Under the Mat: A Dark History Podcast
Under the Mat is a dark history podcast uncovering the overlooked corners of our collective past, centring feminist and anti-violence perspectives to challenge how we remember. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Episode 27: The Sixties Scoop
Alston-O’Connor, E. The Sixties Scoop: Implications for Social Workers and Social Work Education. University of Windsor. https://ojs.uwindsor.ca/index.php/csw/article/view/5816/4747Cameron, C. (2018). The Sixties Scoop tried to extinguish o…
Episode 26: 2SLGBTQ+ Rights in Canada
Bradburn, J. (2021). ‘A turning point in our history’: Remembering Canada’s first major gay-rights protest. TVO Today. https://www.tvo.org/article/a-turning-point-in-our-history-remembering-canadas-first-major-gay-rights-protestBenchetrit, …
Episode 25: Unmarked Burials, Denialism, and the Role of Youth in Reconciliation ft. Benjamin Kucher
CORRECTION: 2025 marks the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, not the fourth. Host Aubrianna Snow speaks with Benjamin Kucher about unmarked burials, residential school denialism, balancing academic and community respon…
Episode 24: The State of Reconciliation in Canada
CORRECTION: 2025 marks the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, not the fourth. If you need support, please contact the National Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419 or dial 988 if you are experiencing thought…
Episode 23: Canada's Residential Schools
CORRECTION: 2025 marks the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, not the fourth. If you need support, please contact the National Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419 or dial 988 if you are experiencing thought…
Episode 22: Prisons
Anderson, A. (2023). Prison Abolition is Needed Now. Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/mcrp-journal/blog/prison-abolition-is-needed-now-prisons-and-jails-do-not-keep-anyone-safe/Ba…
Episode 21: The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Chmielewski, K. (2025). The First Atomic Bombs Tested and Used During World War II. Brittanica. https://www.britannica.com/story/discover-more-about-the-first-atomic-bombs-tested-and-used-during-world-war-iiHarry S. Truman Library. (n.d.). …
Episode 20: Violence and Femininity Through the Lens of the Ken and Barbie Killers
Disclaimer: I experienced some minor tech issues with my microphone while recording this episode. I apologize for any impact on the sound quality and appreciate your patience — everything will be back to normal next episode!Butts, E. (2018)…
Episode 19: Abuses at Abu Ghraib Prison
Breckler, S. J. (2004). How Can the Science of Human Behavior Help Us Understand Abu Ghraib? American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/physical-abuse-violence/abu-ghraibChaloux, L. (2012). Convergence of Errors: Leaders…
Episode 18: The Wives of King Henry VIII
Elton, G.R. & Morrill, J. S. (2025). Henry VIII. Brittanica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-VIII-king-of-England Historic Royal Palaces. (2025). Henry VIII, Terrible Tudor? https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and…
Episode 17: Mental Health Treatment & Care
Concordia University, St. Paul. (2020). A History of Mental Illness Treatment: Obsolete Practices. https://online.csp.edu/resources/article/history-of-mental-illness-treatment/Department of Justice Canada. (2023). The Mentally Ill: How They…
Episode 16: RMS Titanic
Boileau, J. (2022). Titanic. The Canadian Encylopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/titanicDaugherty, G. (2025). The Long, Strange Trip of the Titanic Victims Whose Remains Surfaced Hundreds of Miles Away, Weeks After t…
Episode 15: Kwame Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Post-Colonial Foreign Interference
Abbey, A. O. (2023). The Educational Impact of Military Coup D'etats in Ghana on Education. York University. https://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/items/34e9c030-1d9c-4c1f-8c99-60d19ff59d53BBC News. (2016). Four more ways the CIA has meddled i…
