Do you know about the oldest murder in the world? What about the power of the axes wielded by the Egyptians and the Greeks? What about the axe murder that set off the Seven Years’ War and by extension, the American Revolution? Get ready.
Usually the process of screening a book for the podcast goes something like this: I receive a big catalog from the press and then thumb my way through it looking for stuff I think is interesting. However, when the folks at St. Martins Press sent me an email about Rachel McCarthy James’ new book, I stopped in my tracks.
Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder.
Oh hecking yes. Let’s do this podcast.
Now, this pod will probably never be devoted to true crime (those podcasts are actually profitable), but murder seems to be a historically human thing. And as my new friend Rachel shows, people have been murdering other people for a really long time.
In today’s pod, Rachel and I delve into the historical significance of the axe, exploring its evolution from a primitive tool to a symbol of power and violence across various cultures. We also get into the cultural impact of axe murders in true crime narratives, and the role of the axe in warfare, particularly in Viking and Egyptian contexts. Gender scholars might dig this because we also touch on the domesticity of the axe, its representation in pop culture, and its association with masculinity and femininity. We also talk about George Washington and Tanaghrisson at Fort Necessity and what one grisly murder tells us about sexual norms in the mid-20th century.
In the clip below, Rachel shows how one Viking woman and her axe turned the whole idea of Norse masculinity on its head.
About our guest
RACHEL MCCARTHY JAMES was born and raised in Kansas, the daughter of baseball’s Bill James and artist Susan McCarthy. She graduated from Hollins University in Roanoke, VA, where she studied writing and politics. Her first nonfiction book, The Man from the Train, was written in collaboration with her father and published in 2017. She lives with her husband Jason and pets in Lawrence, KS.
Find her book
Find Whack Job on Amazon or wherever you get your books.
This is a really fun book and an equally fun podcast. Find links on Apple and Spotify below or wherever you listen to your pods.
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-Jason