Bonus Episode: Paper Valley
Steve talks with David Allen and Susan Campbell about how the book was written and why the 20 year delay.
May 24, 2024•8 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Meyer Fun Facts
Retired and needing a project to fill his time, Steve Meyer sits down once a week to discuss various people, places, and moments throughout history.
Have a topic you want Steve to talk about? Email him at meyerfacts@gmail.com.
Episodes
The Environmental Success Story of Our Time
During the entire 1990s, the potential removal of PCBs from the Fox River hung in the balance. The book is Paper Valley : The fight for the Fox River Cleanup. Steve talks with the authors David Allen and Susan Campbell who were in the middle of the fight and who dedicated a decade of their professional lives to help all of us.
May 22, 2024•37 min•Season 4Ep. 9
John Deitz and the Battle of Cameron Dam
It's the early 1900s. While lumber barons and railroad companies exploited Wisconsin resources and citizens; socialists and progressives fought back. One individual who fueled the imagination of the public was John Deitz. Listen to Steve interview local Northwest Wisconsin historian, Tamera Schutz about this David v. Goliath story.
May 08, 2024•31 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Epilogue to Leo Burt & the Sterling Hall Bombing
Steve follows up to listener questions and comments from the previous podcast.
Apr 10, 2024•24 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Leo Burt & the Bombing of Sterling Hall
In August 1970 a powerful fertilizer bomb was detonated on the UW Madison Campus. The only perpetrator not apprehended was Leo Burt. Where is he? Steve talks with former federal prosecutor John Vaudreuil about the outstanding warrant for the arrest of Leo Burt.
Mar 20, 2024•30 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Herbert Hoover and the Mississippi River Flood of 1927
Steve talks about America's biggest and deadliest river flood in history and the resulting impact on U.S. history.
Feb 28, 2024•27 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Project ELF
Steve talks about a former US Navy communication facility in Northern Wisconsin and the UP of Michigan with Prof. Steven Walton from Michigan Tech University. How the Navy almost turned the entire northwest quarter of the State of Wisconsin into an electrical grid in order to communicate through saltwater with its subs.
Feb 07, 2024•31 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Wisconsin and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850: the story of Joshua Glover, Part 2
Steve continues his interview with Margo Kirchner and discusses the response by the Wisconsin legal system to Sherman Booth's role in aiding Joshua Glover.
Jan 24, 2024•26 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Wisconsin and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850: the story of Joshua Glover, Part 1
Steve sits down with Margo Kirchner, executive director of the Wisconsin Justice Initiative to discuss Joshua Glover's escape from slavery and the role of Wisconsin citizens in assisting that escape
Jan 17, 2024•23 min•Season 4Ep. 2
2023 on the Cutting Room Floor
A collage of things that got cut from the final episode of 2023 (PFAS, Lake Michigan Shipwreck, 14th Amendment and the town of Soldiers Grove) plus a brief look forward to upcoming 2024 episodes!
Jan 10, 2024•29 min•Season 4Ep. 1
2023 In the Rearview Mirror: A Look Back
With 28 episodes dropped, Steve takes a look back at the past year, answering listener questions, updating stories and reminding us that history is a great teacher.
Dec 13, 2023•27 min•Season 3Ep. 10
The Dam that Never Was- Part 2
Steve continues his interview with Driftless Area historian Brad Steinmetz, author of the book: That Dam History
Nov 15, 2023•31 min•Season 3Ep. 9
The Dam that Never Was-Part 1
Steve interviews well respected Driftless Area Historian Brad Steinmetz, celebrated author of the book: That Dam History: The Story of the LaFarge Dam Project
Nov 08, 2023•30 min•Season 3Ep. 8
An Ode to Transoceanic Aviation: Capt. Robert Ford and the Pacific Clipper
Steve takes a look at the first commercial air circumnavigation of the globe which occurred directly as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This podcast includes clips of an interview with the pilot Capt. Robert Ford before his passing in 1994.
