Art Rooney of the Steelers and Alexis Thompson of the Eagles agreed to merge their franchises for one season only. The league gave it a nod, and the team was officially listed as the “Phil-Pitt Combine.” But the fans, as fans do, came up with a much better name. The Steagles.By [email protected]

The morning of June 18, 1815, broke damp and heavy with the scent of churned mud and spent gunpowder. South of the quiet village of Waterloo, Belgium, two great ridges faced one another across a narrow valley, each bristling with men and iron. The ground, soaked by a night of rain, sucked at boots and wheels alike. The air hung with tension. The cl…

In this explosive episode of Dave Does History, Dave Bowman joins Bill Mick to dissect the chain of events that lit the fuse of the American Revolution. From the biting street politics of the Sons of Liberty to the fatal musket blast on a snowy Boston night, Dave walks us through the Boston Massacre with sharp insight and sharp elbows. You'll meet …

Pétain’s story is a tragedy in two acts. In the first, he was the disciplined general who saved France from annihilation. In the second, he became the face of national shame, a man who surrendered not only to the enemy but to fear, compromise, and moral collapse.By [email protected]

In this scorching episode of What The Frock?, titled Frockenheit 451, Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod strike the match on a world increasingly allergic to free thought. Kicking things off with a curious domestic moment—Dave’s wife, a night-shift nurse, is unaware of major world events—the duo explores how political disengagement and echo chambers have bec…

On June 15, 1776, in a little brick courthouse nestled along the banks of the Delaware River, something extraordinary happened. Long before the ink dried on Jefferson’s Declaration or the bells rang out in Philadelphia, a smaller, lesser-known group of patriots made a decision just as bold and perhaps even braver. Delaware, or what was then known a…

They didn’t call it the United States Army, not yet. They called it the Continental Army. It wasn’t much to look at. Ragtag farmers and tradesmen with worn boots and mismatched coats, some carrying their grandfather’s musket, others with nothing but a pitchfork and righteous anger. But it was the beginning of something that still stands strong toda…

Every so often, history hands us a coincidence so odd, so strangely poetic, that it demands a second look. June 13 is one of those days. It’s not just your average square on the calendar. It also happens to be the birthday of not one, but two kings from the same royal bloodline. Both born on June 13, just sixteen years apart. Both named Charles. On…

Boston in June of 1775 was already a city choking on powder smoke, rumor, and fear. Since the redcoats had marched out to Concord two months earlier and came running back under fire, everything had changed. The countryside had risen. Thousands of armed men now surrounded the city. The roads were blocked. Tempers were short. British soldiers camped …

In the hot, tense summer of 1776, as thunderclouds of rebellion gathered over the thirteen colonies, the Second Continental Congress found itself facing a decision that would change the world. The British Crown had slammed the door on reconciliation. The King wasn’t listening. His red-coated army was already spilling colonial blood. The time had co…

This week on Dave Does History on Bill Mick Live, we peeled back the glossy myths of patriotism and peered into the grit and grime of liberty’s earliest champions: the Sons of Liberty. You’ve heard the name, you’ve probably imagined tricorn hats and righteous speeches. But what if the revolution’s first sparks looked less like a powdered wig conven…

Athens in the summer of 411 BCE was a city smoldering beneath the weight of its own glory. The golden age had cracked, and under the strain of war, pride, and poverty, the world’s first democracy was about to slit its own wrists. This wasn’t some minor squabble among politicians. It was an existential crisis. A full-blown betrayal from within. The …

Welcome back to *What The Frock?, where the robes are real, the satire is sharp, and the heresy is bipartisan. In this week’s episode, *It’s Fine…*, Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod dive headfirst into the absurdity of modern life, starting with the battle of the broken states: Washington vs. California. Spoiler—Washington wins, and not in a good way. From…

On June 8, 1967, in the sunlit waters of the eastern Mediterranean, an American ship flew the Stars and Stripes over calm seas. Her name was the USS Liberty, a lightly armed intelligence vessel serving under the National Security Agency. She carried 294 crew members, including sailors, Marines, and NSA linguists trained in Arabic and Russian. That …

It was June 7, 1776, a heavy summer day in Philadelphia. The streets simmered with tension, and inside the State House, the Second Continental Congress sat on the edge of history. The men in that room had argued, pleaded, and petitioned for peace, but now the moment had come to talk about war. Not just war with muskets, but a war of ideas, a war of…

On a warm morning in early June 1918, somewhere amid the rolling farmland and wooded clearings of northern France, a handful of American Marines fixed bayonets, whispered prayers, and stepped into the wheat. It was June 6, 1918 and the woods they faced were called Belleau. Before sunset that day, more United States Marines would be killed or wounde…

On this episode of Dave Does History, we take a long, hard look at one of the most controversial figures of the American West—Pat Garrett. You probably know him as the man who shot Billy the Kid, but Garrett’s story runs far deeper than that single, fateful moment in a darkened New Mexico bedroom. Born in Alabama, raised in Louisiana, and forged by…

