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

Guest, Jose Barrientos is a stand-up comedian and professional hacker - who also happens to love Horror Movies.  He begins by telling Dawn what a 'professional hacker' does - and yes, it is a bit more like Jason Bourne than you may be prepared for.  00:08:15 - Dawn and Jose discuss their favorite horror movies and why. Inevitably, part of the reason any given movie scares us more than another has...

In August of 2022 my husband Andrew Melby (everyone, including me, calls him Melby) and my 4 year old daughter, Beatrice went on a 16 day trip through Italy. It was a first visit for all of us and we had spectacular visits planned from Venice to Amalfi - but I had only one Can-Not-Miss on my list: Pompeii. The Ancient City destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD. One of my all-time HIL...

Dawn welcomes Joe Dungan a guy who likes HILF and Baseball so much he asked to be drafted as a guest. Together Dawn and Joe cover the origins of the game, as well as Dawn's top 3 HILFs from baseball's history: Shoeless Joe Jackson, Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson. Play ball! 00:06:30 - Dawn starts with the mythical origin of Baseball: Cooperstown and Abner Doubleday. A lovable story that, perhaps wa...

Dawn's guest, Joe Brogie , began performing magic around his home town in Nebraska until he moved to LA in 2018 to start a career in Voice Over (you can hear him as Matty in Nickelodean's "The Beatbuds - Let's Jam!" ). Joe is also a comedian, actor and has appeared on Jimmy Fallon .  00:00:00 - Joe discusses his track from Nebraska to Los Angeles and the similarities he has found between performin...

Dawn recorded her first episode of HILF in June of 2021 and- as a podcaster - came in rather cold. Microphones, editing and distribution were new, but a love of History and way with people were very familiar territory. What follows are short clips from each guest, in the order they were originally released... but with no other order whatsoever. Welcome to the HILF ORGY. --- 00:02:20 - EP01: FRANKE...

About 40 people joined Dawn and special guest, Rachel Scanlon in The Glendale Room for a night of comedy, history and Lesbians! Not included in the recording, was the first part of the live show which featured stand-up comedy from Ryan Ripple [ Guest from 'THE F WORD - EP. 6 &7 ] and Rachel Scanlon. We learned a lot about Rachel during her set, including that she has hit some impressive weight-los...

For over a year during the Covid Lockdown, Zari was the only person outside of Dawn's house that she spoke to in person. Chats in doorway turned to coffee on the patio - turned to tea at her kitchen table - which eventually became whiskey on the couch. More than once she found myself at 1o’clock in the morning awash - not just in the Makers Mark Zari pours so generously - but in her captivating ta...

Lauren Prichard is a renowned actress and improviser whose credits include Disney, Upright Citizens Brigade and MADtv. She and Dawn work together as street improvisors in the New York Window element at Universal Studios, Hollywood - and they're mutual fans of one another.  Lauren's knowledge of the life of Joan of Arc is limited to her appearance in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - and as the na...

Dawn and guest, Brian Kiley , were backstage at a comedy show when they first realized their shared love for History. In this episode, the two get to really let their nerd-flag fly and take turns sharing their favorite LOL moments from a wide variety of people, places and timelines. Prepare to feel (comparatively) less stupid in this episode devoted to History's Great Mistakes: 00:04:40 - Before w...

It is one of the darkest, yet most alluring parts of early American History, and although it only lasted for one year [1692-1693] the Salem Witch Trials spellbind us to this day. Dawn sits down with guest, Alex Malt , who is eager to get into this bewitching history and go visit his hometown sites with more authority next time.  00:07:42 - After some catching up and chit-chat, Dawn gets into her s...

It may seem unthinkable now - people considered it unthinkable at the time - but for about 13 years in America, alcohol was constitutionally banned. The 18th Amendment made criminal the distillation, transportation and distribution of alcohol. It was never, however, illegal to drink it. Ah-ha. An American-sized loop-hole. Prohibition was a dark and exciting time - the birth of jazz clubs, speak-ea...

Rashid and his wife Kasey started the social channel THE BARLESS TENDER during covid for all of us boozehounds who found ourselves suddenly bar-less - but no less-thirsty. Not only do they demonstrate how to make bitchin’ cocktails - but he serves up each one with an accompanying dose of history. I KNOW! So I invited Rashid over and in he came with a little cooler filled with fragrant and intoxica...