Episode 14: Broken Arrows
Adams, S. (2022). The lost nuke of British Columbia. Legion: Canada’s Military History Magazine. https://legionmagazine.com/the-lost-nuke-of-british-columbia/Gorvett, Z. (2022). The lost nuclear bombs that no one can find. BBC. https://www.…
Episode 13: Colombian Bananas
Caro, J.E.E., & Vidal Ortega, A. (2012). The worker's massacre of 1928 in the Magdalena Zona Bananera - Colombia: An unfinished story. Memorias, 9(18), pp. 22-54. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262504044_The_worker%27s_massacre_of…
Episode 12: Universities Pt. 2
Brown, S.M. (2025). Harvard Under Fire for Slashing Slavery Initiative Staff as Black History Faces Nationwide Attacks. The Washington Informer. https://www.washingtoninformer.com/harvard-terminates-staff-slavery-initiative/CBC Radio. (2021…
Episode 11: 1914 Sealing Disasters
Baker, M. (n.d.). The Struggle for Influence and Power: William Coaker, Abram Kean, and the Newfoundland Sealing Industry, 1908–1915. Memorial University. https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/nflds/article/view/21477/24946 CBC News. Sealin…
Episode 10: Dentistry
American Dental Education Association. (2023). History of Dentistry. https://www.adea.org/godental/Dentistry-101/history-and-data/history-of-dentistryCBC Radio. (2017). From tooth pullers to dentists: Dental care's 'really painful' history.…
Episode 9: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Fadulu, L. (2023). After 112 Years, Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Victims Get a Memorial. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/11/nyregion/triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-memorial.htmlHistory.com Editors. (2024). Triangle Shirtwaist …
Episode 8: The Beothuk People of Newfoundland
Cecco, L. (2020). Canada: DNA discovery lends weight to First Nations ancestral story. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/10/dna-canada-first-nations-ancestral-storyHillier, B. (2021). There’s nothing to prove it, but …
Episode 7: Camp Sumter (Andersonville Prison)
American Battlefield Trust. (2024). Andersonville Prison. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/andersonville-prisonBrittanica. (n.d.). Andersonville. https://www.britannica.com/place/Andersonville-GeorgiaDavis, R.S. (2020). Anderson…
Episode 6: Kent State Shootings
Aftoora-Orsagos, P. & Rubinkam, M. (2024). Troops fired on Kent State students in 1970. Survivors see echoes in today’s campus protests. AP. https://apnews.com/article/kent-state-ac60fdcb2a2dc852e49ee9fc2e6aaf31Diacon, T. (2024). The Long S…
Episode 5: Parenting & Childhood
Amezcua-Patino, L. (2023). Nurturing Through Time: The History and Evolution of Parenting. Medium. https://medium.com/raising-a-beautiful-mind/nurturing-through-time-the-history-and-evolution-of-parenting-224cd17a3eb8CBC Radio. (2019). Pare…
Episode 4: The Salem Witch Trials
Blumberg, J. (2022). A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-salem-witch-trials-175162489/Linder, D.O. (1995). Tituba. UMKC School of Law: Famous Trials.…
Episode 3: MK-ULTRA
Annable, K. (2017). 'She went away, hoping to get better': Family remembers Winnipeg woman put through CIA-funded brainwashing. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/mkultra-cia-velma-orlikow-1.4449922Banerjee, S. (2023). MK-ULT…
Episode 2: Universities
Anthony, A. (2024). ‘Eugenics on steroids’: the toxic and contested legacy of Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/28/nick-bostrom-controversial-future-of-humanity-institute-cl…
Episode 1: The Great Hunger (The Irish Potato Famine)
Resources Canada Ireland Foundation. (n.d.). Irish Famine Migrant Stories in Ontario. https://irishfaminestories.ca/en Cantwell, J.D. (2017). A great-grandfather's account of the Irish potato famine (1845–1850). Baylor University Medical Ce…
Episode 0: About the Podcast
Hi friends, my name is Aubrianna Snow and I’m the creator and host of the Under the Mat podcast. I wanted to begin this podcast with some brief notes about who I am, why I’m pursuing this project, and what it is and is not. First let me say…