Jamie Jeffers - The British History Podcast

It all started when ...

... our IT department outlawed streaming radio stations from the company computers and inlawed bandwidth rationing.  Apparently everyone slowing down everyone else's computer speed in the work place is frowned upon ("in this establishment" ... sorry ... I had to ... I love that e*trade baby!)

While searching for alternatives via my trusty iPhone I stumbled across podcasts, and soon thereafter, The British History Podcast. Turns out the author and creator, Jamie Jeffers, lives right here in Portland, Oregon!  People who know me at all know that this little factoid is amusing to me.

Fast-forward 5 months ...

I enter the homegrown NW coffee house and find a suitable empty table.  This place is uber-urban.  Perfect for what I'm about to do.  I spread out my gear on the surface before me and get settled.  I'm 10 minutes early.  Good. Time enough to clear my head and get the lay of the land ... and to breathe normally.

I'm about to interview a complete stranger who's not only consistently entertained me at various points during my work day over the past 5 months, but who has also become a legit big deal in the realm of podcasting. BHP is one of the top rated history podcasts featured on iTunes and was a finalist for Best Educational Podcast in 2012 and 2013 by The Podcast Awards.

... and now that the interview is over, I am not embarrassed to say that I was a jubilant ball of ecstatic glee leading up to this date.  My friends and co-workers can attest to this.  I all but did the Snoopy Happy Dance each of the three days leading up to this event.  Why?  Not because I think Mr. Jeffers is, himself, a demigod, but because I love it when I have the privilege of spending any amount of time with amazing people who have found their niche and are living out what they were put on this planet to do.  Jeffers is one such person.



 ~ Cue Jamie ~ 

He walks into the coffee house promptly at 10:00 a.m. sporting a plaid cotton shirt, jeans, a dark wool coat, black framed glasses, backpack and an easy smile.  "He is soooooooo PDX hipster" I think with an internal smile, as I'm imagining that my kids would be impressed that I used this word in proper context and that I even know what it means at all.  Already I feel accomplished.

Smiling, I stand to shake Mr. Jeffer's hand and we order the best cup of coffee I've had in .... EVER.

Allow me to introduce you ...

A former litigation attorney with a BA in English from Western Washington University and a Juris Doctorate (JD) in Law from Lewis and Clark, Jeffers was hit hard by the 2008 economic crash and was laid off from his job. Combining his extensive education and innate love of history, he turned to the podcast community for a much needed creative outlet.  It didn't take long for Jamie to officially resign from practicing law and take up podcasting as a full time gig.

And it paid off.  Two and a half years later The British History Podcast boasts over 60,000 listeners from around the world. To date, 128 regular episodes have been recorded, attracting a healthy base of listeners whom, upon becoming members, receive access to special "members only" episodes for the mere price of a latte per month.

Time for the Interview - 



(Photo credit - Jamie Jeffers)

Hi Jamie.  Thank you for meeting with me.

Absolutely!  I'm happy to do it.

So how is the podcast career treating you presently?  Are you glad you took the plunge?

It's amazing.  Honestly.  I could not have possibly imagined where life has taken me now based on where it was three years ago when I was practicing law.  This experience has been tremendously positive.

Of all the topics you could cover, why did you choose British History?

Well, because I am British. I'm an immigrant from the UK living in the US, though functionally I'm American since I went to American schools.

I chose history because far too many people think they hate it, but what they really hate is the way it's been taught to them.  History shouldn't be dry.  In school they teach us dates and events.  We're not taught to relate to the people themselves and we end up thinking they're something akin to demigods.  Almost everyone loves a good story so I'm doing my best to provide a three-dimensional image of real people in the ancient tradition of storytelling.  My aim is to bring history to life for my listeners ... to make it relatable.

Hipster Hadrian?  Heck, YES!
(Photo credit - Jamie Jeffers)

How long does it take you to prepare a podcast on average?  Can you tell me how you go about your research methods?

I put in about 40 hours of research per recording.  4 to 6 hours are spent on writing the script, 45 minutes to initially record it and then about 2 hours to edit it.

As far as research goes, I like to start out by finding a secondary source I trust and that gives me a starting point.  From there I find other related secondary sources that compliment and add to the breadth of knowledge.  I also try to find contrasting opinions in order to represent a bigger picture of what might have happened according to differing scholars.  After that I go into the author's footnotes and endnotes.  This is very important because I need to know where the information comes from.  I don't want to take anything on faith.  But I also find additional resources to look into from the footnotes and endnotes.  The last thing, and one of my favorite things to do while I'm researching, is to read scholarly articles on my subject.  I'm basically standing on the shoulders of giants.

