Mary Somerville was dubbed the Queen of Science, a title earned through a lifetime of learning all she could about various math and science subjects and then parsing those concepts out in her writing for more general audiences. Research: Collins, Helen. “Mary Somerville: Her Legacy for Women in Science.” Oxford Scientist. Feb. 11, 2022. https://oxsci.org/mary-somerville-her-legacy-for-women-in-science/ Gregersen, Erik. "Mary Somerville". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Dec. 2022, https://www.britann...
Nov 08, 2023•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast The shipwreck of the Empress of Ireland happened just before the start of World War I and was the worst maritime disaster in Canadian history to happen during peacetime. Research: Blatchford, Andy. “Empress of Ireland, ‘Canada’s Titanic,’ finally getting its due after 100 years.” Globe and Mail. 5/23/2014. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/empress-of-ireland-canadas-titanic-finally-getting-its-due-after-100-years/article18819164/ Boyd, Ellsworth. “Empress of Ireland was ‘Canada’s Tit...
Nov 06, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2017 episode examines the practice of British and French monarchs laying on hands to cure sick people from the medieval period to the 18th century. One disease was so often "cured" it came to be known as the King's Evil. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 04, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Holly discusses the strange reassurance she finds in examining historical crime stories. Tracy talks about the way Lenormand cartomancy decks differ from tarot. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 03, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lenormand was a fortune-teller in France in the 19th century. She was hugely influential, because despite her work being illegal, very important and powerful people consulted her for cartomancy readings. Research: "Marie Anne Lenormand." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 38, Gale, 2018. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631010818/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=13b27256. Accessed 5 Oct. 2023. “Madmoiselle Lenormand.” Chambers's Journal of Popular...
Nov 01, 2023•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast The story of what happened to Pearl Bryan is horrifying and frightening. The scandalous particulars of the events that led to her murder captivated the attention of the U.S. in the late 1800s, but Pearl gets sort of lost in the shuffle. Research: “An Awful Find.” Cincinnati Enquirer. Feb. 2, 1896. https://www.newspapers.com/image/30900213/?terms=%22body%20found%22&match=1 Associated Press. “Youth’s Depravity.” The Lexington Herald. Feb. 7, 1896. https://www.newspapers.com/image/680738959/?te...
Oct 30, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2019 episode notes that the Catacombs contain the bones of an estimated 6 to 7 million people, and explains that their history is really two interconnected stories of mines and human remains. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 28, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Holly and Tracy talk about pumpkin carving traditions and techniques. They also discuss Pearl Curran's life and the writing output of Patience. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 27, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Patience Worth was a popular writer in the early 20th century. But she was a 17th-century ghost, using Pearl Curran as her conduit from spirit realm to printed page. Research: Braude, Stephen E. “Dissociation and Latent Abilities.” Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. June 2000. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233449262_Dissociation_and_Latent_Abilities Cory, Charles. “Patience Worth.” Psychological Review. 1919. pp. 397-407. https://archive.org/details/psychologicalre01pratgoog/page/3...
Oct 25, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jack-o’-lanterns have become one of the most iconic symbols of Halloween. Their origin story isn’t exactly well documented, so tracing their roots involves some folklore, some agriculture, and literary influence. Research: Bachelor, Blane. “ The twisted transatlantic tale of American jack-o’-lanterns.” National Geographic. Oct. 27, 2020. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/the-twisted-transatlantic-tale-of-american-jack-o-lanterns?rnd=1696858487928&loggedin=true Ellis, Hurcules...
Oct 23, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2018 episode covers an uninhabited Italian island that has come to be called all manner of scary things, including, "plague island," "island of ghosts," and "the Venetian island of no return." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 21, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tracy and Holly talk about the bummer story that didn't make it into Unearthed!, kids who discover things, and Indiana Jones. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 20, 2023•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Part two of our autumn 2023 edition of Unearthed! includes potpourri, repatriations, shipwrecks, art, and a few perfect October entries. Research: “Early humans deliberately made mysterious stone 'spheroids'.” PhysOrg. 9/10/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-early-humans-deliberately-mysterious-stone.html Alutiiq Museum. “Archaeologists Recover 3,000-year-old Weavings from Ancestral Alutiiq Settlement.” Alaska Native News. 8/26/2023. https://alaska-native-news.com/archaeologists-recover-3000-ye...
Oct 18, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast In part one of our Autumn 2023 edition of Unearthed!, we have some oldest things, books and letters, projects specifically related to gender, edibles and potables, and animals. Research: “Early humans deliberately made mysterious stone 'spheroids'.” PhysOrg. 9/10/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-early-humans-deliberately-mysterious-stone.html Alutiiq Museum. “Archaeologists Recover 3,000-year-old Weavings from Ancestral Alutiiq Settlement.” Alaska Native News. 8/26/2023. https://alaska-native...
