HILF: History I'd Like to F**k

Just in time for Halloween, but good for any time you're feeling like you need a spooky kick in the literary brainpan.   The Raven was first published in January, 1845 by the dark and troubled poet, Edgar Allan Poe .  He would die, a mysterious death, four short years later and leave generations of to wonder about him. Makes you kinda' want a whole HILF episode about him, don't it?  ...stay tuned....

Join Dawn and guest, actor Peter Breitmayer , as they discuss this little known story from American History. Meet heroes like Sid Hatfield and Mother Jones, and villains like Albert Felts and that murderous cunt, CE Lively.  It's a tragic story of labor unions and the powerful monopolists who dropped literal bombs on them - in a page that was missing from all our history books.  Dawn's Sources Boo...

From the aftermath of the Challenger Disaster, to the rollercoaster investigation, get ready for the Ride of your life.  Dawn is rejoined by her guest Adam Andreasen , an artist in central Wisconsin and her friend since childhood, indeed he was sitting next to her the day the disaster unfolded on TV.  --- LISTEN TO EP46 - CHALLENGER DISASTER, PART 1 --- LILFS: (Links I'd Like to Follow) Dawn's Sou...

When Challenger broke apart shortly after launch over Cape Canaveral, seven people died. The most well-known to the American public was Christa McAuliffe, a school teacher. She had won a well-publicized national search,  making her something of an American Celebrity - especially among school children, many of whom watched the tragic launch from their classrooms.  Join Dawn and her guest Adam Andre...

If you lived through this event from 25 years ago, you'll find it's a complicated walk down memory lane:  The blue dress, The Cigar, and that back-stabbing bitch, Linda Tripp.  If you're new to this one, come learn how talk of pink thongs and blow jobs were suddenly brought into America’s living-rooms NOT by the demon MTV or Playboy… but by the nightly news. The 90’s man…  Dawn's guest is Kelly Bl...

Dawn's guest, Clarione, is an artist who has been something of a secret admirer of Oscar Wilde since his days visiting the OW Bar in NYC.  Together he and Dawn start with Wilde's birth and follow his story through the extraordinary peaks and valleys of his remarkable life.  LILFS: (Links I'd Like to Follow) Get the children's book Clarione illustrated, A PEACOCK AMONG PIGEONS (now banned in Florid...

In the hot-seat with Anne is Dawn's guest, Enkrypt (Rocio Paredes) who grew up in LA's Highland Park 'before gentrification'. She took her deep love of the neighborhood and the people she grew up with to her work as a photographer and director... but first she was a hacker's worst nightmare.  Join Dawn and Enkrypt for the sad and sordid tale of the Tudor King and just one of his doomed wives.  LIL...

The life of Coco Chanel is one of an extraordinary person living through extraordinary times. Born into poverty she rises not only to revolutionize the fashion industry, but to become so wealthy she can throw a giant diamond into the sea to piss off her boyfriend. Buckle up for the bad bitch, Coco Chanel.    Dawn is joined in this HILF-ing by Amanda Michelle, a comedian, film-maker and fashion con...

If you think five lil' ol' billionaires in a submarine caused a big reaction... wait til you hear what happened with the Original! Dawn and guest, Ashely Richards - That’s So Fucked Up - return for the conclusion of the HILF-ing of Titanic. From the retrieval of the bodies by the intrepid crew of the MacKay Bennett, to the re-discovery of Titanic herself in 1985. LILFS: (Links I'd Like to Follow)...

Titanic. The infamous passenger ship that struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic in 1912, and slowly sank. About 2,200 people aboard, but only enough lifeboats to hold half of them - and that was if every lifeboat had been filled to capacity... which they weren’t. Whether you’re new to this story or can recite every word of dialogue from the 1997 film,  we’re all getting wet with this one. Guest,...

Dawn is joined by guest, Michelle Mosher for this batshit story of War, Resistance and Survival. You will thoroughlly enjoy being HILF'd by Hannie, Truus and Freddie - the Dutch Resistance Heroines of World War Two.  LILFS: (Links I'd Like to Follow)  Book: Seducing and Killing Nazi's by Sophie Poldermans Sophie Polderman's Ted Talk. (She's a fox, by the way.) HILF is now on Patreon!  See Dawn on...

Even if they aren't dissecting alien bodies and reverse-engineering alien spaceships, what they ARE doing at Area 51 is still pretty fuckable. Dawn unfolds even more panty-dropping stories from the top-secret airbase in Nevada, including the beginning and end of the U2 - a super-secret spyplane.  You will be on the edge of your seat... right before you're erected. I mean ejected.  LILFS: (Links I'...