What is your favorite time period in British history?

There are two.  The first is the Wars of the Roses.  The reason I like this period is because you're watching the entire Plantagenet dynasty self destruct and you have a tremendous amount of story lines and threads to follow.  You have people switching sides for really personal reasons ... situations you look at and think 'There's not a logical choice here.  This is entirely emotion driven.'  It's very human.  And you have family members fighting to the death.  It's an amazing period in history.

The second period is the English Civil War.  The reason I find this fascinating is because this is a period of tremendous upheaval and it's not just because Britain is trying to figure out whether it wants a monarchy. You have the royalists and the parliamentarians fighting, but within all of that you have all of this social upheaval because you've got religious infighting going on, you've got new religious sects that are appearing, new political thought is being introduced and the Levellers walking around who were basically early Communists who were saying 'Why do we even have aristocrats in the first place?'  It was absolute chaos.  I imagine this is going to take me forever to talk about because I'm going to want to go into some depth on just how tumultuous all of this was.  It's during times of chaos in history that we really get a sense of who these people were.  During periods of change like this you can far more clearly see the character of the people in power.


(Photo credit - Jamie Jeffers)

Are there any particular historical highlights you're looking forward to covering?

So obviously I'm very excited about the Wars of the Roses.  I'm also very excited about the execution of King Charles, the English Civil War ... Battle of Hastings I think is going to be phenomenal.  I think it's going to be a ton of fun.  In the near future we're coming up on an episode about the Great Heathen Army which was headed up by a guy named Ivar the Boneless.  That's going to be a helluva thing to talk about. That's when the Vikings went and invaded Britain.  (Fun Fact: The reason why the north is so different from the south in England is because the north is Viking).  I'm looking forward to talking about King Offa, who is one of my favorite kings, and King Penda who is known as "the Last Heathen King".  Oh god, and the American Revolution!  I'm so looking forward to talking about that from the British perspective!

Ooooooh!  I like that!

I still think that event should be referred to as either the Second English Civil War or the First British Civil War because it wasn't until it was over that it was an American thing.  It's just  Brit-on-Brit violence.  

I've always wondered what England thought about their own people defecting, basically.

Well, there are fascinating books on the subject. Most of the scholarly work done and most of the opinions are from the American perspective.  It's very americancentric.  At the time you had people who are trying to keep everybody together and you have other people who are not recognizing the sheer powder keg that was Boston, because Boston just lost their s***!  But not without reason, mind you.

(Laughing)  May I quote you on that?

Sure!

They actually did though!  It was like a spurned girlfriend where all of a sudden Boston was like 'I don't care. I'm done!  I hate you!'

I love that whole time period because you can really break it down to an abusive relationship.  You've got one partner who's starting to pull away and the reaction of the other is clamp down and hold on for dear life. You can follow that all the way to the war of 1812, which is Britain and America just kind of being bitchy to each other ... just not liking each other anymore.  They've had a bad break-up, they're still kind of pissed, and there's still some hurt feelings.  It's fascinating.

Why do you think the Tudors are so popular? 

Because they're sexy!  It's all sex.  I think the Tudors get too much press.  They're the Stonehenge of the monarchy.  It's something everyone knows about but there's so much more out there.  Are there interesting things about the Tudors?  Absolutely.  But there's interesting things all throughout British history.  What frustrates me about them is that they take all of the oxygen out of the room.

It's the same thing that frustrates me about Stonehenge.  For example, there's money for archaeology but there are many dig sites in Britain that are fallow and can't get funding to do anything.  Meanwhile, every year there's a new dig site at Stonehenge.  There's a new study or a new 'something' going on with Stonehenge because it's the hip thing.  It's 'sexy'.

#ThankGodForParkingLots

I imagine you've made some connections with some of your audience.  Who are a few of your most notable listeners?

Kids!  I'm a softy for kids.  There are a couple of kids that are listeners that I get updates on.  Ewan is a super awesome twelve year old who did a book report in school on Beowulf and I actually read part of it on the show.  He was angry because Beowulf mentions women but never actually names them.  I was impressed that he caught that.

Then there's Zoe.  She's a college-aged listener.  She wrote to me to tell me that as a result of listening to the show she decided to change her major.  That was mind blowing to me. It's really neat to hear about how knowledge inspires others.  It's amazing.

There are many others in all age groups but there's a few anyway. It's very exciting to hear from these people.

Jamie in his natural habitat
What advise can you offer to others who are thinking about starting a podcast of their own?

