Anna Jarvis organized the first observance of Mother’s Day in 1908 and campaigned to have it adopted throughout the U.S. But she then spent the next 40 years bitterly fighting to control every aspect of the holiday. In this week’s episode of the Futility Closet podcast we’ll follow the evolution of Mother’s Day and Jarvis’ belligerent efforts to dictate how it should be celebrated.
We’ll also meet a dog that flummoxed the Nazis and puzzle over why a man is fired for doing his job too well.