Unhinged History: Recent Episodes
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Venture through the annals of the history you never learned in school. Uncover facts like Napoleon getting attacked by bunnies or details of the Beer Flood or 1814.
Whew. I hope you poured yourself a drink... Theresa starts off by sharing the creator of wifi, and the reason we have nice things like GPS and Bluetooth technology, Hollywood starlet, and Hedy Lamarr. Angie then shares the history of bourbon.
Why does the 1800s get all the greats?! Pop in your earbuds and check out Angie's retelling of The Great Locomotive Chase of 1862. It starts with stealing a train and ends with the United States giving the first Medal of Honor to the participants.
Few individuals live a life as unhinged as "Lord" Timothy Dexter. Living during the founding of the United States of America, Dexter goes from a poor uneducated son of farm laborers to a rich obnoxious uneducated neighbor. Join us as Theresa recounts the life of this man who keeps making money despite himself.
Prepare to be delighted with this week's stories. Angie starts us off by sharing the tale of Jerome of Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia. This mysterious man appeared on September 8, 1863. Theresa turns around and tells the story of Sergei Ponomarenko, the time traveler from Kyiv who shows up in 2006 with evidence he's been to 2050.
Join us this week for more incredible tales. First, Theresa shares the story of the 2002 mayoral election in Hartlepool, where residents voted for H'Angus the monkey mascot of the local football team to be their mayor. Stuart Drummond, the man behind the mask made for a surprising leader. Angie recounts her favorite mistress for the French king, Charles II, Nell Gwyn, and her exploits.
Join us as Angie shares the story of the Revolutionary War's Culper spy ring and Agent 355. Before you leave, stick around as Theresa recounts the problematic retelling of possibly trans man Catalina de Erauso, the lieutenant nun, who lived from 1592–1650.
Get your popcorn ready; we'll wait. Theresa shares the story of 6th-century Frankish queens, Fredegund and Brunhild. These two women married into the Merovingian dynasty and reigned against each other during the 40-year civil war. There are assassins. There are battlefield tactics. This story has it all.
Angie starts us out by telling the story of Cassius Marcellus Clay, Former United States Ambassador to Russia, abolitionist, and a man who was just born to fight. Theresa introduces Anandi Joshi, the very first female doctor in India.
What a roundup. This week Angie starts us off by sharing the history of tignons and the Tignon Law of 1876, requiring Black women to cover their hair. Theresa continues the thoughts of strong women with her retelling of Artemisia I of Halicarnassus, the female general, who fought against the Greeks under Xerxes in the Battle of Salamis in 480 BCE.
Come for the story featuring war elephants and stay for the tale about America's first female activist. Theresa starts us off by sharing the story of Prince Dejatch Alemayehu, the son of Tewodros II of Abyssinia who was stolen to England. Angie raises the mood by sharing Revolutionary activist, Penelope Barker and her Edenton Tea Party.
What a raucous roundup of stories this week! Start your podcast with a rousing tale of the WWII Danish Nazi Resistance fighter, Willem Arondeous, and jet back 400 years earlier with Angie sharing the story of Julie d'Aubigny, the French opera singer and duel-winning extraordinaire.
What a week. Theresa starts by sharing the story of Sally Ride, you know, the first American woman in space and her tie in to Pride Month. Angie refuses to be outdone and shares the story of William Dorsey Swann, the first drag queen of history.
Refresh your Victory red lipstick and settle in as Angie shares the story of fem fatale and WWII spy Nancy Wake. This delightful Australian bombshell joins the SOE and becomes "The White Mouse."
Sit back and relax as Theresa shares the story of Shelly Bauman and how losing her leg in Seattle's Bastille parade triggered the series of events culminating in the opening of the first disco. This club, named Shelly's Leg, was a gay dance club and resulted in Seattle embracing its LQBTQIA+ community.
Whatever you do, don't eat during this episode. Theresa shares the 18th-century story of the Frenchman known only as Tarrare and his insatiable appetite. Angie offers a palette-cleanser by telling the story of Rear Admiral Richard E. Bryd and his Hollow Earth theory.