  • Find what you love and do it.  
  • Do your prep work!
  • Understand that this is not a get-rich-quick scheme so don't plan on quitting your day job any time soon.
  • Don't plan on becoming famous.  If you want to get a lot of attention this is not the way to do it.
  • Try to find a creative partner.  If you can do that your work will improve dramatically.
  • It will never be perfect.  Just do your best and enjoy the process.
  • Don't 'showboat'.  Remember that listeners are smart and they can see through disingenuousness very quickly.  Conversely, they also recognize passion and enthusiasm, and even at times appreciate shear geekiness and reward it..
  • It's okay if you hate an episode.  The reality is the more you do it the better you become so just get it out there and move forward.
  • Practice, practice, practice before you go live.  This is how you will (continue to) find your voice.
  • Expect negative reviews and emails.  Don't let them get to you.  If you start to get angry emails take it as a sign that your podcast is gaining popularity.
  • Accept good constructive criticism and grow from it.

Well said.  Let's wrap this up with a few rapid fire questions.  Lancaster or York?

York.

On what historical event do you plan to end the BHP?

World War II.

And after that?

I'd like to delve into podcasts on America, France, and the Popes in that order.

Favorite podcasts?
  • Welcome to Night Vale
  • Stuff You Should Know
  • The Bugle
You're banned in two countries?

Yes.  China and South Korea.  I blame it on Starcraft.

Most amazing thing you've learned about British History during this adventure?

The Staffordshire Hoard.  The sheer scale is staggering!

That's all of my questions.  Jamie, thanks for being so cool about this.  This has been a ton fun!

For more information on the British History Podcast and to become a member go to:


Post interview with Jamie Jeffers of the British History Podcast at Stumptown Coffee.  Thanks, Jamie!


Arizona Adventures

~ Travel Notes From the Land Before Time ~

About six years ago my mom and step-dad moved to Page, Arizona upon retiring from their steady jobs.  More specifically, they sold their house and bought a motor home.  Their plan was to travel across the country and work seasonally to their hearts content at a good handful of our nation's national parks.   They managed to pull that off at few parks when someone told them they ought to work at Lake Powell over the upcoming summer.  Off they went to Page to investigate. 

They never left.

My first visit to Page was three years ago.  Like my folks, I fell in love with the area right off the bat and I've gone back for more every year since then.  This year I had the honor of traveling to Page with my two daughters.  It was a "trip of a lifetime", "somebody pinch me" kind of experience. 

The following is a collection of photos and notes from my travel journal.  These pictures won't do any of it justice, but it's all I have until you go and see for yourself, which I hope you will.  Then all we'll have to do is nod and smile because you'll "get it" too.  Until then, bon voyage ...


Big Water, UT - Page, AZ
September 2013

Day 3, Part 1:  After taking Day 1 to fly to Page and Day 2 to do some shopping and get settled in, Mom & Gary took us hunting for REAL dinosaur tracks! 

"Where?", you ask?

 Where else?  In their backyard, of course.


Macy & Maddy kneel next to a three toed dino track we dug out from the sand.

Maddy is indeed the King of the Hill.  (We never doubted.)


Day 3, Part 2:  The latter half of the day included more backyard exploration.  We caravaned in the Jeep, Can-Am and ATV.  This became a favorite activity in no time.
  
Macy's first time on an ATV.  She tamed the desert.  

MY GIRLS ARE STUD MUFFINS.  (Just sayin' ...)


Day 3, Part 3:  We finished off the day with a refreshing swim in Lake Powell at Lone Rock Beach.  This was Kota's first time swimming!  She loved the water ... and the dirt ...

LAKE SHARK!!!!  EVERYONE OUT OF THE WATER!!!
Oh, ... no ... Kota's first time swimming, actually.  False alarm.


Kota loves a good roll in the dirt after a refreshing swim.  Don't you?


Gorgeous models present Lone Rock in style.  "Ta-da!"


Day 4:  Gary treated the 4 of us to a boat tour.  Destination:  The legendary and awe inspiring Rainbow Bridge.  (Thank you, Gary!)

The highest natural arch in the world - The Rainbow Bridge.

Just another day in the Land Before Time.

Me and "Bundle" on the tour boat.


Day 5:  TRIP FAVORITE - A hike through ancient Fremont Indian ruins led us to The Notch petroglyph panel, 1000 year old pottery shards and evidence of long abandoned dwellings.

Seriously can not believe we were standing in front of petroglyphs over 1000 years old.  Amazing!

Two-headed Snake (one is quite enough, thanks).

The Hunter (or possibly a very stylish woman wrangling a centipede for dinner?)

Macy & Maddy sit amongst ancient Fremont Indian ruins.


