Best Unreliable Sources Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 71: Raphael Cormack Makes Meaning from Unreliable Sources 44:17

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11d ago44:17

44:17

How do you write a history if you're not quite sure which—if any—of your sources is telling the truth? All historians have to deal with sources who exaggerate, or mislead, or just come from differing perspectives. But my guest in this episode had to wrestle with this question on a whole different level for his newest book. Were his subjects perform…

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Episode 72: Joanne Paul Isn't Afraid to Call Herself an Artist 39:30

4d ago39:30

39:30

Even though Dr. Joanne Paul had wanted to be a writer for a long time, she had lost sight of that identity and had to find her way back to it. But now, she has embraced creativity and imagination as a historian, and is here to encourage you to do the same. I was thrilled to be joined in this episode by Dr. Joanna Paul. Joanne is a historian of the …

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Episode 70: Tracy Slater Finds Her Footing in Narrative History 45:25

18d ago45:25

45:25

I talk to a lot of history professors on this show, of course, but I'm always excited when I get a chance to talk to someone who is writing great history but working outside of a university setting. And my guest today didn't even start out as a historian, she found her way to narrative history after writing in other genres and venues first. Dr. Tra…

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Episode 69: Andrew Hartman Takes the Time to Get It Right 39:31

25d ago39:31

39:31

This is Drafting the Past, a podcast about the craft of writing history, and I'm your host, Kate Carpenter. In each episode, I'm joined by a historian to dig into their writing process and find out how they bring history to the page. This time around, I'm happy to get to chat with Dr. Andrew Hartman. Dr. Andrew Hartman is a professor of history at …

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Episode 68: Ruby Lal Paints a Lush World 52:42

1M ago52:42

52:42

In this episode, I'm thrilled to be joined by historian Dr. Ruby Lal. When I first started thinking about this interview more than a year ago, I read Ruby's book Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan. I was swept away by the book, which is a history biography of Princess Gulbadan in the early decades of the Mughal Empire. Ruby is also…

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Episode 67: Stephanie Gorton Puts Authentic Interactions on the Page 43:50

5M ago43:50

43:50

Stephanie Gorton is a writer, editor, and journalist whose work has been published in a range of outlets including The New Yorker, Smithsonian, and Paris Review Daily. She has worked in editorial roles at several independent presses, and her first book came out in 2020, titled Citizen Reporters: S. S. McClure, Ida Tarbell, and the Magazine that Rew…

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Episode 66: Padraic Scanlan Makes the Medicine Go Down 59:12

5M ago59:12

59:12

In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Padraic Scanlan. Padraic is an associate professor at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the history of labor in Britain and the British empire. He's the author of three books, including Freedom's Debtors: British Antislavery in Sierra Leone in the Age of Revolutions and Slave Empire: How Slavery M…

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Episode 65: Omar Valerio-Jiménez Puts in the Hours 51:54

6M ago51:54

51:54

Drafting the Past is a show about the craft of writing history, hosted by historian and writer Kate Carpenter. In this episode, Kate is joined by historian Dr. Omar Valerio-Jiménez. Omar is a professor of history at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he is also an associate dean for graduate studies. He originally worked as an engineer b…

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Episode 64: Emily Herring Listens For the Rhythm 49:37

6M ago49:37

49:37

Welcome back to Drafting the Past, a podcast where we talk all about the craft of writing history. I'm Kate Carpenter and for this episode, I'm delighted to be joined on the podcast by Dr. Emily Herring. As you'll hear, I've been following Emily's career for a while now, and I was eager to ask about her first book and her shift from academia to ful…

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Episode 63: Surekha Davies Has No Lack of Deadlines 53:44

7M ago53:44

53:44

Welcome back to Drafting the Past. I'm Kate Carpenter, and this is a podcast about the craft of writing history. In this episode, I'm joined by historian and writer Dr. Surekha Davies. Surekha is a former history professor who now writes full-time, and she can also be found speaking about history and consulting on monsters. In fact, monsters have p…

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Episode 62: Lyndal Roper Takes a Journey by Page and Pedal 58:13

