PODCAST · history
Before We Were White
by Brian Halpin - Before We Were White
”Before We Were White” will be highly contentious revisionist history at its most unflinching.”Before We Were White” will tell real stories of heartland America, drawing upon facts and evidence buried deep underneath the “official story”.Everything from outlaws, river pirates and prairie bandits, to Cherokee midwives and witch trials, fake eugenics, colonial-era Muslims, snake handlers, African-American cowboys, the Lost Colony of Roanoke, Jewish hillbillies, “sporting girls”, Mountain Gypsies and Creole Irish will get their turn under the magnifying lens.Whether your interest is in history, politics, ethnology, folklore, music, genealogy, or just a cracking good story, you will find something here to astonish and amaze, entertain and educate.Forget everything you thought you knew about North American history.Forget everything you thought you understood about the ethnic roots of heartland America.
Episodes
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Give Me Back My Country
In a time when political gangsters are mobilizing their base by appealing to "White Nationalism", it has never been more important to push back against the ridiculous assertion that "white" is an "ethnicity". The idea that the USA as a project is founded mainly upon "white culture" is equally...
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Deconstructing the Construct
Just over 5 years ago, in the aftermath of the first Trump presidency (which saw a resurgence of racism in the USA), I started Before We Were White as a project for countering the fake history underpinning White Nationalism. I've updated and recorded the first essay I wrote 5 years ago. Its…
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The Last Shibboleth
No nation on earth fetishizes its military in the way the USA does. Do the lofty words of praise from US politicians match how veterans are treated? And if not, why not? In this episode of Before We Were White, we explore who actually fights America's wars. Visit our website…
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Hillbilly Face
A simple question: Why have "poor white people" - aka Rednecks and Hillbillies - always been seen as legitimate targets for vicious mockery and public ridicule by "mainstream" American society? The answer to that question goes to the heart of early colonial American self-identity. Visit our...
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Lights and Makeup
What connects The Mayflower with an iconic screen adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein? And what connects the 1931 James Whale film Frankenstein with the 1956 Hollywood musical The King and I? Why do so many Americans show South Asian ancestry in DNA tests? And where exactly does John Wayne...
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New, Improved, and Super-Sanctified, Part 2
America is easily the most religious country among the wealthy western democracies. Why? Episode 19 of Before We Were White - "New, Improved, and Super-Sanctified, Part 2" is out now. Part 2 explores the Medieval Catholic church, and how its quest for total political, economic, and spiritual…
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New, Improved, and Super-Sanctified, Part 1
America is easily the most religious country among the wealthy western democracies. In almost every other nation, greater wealth and educational levels correlate with a drop-off in levels of religiosity. The USA remains a conspicuous outlier in this regard. Why? Episode 18 of Before We Were White…
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Pre-Deliverance, Part 3
How did a musical instrument which started off hundreds of years ago in Africa end-up becoming a symbol of "white" American country music? Was this a case of simple cultural appropriation, or is there another story waiting to be told? When it comes to American history, nothing is ever as black…
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Pre-Deliverance, Part 2
Part Two of "Pre-Deliverance" continues our exploration of some of the forgotten roots of American culture and ethnicity. In this episode, we get closer to understanding the origins of "Hillbilly Jews". Visit our website: beforewewerewhite.com Follow us on Substack: Brian...
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Pre-Deliverance, Part 1
Play a game of word association with the average American. Say "banjo". Chances are, a great many would reply with words like "hillbilly" or "redneck". Some might venture to mention bluegrass music. How did a musical instrument which started off hundreds of years ago in Africa end-up becoming a...
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Black Paddywhackery, Part 2
In Part 1 of "Black Paddywhackery", we learned about the origins of the Irish people, and asked why so many Americans self-identify as "Black Irish", believing themselves descended from survivors of the Spanish Armada which wrecked off the west coast of Ireland. Having shown the flaws in this…
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Black Paddywhackery, Part 1
A curious number of Southern Appalachians like to refer to themselves or extended family members as being "Black Irish". There are Facebook discussion groups catering to Appalachian Americans (with tens of thousands of members), and almost weekly an "expert" pops up assuring other members that…
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No Safe Harbor, Part 3
The eastern half of the continental USA is dotted with places inaccurately described as "tri-racial isolate communities". One of the largest such population groups can be found spread over Eastern Kentucky, the western parts of Virginia, East Tennessee, and West Virginia. Widely known as...