 Day 6:  The Lower Antelope Slot Canyon has become a regular stop when visiting Page.  The photos leave no mystery as to why.

The Lower Antelope Slot Canyon.

Macy & Maddy being super cute!  

"A hole in the wall" takes on a glorious new meaning.

You just can't take a bad picture in this place ...


Day 7:  We were lucky enough to have my Mom & Gary's friend Brent as our guide on the Colorado River Float Tour.  He made the trip extra special by playing beautiful tunes on a Native American flute, letting the girls drive the boat, and ordering up an extra waterfall and mist on the river just for us.  We loved him instantly! 

A monsoon the day before made for extra waterfalls on the canyon walls.  Good to be us.

US!!!  ( I love us.)

Brent is our favorite river guide.  EVER.  

Super spooky mist on the river.   Just in time for Halloween.

Day 8:  We traveled to Kanab where Mom got her new Utah drivers license.  While there we enjoyed Navajo Tacos for lunch and did a little shopping.  We also stopped at an Old West movie set museum and the award winning Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.  I didn't bring a camera along on this day so you'll just have to take my word for it. 

Day 9, Part 1:  Horseshoe Bend - I won't lie ... this gorgeous piece of real estate made this Mom a nervous wreck.  Nervousness aside, the girls thought it was breathtaking and we were all appropriately awed by the views.

Is this gorgeous or what?!  Love the reflection of the clouds on the water.

*faint*

Check out the storm coming in over Macy's shoulder.  We left just in the nick of time!

 Day 9, Part 2:  This excursion left each of us with a far better understanding of how dams work, Macy & Maddy with a larger college refrigerator magnet collection, and Mom & Gary with a toy Condor they named Judy.  (Gary's dear sister, Judy, passed away last year.  She loved condors and told them that if they saw one land on their deck railing, it would be her checking in on them.)

The bottom of the Glen Canyon Dam

Adventuring with our girls is one of my very favorite things to do in life.  :)

Ya think?!
You can see the blue rafts we used on our float trip on the left of this photo.

 Here are a few more pictures that deserve to be seen ...

Tower Butte is an area landmark.  It can be seen for miles and miles in any direction.

BIGGEST.  RAINBOW.  EVER.  !!!


So there you have it.  Page, Arizona - one of my favorite places in the world.  If you plan a trip there you won't be sorry.  What we saw on this trip doesn't even scratch the surface of all there is to do in the area. But be careful ... clearly "they" have put something in the water there.  If you go, you might never leave. 

Manna From Heaven

"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh 
thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, 
certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, 
and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."

~ Dinah Maria Mulock Craik




The Beastmonster

~ Rocha Family Finds Out Family Dog is Not Aforementioned Legendary "Beastmonster" ~


We have a family dog.  He's a 6 year old Mini-Aussie named Koda, which means "true friend" in one of the Indian languages, or so we've been told.  I've wondered on several occasions if it might actually be an ancient Indian curse all wrapped up nice and tidy like for purposes of sacrificial convenience.   Let me explain ...  

If you come to our house you will immediately meet Koda whether you like it or not. Out of annoyance and affection combined I call him an "Attention Whore" because it's both ridiculous and kinda cute how a new person can't get through our front door with out Koda making himself the center of that person's universe.  Does anyone else have a dog that does this?  Can I get a witness?  It's a dog thing.  I know I'm not alone.  Still, it's an incredible feat to me.  Koda is so much like Dug from the Disney movie Up.  He's all of that furry, friendly, wagging, happy, best friend, all-up-in-your-face, puppy-at-heart, too-perfect family pet that movies stereotype ...

"I was hiding under your porch because I love you."


... until ...

... you take him for a walk on the logging road (or anywhere on a leash) behind our house.  Then he becomes ...

 THE BEASTMONSTER


... a snarling, barking, whining, lunging, fur-ball of territorial aggression when other dogs are spotted on HIS ROAD.  Ugh.  It's so embarrassing when the other dog owners look at you like "Why in the world would you think it appropriate to bring a rabid Tyrannosaurus Rex on our lovely community and family-friendly path of serenity and delight?  We all strongly suggest you rethink this next time and consider feeding it raw meat to appease it in the privacy of your own yard instead of frightening our small children and kittens."

My mother (who loved Koda so much that she went home to Arizona and bought a Mini-Aussie of her own and named her Kota) came to visit recently.  After I told her why we'd all locked ourselves in the house, boarded the windows, bolted the doors, and bought every pitch fork and torch in the village so the locals couldn't form a proper lynch mob (because who can possibly form a lynch mob without torches and pitch forks?  Am I right?), she picked up on something I stated above.  That Koda was aggressive ... when he's on a leash. She was so sure that this was the problem that she made me promise to find a dog park so she could prove her point ... that Koda really is as sweet and lovable as Dug no matter where he is.  He just needed to get off the dang leash and be able to run freely and "just be a dog."

