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Before We Were White - Podcast

@beforewewerewhite.com

330 followers 42 following 160 posts

Exploring the Hidden History of Heartland America

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · 20h

The greed, preening self-importance, and brutality of Cristoffa Corombo, aka Columbus, is well-documented.

His elevation onto a pedestal, as a man worthy of celebrating with a national holiday, says more about America than about Columbus himself.

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Columbus, scoundrel

And why understanding his ethnic background matters...

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · 2d

White Nationalist Christo-Fascism as per Project 2025 will fail.

Some of us will fight to keep real history alive, however hard they try to propagate their mythological vision of America’s past.

Support us over on Substack if you can.

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Malagasy Mountain Folks?

Forgotten Stories from the Melting Pot

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · 5d

As the US descends into dystopian madness, I'm reposting my maiden blog explaining why the USA can never be a healthy democracy as long as human exploitation and social truths remain buried under a pile of self-praising lies and mythological hokum.

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Before We Were White

Deconstructing the Construct

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · 7d

No nation on earth fetishizes its military in the way the USA does.

Do the lofty words of praise from US politicians match how veterans are treated?

And if not, why not?

In our new episode of BWWW, we explore who actually fights America’s wars, and on whose behalf.

beforewewerewhite.com/episodes

Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · 9d

Posting late this week!

Family emergency has taken me far from home - BWWW being written and prepared on a laptop on someone’s kitchen table in a small, sparsely furnished apartment in an unfamiliar city.

Hope you enjoy the piece, however belated.

beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/remorse-83...

Brian Halpin (@beforewewerewhitepodcast)

Sorry for posting late this week! A family emergency has taken me far from home, and BWWW is being written and prepared on a laptop on someone’s kitchen table in a small, sparsely furnished apartmen...

Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · 17d

Did American surf culture (outside of Hawai’i) begin on the east coast?

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Ahab on a Surfboard

The Birth of Surfin' USA?

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · 18d

Of course they would love to see a Western supporter of Zionism, and a co-architect of the murderous imperialist war in Iraq in charge of Gaza. Blair belongs nowhere near Gaza. He belongs in The Hague.

Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · 20d

Long read for Monday, showing how identity based on "blood" and skin color instead of culture is a poison in the body politic of the USA.

Here we look at the strange case of Buffy Ste. Marie, the folk singer claiming Cree ancestry for decades.

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Longing and Belonging

The Strange Case of Buffy Sainte-Marie

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · 26d

So yes, we do need to learn history.

"So we can learn from our past triumphs and know that change for the better is possible."

Please make sure to subscribe to our newsletter!

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · 26d

Learning history from different perspectives - like the Black perspective, women's perspective, the labor movement or via critical theory - teaches people that the status quo was and is often unjust - and what's more important, the status quo CAN BE CHALLENGED AND CHANGED.

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · 26d

While this is true, it misses the bigger reason that authoritarian and fascist regimes work so hard to control the historical narrative.

History is also replete with stories of hope, and the social changes and triumphs achieved by the underdogs.

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · 26d

When I try to explain the importance of history, people who are sympathetic to the idea usually say:

"Yes, we need to learn history, so we learn from our mistakes and do not repeat the past."

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · 28d

Sunday long read.

Americans, genealogy, and "Indian Princesses".

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Dressing-up as a Princess

The Disney-fication of American History and Identity

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · Sep 11

Apropos the current news.

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Charles James Kirk

The Making of a MAGA Martyr

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · Sep 10

The forgotten 9/11.

Don’t forget to subscribe (free or paid), in order to never miss our BWWW newsletter!

For people who prefer American history to American mythology.

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Mayhem, Mass Murder, and Mormons

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · Sep 6

The resurgence of white supremacy and racialist eugenics in the USA is shocking.

Americans are among the most ethnically-mixed people in world history.

beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/who-the-he...

Who The Hell Do You Think You Are?

The Foolishness at the Heart of "White" American Identity

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · Sep 4

Thanks to all my readers for bearing with me while I took time out to help my young son settle into a new life studying music far from home. Tons of things lined-up as we head into autumn. If you find BWWW of value, please consider subscribing.

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From Haiti to the Holler?

The History Which Will Never Be Taught In Post-Trump America

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · Aug 24

I'm heading away until the 1st or 2nd of Sep. on family business.

No posts for a few days.

Here is this weekend's long read.

Hope you enjoy it!

beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/stop-talki...

"Stop talking about it!"

Why US Educational Institutions Are Under Attack

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · Aug 21

Just a reminder to followers and subscribers that I will be away from my desk 24 Aug 2025 - 2 Sep 2025, helping my son to move country as he begins his college studies.

In the meantime, here's something for a laugh and a bop around the kitchen...

beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/when-the-m...

When the Morality Police Fail

Did "Louie, Louie" drop the first ever F-bomb on US radio?

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · Aug 17

We are witnessing in real time “How the West was won” in American history.

The mass graves in the USA are just buried a little deeper.

beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/a-topograp...

A Topographic Anomaly

When the Cleansing of History Fails

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · Aug 15

The 1960s weren't what most people imagine.

Especially if you weren't male.

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The Other Side of the 1960s

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · Aug 12

A three minute respite from the news headlines.

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Music from the Melting Pot:

"Walk Away, Renée" [1966]

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · Aug 9

In this weekend’s long read, BWWW asks the question few Americans will:

Should we always be saying ‘Thank you for your service’?

beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/the-last-s...

The Last Shibboleth

Not All Veterans Are Created Equal

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · Aug 5

BWWW up to No. 17 in the Rising History charts today.

Thanks to all of our new subscribers, free or paying!

We’re pushing back against conjured reality, and will maintain a space for those who refuse to play ball with autocrats and their enablers.

beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/the-making...

The Making of Lauren Boebert

Anthropology, American Gun Culture, and Forgotten Ethnicity

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Before We Were White - Podcast @beforewewerewhite.com · Aug 4