When most Americans think of George III, they picture a tyrant in a powdered wig, raving about taxes and trying to crush the spirit of liberty. That image, baked into our national memory by revolution and rebellion, is not entirely wrong—but it is far from the whole story. George III, born in 1738 and crowned king in 1760, was a complicated man try…

In Virginia’s House of Burgesses, a 29-year-old lawyer with a sharp tongue and a sharper sense of justice stood up and gave a speech that shook the walls of the chamber—and the foundations of British authority in America. As he warned his fellow legislators about the dangers of unchecked power, Henry’s words grew bold. Too bold, some thought. When …

Today on *Dave Does History*, we are digging into a law that did not just ruffle feathers—it rattled rafters. The Quartering Act of 1774, passed by a distant Parliament, gave royal governors the power to house British soldiers in uninhabited buildings across the colonies. To many Americans, it felt like a military boot stomping through the front ga…

On this episode of *Dave Does History*, we set sail into the heart of the Atlantic for one of the bloodiest naval battles you have never heard of—the Glorious First of June. It is 1794, and Revolutionary France is starving. A massive grain convoy from America becomes a lifeline, and the British Royal Navy is determined to cut it off. What follows i…

**What The Frock? – Podcast Introduction (150 Words)**This week on *What The Frock?*, Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod explore the fiery temper of the sun and the flaky madness of humanity. Rabbi Dave kicks things off with a surprise medical drama, proving once again that technology may be smart, but it’s not very thoughtful. From there, the holy duo turns…

It is one of the most overlooked inventions in modern science—a simple glass dish with a lid that quietly revolutionized the world. In this episode of *Dave Does History*, we explore the life of Julius Richard Petri, the man whose name lives on in labs and classrooms everywhere. From his work alongside Robert Koch to the dish that bears his name, P…

On this episode of *Dave Does History*, we travel back to the smoke-filled streets of Rouen in the spring of 1431. It is here, on May 30, that a nineteen-year-old peasant girl named Joan of Arc faced her final hour—chained to a stake, surrounded by fire, and steadfast in her faith. But Joan’s death was not the end of her story. It was the spark tha…

In this episode of *Dave Does History*, we revisit one of the most overlooked maritime tragedies of the 20th century—the sinking of the RMS *Empress of Ireland*. On May 29, 1914, just weeks before the world would plunge into war, the great liner went down in the frigid waters of the St. Lawrence River, taking 1,012 souls with her. Among the dead we…

The morning of May 28, 585 BCE, must have felt like any other on the plains near the Halys River. For six long years, the Lydians and the Medes had been at war, clashing over territory and pride. There had been victories on both sides, defeats as well, and even a curious battle fought in the dark of night. But on this day, the two armies met once a…

On this episode of *Dave Does History*, Dave Bowman joins *Bill Mick Live* to explore how molasses, monarchs, and mismanagement helped ignite the American Revolution. From a failed cobra bounty in colonial India to the British government’s disastrous molasses tax in the 1700s, Dave draws a straight line from economic blunders to revolutionary fervo…

King Edmund I ruled with courage and clarity during one of England’s most volatile eras. In just seven years, he beat back Viking invasions, secured alliances, and strengthened royal justice—only to die suddenly during mass. Discover the story of Edmund the Magnificent, the king history almost forgot.…

Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod explore the blurred lines between faith, technology, and identity in this thought-provoking episode. From AI-written sermons to synthetic news anchors, they ask: what’s real, what’s righteous, and what’s just cleverly coded? A hilarious and insightful look at the digital age through sacred (and skeptical) eyes.…

Before the colonies ever turned their attention toward revolution, before a single musket was fired at Lexington or Concord, two of Britain’s American provinces nearly came to blows with each other. The conflict was not about tea or taxes, but about maps, egos, and one particularly hard-headed frontiersman named Thomas Cresap. His name would come t…

Before there was freedom of religion in America, before Thomas Jefferson penned the Virginia Statute, before James Madison hammered out the First Amendment, there was a moment in 1688 when England, ever so cautiously, took a step toward religious tolerance. The Toleration Act of 1688, often referenced by its date of royal assent in 1689, was not a …

On a crisp May morning in 1939, the crew of the USS Squalus set out from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, unaware that they were about to write one of the most remarkable chapters in submarine history. The Squalus was new. She was sleek, modern, and powerful. A Sargo-class submarine, she had been launched only the previous September, and commissioned int…

Alexander Pope was many things, but above all, he was a survivor. Born in London on May 21, 1688, he entered a world that was not built for a boy like him. His family was Roman Catholic at a time when that faith all but guaranteed exclusion from the institutions of power, education, and polite society. Thanks to the penal laws of the day, Pope coul…

Long before the thunder of muskets at Lexington or the echo of Jefferson’s pen across the pages of the Declaration of Independence, the American colonies were already engulfed in a struggle that would change the world.In this week’s episode of Dave Does History on Bill Mick Live, we trace the origins of that struggle—not to July 1776, but back to t…

