Unhinged History

Leaning hard into Spooky Month, Angie and Theresa bring some stories that are real bangers. First off, Angie leads with the story of Evita, you know, Eva Perón. What you may not know is that this incredibly inspirational leader had a wild life after she died. Her body was specially embalmed and paraded around, buried multiple times, and that's not even the weirdest part. Theresa must have known An...

Sometimes Angie and Theresa share a special mind-meld where the topics have a surprising theme. This week, the theme is "sorta/kinda." Theresa starts off by telling the tale of Frederick Thomas Lynwood, the Muffin Man, London's first serial killer. In typical Theresa fashion, she catches down facts and ruins this delightful clickbait. Come for the creepy tale, and stay for all of the ways it could...

Angie takes over the whole episode this week, with the tale of Roberto Cofresí. This part is Robin Hood, mostly a pirate, hailing from Puerto Rico. He’d start his career after the golden age of pirates, but doesn’t let that stop him. Sit back and learn his historical basis before delving into his ghost stories persisting to this day. This story pairs well with: Jean Lafitte Join Patreon: https://w...

Sometimes, instead of finding resources and ignoring pronunciation guides, Theresa and Angie interview some really awesome people who do the work for them. This week, they interview Jason Bell, a Fulbright professor and historian. Jason's new book, titled Operation Sparrow, covers the little-known mission of sending three commandos behind enemy lines in Hungary during WWII, with the express missio...

This week is full of DYK sidebars, and we are not sorry even a little bit. Theresa kicks things off with the story of Mexico’s first Black president, Vicente Guerrero. Did she mention he was the second president in the country’s history?! Buckle in as she shares the very short presidency of Guerrero, who would still make his mark when he abolished slavery and established the possibility for a seco...

Sometimes the two unhinged hosts bring you stories you’ve never heard. Other times, we tell you stories you've likely heard. Today, we’re probably doing both. Angie kicks things off with her retelling of a very chaotic year in Rome. It’s the year the empire had five emperors and held an auction… for the emperorship? Throne? It was a whole thing. Meanwhile, Theresa is still on her survivor kick. La...

Another week, another set of stories that would never normally be told side by side. This week, Theresa kicks things off with the story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi – the only (recognized) man who survived both the Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bombings. Learn more about how someone who finds himself within two miles of the blast radius, twice, and lives to tell the tale. Theresa also covers why, even tho...

Welcome back to another week of unhinged stories. Angie kicks things off by sharing the origins of high school football and cheerleading. She knew how much eye-rolling Theresa would do, and did it anyway. She does, at least, mention that football started in China as a form of soccer. Then she shares the nonsensical cheers of the first cheerleaders. Theresa veers off in a wildly different direction...

This week, Angie and Theresa share a secret mind-meld, and both tell seafaring stories. Theresa kicks things off by telling the story of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. Oliver Perry is the brother of Commodore Matthew Perry, who has been involved in several episodes. It’s Oliver Perry who would fight in the naval battle of Lake Erie, in the War of 1812, and raise a flag saying, “Don’t Give Up the S...

This week, Angie kicks things off with Judge Crater's disappearance. Now, for those of us playing at home, this was the old-timey scandal. Judge Crater had links to presidential candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt and had cashed out a ton of money. He was dubbed "the missingest man in New York.” Warning: this is a cold case, and it annoyed Theresa. Pivoting sharply, Theresa heads back to the origi...

This week, Theresa and Angie do what they do best. Theresa kicks things off with the story of Mary Ellen Pleasant. This incredible capitalist, becomes a millionaire in 1800s San Francisco, invests heavily in Black communities, all while fighting lawsuits accusing her of fraud, theft, and even voodoo. Of course, Theresa is a huge fan. Angie takes things up a notch by sharing the tale of Boudica. Th...

Edit: In this episode, Theresa uses a term for indigenous Australians that is both outdated and harmful. At the time, she was unaware of this. Since this episode went live, we've been made aware of this. Moving forward, we will not be using that language and have donated to SharingStoriesFoundations.org. This group works with First Nations communities to keep the languages alive.  Life is weird an...