7M ago58:13

58:13

In this episode of Drafting the Past, host Kate Carpenter is joined by historian Dr. Lyndal Roper. Lyndal is a professor at the University of Oxford and the author of six books on gender, religion, witchcraft, and German history. Her newest book out this year is a history of the sixteenth-century German Peasants' War titled Summer of Fire and Blood…

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Episode 61: Judith Giesberg Resists Giving Readers What They Want 52:08

8M ago52:08

52:08

In this episode of Drafting the Past, host Kate Carpenter is joined by Dr. Judith Giesberg. Dr. Giesberg is a historian and professor at Villanova University. She is the author of six books focused on the U.S. Civil War and its aftermath. She is also an active digital and public historian, and her newest book is the culmination of these interests. …

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Episode 60: Rebecca Brenner Graham Gives Us the Publicity Behind-the-Scenes 39:08

8M ago39:08

39:08

In this episode Kate is joined by writer and historian Dr. Rebecca Brenner Graham. Rebecca is a post-doctoral research associate at Brown University, but before that she taught high school history, an experience that we talk a lot more about in this episode. Her first book, out now, is called Dear Miss Perkins: A Story of Frances Perkins's Efforts …

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Episode 59: Marlene Daut Returns to Storytelling 42:41

9M ago42:41

42:41

This is Drafting the Past, a podcast about the craft of writing history. In this episode, host Kate Carpenter is joined by historian Dr. Marlene Daut. Marlene is a professor at Yale University and is the author of four books, as well as an editor of several more. The most recent two of those books are Awakening the Ashes: An Intellectual History of…

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Episode 58: James Tejani Aims for Smart, Elegant Simplicity 51:41

9M ago51:41

51:41

In this episode, host Kate Carpenter is joined by Dr. James Tejani. James is an associate professor of history at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. His first book, A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth: The Making of the Port of Los Angeles—and America came out last year with Norton, and it's a fascinating history that covers Western settlement, slavery, the C…

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Episode 57: Seth Rockman Vows This Time Will Be Difference 1:04:11

11M ago1:04:11

1:04:11

Welcome back to Drafting the Past, a show about the craft of writing history. In this episode, Kate Carpenter interviews historian Dr. Seth Rockman. Seth is a historian at Brown University. His first book was called Scraping By: Wage Labor, Slavery, and Survival in Early Baltimore, and he is also the co-editor of the volume Slavery's Capitalism: A …

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Episode 56: James Chappel Tames the Waterfall of Detail 43:51

12M ago43:51

43:51

Hello there, this is Drafting the Past, and I'm Kate Carpenter. In each episode, I interview a historian about their writing process, and today I'm joined by Duke University historian James Chappel. James is the author of two books. His first book is titled Catholic Modern: The Challenge of Totalitarianism and the Remaking of the Church, and it foc…

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Episode 55: Robin Bernstein and the Disco Ball of Integrity 51:50

12M ago51:50

51:50

Episode 55 features Dr. Robin Bernstein. Robin is a cultural historian who specializes in race and racism from the nineteenth century to the present, and is the Dillon Professor of American History at Harvard University. Her first, award-winning book was Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights, and she has writt…

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Episode 54: Prithi Kanakamedala Invites Us Into the Past 51:53

1y ago51:53

51:53

In this episode I'm so happy to welcome historian Prithi Kanakamedala to talk about writing with me. Prithi is a professor of history at Bronx Community College CUNY, and is also a faculty member at CUNY Graduate Center. She is an active public historian, who has worked with a wide range of cultural organizations. One of the projects she worked on …

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Episode 53: Andrew Kahrl Embraces Relevance 49:50

1y ago49:50

49:50

Welcome to Drafting the Past, a podcast all about the craft of writing history. I'm Kate Carpenter, and in each episode I talk with a historian about the practices, archival frustrations and joys, drafts and revisions and more that go into writing history. In this episode, I'm delighted to be joined by Dr. Andrew Kahrl. Andrew is a professor of his…

