New Season, New History

ARMCHAIR HISTORIANS — Season 5, Episode 1
“Under One Roof: A New Season, A New Chapter”

Hello, fellow Armchair Historians. Welcome back.

In this Season 5 premiere, I’m officially bringing everything I create—podcasting, historical fiction, research rabbit holes, vintage fashion history, and documentary work—under one roof. You can now find the whole universe (and all the links) at my home base:
https://www.amcannon.com/

We’re also living through a moment that can feel disorienting and heavy—when truth feels slippery, the rules feel optional, and basic decency can seem in short supply. That’s exactly why history matters. Not as escapism, but as a compass: a way to remember what happened, how people resisted, how communities survived, and what it costs when power goes unchecked.

This season, I’m leaning into the kinds of history I’m always drawn to:
• stories that amplify diverse voices
• lives lived at the edges of power
• the overlooked, the underestimated, the nearly-forgotten
• and the tangible traces of the past you can hold in your hand

NEW THIS SEASON: FIRST GUESTS
Our first two guests of Season 5:
• Janis Robinson Daly (historical fiction + women’s stories)
  https://janisrdaly.com/
• Barbara Stark-Nemon (award-winning author of women’s & Jewish historical fiction)
  https://www.barbarastarknemon.com/

A.M. CANNON + THE BEDLAM SERIES
My debut novel (Book 1 of The Bedlam Series), The Case of Lord Simon, arrives in May 2026.
Moving forward, I’ll be sharing updates, behind-the-scenes research, and historical context connected to the world of Bedlam—because the history behind the fiction is half the obsession.

Explore The Bedlam Series (and related goodies):
https://www.amcannon.com/items

Want a doorway into the series first? (The Sum of Broken Rooms):
https://www.amcannon.com/items/this-is-a-title-01

LAST TRAIN LEAVING BELGIUM (DOCUMENTARY)
I’ll also share occasional updates on my documentary project, Last Train Leaving Belgium. It’s currently on the back burner while The Bedlam Series gains momentum—but the story is still close to my heart.

Listen here:
Part 1: https://armchairhistorians.buzzsprout.com/1020073/episodes/16070462-last-train-leaving-belgium-part-1
Part 2: https://armchairhistorians.buzzsprout.com/1020073/episodes/16105753-last-train-leaving-belgium-part-2-jeff-lipkes

HISTORY I KEEP COMING BACK TO (DIVERSE VOICES + “WHY HISTORY”)
Victoria Woodhull — the first woman to run for U.S. President (1872):

Transcript

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 Hello, fellow Armchair Historians. Welcome back. I'm Anne-Marie Cannon, and today's episode is our Season five opening,

which means it's part celebration, part bulletin board, and part deep exhale . Over the years, you've heard me chase stories across time, interviews deep dives, research tangents, unexpected emotional moments, and occasionally me whispering, wait, what? Into a microphone. Behind the scenes, I've also been building multiple creative projects that all orbit the same center history.

For a while, those projects have been living in separate rooms, so to speak. Separate labels, separate tabs open in my brain at 2:00 AM not anymore starting now. I'm officially bringing everything together under one roof as one connected, creative home . Armchair historians is still here.

Still the heartbeat, but now it lives alongside my fiction documentary work and the other history drench projects I can't seem to stop making. So you can find me@amcanon.com . Because apparently I don't do hobbies I do historical ecosystems,

this is officially season five of armchair historians. This season is going to feel familiar in all the best ways, thoughtful conversations, deep research, surprising perspectives, but it's also going to feel more connected to what I'm building right now  as a creator.   I'm excited to bring you that process .

And we're kicking off the season with two guests. I'm genuinely thrilled for you to hear Janice Robinson daily, a conversation that feels like stepping into a room where the past is alive and emotionally real. Then Barbara Stark Neiman, whose work lives at the intersection of history and heart and whose conversation stayed with me long after we hit stop.

Janice Robinson, Daley, and Barbara Stark, Neiman season five is coming in strong.

Now I wanna take a breath and acknowledge something heavier. We're living in a difficult moment. It can feel like nothing makes sense anymore. Like the guardrails are gone. Like the rules of law and basic norms don't apply the way we were taught that they should. It can feel like human decency has left the room, or at least the White House, whether you agree with me, disagree with me, or you're just exhausted, here's what I know.