So off we went to the dog park ... Mom with her cute hat, water bottle, "Life is Good" t-shirt and Koda's leash draped confidently around her neck, and me in my full suit of protective armor with "911" pre-dialed into my cell phone.  

Koda cried and whined with excitement the entire 15 minute ride there.  When we opened the car door he dashed gleefully out like a kid going to Disneyland for the 5th time. I swear he did a cartwheel.  

We walked over to a huge open field and let him run ... 

This picture is called "Koda in a Field" 
 ... and then I saw them.  Dogs.  BIG dogs.  A Golden Retriever (whew), a Russian Razorback (EEK!) and a Doberman Pinscher (oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!!! ... Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name ... *faint*).  

Okay, I'll cut to the chase.  "Mom's always right".  Koda was awesome!  He ran and played and spoke dog language with barks, growls, prancing, playful yips and lots of sniffing.  It was like he was entirely another dog!  Look!  I have proof!

Playing with new friends Miles & Abby

Translation:  "Wanna go out for tacos after this?"

Meeting all kinds of new friends!
 Turns out there's an actual term for Koda's behavior.  It's called Leash Aggression.  If your dog is suffering from this ailment, my advice is - Lose the leash.  Take your pooch to a legal off -leash dog park.  LOTS. (You're welcome.)

Tuckered out and ready to go home.  Awww, isn't he cute?!
For more information on this topic, here's a great article I found from THE Cesar Millan.


In closing, you all go put your energy into finding Big Foot, The Loch Ness Monster or Edward Cullen.  There's nothing to see here, folks.  Move along. Here ... have some pitch forks and torches for your journey, on the house.  ;)

PS - THANKS MOM!!!!


If, At First ...



"The principles of living greatly include the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and trial with humility."


~ Thomas S. Monson 







He Is From ...

This, the eve of my husband's 44th birthday, is a good time to re-post a poem I wrote for him a few years back. Happy birthday, Honey-Bunny.  I adore you and then some.  

He is from ...
Being wanted and chosen,
Hard working hands,
Steady love,
And a lava jumping little sister
Whom he adores
More than he lets on.

He is from ...
Wheelbarrows without tires
With heavy loads,
Tractors for transportation
To buy candy from the country store,
Boyhood shenanigans,
And Atari with a good re-taping job
Under the Christmas tree.

He is ...
A proud father of sons
Born to him,
And of daughters
Lovingly grafted in,
He is "Bonus Dad"
And an honored example
To more than he is aware.

He is ...
A faithful soldier
In the fight for stability,
And the Captain of the Guard
Of my heart.
He is exceedingly, abundantly, more
Than my best imaginations.

This is Todd ...
Steady, good-natured, generous,
And fun-loving.
His life is an offering
To those he loves,
And his God.
A work in progress,
Always with purpose,
He is blessed by his Creator.
He's got what it takes.

KCR
2010




"The Captain of the Guard of My Heart"  :)





Coming Soon!

Holy cow ... it's been too long since I've posted something on Moum's Musings ... a far cry from the once a week goal I had set for myself.  Sorry 'bout that .... but life has been CRAZY busy these last few weeks.  All with good things, but freakin' busy nonetheless.  There have been some "very big deal" occurrences and they shall be written about, just not today.  For now, here's a list of stories coming soon to Moum's Musings:


  • Rocha Family Finds Out Family Dog is Not Aforementioned Legendary "Beastmonster".

"Koda-Boo" ready for the Doggy Park

  • Grandma Shaffer: Turns Out She Rocks at Painting - Who knew?!  WWU, that's who.
(Photo Credit to Matthew Anderson of WWU)

  • Every Girl's Dream Come True - Maddy is "a real princess!" ... California child still in shock upon discovery.
Maddy Claire - "a real princess!"

  • Macy's 2013 Review of College Life - What every parent should know.
Macy keeping pal Taylor in check.

  • METRO Kids Bring Down the Roof! - Chicken Little gloats "I told you so ..."
Max using his best vocals in METRO's Best of Broadway 6/13
(Photo Credit to Barbara Hill Photography - such a great shot!)

  • Modern Mom Reverts to Caveman Tactics - "Paleo or bust!"
WILMA !!!!!!!!!!! 


This is just a taste of what's ahead on Moum's Musings.  Stay tuned!  First post is due out next week!  Check back then, and if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe.  ;)