Christmas Past

It's Christmas Past's first live show! Join Tim Babb from Can't Wait for Christmas and Brian Earl for an hour of games, music, and conversation, recorded outside the Great Dickens Christmas Fair in San Francisco. This is the first time the Dickens Fair has hosted a live podcast recording. 

At the turn of the 20th century, the idea of kids writing letters to Santa Claus was still new. Post offices, newspapers, and charities publicly disputed how to handle the letters. It was a logistical and public relations problem, which would take a clever plan to address.

John Gluck was a workaday customs broker who dreamed of bigger things. So when he heard that the Postal Service needed help with letters to Santa, he came forward with a plan to get the letters into the hands of donors. With a little help from a troop of boy scouts, John Gluck and his Santa Claus Association did the (seemingly) impossible.

What happens when a charitable endeavor starts looking more and more like an elaborate con? As Gluck sought to expand operations, he started playing fast and loose with the facts in order to raise money and hobnob with the rich and powerful.

During the Great War, fraudulent wartime charities abounded in New York City. When the district attorney started a sweeping investigation, John Gluck found himself in his crosshairs. But that was just the beginning of his troubles.

You'd think that Gluck couldn't make things worse for himself...but you'd be wrong. He finds himself the subject of more investigations, and gets himself into hot water with the state Attorney General. But this isn't the end of the Santa Claus Association. But...that is coming.

In the early 20s, John Gluck wanted to reinvigorate the Santa Claus Association to its original glory, with the help of some high profile endorsements.But along the way, he crossed the one man who figures out the stunningly simple way to shut down Gluck once and for all.

Your favorite Christmas radio station may have you thinking that there are only about two dozen Christmas songs (mostly from the 1940s and 50s) worth listening to. Nonsense! In this episode, I share some new music worthy of your next Christmas playlist. 

I'm back with another Ber Months Bonus episode. This week, I read the classic short story by Hans Christian Andersen: The Little Match Girl. 

I'm back with another Ber Months Bonus episode! This week, I'm taking you inside Christmas Con 2019.   

I'm back with another Ber Months Bonus episode! This time, I read you the short story "Keep it all the Year" by Sarah Tipper.

I'm back with another Ber Months Bonus episode! This time, I have the honor of sharing an audio piece by Chantelle from All Things Christmas. Learn all about Christmas in Japan!

I'm back with another Ber Months Bonus episode! This time, I read the 1921 short story, "A Christmas Adventure," by J. E. Chamberlin.

I'm back with another Ber Months Bonus episode! This time, I present a special "best of" sampler from Todd Killian's podcast, Christmas Clatter.

I'm back with another Ber Months Bonus episode! This time, I read you a forgotten Christmas short story, "The Christmas Present" from 1922.