A couple years ago, two University of North Dakota faculty members, Brett Ommen and Joel Jonientz told the story of Christmas from a different perspective on their brilliant and tragically short-lived podcast, Professor Footnote.

Because the internet remembers, it is still available for our listening. Take an hour or so from Christmas festivities to enjoy these critical reflections. As Brett and Joel wrote a couple of years ago:

While folks are trying to put the Christ back in Christmas, we’re looking to see if he was ever there in the first place. From Dutch knickerbockers in New York and Thomas Nast in the Civil War to Coca-Cola and Montgomery Ward, we cover a history of the American Christmas to figure out why Charlie Brown was so glum.