RandO Facts for Taft O. Derby
A collection of audio episodes where Dr. Mel Brown (Mom) tells Taft weird, true stories about things that don't make it into textbooks. Each episode picks a theme—strange jobs, wars over stupid reasons, animals that broke science—and unpacks 4-5 stories that sound fake but aren't.
Started because of that two-hour car ride back from Logan where we went from discriminant AI to Michelin stars to the Korean War with no map between them. This is that conversation, extended. Some episodes will drop daily. Some weekly. Some whenever there's a good theme worth chasing.
No fluff. No listicles. Just: here's what happened, here's why it matters, here's what it says about how people work.
The audio is AI-narrated after the intro. The intro is Mom. The rest is built so you can listen at 1.5x if you want, or save them for later, or ignore them entirely. They'll be here when you want them.
Named after you. Made for you. Kept going because... why not! I love you, Rooney!
RandO Facts for Taft O. Derby
No Turkey, No Pie, No Invitation : Unpacking the Harvest
Today we dive into the true roots of Thanksgiving, a holiday ranked second only to Christmas. The rosy story taught in school leaves out crucial details. We ask: Why wasn't turkey even on the menu, and what exactly brought the Wampanoag tribe to the Pilgrims' harvest festival? This rabbit hole uncovers the controversial history and long-held myths, examining why the accepted narrative obscures the brutal truths of early colonial history.
Content Notice
This episode discusses the real history of Thanksgiving, focusing on controversial aspects and dark historical facts that differ from grade-school narratives. Topics include the whitewashing of history, the concept of Manifest Destiny, the bloody conflicts between settlers and Native Americans, including massacres, death from disease brought by colonizers, and the capture and selling of Native Americans into slaver
Let's see what the world's been hiding.