We have a special guest for our listeners this week. Nikki from the History Unlocked with Nikki podcast joins us and kicks things off by telling us one unhinged story. She tells us about the Cadaver Synod, which is the posthumous trial of Pope Formosus. This dude was dug up and tried by the current pope, who was deposed. The next pope condemned the affair, but he didn’t last long, and his replacem...

Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe. As a small, independent podcast, we rely heavily on those small actions to help. They’re free, and so are you. Hopefully. This week, both of the unhinged storytellers seemed to share a theme neither of them knew about. Angie starts off by telling us about Aaron Burr. Specifically about the time when Burr attempted to wage war against the US and create h...

You want tough women?! This week, Angie and Theresa share some absolute baddies. Theresa kicks things off with Diane Nash, who led the Freedom Rides. You know, those integrated bus rides in the deep south, where a bus was firebombed, the victims were arrested (after getting beaten by angry mobs). Angie pivots the episode into a wildly different direction when she shares the story of Amelie Elie, t...

Angie steals the entire episode to share a story of friendship in a time of war that you are not prepared for. In 1967, John "Chickie" Donohue, a merchant marine and Marine veteran, took up the mission to leave the safety of New York City by himself, with a dufflebag of Pabst beer, and deliver it to friends fighting in the Vietnam War. This impossible tale is apparently now a movie starring Zac Ef...

This week, Angie and Theresa share some incredible stories. Angie kicks things off with the story of Stormé DeLarverie. She is credited with throwing the first punch at the Stonewall Uprising, but did she? Theresa pivots and takes us to South Africa to tell the story of Simon Nkoli, the gay activist who campaigned for gay rights and against Apartheid. This episode pairs well with: Stonewall The Pi...

Sometimes Theresa and Angie venture into the deep past. Today, Theresa tells us about Thomas(ine) Hall, the intersex individual from Colonial America who spent the majority of their life swapping between sexes to live life. Then, to remind us about Father’s Day, Angie shares the story of “Big Daddy Cnut,” the Viking ruler whose empire spanned England, Norway, and Denmark. And yes, Angie does indee...

We are in the middle of Pride Month and celebrating with some brilliant heroes. Angie kicks things off with the story of Dora Richter, a German woman who was the first known person to undergo a complete transformation from male to female via surgery. Theresa moves into more well-known territory by sharing the life and background of the historic Sylvia Rivera. You might have heard of her, as she wa...

Some members of the LGBTQIA+ community are more well-known than others. One proponent of equal rights in the movement was Marsha P. Johnson. This week, Theresa shares how Marsha was assigned male at birth and later moved to New York, where she could live into her full identity. There she was, present at the Stonewall Uprising, established a program to help homeless street youth, and tirelessly wor...

You are not prepared for this week’s mashup. Theresa tells us the story of the Compton Cafeteria Riot, that nearly forgotten time in San Francisco when a group of queens stood up against police discrimination. While this occurred three years before Stonewall, it isn’t well-known or credited with kicking off Pride Month. However, it was this event, and events like it, that paved the way for the tip...

It’s a wild week. Angie kicks things off by telling the story of D’Artagnan and really fleshes out the whole story. Come for this guy’s quick rise to power and his ability to stay one step ahead of all the palace intrigue. Listen for the point where Angie shatters Theresa’s thoughts when she tells her that D’Artagnan actually outranked Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Theresa veers off in a different d...

Theresa celebrates a full-circle moment as she shares how a Frenchman, Jules Brunet, attempted to stop the fall of the Shogunate in Japan. Podcast favorite character, arms-dealing Matthew Perry, makes a cameo as Theresa connects many dots to previous episodes. Angie reminds us all to call our moms this Sunday as she regales us with the story of Atossa, Queen Mother of Persia. This woman made more...

Unhinged History strives to bring you the stories you’ve never heard of in your history class, and this week is no exception. Angie kicks off this week by exploring the Silk Road and the heist that liberated silkworms and opened the door for countries other than China to produce this incredibly luxurious textile. Theresa veers off in a wildly different direction as she shares the story of Nakahama...

Look at Unhinged History, we are known for a couple of things. A love of the National Parks Service content, stories you’ve never heard, and banter. This episode is basically more of the same. Theresa takes the entire episode to share the story of Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi and the Battle of Attu. For most of us, we never realized that the Battle of Attu was the only time since the War of 1812 that the...