Christine Blackburn is not only the guest for this episode, but also the gracious host as we recorded at her kitchen table in Los Feliz, California. Christine is the host of the long-running and much-loved podcast, Story Worthy - and it's live show counterpart, Story Smash .  00:01:53 - Thanks for being here. We’ve shared a joint… you’re holding a cat. No two women have been more prepared. Dawn in...

Wayne Federman , author of The History of Stand-Up , makes it clear early in his book - and in our conversation - that this is not the history of Comedy in general. We are not necessarily concerned with when the first cave-man made a fart joke.  We get into how the modern day performance style, 'STAND-UP' came to be. We learn who were the originators, how it evolved, and where might it be going ne...

As Shelby and Dawn resume the tale of Mary Read and Anne Bonny from PART 1 , they begin with a discussion of how they themselves earn their loot - not as pirates, but even more notorious - as entertainers in Los Angeles.  00:00:00 - Shelby asks Dawn how she began doing stand-up comedy and Dawn explains how the path from being a Theater Major led her here. Dawn also explains why she loves comedy an...

00:01:56 - Actor, Shelby Young , a fun and funny FORCE to be reckoned with.  Leia - Star Wars Forces of Destiny Rayna - Baby Shark’s Big Show 00:03:15 - Also, Shelby is a babe. Top shelf mega babe. What else on camera? Everybody Hates Chris Criminal Minds American Horror Story Wild Child 00:04:15 - Stay-Puft Marshmallow man, ‘uncredited ’. What is this? 00:05:14 - They discuss where Shelby grew up...

Welcome to a particularly delicious romp through the history of the Spice trade with my guest, 'television's own' Wayne Wilderson . His IMDB Credits read like a CVS receipt and you'll find he is as effortless on the microphone as he is on camera.  00:04:55 - After telling you a little bit about where we are (and why I'm wearing my daughter's Hello Kitty Headphones) Wayne tells us a little bit abou...

Dawn and Ryan continue their conversation (and open another bottle of wine) as they jump right back into the history of profanity, beginning with Ryan's favorite swear word, 'shit.' PART 1 00:03:30 - Dawn begins with the fun (but likely false) theory that the word 'shit' originated with the shipping of manure - and the necessity for it to be stamped with the instructions to Ship High In Transit. 0...

The name of this podcast includes profanity, so it may not be terribly surprising that Dawn was delighted to embrace the subject of the next episode: The F-Word Her guest is the delightful and hilarious, Ryan Ripple , and together they discuss not only the origin and creative utilization of our favorite curse word - but the history of cursing in general. We also get into the science of swearing an...

When my husband, Andrew Melby , suggested that Krampus would be a good HILF subject to do for our first Holiday episode, he unwittingly stepped into the guest seat.  Krampus - the pagen-era Yuletide devil that predates the Baby Jesus - is an awesome and intriguing subject to delve into; proving that the only thing that surpasses Melby's taste in podcasts, is his taste in women.  PART 1 Welcome and...

No one expected James K Polk to be president. He was a quiet, frail, Tennessee Democrat with no military record who had just lost his governor's seat... again. But history is a party my friends, and the fascinating and winding road that leads him into the White House in 1844 is wild ride. Thanks for coming along! My guest is the hilarious Meryl Klemow - she is a comedian, podcaster , and impossibl...

It was the day before Thanksgiving, 1971, when the last passenger boarded a short flight from Portland to Seattle. With no ID's required to fly at the time, he paid for his ticket with cash ($20) and signed in as 'Dan Cooper'. He  then sat alone in the back row drinking bourbon and smoking cigarettes.  Later that night, he would parachute out of that plane with $200,000 ransom and never be heard f...

John Dillinger’s career was short.  The time between his first bank robbery and his killing by the FBI on the streets of Chicago, was just under 21 months. His impact on American culture, however, is immeasurable. He was especially handsome, conspicuously charming and ever-bold in his actions. As the Great Depression worsened - as far as the general American was concerned - a polite gun-slinger wh...

Mary Shelley began writing her novel, Frankenstein, in 1816 when she was only 17 years old. Today it remains one of the most-assigned books of all time, finding it's way into classes ranging from Law to Scientific Ethics to Fashion to Politics.  Readers and historians have argued for centuries which is more intriguing - the book or it's author - and Dawn is here to tell you... Yes.  Guest, Helen S...

This is a brief introduction, a way for host, Dawn Brodey, to say hello and give you a little taste of what HILF is all about. Glad to have you aboard! Dawn Brodey on Instagram HILF on Instagram