Oct 25, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Coda to the Wisconsin Spearfishing Controversy
Steve explores some of the surprising and not so surprising ramifications of the !989-1991 Spearfishing Controversy
Oct 18, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 6
The Wisconsin Spearfishing Controversy
Steve interviews award winning TV journalist Joel DeSpain about one of the biggest stores in Wisconsin during 1989-91. For one of Joel's reports and some coverage from other reporters check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM_SQo7EC50&t=277s
Oct 11, 2023•34 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Peshtigo Fire--Part 2
Steve finishes his interview with Wendy Kahl, chief curator of the Peshtigo Fire Museum
Sep 27, 2023•29 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Peshtigo Fire Part 1
October 8, 1871 is usually remembered as the date of the Chicago Fire. This fire was much much larger and more deadly. Steve sits down with Wendy Kahl from the Peshtigo Fire Museum to look back.
Sep 20, 2023•32 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Pirates of Lake Michigan
Who knew? Steve follows up on the secret of the Alvin Clark and what was really happening on Lake Michigan in the 19th Century
Sep 13, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Mystery Ship or Pirate Ship
The inside story of the recovery and loss of the Great Lakes brigantine "Alvin Clark." Steve interviews Jordan Ciesielczyk from the Wisconsin Historical Society's Maritime Preservation and Archaeology Program. For more details on the "Alvin Clark" and other Great Lakes shipwrecks, check out Jordan's blog at https://jayseaarchaeology.wordpress.com/
Sep 06, 2023•39 min•Season 3Ep. 1
1964 Good Friday Earthquake
The 1980 Mount St Helens eruption wasn't the first time. In 1964, action of the Pacific tectonic plate created the largest recorded earthquake in U.S. history. If you're traveling to Alaska this summer, you want to hear this podcast first.
Jun 07, 2023•28 min•Season 2Ep. 8
The 43rd Anniversary of the Eruption of Mount St. Helens
43 years ago on May 18, Mount St Helens exploded causing widespread devastation. Steve takes a look back and interviews a maniac who lived in the area.
May 24, 2023•30 min•Season 2Ep. 8
The KKK and Wisconsin (Part 2)
This is the conclusion of Steve's interview with Professor Michael Jacobs focusing on the KKK in Wisconsin in the 1920s and a particular incident which occurred in Marinette in 1926.
May 10, 2023•28 min•Season 2Ep. 7
The KKK and Wisconsin (Part 1)
In a two part series, Steve interviews Professor Michael Jacobs about the KKK and its presence in Wisconsin in the 1920s
May 03, 2023•22 min•Season 2Ep. 6
The Bisbee Deportation, July 12, 1917
In this episode, an almost unbelievable story about the copper industry, the history of unionization, and to top it off a personal experience with a copper mining global giant.
Apr 26, 2023•29 min•Season 2Ep. 5
The Constitution Redux and the 25th Amendment
In Episode 4 of Season 2, Steve follows up on the highly informative interview with Professor Schweber. Have a topic you want Steve to talk about? Email him at meyerfacts@gmail.com.
Apr 19, 2023•25 min•Season 2Ep. 4
The Constitution and the Reconstruction Amendments
Renowned Constitutional Scholar Prof. Howard Schweber joins Steve to talk about the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution
Apr 12, 2023•33 min•Season 2Ep. 3
The Waco Siege
30 years has passed since the end of the Waco Siege of 1993. Steve learns that the aftershocks continue to this day. Have a topic you want Steve to talk about? Email him at meyerfacts@gmail.com.
Apr 05, 2023•26 min•Season 2Ep. 2
The Invasion of Toronto and the War of 1812
In this opening episode of Season 2, Steve learns more than he ever has about the War of 1812
Mar 29, 2023•25 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Russo-Japanese War 1904-05
Steve pulls together prior episodes to take a different look at the dispute in the Far East
Mar 08, 2023•25 min•Season 1Ep. 10