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Episode 52: Helen Betya Rubinstein Coaches Historian-Writers 57:02

1y ago57:02

57:02

Welcome back to Drafting the Past, a podcast about the craft of writing history. In this episode, host Kate Carpenter welcomes someone a little bit different to the podcast: writer and writing coach Helen Betya Rubinstein. Helen is neither a historian nor a writer or history herself, but she has been working as a writing coach for the past six year…

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Episode 51: Lindsay Chervinsky Loves That Writing Is Work 51:27

1y ago51:27

51:27

In this episode, Kate Carpenter interviews Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky, a historian of the presidency, political culture, and the government, and the executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library. Her first book, which came out in 2020, was The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution. She's also the co-e…

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Episode 50: Clara Bingham Lets Her Sources Speak For Themselves 57:09

1y ago57:09

57:09

Drafting the Past is a podcast about the craft of writing history hosted by Kate Carpenter. If you've been listening for a while, you know that oral histories have come up pretty frequently on the show, and that I also work with oral histories in my own current research project. So I was delighted when the opportunity came up to talk with today's g…

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Episode 49: Robert Alpert, Merle Eisenberg, and Lee Mordechai Survive Writing a Book Together 59:55

1y ago59:55

59:55

In this episode Kate interviewed not one, but three authors: Robert Alpert, Merle Eisenberg, and Lee Mordechai. Together, Robert, Merle, and Lee are the co-authors of a new book, Diseased Cinema: Plagues, Pandemics, and Zombies in American Movies. Robert Alpert is a lawyer and film scholar who teaches at Fordham University and has written extensive…

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Episode 48: Neil J. Young Gives Us Characters 54:05

1+ y ago54:05

54:05

In this episode, host Kate Carpenter is joined by historian, writer, and podcaster Dr. Neil J. Young. Neil has been a prolific writer in venues like The Atlantic, Slate, the Los Angeles Times, and many more, a contributing columnist to the HuffPost and The Week, and he is also one of the co-hosts of the terrific history podcast Past Present. He als…

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BONUS: Historians at the Movies Episode 88: Twisters/The History of Storm Chasing with Kate Carpenter (Feed Drop) 1:02:18

1+ y ago1:02:18

1:02:18

Hey DTP listeners! I'm sharing an episode of Historians at the Movies, a podcast by Jason Herbert, in which I was the guest historian! If you like what Jason is doing, check out historiansatthemovies.com. Historians At The Movies features historians from around the world talking about your favorite movies and the history behind them. This isn't riv…

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Episode 47: Kathleen Sheppard Learns to Use the Novelist's Tools 51:45

1+ y ago51:45

51:45

I'm delighted to introduce you to my guest today, historian of science Dr. Kathleen Sheppard. Kate is a professor at Missouri S & T University, and the author of three books, as well as the editor of two books of correspondence. Kate is a historian of Egyptology, and her first book was a biography of Margaret Alice Murray, the first woman to become…

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Episode 46: Tore Olsson Writes for the Gamers (and All of Us) 47:00

1+ y ago47:00

47:00

My guest in this episode is Dr. Tore Olsson, associate professor of history at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Olsson's first book, Agrarian Crossings: Reformers and the Remaking of the US and Mexican Countryside, is an award-winning scholarly book. But his new book does something quite different. Titled Red Dead's History: A Video Game, an Obsess…

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Episode 45: Jason Heppler Wants Tools That Fit His Questions 49:23

1+ y ago49:23

49:23

Welcome back to Drafting the Past. This is a show about the craft of writing history. In this episode, host Kate Carpenter interviewed historian and web developer Dr. Jason Heppler. Kate has been following Jason's work and career path for some time now and was so excited to talk with him about his new book, Silicon Valley and the Environmental Ineq…

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Episode 44: Kellie Carter Jackson Puts Black People at the Center 44:33

1+ y ago44:33

44:33

In this episode, host Kate Carpenter speaks with the brilliant and delightful Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson. Dr. Carter Jackson is a professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, and a prolific speaker and writer, with essays everywhere from The New York Times to the Atlantic and Los Angeles Times, and appearances in documentaries and countless p…

