Why did medieval Christians think the Mongols were Christians coming to team up with their Crusader bros to kick some Muslim butt? Well, it had to do with a fake news story about a certain legendary king called Prester John... Be sure to support the show at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod!
This one has it all: romance, plunder, mimes - and it all ends in a bloodbath! This story is without doubt the Pulp Fiction of medieval Irish literature, so here it is: The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel, told in the style of Quentin Tarantino! With a soundtrack by Twin Guns! Don't forget to support the show and get your perks at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod!
What Valentine did Edgar Allen Poe receive from his lover one fateful year? You'll find this along with many interesting old Valentines Day traditions in this special holiday episode. If you ever want to divine your lover's identity, this episode will teach you plenty of ways. Enjoy! And be sure to support the show at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod to get yourself drawn as a comic book character!
Another interview! Fin Dwyer of The Irish History Podcast talks to us today about the traumatizing impact of the Vikings on medieval Irish culture. You can also see me draw Fin's portrait on our Dead Ideas youtube channel! Don't forget to support the show and get your perks at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod! Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff.
Our first ever interview! Expert on women, sex, and magic Gillian Kenny gives a quirky and fun interview on the position of the fairer sex in medieval Ireland and their relation to geassa in the literature. You can also see me draw Gillian's portrait on our new Dead Ideas youtube channel! Don't forget to support the show and get your perks at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod! Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff.
More stories! We were having so much fun, we just kept recording. First is the tale of a satire-poet called Nede, followed by the saga of a young warrior named Connla who meets his grisly demise at the hands of his own father. Both these stores involve - you guessed it! - a geis. Don't forget to support the show and get your perks at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod! Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff.
It's story time! Andre promised to tell us a hell of a yarn, and he delivers. This is the medieval Irish story of Diarmuid and Grainne, a romantic (?) tale of two lovers and a geis gone wrong (or right? - you decide). Don't forget to support the show and get your perks at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod! Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff.
What was the social structure like in medieval Ireland? I know that sounds boring but believe me, it's not! It was way different than you think for a medieval society. Discover that and more today as we continue our series on the medieval Irish geis. Also, be sure to support the show at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod to get your portrait drawn! Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff.
Remember when your sister jinxed you so you couldn't talk till your mom said it was okay? A geis is kinda like that, except if you talk you die! A geis (plural geassa) is a soul-binding rule that kills you. We talk geassa and honor in this first episode of our EPIC-length series on the medieval Irish geis! Be sure to check out our new Patreon perks at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net....
Happy New Year! You can now get your portrait drawn as a perk for supporting the show on Patreon. We've got lots of other cool new perks too for supporters at all levels, so check it out at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod
Ghost stories on Christmas? Yes, actually. Remember the ghosts in Dickens' A Christmas Story? Turns out ghost stories were big on Christmas in British culture. So today, we are telling ghost stories from around the world: Sweden, Appalachia, and Japan! And don't forget: This is your last chance to get yourself drawn as a comic book character for free in exchange for an honest review before the portraits move to a Patreon model on Jan. 1st! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadidea...
Can you be hypnotized to commit a crime? Is the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari a real danger? Hear about this and much more from Dr. Tourette - yes, the man who discovered Tourette's Syndrome - as we read an article of his from 1888, entitled "The Wonders of Animal Magnetism." And don't forget to review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or social media to get yourself drawn as a comic book character! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.n...
Warning: This episode includes frank depiction of sexuality. Who were the women diagnosed with hysteria in Dr. Charcot's 19th-century hospital in Paris? Find out, as we focus in particular on two patients: Blanche, the "Queen of Hysterics", and Genevieve, the Saint-Hysteric. And be sure to review us so you can get your picture drawn in the historical time period and culture of your choosing! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, pics, references, and more at www.dea...
Warning: This episode includes frank depiction of sexuality. It's one of the oldest diagnoses on record: hysteria, the medical condition that for millennia attributed anything men found uncomfortable about women's behavior to their womb wandering around their body. What was up with that, how was it treated, and how did it reach its zenith in 19th-century France? Find out in this disturbing episode! And be sure to review us so you can get your picture drawn in the historical time period and cultu...
What in the h*** was "bicycle face", why were 1890s doctors afraid of it, and what does it have to do with feminism? Find out today in this single-episode series! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff.