When most people hear the name Johns Hopkins, they think of hospitals, white coats, and maybe a university that sounds a little like a typo. But behind the name is a story worth telling—a story of grit, generosity, contradiction, and vision. Johns Hopkins was a man whose life shaped the very city he called home, and whose legacy continues to shape …

This week on *What The Frock?*, Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod tackle the fallout from Jake Tapper’s new book *Original Sin*, which bravely reveals everything we already knew—but couldn’t say—about President Biden’s cognitive decline. From media complicity to George Clooney’s suspiciously timed “epiphany,” the guys unpack how the press and the political …

Omar Khayyam, the man behind the Rubáiyát, was no ordinary poet. He was born on May 18, 1048, in Nishapur, in what is now northeastern Iran. His surname, “Khayyam,” meaning tentmaker, likely described his father’s profession. But young Omar quickly outgrew any legacy of canvas and rope. His teachers recognized a prodigious intellect, and he was sen…

It began with a piece of parchment and a declaration. On May 17, 1756, the Kingdom of Great Britain formally declared war on the Kingdom of France. For anyone watching the slow-burning tensions of the past decade, it was hardly a surprise. But the significance of that declaration cannot be overstated. In that moment, what had been a series of regio…

On this episode of Dave Does History, we travel back to May 16, 1969, when the Soviet Union dropped a robot into the blazing heart of Venus. Venera 5 was no ordinary probe—it was built like a tank, wired like a scientist, and plunged into an atmosphere so fierce it would crush a submarine. For 53 minutes, it battled heat, pressure, and gravity, sen…

In 1963, astronaut Gordon Cooper launched on the Faith 7 mission, completing 22 orbits in over 34 hours. Facing equipment failures, he maintained composure and used manual calculations to safely return. Cooper's journey symbolized American perseverance and faith, shaping future space missions while capturing the spirit of a changing era.…

Otto Klemperer, born in 1885 in Breslau, was a prominent conductor who navigated a tumultuous musical and personal life. He fled Nazi Germany, struggled with health issues, and yet triumphed, conducting major orchestras and championing diverse repertoires. His legacy endures through his music and the notable career of his son, Werner.…

In this first episode of our new series, Dave lays the cornerstone by drawing a sharp and necessary distinction between two words we often treat as interchangeable: freedom and liberty. With stories ranging from Captain Levi Preston's 1840s recollections to the tale of Joseph in Genesis, Dave shows how liberty—unlike mere freedom—is a deeply rooted…

Today on *Dave Does History*, we honor the quiet heroes in scrubs by diving into the legacy of Florence Nightingale—the woman who transformed nursing from a thankless task into a global profession. On International Nurses Day, we reflect on her bold defiance of Victorian norms, her relentless pursuit of reform during the Crimean War, and how her sp…

What do Achilles and Thomas Jefferson have in common?No, this is not the start of a bad bar joke involving sandals and powdered wigs. It is the central question of today’s episode of Dave Does History, where we continue our Liberty – 250 journey by looking at how flawed men—sometimes deeply flawed—can still forge greatness.…

This week on *What the Frock?*, Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod roll the dice—literally and figuratively—as they reckon with being hilariously wrong about everything. From the surprise passage of statewide rent control in Washington to the shock election of an American Pope (a White Sox fan, no less!), the divine comedy unfolds with sarcasm, snark, and a …

In today’s episode of *Dave Does History*, we delve into the dramatic and tragic Mussel Slough Tragedy of 1880. This shootout between settlers and agents of the Southern Pacific Railroad over disputed land titles left seven men dead and sparked a nationwide conversation about corporate monopolies, land rights, and the battle between the little guy …

In the early 1760s, Britain was a country deeply embroiled in political upheaval. King George III had recently ascended the throne, and the country was recovering from the tumult of the Seven Years' War. As Britain’s new monarch, George was eager to restore stability, but his government, particularly under Prime Minister Earl of Bute, was unpopular…

According to the Dickson Baseball Dictionary, a Punch and Judy hitter is someone who does not swing for the fences. He chokes up, pokes the ball, slaps it to the opposite field, and drops it just where no one can catch it. No power. No fireworks. But he gets on base. The term, it turns out, is borrowed from the chaotic world of British puppet shows…

In the spring of 1721, Rome became the stage for one of the most politically charged papal conclaves in history. Over thirty-nine tense days and seventy-five ballots, powerful factions battled for control of the Church’s future. Out of this storm emerged a quiet and steady figure—Michelangelo dei Conti, who would become Pope Innocent XIII. On this …

It was a clear spring day, May 7, 1915, when a British ocean liner—the RMS Lusitania—slipped beneath the waves off the southern coast of Ireland. She had left New York six days earlier, bound for Liverpool, and was now just hours from her destination. On board were nearly two thousand souls—men, women, children, businessmen, families, and a signifi…