History Buffs or Bluffs

Have you ever had the feeling that you weren't alone? That maybe there was someone watching you that you couldn't see? Have you ever had that feeling while in the supposed comfort of your home? As terrifying as it sounds, the act of phrogging is a very real occurrence and seems to be a worse form of squatting. Mainly because the homeowner had no idea that there was something on the other s...

That's right, we're doing zombies! Specifically, the origins of zombies in history, and how they came to the big screen. And as is fitting for zombies, they have a dark past. Bringing their religion over with them on the slave ships, West Africans in Haiti mixed theirs with the Roman Catholicism that their French rulers forced onto the slaves, creating Haitian Vodou. And a big part of Hait...

Happy Spooky Season! We're back with part two of The Valley of the Headless Men! Sydney and I will dive right back in, continuing with Charlie Mcleod's gruesome discovery. After that, we'll go over more headless mysteries and some hair-raising spooky events that took place in the Nahanni Valley. Did the Mounties ever discover the true reason for all these missing heads? Is it still a m...

Welcome to episode one of our spooky series, History Tricks or Treats! During the month of October, every episode will dive into the weird, creepy and terrifying! Our first episode takes us into the Canadian wilderness of the Northwest Territories. Specifically, the Nahanni Valley. Join us as we go over the ancient history of the valley, and of the First Nation tribes that occupied it. How two tri...

Guests are just a thing now! Today we're joined with Sydney's sister Sonia (who also knows nothing about history), and we are going to go over the little known search that a certain patriotic country conducted for the Holiest of mugs...The Holy Grail! In the midst of the War of 1812, the Second War for Independence against Great Britain, the young nation of America had their back against t...

Want more guests? You got more guests! Madison, host of It's a History Podcast joins us to discuss the Cadaver Synod of 897! The 8th and 9th centuries in Rome were a time of intense political and religious struggles. This was because the Boot was controlled by not only an emperor but also the Catholic Church. The position of the pope became an incredibly influential one, and soon wealthy famil...

Wouldn't you just love it if you won the lottery? Think of everything you could buy! All the debt you could erase. Think of the instant relief you must feel. As incredible as that feeling must be, you never can know what will happen in the next second of your life. Marcellus Manning was born in Jim Crow South Carolina. A poor, young black man, he knew early on that the world he lived in wasn't on...

We have a special guest for this episode! Everyone welcome Lynette Kleisner, host of Buried in the Attic: Stories Grandma Never Told Us. Lynette is a genealogist and every episode she shares stories she’s stumbled across in her own research. She discusses surprising, fascinating and sometimes unsettling discoveries she’s made. Follow her and listen to her podcast! But for now, join her and us as w...

WE ARE BACK, and we are excited to bring you more episodes! Join us as we catch y'all up on what we've been up to, go over our first Mini Buffin, and we also play a new game, This or That! This or That will be two stories, both with the same title. One will be a buff and the other will be a bluff. Kyle will tell both back to back and then Sydney, and you listeners, will have to guess which...

We're celebrating Independence Day a bit late, but better late than never! Join us as we talk about a lesser known battle, but one that was incredibly important for the American Colonists. If you didn't know, the war against the British Empire was a grueling struggle of defeat after defeat. The Thirteen Colonies were constantly on the run and desperately in need of a way to turn the tides....

Let's take a trip to 1700s Croatia, where the legend of zov pijetla is remembered even today. In the central town of Sisak, three major rivers converge and made the town the center of the river transport industry for the country. During a rather intense season of rainfall, a lone wild rooster began running through the streets, cawing at the townsfolk and refusing to stop. Fed up with the const...

It's our 20th episode! This week we are changing it up and Sydney will be telling Kyle a historical tale that is either completely true or totally made up. Join us for the most dramatic beauty pageant in history, where the tsar of Russia handed out roses... I mean handkerchiefs, and women from all over Russia came to live in a mansion to compete for the tsar's heart. Tsar Michael of Russia...

We're back with a special guest! Welcome Alycia, the host of Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast. She's going to join us today, discuss her podcast, and try to figure out if this story will be a history buff or bluff! Let's follow the dirt trail from Independence, Missouri to the beautiful landscape of the Oregon coast, on the Oregon Trail! Guides and explorers alike mastered this t...

