Take a listen and learn about Nellie Bly, or Elizabeth Cochran. She was a pioneer in the filed of investigative journalism, famous for going undercover as a patient to expose the horrible conditions in mental institutions and for traveling around the world in less than 80 days to break the record of the fictional Phileas Fogg. Her various turns in life lead her to running a steel company and being a war correspondent on the eastern front of WWI in addition to her more well know stint as world tr...
Mar 28, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 215
The Voynich Manuscript is a roughly 240 page hand written and illustrated manuscript that appears to be from the early renaissance which appears to be filled with information about plants, biology, astronomy, and other subjects but has proven completely impossible to decipher. Originally purchased by Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, it has been eluding the best cryptographers ever since. Will someone ever crack the code, or is the manuscript possibly just a giant nonsensical joke? Take a listen an...
Mar 21, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 214
In 2016 the Tromp family living on a farm near Melbourne, Australia appeared to suffer a group delusion and went on an impromptu family road trip. The disappeared suddenly, leaving behind, money, vehicles with keys still in the ignition, and many other strange things. Within a few days all were located. Some had left the group and tried to make it home, others seemed to exhibit strange paranoid behavior and were hospitalized. None of them know why they left home or why they suddenly feared for t...
Mar 14, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 213
When you think of Western philosophy, science, and thought, almost everything traces back to the philosophers of ancient Greece. Take a listen as we discuss Socrates and friends.
Mar 07, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 212
Today's episode is about the history of automobile safety. From improvements in roads and signage, to improvements in driver training, to improvements in crash survivability, we recount the long (sadly slow) march of progress from the days of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride to the modern roadway.
Feb 28, 2023•43 min•Season 1Ep. 211
The Third Man Syndrome or Third Man Factor is a phenomenon wherein a person in extreme duress will suddenly feel the presence of another that helps guide them through the ordeal. Is this an example of a common mental disassociation that occurs under extreme stress or some sort of guardian angel or other paranormal event? Take a listen and see what you think.
Feb 21, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 210
In 1970 a the remains of a woman were found in the Isdal valley near Bergen, Norway. She was burned over the front of her body and unrecognizable and strangely all of the tags on her clothing were removed as well as any other identifying marks on any personal items. Police have speculated about her identity for over 50 years, slowly piecing together strange facts that lead many to think she was a spy. The investigation into her identity has recently been reopened using modern technology that has...
Feb 14, 2023•43 min
Charles Babbage was a 19th century inventor and polymath who is most famous for inventing the programmable digital computer in a purely mechanical as opposed to electrical form. He was joined by Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron, who was an early visionary with ideas about the application of computers beyond mere calculation.
Feb 07, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 208
Gather your pocket full of posies and plague doctor's mask, it's time to discuss the Black Death. The bubonic plague struck Europe in the 1340s and resulted in one of he most devastating pandemics in human history. We discuss a bit about the disease itself, the history of the pandemic, how it lead to the Renaissance and the fall of Feudalism, and how it is still with us today, virtually unchanged.
Jan 31, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 207
King Tutankhamun or King Tut is probably the most well known Egyptian pharaoh due to his unspoiled tomb being found and unsealed by Howard Carter in 1923. Learn a bit about his life, when he reigned, what ailments he suffered from (hint, Royal Incest was def. a thing), and how his tomb was discovered and opened over 3000 years after his death. Is there really anything to the supposed Curse of Tutankhamun?
Jan 24, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 206
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was an Oxford mathematician and photographer with a knack for telling stories and entertaining the children of his friends. At the request of Alice Liddell he wrote down the stories he told of her imaginary adventures underground, and the work became famous as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with Dodgson adopting the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. Come learn the history behind his adventures of Alice, his active hobby of photography, and how changing social norms resulted in ...
Jan 17, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 205
Ever wonder where your fork and spoon came from? This episode is all about the invention of eating utensils: Chop Sticks, Spoons, Forks, and the backwards cousin of the table setting, the Spork. Take a listen and learn of the great wickedness of the fork users and England's most celebrated spoon.
Jan 10, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 204
Our topic this week is the HIV virus and what science has uncovered about how and when it crossed over and mutated from the SIV virus that infects African primate populations. We also discuss when the virus is most likely to have first shown up in North America (hint: probably earlier than you think) resulting in the American AIDS epidemic.
Jan 03, 2023•46 min•Season 1Ep. 203
Come learn about the history of New Year's Day and New Year celebrations from around the world. Time to sit back, eat some Hoppin' John, much on some Niangao, and taste some Samanu as we tour some traditions.
Dec 27, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 202
It's the Christmas season, and what better way to kick it off than to discuss Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Come learn a bit about what inspired Theodor Geisel to create the Grinch, how the subsequent TV shows and movies were made, and a bit about the in-world continuity of The Grinch. (apologies for the audio quality... had to record without the good microphone)
Dec 20, 2022•40 min•Season 1Ep. 201
Mixing fantasy and true crime for our 200th episode. The idea of a Changeling, a replacement creature left in place of a child or other relative taken by the fairies, is a concept that permeates through most European cultures. Sometimes real life parallels folklore and we discuss three true crime stories that involve real life changelings.
