American History Remix: Exploring Overlooked Topics & Offering Different Interpretations

 In the 2020 trailer to American History Remix, co-hosts Will and Lyndsay explain to listeners: "We'll look at topics that are often overlooked or offer a different interpretation to a well-known topic. We'll look at the ideas and trends lurking below."

Right from that trailer, it's clear this podcast is not a "scratch the surface" history show.  As citizens, we think we know history, but we don't. After listening to numerous episodes of this superb podcast, I realize that history is more than a set of facts. 

Will and Lyndsay explain: "So many people don’t have the time or energy to dig into a complicated historical topic, even if they are genuinely interested in learning more. We felt that a podcast is a great way for people to consume reasonable amounts of information and possibly gain a better understanding of their own experiences. If they want to see where our information comes from or to learn more, we always include our resources in the episode transcripts on our website."

 American History Remix is a podcast that explores America’s past. Moving chronologically through U.S. history, each episode draws from the best scholarship in the field. The show explores often-overlooked subjects and offers different interpretations of well-known ones. The show covers social, environmental, and political history.

 Will notes: "We wanted to take academic history and present it in a way that a general audience can follow. We try to walk the line between rigorous scholarship and accessibility."

An example of an ear-worthy episode is from July 29, 2025 -- The Great Depression & Dust Bowl. The show spends almost an hour reviewing the tragedy of both events. Then, the podcast offers a B-Side bonus episode on the same topic later on. This time, Will and Lyndsay are discussing what they skipped or left out. 

The co-hosts work well together with an easy-breezy chemistry between them. Let's take a look at the hosts.

Will Schneider earned his MA in history from Portland State University in 2017. He specializes in the social and intellectual history of the United States. 

His research interests include the American West, American religious history, the nineteenth century, and music history. In his free time, he enjoys biking, playing music, and spending time with his wife, daughters, and dog. 

About the show, Will observes: "Podcasting has a lot of little moving pieces that were not obvious to us at first. We enlist professionals to at least give us a foundation when something completely outside our experience pops up, and we ask friends who know better, but we ultimately are left to figure things out as we go. It would be so much easier if we could just create the content and let other people take care of the rest!"

 Lyndsay Smith enjoys researching and presenting history in a way that anyone can find value in and enjoy. She encourages listeners to ask questions and dig into their own research, regardless of their educational backgrounds. 

She earned her MA in history from Portland State University in 2018, specializing in environmental history and public history. Her research interests include American urban environmental history, food and beverage history, the Gilded Age- Progressive Era, and cool history stuff in general. In her free time, she enjoys watching professional wrestling, listening to podcasts, and spending quality time with her husband and three cats.

 Lyndsay and Will are the only full-time members who contribute to the podcast. Recently, Cathy Saks, the 2020 Oregon History Teacher of the Year, has joined the team and helps create curriculum based on the podcast episodes, so teachers can use the material in the classroom.

Cathy Saks taught U.S. History in a public high school for 31 years.  She earned her BA in history from the University of Oregon and both her Masters in Teaching and MA in history from Portland State University.  She is currently enjoying retired life and spends her time gardening, reading, and serving on the board for the On the Move Community Integration Program.

 Lyndsay and Will met in Grad school at Portland State. They were in the same cohort in the MA program. Lyndsay ran the history department’s podcast called Beyond Footnotes for a couple of semesters. Their first-ever collaboration was when she interviewed Will for the show. One of her specialties is public history, which brings history to a general audience outside of academia.

Will knew less about public history, but he did go to school for audio engineering and spent a year in New York working at a recording studio before deciding to return to school to study history. His music production skills have come in handy on the podcast.

Lyndsay explains: "After grad school, we stayed in contact and eventually decided to collaborate on a project. It took us over a year of discussions, suggesting and rejecting ideas, and playing around with the form before we settled on the current format."

For Lyndsay, especially once the COVID pandemic hit, the podcast was what allowed her to stay connected to public history after grad school. From the beginning, we gave the project the same caliber of care and attention that we would give any hired position. Only, we get to have more fun with it since we have complete control over the content we create.

Discussing the premise of the podcast, Will says: "Each episode takes a topic that is either generally unknown or takes a familiar subject and examines it from a fresh/unique angle. It’s important to us to cover a variety of historical sub-fields. We have episodes about war, music, public health, beer, religion, and economics. We hope the listeners enjoy this collage of stories that span American history from the colonial era to the 20th century."

"The research comes from each of us," the hosts explain. The subjects of each episode dictate who does what research. There is give-and-take, but Will is the main writer. He drafts a script, then Lyndsay edits it.

Will says: "Lyndsay is a very good editor. She finds the flaws in the scripts. Then Will does another draft, and she edits it again. This goes on for 6 or 7 rounds and will sometimes include an outside reviewer." 

When asked where they record the podcast, the hosts admit: "Will records the podcast in his spare room. He and Lyndsay select the takes and do an initial edit before outsourcing the audio to a professional to do a final polish. Lyndsay records in her parts in her closet." 

Lyndsay explains the format of the show: "Will is the host. We are both heard on the special episodes, like the Q&As and the B-Sides. Having Will as the primary narrator for the podcast helps maintain consistent sound quality. Plus, he's just good at it. Over three seasons, he's honed his radio voice."

On the show's website, the hosts offer: "HEY TEACHERS! Want to use American History Remix in the classroom?  We’ve got you covered. We offer a variety of teaching materials for each and every episode, including study guides, note-catchers, vocab lists, and more. Help your students learn about American history in a fresh way."

American History Remix is one of the best History podcasts in the industry. It's an indie podcast with extremely talented people working who don't want to just help listeners learn about history, but also love it.

The show is easy for listeners to connect to because all the components fit so seamlessly together. The music, the narration, the tone, the co-hosts, and the topics all blend into an easy-to-consume product that should attract anyone interested in history.