
American Timelines by History For Jerk is back....continuing August of 1944...
Listen as we discuss historical events from August 1944, including the liberation of Paris and the creation of the United Nations. Artstar shares a detailed biography of baseball player Tug McGraw while Gruff details the "Mad Gasser of Mattoon" incident from 1944, where residents of Mattoon, Illinois reported mysterious gas attacks.
Apr 1
1 hr 20 min

Welcome to August of 1944.
Joe and Hunter discuss various topics such as Richard Belzer's and Sam Elliott's birthdays, and the tragic death of Joseph Kennedy Jr.
Hunter presents a detailed account of the Fort Lawton riots, highlighting the racial tensions and cover-up that followed.
Mar 13
58 min

Operation Valkyrie & Asmahan: July 1944 Part 2.
Hunter Bizzle and Gruff cover Operation Valkyrie, the plot to assisinate Hitler and the mysterious death of Arab superstar Asmahan in July of 1944.
Jan 15
1 hr

Jumping into July 1944, Joe talks about the Hartford Circus Fire tragedy, and Arstar tells us about Lt. Jack Robinson refusing to give up a seat on the bus.
This is American Timelines.
Dec 17, 2025
47 min

In this episode, the American Timelines gang explore historical and artistic topics, including baseball history, World War II recruitment posters, and the development of the V1 flying bomb. Specifically:
Joe Nuxhall's Record-Breaking MLB Debut
Joe shares the story of Joe Nuxhall, who at 15 years and 10 months became the youngest person to pitch in a Major League Baseball game for the Cincinnati Reds in 1944.
Vojtěch Preissig's Life and Art
Artstar shared the life story of Czech artist Vojtěch Preissig, who was born in 1872 and worked as a topographer, illustrator, and designer. Artstar also discussed how the Nazis categorized artists into "degenerate" and "Nazi-approved" categories, with the former including modern artists like Otto Dix, Paul Klee, and Picasso, while the latter favored realistic or neoclassic art.
Nazi V1 Flying Bomb Overview
Hunter presented an in-depth overview of the V1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodle Bug, developed by Nazi Germany during World War II.
The Ern Malley Hoax
Steve shared the story of the Ern Malley poetry hoax, which was created to mock modernist poetry but ended up being embraced by some as legitimate art.
Oct 19, 2025
1 hr 26 min

Joe is joined by Quin Cho, Author and Fellow, Pacific Atrocities Education to discuss his books and expertise on World War 2.
Quin Cho is an accomplished historian and author specializing in the history of global conflict and geopolitics in the Asia-Pacific region. A 2023 summa cum laude graduate of the University of Southern California, Quin earned a 4.0 GPA as a double major in History and International Relations. His academic excellence and rigorous training in archival research and historiography earned him the prestigious Outstanding Senior Award from USC’s Phi Beta Kappa society, an honor bestowed upon only three students in his graduating class.Quin’s debut book, Competing Empires in Burma: A Chronicle of the China Burma India Theater of World War II, achieved critical acclaim, ranking in the top 10 of Amazon’s military regiments category and earning an average rating of 4.91 stars on Goodreads.Currently, he is authoring a multi-volume work on the Kwantung Army, exploring its role in the false flag attack on the South Manchuria Railway that precipitated Japan’s conquest of Manchuria and set the stage for World War II in the Asia-Pacific.As a fellow at Pacific Atrocities Education since January 2024, Quin has made significant contributions to the organization’s mission. Despite a three-month sabbatical to study Korean through the State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship, he wrote 176 pages of his forthcoming book, which now totals approximately 427 pages. In March 2024, Quin conducted extensive archival research at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, scanning thousands of pages of primary source documents. These materials enriched his book and expanded PAE’s archival collection. Additionally, he completed a 40-page mini-book on the Battle of Wuhan, slated for release in early 2025.Looking ahead, Quin’s first volume on the Kwantung Army (150–200 pages) is scheduled for release in September 2025, coinciding with a commemorative event at the Officers Club in San Francisco marking the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end. This strategic launch aims to amplify the book’s reach, with subsequent volumes planned for future years. To continue this ambitious project, Quin seeks to extend his fellowship with PAE through 2025 and 2026, ensuring further contributions to the organization’s educational and archival efforts.
Sep 13, 2025
42 min

Hunter, Artstar and Gruff join Joe again to continue coverage of June 1944, and this episode we jump into D-Day, and Operation Overlord. Events covered:
The battle for Pointe du Hoc
the Battle of Merville Gun Battery
the capture of the Caen canal and Orne river bridges. T
Operation Houndsworth and Operation Mallard.
Stanley Hollis
The Magnificent Eleven D-Day photographs.
President Roosevelt's prayer address.
Birthdays covered inlcude:
Edgar Froese, artist and electronic musician,
Bud Harrelson,
Phillip Allen Sharp, geneticist and molecular biologist, in Falmouth, Kentucky;
Tommie Smith, track & field athlete and AFL wide receiver
Jul 30, 2025
1 hr 12 min

Joe is joined by Artstar, Gruff and Pilot Baboo to discuss June of 1944 and events leading up to D-Day!
Topics covered include:
World War II Historical Events
Blimp History and Modern Uses
Marvin Hamlisch: A Life in Music
Asperger's and McGuire's Achievements
World War II Deception Tactics
Jun 29, 2025
1 hr 18 min

April & May 1944: Lena Baker, Charlie Chaplin & The Castle Warden Fire
Joe is joined by Steve from the Gruff & Loud Show and the Debra Jo Ruppiverse to discuss April and May of 1944. Stories include The first and last woman to ever be executed in the electric chair in Georgia, A haunted castle fire, and Chat GPT hipster styled story about Charlie Chaplin & the Mann Act. Plus some birthdays and other stuff.
Credits: Southernghoststories.com, Ripleys.com, Georgiaencyclopedia.org
Part of the Queen City Podcast Network: www.queencitypodcastnetwork.com.
Information may not be accurate, as it is produced by jerks.
Music by MATT TRUMAN EGO TRIP, the greatest American Band. Click Here to buy their albums!
May 8, 2025
1 hr 8 min

Author Roger Newman joins Artstar and Joe to discuss his novel, BOYS.
Imagine a young boy whose family is killed by the Ku Klux Klan during the Great Depression and is raised by the farmer whose farm he hides on, alongside the farmer’s son. The two boys—one Black, one White— come to view themselves as brothers.
When the brothers head off to fight in segregated military units in World War II, they are separated by diverging military careers and escalating racial hostility.
This is the true story of South Carolina author Roger Newman’s North Carolina family, and the inspiration for his fifth novel, BOYS, newly released on January 14 (Koehler Books). Newman was compelled to write the book after learning about his Black uncle who disappeared during World War II.
BOYS, which has been touted by Kirkus as “A powerful and nuanced novel about racial tensions in 20th-century America,” paints a vivid picture of many lesser-known aspects of history, from service in WWII to Vietnam and beyond.
Mar 26, 2025
53 min
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