my goodness. I'm trying to think of a time when they didn't have bicycles. Let's say, 17th century. Is it earlier?
Michaela:Or sorry. Is it later than that?
Gavin:17th century. So that's
Michaela:Like 1600?
Gavin:No. A little later. Like, a lit little bit later as in, like, a couple 100 years.
Michaela:Like, 1800? Yes. 1800. Okay. 18 45.
Michaela:A little bit earlier. 1838.
Gavin:Still early.
Michaela:Dang it. 18 26.
Gavin:In the teens.
Michaela:18 I'm doing so good. 18/17.
Gavin:18/70. Let's go.
Michaela:Really?
Gavin:Yep.
Michaela:Wow. Hey.
Gavin:Good job. So the first predecessor of the bicycle, June 11th 18 17.
Michaela:Wow.
Gavin:Holy cow. We're at 26 minutes.
Michaela:That's okay. We can cut some stuff.
Gavin:Yeah. That's
Michaela:true. And we we will have one more. That's it?
Gavin:Yes.
Michaela:K. Alright. So my last date oh, I almost gave it to you. Whoops. Sorry.
Michaela:No.
Gavin:Woah.
Michaela:Yeah. This is the day that and the year, but you don't have to give me the day. Just the year that Napoleon, Barnaparte, and his army invaded Russia.
Gavin:I'm gonna look at my the Marie Antoinette date. The Yeah.
Michaela:That's smart.
Gavin:The conversion was okay. So that was June 13, 17, 93.
Michaela:Mhmm.
Gavin:So it's gonna be 1800s. Good job. 1835.
Michaela:Too late though. Too
Gavin:late. Okay. Teens. Oh, wow. Okay.
Gavin:That makes sense. That yeah. So 18/16.
Michaela:18/12. 12. Okay. You're close.
Gavin:Yeah. Close enough.
Michaela:Here you go.
Gavin:Alright. Well, this has been This Week in History with Mikaela and Gavin on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM, and we will see you next week.
Michaela:Thanks for joining, guys.
Gavin:Bye.