How well do you know Newt Gingrich's early life?

The Life and Early Years of Newt Gingrich

• Jamie and Bambi Chambers introduce their podcast, Chainsaw History, where they make fun of historical figures, and discuss their subject of the episode, Newt Gingrich.

• Jamie clarifies that he is not a historian, but he has taken a history class from Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America.

• The Chambers announce their website, Chainsaw History.com, with paid subscription options and bonus content.

• The episode contains discussions of American politics, and the hosts warn listeners who prefer their history free of political drama.

• The Chambers discuss Newt Gingrich's role in the "Republican Revolution" of the 1990s, which pushed the GOP to the right and set the precedent for modern-day partisanship in Congress.

• Sources for the episode include the book Burning Down the House by Julian E. Zelizer and the PBS Frontline documentary "The Long March of Newt Gingrich."

• Newt Gingrich was born to a single mother, Kathleen Daugherty, and a father who was abusive and abandoned them during World War II.

• Bob Gingrich, a stern Army officer, adopted Newt, and raised him with strict rules and tough love.

• Newt was a precocious child, with a love for animals and a collection of snakes, but lacked affection from his father.

• Newt's mother struggled with depression while raising the children alone, and the kids learned self-reliance.

• Newt's love of animals would be a running thread throughout his life and career in politics.

• At age 11, Newt presented a proposal for a zoo to the assistant director of Parks & Recreation in Harrisburg, which sparked his interest in government and politics.The Early Years of Newt Gingrich

• As a child, Newt Gingrich was interested in animals and once tried to convince the city council to build a zoo in his hometown.

• Despite failing to convince the council, Gingrich's efforts were covered by the Associated Press and other media outlets, giving him his first taste of attention and recognition.

• Gingrich's stepfather advised against him being in the paper and was generally unsupportive of his ambitions.

• As a child, Gingrich enjoyed movies, particularly westerns and war films starring John Wayne.

• Gingrich's poor eyesight and flat feet prevented him from pursuing a career in the military.

• A visit to the World War I battlefield of Verdun with his stepfather had a lasting impact on Gingrich, making him recognize the role of politics in shaping the world.

• Gingrich wrote a 200-page paper about global naval power for fun and was inspired by Theodore White's book, The Making of the President 1960, which argued that the Republicans lost the election due to a lack of a clear vision.

• Gingrich was a serious and studious teenager who tutored a popular girl but was more interested in older women, including his high school geometry teacher.

• Gingrich founded a chapter of the Young Republicans at Emory University and married Jackie Battley, a math teacher, against his parents' objections.

• Gingrich's parents did not attend his wedding, and he converted to southern Baptist to match his wife's faith.

• Gingrich became a Ph.D. student in history at Tulane University and was influenced by futurist Alvin Toffler's ideas about rapid change in technology and society.

• Gingrich's political ambitions were already evident during his college years, and he was involved in the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War protests.The Early Years of Newt Gingrich: Campus Activism and Controversial Dissertation

• Newt Gingrich was a college student during the 1960s, a time of campus unrest and political activism.

• He briefly experimented with drugs and attended a Jefferson Airplane concert with a friend.

• He became involved in a protest movement against censorship at Tulane University.

• Gingrich organized on behalf of Nelson Rockefeller in the 1968 presidential campaign, opposing Richard Nixon.

• He pursued a Ph.D. and wrote a dissertation titled "Belgian education policy in the Congo, 1945-1960."

• The dissertation praised the Belgian colonial government's efforts to develop Congolese society, despite the country's ugly history of forced labor, mutilation, torture, and sexual exploitation under King Leopold II.

• Gingrich did not visit the Congo for his research and did not cite many Congolese sources.

• In 2010, Gingrich made a controversial comment suggesting that President Obama's behavior was only understandable through an understanding of "Kenyan, anticolonial behavior."

• Gingrich has long been a supporter of animal welfare and wildlife conservation.

• He moved back to Georgia after college to teach history and build a new kind of Republican party.

• The author of the text plugs their website and bonus content, as well as a charity for wildlife conservation.

• The text ends with a reference to Jefferson Airplane, the band Gingrich saw in concert during his college years.