Brace yourself for two seriously unhinged moments of history. This week Theresa starts with one of the first cults of personality Sarah Bernhardt, actress, artist, and shit-disturber. Angie refuses to be outdone and shares that time the US experimented with using bats to carry bombs to use during WWII.
What do you know about the least visited country in Europe, Liechtenstein? If you're like us, not much. This week Angie shares a brief history of this insanely small country, and none of it sounds real (like they have a yearly party where residents are invited to have a beer with the crown prince).
Ever hear of Grace Quackenbos Humiston, the attorney turned private investigator from the early 1900s? Dubbed Mrs. Sherlock Holmes she solves a host of cases using common sense. After listening to this episode, you'll see why Theresa is obsessed with her.
What a week. Theresa starts by sharing the story of the invisible billionaire, Daniel Ludwig (the man who paid PR firms money to ensure he stayed out of the press). Angie tops her tale by retelling the time that Josef Linowski (the Polish driver and engineer), Wolf-Diethard Knoppe (the Luffwaffa Starfighter pilot), and Manfred Ramminger (described as a German architect, playboy, race car enthusiast turned KGB agent) steal an AIM 9 sidewinder missile from the Neuburg Air Base in Bavaria.
Ever wonder about the origins of vampire tales in New Orleans? This week Angie shares the tale of the Casquette Girls of New Orleans from 1728. Their sickly appearance spawned rumors of vampires. Theresa steers the conversation in a completely different direction as she recounts the exploits of Sargent Stubby, the stray dog who served in WWI, and goes further back in history to share the tale of Jack Brutus, the mastiff serving in the Spanish-American War.
What a crazy mashup. Come for Theresa telling the story of the 1875 Dublin Whiskey Fire. Stay for Angie sharing the tale of Lawn Chair Larry and his epic flight using weather balloons and his trusty lawn chair.
Join us this week as Angie shares another military blunder. During Sept 21-22 1788, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor fought Serdar-ı Ekrem Koca Yusuf Pasha the Vizier and Sultan Selim 3 ...sorta.
What's better than a pointless bloodless war? Theresa leads this week in retelling the story of the Honey War of 1839. During this conflict Iowa and Missouri nearly start a war over three trees and a tax man.
Angie and Theresa celebrate April Fool's Day by recounting historical pranks. Angie starts us off with The Great Spaghetti Hoax of 1957 (that time Ricard Dimbley and Charles De Jaeger presented a fictitious spaghetti harvest on the BBC). Theresa follows up with Count Robert II of France and the Hesdin Castle that pranked its guests.
Theresa goes back to 1989 when the oldest active cold case investigation was solved. Join her and Angie as they tackle the NW Butter Crimes of the Great Depression.
This week Angie and Theresa explore Arthur Vickers and the not good, really bad day AKA the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels. Come for the historical tale, and stay for Theresa getting hung up on the names of the people in this story.
Take a raucous ride through history as Theresa retells the tale of the redoubtable General Antonio López de Santa Anna and how he lost his legs during the Pastry War of 1838. After that doozy, Angie regales us with how Fredrick the Great tricked his people into loving potatoes.
Join us as Angie walks us through a series of Civil War snafus that enable the enslaved Robert Smalls to pilot a gun-laden ship to freedom.
What do you know about the unhinged story of a notorious real-life jewel thief, Doris Payne? Spend this podcast listening to the highlight reel of the craziest movie never made.
Buckle up. It's a crazy week. Come for Angie telling the tale of Sundiata Keita, a.k.a. The Lion Prince, a.k.a. Mansa Musa's grandfather. Stay for Theresa gushing over the first Black-Native American aviatrix and barnstormer, Bessie Coleman.
This week Angie dives in with an old missing person case as she explores Dunkelgrafen. Theresa goes off on a tangent as she shares the Pig War of 1856 between Great Britain and America.
This week, Angie serves her favorite curses, and Theresa shares how the Han Dynasty started from a bad day at work.
This week Theresa kicks it off with the first Black samurai in feudal Japan. Angie covers Henry VIII's thorn in his side, Mother Shipton. What a pairing...