Oct 16, 2023•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2016 episode covers the Crescent Hotel of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. A colorful part of the hotel's history involves a man who claimed that doctors couldn't be trusted, and that he had the cure for cancer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 14, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tracy and Holly talk about the sloppy nature of the William Weare murder. They also discuss ghost stories that may have inspired other media, and Tracy's childhood memories of the Maco light story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 13, 2023•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast October seemed like a good time for an installment of Six Impossible Episodes all about ghosts and hauntings. A lot of these are very well-known in the places where they originated, but maybe not outside of those places. Research: Campbelltown Visitor Information Centre. “Frederick Fisher and the Legend of Fisher’s Ghost.” https://indd.adobe.com/view/8e2d788d-56b7-43a7-bf4b-a5c3620ee345 Dictionary of Sydney staff writer, Fishers Ghost Creek, Dictionary of Sydney, 2008, http://dictionaryofsydney....
Oct 11, 2023•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast William Weare's murder was brutal, gruesome, and a source of complete fascination for the public, and it set the stage for illustrated crime reporting. Research: Cunningham, Alice. “Radlett: The horrifying 19th century murder that put Hertfordshire's most affluent town on the map.” Hertfordshire Mercury. 11/18/2020. https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/news/hertfordshire-news/radlett-horrifying-19th-century-murder-4708130 Smith, Daniel. “'Murder jug' from 19th Century sells for big money.” Lei...
Oct 09, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2012 episode from previous hosts Sarah and Deblina covers the unusual circumstances surrounding Edgar Allan Poe's disappearance, reappearance, and death. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 07, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Holly and Tracy talk about college experiences with Gothic literature, and modern analysis of Ann Radcliffe's work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 06, 2023•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Once Ann Radcliffe retired from publishing, all kinds of rumors started to spread about her, including some that distressed her greatly. After she died, there was even more speculation. Research: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Ann Radcliffe". Encyclopedia Britannica , 5 Jul. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ann-Radcliffe-English-author Radcliffe, Ann. “The Romance of the Forest, interspersed with some pieces of poetry.” London. 1824. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.o...
Oct 04, 2023•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the space of a decade, Ann Radcliffe married, started writing, and had an incredibly successful career as an author. But after her 1797 novel, she retired, much to the confusion of her readers. Research: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Ann Radcliffe". Encyclopedia Britannica , 5 Jul. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ann-Radcliffe-English-author Radcliffe, Ann. “The Romance of the Forest, interspersed with some pieces of poetry.” London. 1824. Accessed online: https://www....
Oct 02, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2020 episode covers Mother Shipton, who may or may not have been a real person. She's described as everything from an oracle to a witch to the daughter of the devil, depending on which of the many sources you’re reading. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 30, 2023•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tracy talks about how Grimaldi's memoirs read more like a Dickens novel than a source of biographical information. Then, Holly and Tracy talk about plant diseases. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 29, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The eponymous Bramley and McIntosh apples are both lucky accidents, and both of them have stories which stretch from the early 19th century into present day. Research: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Ann Radcliffe". Encyclopedia Britannica , 5 Jul. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ann-Radcliffe-English-author Radcliffe, Ann. “The Romance of the Forest, interspersed with some pieces of poetry.” London. 1824. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/64701/pg64701-...
Sep 27, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Joseph Grimaldi was one of England’s most famous Regency-era entertainers. Sometimes he’s described as the first modern clown, because he established a lot of the hallmarks of clowning that still exist today. Research: Boyle, Laura. “Joseph Grimaldi, King of Clowns.” Jane Austen Centre. 4/14/2014. https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/uncategorized/joseph-grimaldi-king-clowns Grimaldi, Joseph. “Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi.” Edited by Charles Dickens (“Boz”), illustrated by George Cruikshank. London, Geo...
Sep 25, 2023•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2019 episode covers Frieda Belinfante who broke gender barriers in becoming a conductor. She was also a member of the Dutch resistance, who risked her life during WWII in defiance of the German occupation of the Netherlands. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 23, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Holly shares how Stewart appealed to women customers in his ads. Tracy shares some inconsistencies in the spelling of Isabel González's name in the official record. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 22, 2023•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Gonzales v. Williams is one of the Insular Cases, and because it was about the citizenship status of Isabel González of Puerto Rico, it stands out from the many other Insular Cases that focus on goods and tariffs. Research: Burnett, Christina Duffy. "’They say I am not an American...’: The Noncitizen National and the Law of American Empire.” Virginia Journal of International Law. Vol. 48, No. 4. 2008. Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court of the United States at October Term, 1903. “Gonzalez v. Wi...
Sep 20, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Alexander Turney Stewart is known as the creator of the department store. He make a fortune in business, but the most interesting parts of his life story come at the end – including after he died. Research: “Act of Congress Establishing the Treasury Department.” U.S. Department of the Treasury. https://home.treasury.gov/history/act-of-congress-establishing-the-treasury-department “A.T. Stewart’s Body.” New York Daily News. Aug. 17, 1879. https://www.newspapers.com/image/329793880/?terms=%22Alexa...
Sep 18, 2023•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