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Episode 43: Margaret O'Mara Starts with the People 1:02:12

1+ y ago1:02:12

1:02:12

For this episode Kate Carpenter interviews Dr. Margaret O'Mara. Margaret is a professor of modern American history at the University of Washington, and the author of multiple books, including Cities of Knowledge: Cold War Science and the Search for the Next Silicon Valley and Pivotal Tuesdays: Four Elections that Shaped the Twentieth Century. Her m…

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Episode 42: Kimberly Harper Didn't Know She Could Be a Writer 31:24

1+ y ago31:24

31:24

In this episode, I was thrilled to welcome historian—and fellow Missourian—Kimberly Harper to the show. I am especially delighted by this episode because I get many requests to feature guests who have written history books while off of the tenure track or outside of academia, and Kim is a great example of that. I find guests for the show in a lot d…

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Episode 41: Nathan Perl-Rosenthal Doesn't Want to Let Go 52:00

1+ y ago52:00

52:00

In this episode, Kate welcomes historian Dr. Nathan Perl-Rosenthal. Nathan is a professor history at the University of Southern California. His first book, Citizen Sailors: Becoming American in the Age of Revolution, came out in 2015. His new book just came out this month, February 2024, from Basic Books. It's called The Age of Revolutions and the …

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Episode 40: Grace Elizabeth Hale is Undisciplined 59:49

1+ y ago59:49

59:49

For Episode 40, Kate Carpenter is joined by Dr. Grace Elizabeth Hale. Grace is the Commonwealth Professor of American Studies and History at the University of Virginia, and the author of four books. Her two most recent are Cool Town: How Athens, Georgia, Launched Alternative Music and Changed American Culture, which was published by UNC Press in 20…

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Episode 39: Benjamin Park Stays Rooted 42:28

2y ago42:28

42:28

Welcome back to the third season of Drafting the Past! I'm thrilled about the lineup of historians that I'll get to bring to you this year. I know you're going to love them. That includes today's guest, Dr. Benjamin Park. Ben is an associate professor of history at Sam Houston State University, and the author of three books. His first two were Amer…

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Episode 38: The Best History Books You Read This Year 17:15

2y ago17:15

17:15

At the end of the year, a flurry of "best books of the year books hit publications. For the last episode of 2023, I wanted to try something a little different on Drafting the Past. Rather than come up with my own best books list, I asked listeners to call in and leave a message with the best history book they read in 2023 (it didn't have to be publ…

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Episode 37: Martha Hodes Delves Into Her Own Past 50:09

2y ago50:09

50:09

In this episode, Kate spoke with historian Dr. Martha Hodes. Dr. Hodes is a professor of history at New York University and the author of multiple previous books focused on the nineteenth century, including The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Love, Race, and War in the Nineteenth Century, and Mourning Lincoln, which won multiple awards and was …

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Episode 36: Catherine McNeur Writes With Delight 43:58

2y ago43:58

43:58

For this episode I was lucky enough to speak with a historian and writer I have long admired, Dr. Catherine McNeur. Catherine's first book, Taming Manhattan: Environmental Battles in the Antebellum City, first came out in 2014, and it is one of my favorite environmental histories. So I was more than a little excited to learn about her new book out …

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Episode 35: Tanisha C. Ford Builds the Story's Layers 49:58

2y ago49:58

49:58

For this episode, host Kate Carpenter interviews Dr. Tanisha C. Ford. Tanisha is a writer, historian, and professor of history at the City University of New York Graduate Center. She is the author of three books and many articles on subjects at the intersection of politics and culture, and especially on Black fashion and social movements. Her first…

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Episode 34: Bruce Dorsey Puts True Crime on Stage 46:56

2y ago46:56

46:56

In this episode Kate is joined by historian Dr. Bruce Dorsey. Bruce is a professor of history at Swarthmore College. In 2002, he published his first book, Reforming Men and Women: Gender in the Antebellum City, and he is also the co-editor of the book Crosscurrents in American Culture. His new book is called Murder in a Mill Town: Sex, Faith, and t…