Join us on a trip down unda! We're discussing British convicts, penal colonies, escape attempts, and the horrible things someone has to do to survive in the Tasmanian wilderness. In 1822, in Macquarie Harbour in Van Dieman's Land, eight criminals made an attempt to flee into the brush. One of those men was Alexander Pearce, who would be the lone survivor. How did Alexander manage to surviv...

We're jumping back into war with the longest recorded war in history! With the fall of the Roman Empire, provinces were suddenly left without a ruler. Kingdoms began claiming land for themselves, and soon began looking to expand into neighboring territories. And three kingdoms started butting heads: Britannia, Spania and Francia. As the Anglo-Franco-Spanish War begun in 546, no one could tell...

Howdy, partner! Join us as we dive into a crazy, wild story set in the wild west! When wannabe bank and train robber Elmer McCurdy began his life of crime, he was expecting riches beyond his meager upbringing. However, life, as it always had been, would not be fair to Elmer. With the law on his tail and nowhere left to run, would Elmer McCurdy stand and fight, or turn and run? Was this it for him,...

Happy Mother's Day! Welcome to a special holiday episode. Not only are we going to celebrate mothers of history, but we are also introducing a new type of episode! We are going to play two truths and a lie! Listen as we discuss three historical mothers in history. We are going to go over Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, Wu Zetian, the only female empress in China's history, and...

Spanning more than 12,000 square miles, the region of the Serengeti is a sprawling, diverse area of the wild kingdom. Hundreds of species of animals and birds, and many, many native tribes. But did you know, at one point in time, there was one major tribe that dominated the Serengeti? The Datooga tribe inhabited the Serengeti for hundreds of years, ruling the area with their strength and knowledge...

As the richest man on Earth, J. Paul Getty was known all around the globe. This brought fame and fortune to the Getty family, but also trouble. When his grandson, John Paul Getty III is taken off the streets in Italy, you'd assume J. Paul and everyone else in the family would rush to get him back. Let's talk a bit about J. Paul, then you might think differently. Who is J. Paul Getty, and w...

We're going to the late 1600's to discuss a tragic bit of Dutch history! With the start of the Dutch's 'Disaster Year' the Dutch Republic was invaded by not only England, but also France and Germany. With their sea-trading cut off and half of their land seized, the people of Holland started looking for someone to blame. And their eyes settled on the De Witt brothers. What cause...

Did you know prohibition wasn't just in America? There was another country, one shaped like fashionable footwear, that also enacted it, and it caused criminal mafia families to grow more than they already were. And one specific crime family, the Dello Russo's, ran an unsanctioned fighting ring that became so violent the Italian government needed to take them down from the inside. Was the u...

Welcome to our podcast! We are a husband and wife, and a writer and lover of stories. Kyle is also a history buff and Sydney knows very little about history. Every episode, Kyle will tell Sydney an obscure, wild tale from history, and at the end of the episode she has to decide if it's true or not. Listen along and see if you can be a history buff...or bluff!

Happy Easter! While this is not a holiday-themed episode, we hope everyone dives in with us as we go over the Khamar-Daban Incident. When seven hikers go up into the titular mountain range, led by Lyudmila Korovina, they believed they would be spending three or four days basking in the beauty of the peaks and trees. Instead, what they got was a horrifying ordeal that none of them could have even i...

Political unrest and violence unraveled in 1850s Kansas, but a small, unknown event took place in Franklin County that involved no fists...or pants. A group of Free-Staters, determined to keep the evils of slavery from their soon-to-be state, would walk any distance to make their voices heard. Even if they arrived in the buff. What caused them to cast their votes naked? Was it enough to keep their...

How far would you walk for peace? If you're like the humanitarian Irina Rupena, you'd walk much more than just 500 miles. As the Cold War was nearing its end, Irina and others with the Slovenian Red Cross launched a humanitarian mission to bring the world together, by walking the world's longest continuous route: The MEANA Trail. As the team began their trek, many around the world chee...