Hear the tale of Miraculous Susan of Quaker Hill! What will this reveal about how people thought about Thanksgiving in 1893? Find out in this special episode featuring new guest co-host Jon! And don't forget to review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or social media to get yourself drawn as a comic book character! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff.
Can witches make men's junk disappear? Find out as we read the text that started the whole witch-burning craze: The Malleus Maleficarum! Fair warning: This is a complete trainwreck of a book! And don't forget to review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or social media to get yourself drawn as a comic book character! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff.
In this episode, Nick delivers stories from the inquisition trials of the Benandanti, and also goes into related lore from Livonia, Slovenia, Serbia, and more! Find out why the zduhać, or storm wizard, is the most bad-ass Dungeons & Dragons character class you'll ever play! And be sure to review us so you can get your picture drawn in the historical time period and culture of your choosing! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, pics, references, and more at www....
Happy Halloween! This new series is related to witches but not witches - it's the Anti-Witches! What was up with the Benandanti of Renaissance Italy? Why did they use fennel stalks to fight witches armed with sorghum sticks? And what did the Inquisition have to do with it? All this and more today on Dead Ideas! And be sure to review us so you can get your picture drawn in the historical time period and culture of your choosing! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, ...
Snap-apple! Dumb cake ceremony! Singeing your hair with candles! Never heard of such customs? Then you better check out this episode, where we get a first-hand account of Irish Halloween customs in 1886. Plus, you don't want to miss the spooky story of Red Mike's Rest. And best of all, we have a new pair of co-hosts joining us for today: Pete and Meagan! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design b...
In our latest installment of Public Domain Theater 3000, we read an article that still has to argue against the miasma theory of disease even as late as 1901. It also gives some interesting DIY techniques for fighting mosquitoes that you should NOT try at home! Don't forget to review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or social media to get yourself drawn as a comic book character! Find references, pics, and more at deadideas.net. Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod.
It's story-time: Play peeping tom with us as we peak into some wild court cases from the plague-stricken Italy of 1630. And be sure to review us to get your portrait drawn! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff.
Beware the foul air that causes plague! Put on your plague doctor masks and travel back with us to 17th-century Italy where people believed disease was caused by mutated air called miasma. And be sure to review us so you can get your picture drawn in the historical time period and culture of your choosing! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff.
We're back with Public Domain Theater 3000, where we read public domain works because we can, and no one can sue us for it. Continuing our Neolithic theme, today we've got an article from 1873 that attempts to describe our species' prehistory. Yeah, it's more than a little racist, but it also gives an interesting peak into the minds of 19th-century thinkers. Don't forget to review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or social media to get yourself drawn as a comic book character! Become our patron on Patreo...
Fun time, folks: We explore the many nutty and less-nutty ways historians throughout the ages have looked at Stonehenge and tried to imagine what in the f*** it was for. Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff.
Do you feel like schlepping 4- to 25-ton stones across open country and stickin' 'em in the ground is a good way to spend your time? If so, get ready to find kindred spirits! Travel back with us to Neolithic Britain, where we explore the time and culture of the builders of Stonehenge. And be sure to review us on iTunes to get your picture drawn in the historical time period and culture of your choosing! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, pics, references, and mor...
This bonus episode is the debut of our new segment called Public Domain Theater 3000, where we read public domain works because we can, and no one can sue us for it. Since there really isn't much more about the Ajivika in the literature to share than we already we have, we pulled a 1924 article where an Indian American attempts to explain Indian culture to an English-speaking audience. The author is none other than Dhan Gopal Mukerji, credited as the first Indian author ever to gain wide popular...
It's story time: it's the adventures of the Ajivika's founder, Makkhali Gosala! We read selected episodes from the Bhagavati Sutra, a text written by one of the Ajivika's rival sects, the Jains. As you can imagine, it is not particularly friendly to Gosala. Hilarity ensures. And by the way, don't forget to review us on iTunes to get yourself drawn as a comic book character! Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod. Maps, pics, references, and more at www.deadideas.net. Music ...
Ever feel like entering into somebody else's dead body and walking around in it for a while? Of course, you do! Travel with us back to ancient India in the 5th century BCE, where an ascetic religion called Ajivika believed you could totally do this. And be sure to review us on iTunes to get yourself drawn as a comic book character by us! See the website for citations, pics, and more: www.deadideas.net Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod.
Announcing the upcoming release of our first honest-to-goodness episode, coming September 6th! Until then, please enjoy this short intro episode that explains what in the hell this podcast is going to be about. Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod.