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No Safe Harbor, Part 2
The eastern half of the continental USA is dotted with places often described as "tri-racial isolate communities". One of the largest such population groups can be found spread over Eastern Kentucky, the western parts of Virginia, East Tennessee, and West Virginia. Widely known as "Melungeons"…
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No Safe Harbor, Part 1
The eastern half of the continental USA is dotted with places often described as "tri-racial isolate communities". One of the largest such population groups can be found spread over Eastern Kentucky, the western parts of Virginia, East Tennessee, and West Virginia. Widely known as "Melungeons"…
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How Lovely Are Thy Branches
Do the mass media and film industry reflect popular culture, or create it? Where do we get our shared history, our national story, our traditions and identity? Follow us as we explore the origins of Christmas in America, while attempting to discover what connects Hollywood, Abraham Lincoln, and,...
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The Witch in the Tent Grave
Appalachia has no shortage of murder ballads and murder tales. And Appalachia certainly has no shortage of folklore dealing with "haints" and witches. But sometimes all of it becomes so entangled that separating folklore from fact is almost impossible. Why are so many Appalachian "witches" buried...
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My Little Runaway
Josie and Celia both ran away from home as teenagers - one before the age of 15. Between them, these girls would travel thousands of miles to meet their similar destinies. Both would end up working as underage "sporting girls" on the 19th century American frontier, and both would become consort…
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Sun Bonnets and Bootstraps
It is often said that we live in "post-truth" times, as if misinformation and disinformation are an innovation of the internet age. The people who bend reality to fit ideology have been around for decades - for centuries - and they play the long game. One of the most popular and long-running TV...
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Charleston Reshuffle
Announcing the first of our new "bitesized" episodes, which we hope to release regularly between our "deep dive" episodes. ***** On 4 April 2015, an unarmed man was unlawfully shot dead on the streets of Charleston, South Carolina by a police officer. The local chief of police would be called to...
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Strangers for Dinner
November 1620. Aboard a freezing ship anchored off Cape Cod, Massachusetts... A mutual cooperation agreement is signed by a group of men representing 101 passengers who had survived a perilous north Atlantic crossing, hoping to found a colony in the "New World". This agreement would be important,...
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Matrimony and Mayhem
Between the founding of Jamestown in 1607, and the end of the Anglo-Powhatan Wars in 1644, there were a mere eight years of relative peace between the rightful inhabitants of Tsenacomoco and English colonisers. Those few years of peace were largely the result of one marriage between two people…
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Black Hair, Gray Eyes
A middle-aged artist named John White climbed out of a rowboat onto a beach near Roanoke in America in 1590, searching for his missing daughter and grandchildren. His paintings from that time and place have survived. But did his family survive as well? Visit our website: beforewewerewhite.com...
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Off-Course
The sea can be pitiless. In 1477, a small ocean-going craft was found washed ashore in County Galway, Ireland, with the dead bodies of a man and a woman still lashed to it. Of the innumerable maritime mishaps in history, none would have a greater lasting impact on the course of world events.…
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Before We Were White - main theme
Before We Were White main theme, featuring Dave McLoughlin of County Sligo, Ireland on bouzouki. Theme based on the old Irish traditional Molly McAlpine, composed by famed Sligo harpist Thomas Connellan (1640 - 1698). Visit our website: beforewewerewhite.com Follow us on Substack: Brian...
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BWWW Launch Announcement
"Before We Were White" podcast launches Thursday, 1 Oct 2020 Visit our website: beforewewerewhite.com Follow us on Substack: Brian Halpin@beforewewerewhitepodcast Support our work: beforewewerewhite.com/support/ Subscribe and leave a review! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
”Before We Were White” will be highly contentious revisionist history at its most unflinching.”Before We Were White” will tell real stories of heartland America, drawing upon facts and evidence buried deep underneath the “official story”.Everything from outlaws, river pirates and prairie bandits, to Cherokee midwives and witch trials, fake eugenics, colonial-era Muslims, snake handlers, African-American cowboys, the Lost Colony of Roanoke, Jewish hillbillies, “sporting girls”, Mountain Gypsies and Creole Irish will get their turn under the magnifying lens.Whether your interest is in history, politics, ethnology, folklore, music, genealogy, or just a cracking good story, you will find something here to astonish and amaze, entertain and educate.Forget everything you thought you knew about North American history.Forget everything you thought you understood about the ethnic roots of heartland America.
HOSTED BY
Brian Halpin - Before We Were White
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Before We Were White have?
Before We Were White currently has 26 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Before We Were White about?
”Before We Were White” will be highly contentious revisionist history at its most unflinching.”Before We Were White” will tell real stories of heartland America, drawing upon facts and evidence buried deep underneath the “official story”.Everything from outlaws, river pirates and prairie bandits,...
How often does Before We Were White release new episodes?
Before We Were White has 26 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Before We Were White?
You can listen to Before We Were White on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Before We Were White?
Before We Were White is created and hosted by Brian Halpin - Before We Were White.
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