Now more than ever, history matters, not as trivia, not as escapism, but as a lifeline. History shows us what happens when power goes unchecked. History shows us how propaganda works. History shows us who gets erased first. History shows us the pattern and the price of silence and history also shows us something else.

People have resisted before. People have organized before. People have loved each other through terrifying times and people have rebuilt after. So this season we're going to keep doing what we do here. We're going to look hard at the past, not to despair, but to understand, to see clearly, to remember what's possible.

And that brings me to the kinds of history I'm most drawn to, the stories I choose to visit here, because they're not always the ones that get handed to us in neat little textbooks.

I'm drawn to diverse voices, people on the edges, people who were told no and kept speaking anyway. People whose existence disrupts the tidy versions of the past. For example, Victoria Woodall, the first woman to run for US president in 1872, a woman who refused to stay in the box history built for her.

Or the indigenous history of two-Spirit people. Identities that encompass gender fluidity and community roles that vary by nation and tradition. Two-spirit people have often been described as having the ability to walk between two worlds, between genders, between roles, seen in many communities as gifted, as spiritual, as significant.

That kind of history reminds us the present isn't the only way humans have ever understood identity. The binary only story is not the whole story. And then there are the mudlarks, which if you've been around here, you know I love with my whole heart Mudlarks, like Jason Sandy, Anna Borello, Lynn Pugh, and Simon Bourne, also known as SCI Fines.

Who spend their time sifting through mud and river banks for the traces of London's history, pre-history and newer tiny fragments, everyday objects, lost things that somehow survive. And what I love about that, what I really love is that it's history you can hold in your hand.

Not kings in battles, though those matter. Two but buttons, pottery, shards, tokens, the texture of ordinary lives. So in this episode's show notes, I'm linking you to a few past episodes that capture this exact spirit, Victoria Wood-all   two-spirit histories and the mud larking conversations.

So you can revisit or jump in fresh.

Okay. Deep breath, Anne Marie. 'cause this is the part that makes my voice do that thing where it tries to shake. But we're going to be brave. My debut novel, Bedlam, the case of Lord Simon comes out this may. This is book one of the Bedlam series,

a project built from years of research and obsession level note taking, set in a world where power, medicine, faith, class, and survival collide. And here's what that means for armchair historians. This is not turning into a book show, but moving forward, alongside our interviews and history episodes, I'll share occasional research vault moments, a detail I found that made my jaw drop behind the scenes updates on the series historical context. That shape the story and  highlights as the books roll out , because if you love history, you already know the past is a story factory. Sometimes the most responsible thing we can do is tell those stories with care . Now Let's talk about a project close to my heart. Last train, leaving Belgium. This documentary is rooted in memory and family history, how personal stories intersect with larger moments of history and how echoes travel across generations.

And here's the honest truth, it's on the back burner for now. Not abandoned, not forgotten. Just waiting Its turn while I focus my creative energy on launching the bedlam series and building momentum around the debut release. But when it's time to bring this documentary forward, again, you'll hear about it here because it belongs under the roof too.

And yes, because my creative life also includes a little glitter and a lot of time travel via clothing, vintage is part of this universe because vintage isn't just fashion, it's material culture, it's what people saved, what they celebrated, what they outgrew, what they mended, what they passed along.

So when it makes sense, I'll share these artifact moments too, because sometimes a single object can tell a whole story.

But before we jump into the season, I wanna say something quickly and sincerely, making the show, doing the research, booking guests, writing, and producing all of it. It takes time and resources. If you love what we do and want to support it, there are a few ways.

Choose what fits your life. You can support us on Patreon where I share extra behind the scene content and monthly ish creative updates in our member only space under one roof. Or you can leave a tip through PayPal, buzzsprout, or Kofi  as a  one-time. Thank you.

 And some of the most powerful support is free. Share an episode, leave a review, follow and subscribe and join the email list so you're not at the mercy of the algorithm. All the links are in the show notes and on my website, www.am cannon.com. It's one stop shopping for armchair historians. Historical fiction, bring it back vintage. The last train leaving Belgium. Thank you for being here and for listening, for caring about history and story and the messy human parts of both.

So that's the headline. Season five is here. Everything is Coming together under one Roof. Two incredible guests to start a debut novel launching in May, a documentary Waiting in the Wings and history. More necessary than ever.

All right, everybody grab your tea, your notebook, your emotional support timeline. Let's begin season five.

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