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Episode 33: Sarah McNamara Takes Us to Ybor City 1:01:36

2y ago1:01:36

1:01:36

In this episode, I interviewed Dr. Sarah McNamara, assistant professor of history at Texas A&M University, about her new book, Ybor City: Crucible of the Latina South (UNC Press, 2023). From her website: "McNamara is dedicated to sharing her scholarship with broad audiences through public history and community engagement. She developed the project,…

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Episode 32: Samantha Muka Finds Joy in the Work 54:52

2y ago54:52

54:52

This episode features Dr. Samantha Muka, whose enthusiasm for her work is pretty much guaranteed to improve your day. Sam's first book is Oceans Under Glass: Tank Craft and the Sciences of the Sea, in which she investigates how a community of aquarium users have created and shared knowledge about how to take care of marine life in captivity. Sam is…

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Episode 31: Katrina Phillips Starts With the Fragments 45:58

2y ago45:58

45:58

In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Katrina Phillips. Katie Phillips is an associate professor of history at Macalester College. She is the author of Staging Indigeneity: Salvage Tourism and Performances of Native American History, which focuses on the past and present of three Western performances that purport to show Indigenous history, but do so f…

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Episode 30: Lauren Lassabe Shepherd Shamelessly Reaches Out 51:40

2y ago51:40

51:40

Welcome back to Drafting the Past, a podcast about the craft of writing history. I'm your host, Kate Carpenter, and this is the 30th episode of Drafting the Past! In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Lauren Lassabe Shepherd about the process of writing and revising her debut book, Resistance from the Right: Conservatives and the Campus Wars (UNC Press…

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Episode 29: Anna Zeide Gets Comfortable 49:00

2y ago49:00

49:00

My guest this week is historian Dr. Anna Zeide. Anna is an associate professor of history at Virginia Tech, where she is also the founding director of the food studies program, as well as the author of two books. The first, Canned: The Rise and Fall of Consumer Confidence in the American Food Industry, won a James Beard award, and her most recent b…

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Episode 28: Melissa Sevigny Skates Down the River 34:06

2+ y ago34:06

34:06

In this episode, it was my pleasure to interview science journalist Melissa Sevigny about her new book, Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Colorado River. She is the science reporter for Arizona Public Radio as well as the author of two previous books, Mythical River: Chasing the Mirage of New Water in …

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Episode 27: Carly Goodman Tells Us What Happened 43:09

2+ y ago43:09

43:09

For Episode 27 of Drafting the Past, I was delighted to be joined by historian Dr. Carly Goodman. Carly is a historian, a senior editor for the Made by History section at the Washington Post, and the Communications Coordinator for Nationalities Service Center, an immigration agency. Her first book, Dreamland: America's Immigration Lottery in an Age…

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Episode 26: Aaron Sachs Knows Historians Are Writers! 55:59

2+ y ago55:59

55:59

In this episode, I was so excited to finally talk with writer and historian Dr. Aaron Sachs. Aaron researches and teaches environmental history at Cornell, and he is the author of four books and one edited collection. I've been eager to talk with Aaron for several years, ever since I first heard about the Historians are Writers! group that he led a…

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Episode 25: Kidada Williams Preaches the Gospel of Audience 45:21

2+ y ago45:21

45:21

In this episode Kate Carpenter interviews writer and historian Dr. Kidada Williams. Dr. Williams' most recent book is I Saw Death Coming: A History of Terror and Survival in the War Against Reconstruction, which came out with Bloomsbury this year. She is also one of the co-creators of #CharlestonSyllabus, which began as a collection of resources on…

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Louis Moore Knows His Stuff 54:40

2+ y ago54:40

54:40

In this episode, host Kate Carpenter is joined by Dr. Louis Moore. Lou is a sports historian and a professor of history at Grand Valley State University. He has published two books: We Will Win the Day: The Civil Rights Movement, the Black Athlete, and the Quest for Equality, and I Fight for a Living: Boxing and the Battle for Black Manhood, 1880-1…