Many of the government documents on Area 51 were declassified starting in 2011. It still leaves behind a web of mystery and intrigue, but many long-elusive questions are finally answered and some crazy-fuckin' stories are revealed. Dawn is joined by actress ( and craft-ress ) Lainie Pahos for some top-secret fuckary that will have you hiding in a bunker before you can say "Roswell".  --- LILFS: (L...

They’re in children’s books, Shakespeare, they frequent dreams, nightmares, porn... and their tiny footprints can be found in virtually every culture on earth. In this episode we discuss all the various theories about Fairy-origins, their appearance, the things they can supposedly do - and why many, many people around the world believe they are real.   With Dawn in these enchanted woods is her bes...

Join Dawn and guest, comedian, Jeff Zenisek for some of the best stories from the history of Tennis. Hear how the birth of tennis coincided with the death of a king, and about legendary rivalries between tennis greats - all fought while wearing itty-bitty shorts. Hear Jeff's hit podcast TWO WOKE BOYS . You can also find him on Youtube , Instagram and Tik-tok . LINKS I'D LIKE TO F*CK Watch the 1973...

Dawn's Mom (Lana) and two big sisters (Anne & Lisa) recently came for a visit to Los Angeles and were lured with whiskey to sit down and HILF the surprising history of The Vibrator. It is today a well-known sexual device, however, when it was first invented it was used medically to loosen tight muscles... around the vagina. Its primary application was to cure women of the ancient malady of Hysteri...

Jason Ryan is an actor and comedian based in Los Angeles. He assigned Dawn the history of AA , in part because his own journey with the organization was complicated and he didn't leave feeling particularly good about it. Together we dissect not only the origin of Alcoholics Anonymous, but the individuals at it's core, and how it has evolved over the last 88 years to become what it is today.  < < E...

James Connolly is a stand-up comedian and former marine who attended Harvard. He and Dawn have a remarkably jovial time HILF-ing the history of Dooms Day. Because we have been predicting the End of the World for time immemorial, Dawn breaks it down  into: The Faith-based Theories on the end of the world. The Science-based Theories The Great Take-Backs - Not only those very specific predictions thr...

Dawn and guest, Peter Vogt , have a bloody good time revisiting the mysterious series of unsolved murders in Whitechapel, 1888. They cover the "canonical five" victims attributed to the unknown killer known as 'Jack the Ripper' - as well as the many theories from both then and now.  [ Episode transcript ] 00:00:00 - An introduction of Peter and the general history surrounding Whitechapel, a poor s...

Dawn welcome's Canadian-born, LA-based comedian - Renee Percy.  Together, they have an electrifying conversation about the scientist, Nikola Tesla, who is to thank for so much of our technological advances today... no matter what you drive.  00:06:37 - Renee tells Dawn about why she doesn't "know history" and how the subject of Nikola Tesla occurred to her and he-hem sparked her curiosity. 00:11:4...

In the previous episode [The Donner Party Part 1] Dawn and her guest, Andy Kraft climbed aboard with The Donner Party wagon-train as they begin their ill-fated journey West. We met some of the most prominent individuals including George Donner - after whom the sad collective is named. Also James Reed, who tragically murdered his friend, John Snyder and was subsequently banished. He left, promising...

Dawn's guest is actor and writer, Andy Kraft . He is a longtime friend and colleague - together they've done everything from romantic comedies on screen, to portraying water droplets on stage. Andy can be seen in countless commercials, episodes of television (including the final episode of Brooklyn nine-nine ) and is the hand up the bum of some of your favorite puppets! 00:07:44 - Andy explains wh...

Dawn usually records around her kitchen table, but as guest, Kristal Adams , recently had her cars stolen, she instead packed up the recording equipment and headed to Kristal's place near downtown Los Angeles. As it turns out, the quietest and most comfortable place to record was smack in the middle of Kristals bed. Tres bien.  00:03:55 - Dawn goes through Kristal's most exciting credits including...

Dawn's mom, Lana Adams, was roped into recording with her while on a visit to Los Angeles from the small town of Wisconsin Rapids - in central Wisconsin. We learn that Lana is a little shy, but very smart, well-traveled - and wise in the ways of packing 'a roadie.'  00:09:13 - Dawn asks Lana why she chose The Radium Girls as her HILF and she gives her primary sources and plan for the episode: BOOK...

Dawn met guest, Mary Whiteside , while they were both backlot tour guides at Universal Studios, Hollywood. When Mary suggested the HILF subject of the Supreme Court, Dawn was a bit stymied. The legal system can feel a little dark, a little depressing, and just too damn hard to understand sometimes - with the dates and the names and the precedents and -- what's an amicus? Which is why Dawn immediat...