Encyclopedia Obscura

This week Casey takes us into space with the first man ever to leave the planet, Yuri Gagarin. Meanwhile, Karen dives into all things Venus both historic and galactic. This episode is in loving memory of Santos Morales. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Casey's Sources: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/space https://en.wikipedia.org/w...

Episode 2 of Opportuna Obscura our bonus show! These are our shorter bonus episodes where instead of following a topic we talk about where the internet has taken us the last few weeks. Fun fact, Opportuna means 'timely' in Latin.  Enjoy! Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Karen's Sources: https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/20/health/supernatu...

Choo! Choo! Karen drags us as far from the tracks as she can as she covers the Trolley Strikes and Strikebreaker Pearl Bergoff. Casey covers the urban legends around the San Antonio Ghost Tracks. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Karen's Sources: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport https://kenyonreview.org/2015/03/walt-whi...

This week Casey and Karen give Queens a second go (first time Casey's computer crapped out on her. Don't worry she has a new one now.) This weeks topics cover Queen Nzinga and Queen Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg. Spoilers, battle axes and love triangles? Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Casey's Sources: https://www.grunge.com/101210/...

Once again, Karen covers the Catholic Church with Cathars. Casey decides to head to the underworld with Hekate. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Karen's Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolamentum Walther, Daniel. “A Survey of Recent Research on the Albigensian Cathari.” Church History , vol. 34, no. 2, 1965, pp. 146–177. JSTOR , www....

This week we get dark with The Havre de Grace Opera House haunting and the sad death behind La Traviata. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Casey's Sources: https://eno.org/discover-opera/the-beginners-guide-to-opera/ https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/harford/aegis/cng-ag-haunted-opera-house-0703-20200703-qpmeq2relzhpho4ucayya6msly-story.htm...

This week Karen and Casey dive into the minds of others, literally. Karen covers Deja Vu while Casey covers Walking Corpse Syndrome along with Pica and Rabies. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Karen's Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/02/magazine/02dejavu.html https://brainblogger.com/2016/06/08/the-phenomenon-of-deja-vu/#:~:text=The%20...

This week we are happy to release our first Opportuna Obscura episode! In this weeks episode we don't follow a topic but instead show where the internet has taken us in the last few weeks. Fun fact, Opportuna means 'timely' in Latin.  Enjoy! Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Karen's Sources: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/sci...

This week Casey and Karen educate themselves on two people who shaped America but they never learned about in the classroom. Casey covers Medgar Evers, a civil rights movement hero, while Karen travels a little further back in time (but not by much) to talk about John Brown. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Casey's Sources:  https://www.angelf...

The ladies get "lit" in this week’s episode! Karen sloshes over spooky Magic Realism and Casey smashes Nostradamus. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Karen's Sources: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-literature-740531 http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/credo.htm https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/magical-realism h...

This week Casey and Karen go to the way back and the way way back. Casey covers Norton the 1st, a self proclaimed Emperor of the United States (surprisingly more well received than you would think).  And Karen talks about the complete creep Caligula. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Casey's Sources: https://www.toptenz.net/top-10-strangest-mon...

In this episode Casey and Karen, again, take the topic in widely different directions. Casey tells us about The Axe Man of New Orleans and his mysterious connection to Jazz. Karen tells us about Django Reinhardt, the first lead guitarist ever and the man who provided the soundtrack for the Anti-Nazi movement in Paris. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod ...

This timely topic has Casey and Karen looking for new angles. Casey covers the Pandemic that Never Was and Karen covers a disease that needs no immunization, Cowpox. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Casey's Sources: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200918-the-fiasco-of-the-us-swine-flu-affair-of-1976 https://www.discovermagazine.com/health...

Casey and Karen cover two vastly different heroes. Karen starts us off in Roman-ruled Britain with the story of Boudicca, the warrior queen. Casey introduces us to Frank Wills, the security guard who cracked the Watergate Scandal. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Karen's Sources: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_makes_a_hero...

Things get spooky this week when Casey and Karen share ghost stories. Casey takes us to the deep south and tells us about The Bell Witch. Karen gets dramatic in Hollywood with the story of Pickfair. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Casey's Sources: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ghost https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost https://www.google.c...

Casey and Karen take this weeks episode in completely different directions. Karen takes us to a Petrified Forest State Park and shows us why Casey is cursed. Casey covers the land and lore of New Jersey’s Pine Barrens. You guessed it, The Jersey Devil. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod    Karen's Sources: https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/petrif...

Casey and Karen head east for this episode and talk about the world's tallest peak, Mt. Everest. Casey breaks down the facts of the mountain and covers a more recent tragedy. Karen takes a long trek into all things Sherpa. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod  Casey's Sources: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/mount-everest/ https:...

Karen and Casey hit up the supernatural in this episode. Karen takes us back to the first dysfunctional family, involving stolen seed, talon toed ladies, and demon babies. Casey tells us a completely factual story about a creepy doll who she really believes is possessed. Karen has other ideas. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod  Karen's Sources: ht...

In this episode Casey and Karen saddle up in the Wild West. Casey develops a crush on Butch Cassidy of the Wild Bunch while Karen takes shallow dives with cowgirls, Belle Star and Rose. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod  Casey's Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/cowboys https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Cassidy https://w...

In this episode Casey and Karen get down and dirty with plants. Karen covers the old (The Magna Carta Yew) and the stinky (The Corpse Flower). Casey goes dark and tackles the plant that killed Socrates, hemlock. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod  Karen's Sources: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/legend-says-ankerwycke-yew-witnessed-signin...

In this episode Casey and Karen head back to the olden days. Casey talks about Alexander the Great starting with a clumsy assassin and ending with a  case of mistaken identity. Karen disparages the carelessness of men while she covers the Dead Sea Scrolls. Also lice, yuck. Artwork: Jovana Stekovic Logo:  nydaaa Music: Home Base Groove by Kevin MacLeod Casey's Sources: https://allthatsinterest...