On our first episode as part of the Make Fun Network, we’re joined by Marc Campasano, a very funny man and actual historian! He tells us all about the insanity around American voting from before voting was anonymous. People used to expect you to not only announce our vote, but to take whatever ballot a voting club BRIBED you to take and stuff as many of them in the voting box as possible, with various elaborate and loud designs to make sure you held up your end of the bargain. Crazy right? Well it only gets weirder from there, trust us.

Then, Noel tells us all about the First Barbary War and how US merchants kept getting captured by pirates for over a decade, just over and over again back between the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. The US had to set up a special budget to ransom them, and by the time they got home they were in NO MOOD to go back.

Also this episode! We read our first piece of Anachronismo fanfiction, and frankly it cuts waaay too close to home.