Dec 13, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 200
The International Space Station (ISS) has been a model of international cooperation, being run by five cooperating space agencies (US, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada). It has been continuously manned since November 2000, having housed people for more than two decades. Listen in and learn about its history, purpose of operation, and uncertain future.
Dec 06, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 199
The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886 as a gift to the United States from the people of France. We discuss the history of the statue, so well known bits like the statement above, and others less well known, such as the Statue being damaged by an explosion in 1916 set by German agents. Take a listen and find out the hidden history of Lady Liberty.
Nov 29, 2022•41 min•Season 1Ep. 198
The Filles du Roi or Daughters of the King, was a term used to describe roughly 800 young French women who's dowries and passage to the new world was paid for by King Louis the 14th in an attempt to correct the imbalance of men in New France and help encourage the creation of families and the agricultural settlement of the territory. Between 1663 and 1673 these women braved the trip across the ocean to an unknown future for the hope of new life and possibly new love in the new world.
Nov 22, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 197
We discuss the invention of manmade snow and how its usage at ski resorts around the world has increased economic activity but also resulted in many unintended impacts.
Nov 15, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 196
We discuss two topics tied to birth control: Margaret Sanger's fight to make birth control and information about it accessible to American women and George Rosenkranz and his work to synthesize human sex hormones which led to the creation of mass produced contraceptive pills.
Nov 08, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 195
The concept of wandering spirits seems to be ubiquitous across cultures. While most will say they don't believe in ghosts by the light of day, this stand gets a bit less firm in the middle of the night when strange things happen. Why do we tell ghost stories? They are told all around the world and continue to be told over the years so there must be a reason for their existence. Do we all just like the thrill of a scary story, or are there larger societal reasons that we cling to our ghost storie...
Nov 01, 2022•57 min
Haunted houses are a hallmark of the Halloween season in the United States. When did they become a thing and when did they morph into the modern high end professionally run houses of today. Buckle up and take a listen.
Oct 25, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 193
Listen in and learn about Pepper's Ghost, an illumination technique developed in the the 1860s and still in use today to project ghostly images onto the stage where they can be seen to appear in apparent three dimensional reality. The technique has had a resurgence in recent decades allowing a deceased Tupac to perform at Coachella, and Michael Jackson to perform at the Billboard Music Awards.
Oct 18, 2022•40 min•Season 1Ep. 192
George Remus went from celebrated defense attorney at the onset of Prohibition to one of the most notorious bootleggers in the country. After he eventually landed in jail, his wife Imogene ran off with an FBI agent and liquidated his multimillion dollar fortune. Remus subsequently shot and killed Imogene in a public rage and defended himself in court, managing to get himself considered temporarily insane. If you want drama, this story has it, so have a seat and take a listen.
Oct 11, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 191
Now that we have reached October, it's time for some spooky season stories. Today we discuss one of the scary creatures from Irish folklore, the banshee. Rumored to wail in signal of the impending death of those who hear it, the Banshee has roots that go back to the 8th century. Are there wailing female forms haunting the Irish countryside, or are there other creatures a bit more mundane in origin that might have given birth to the legend.
Oct 04, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 190
We discuss the horrific case of the Radium Girls, young women who worked for companies in the early 20th century painting watch dials with glowing radium based paint. They were told the product was harmless and were allowed to ingest it and use it as a fashion accessory. Almost all of the women came down with serious health effects and radiation poisoning while their employers did their best to cover the issue up. The case eventually became on of the driving forces that led to the founding of OS...
Sep 27, 2022•49 min•Season 1Ep. 189
New historical anthropology has unearthed a treasure trove of artifacts relating to the many Chinese workers that worked for the Central Pacific Railroad constructing the Transcontinental Railroad across the United States. Information about he workers has been sparse due to the disinterest of racist railroad managers in keeping information about Chinese works at the time on this side of the Pacific, and the Cultural Revolution in China destroying primary sources of that side of the Pacific. Come...
Sep 20, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 188
Imogene Rechtin started a campaign in 1910 to ban the pernicious scourge of kissing. It's probably not a great spoiler to say that she failed in her attempt, but take a listen an find out about her group, the World Health Organization (no, not that WHO), and it's attempt to rid the work of kissing.
Sep 13, 2022•36 min•Season 1Ep. 187
Thomas Andrew Parker, better known as Colonel Tom Parker, is famous for being Elvis Presley's controlling manager during is career. However, few knew that he was not from West Virginia as he claimed, but actually an undocumented Dutch immigrant named Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk who arrived in America under some highly sketchy circumstances. Take a listen and learn all about Colonel Tom.
Sep 06, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 186
