Strange Country

On the surface, The Lonely Doll depicts the glamour of city life. But when you dig deeper, you realize it's a disturbing portrait of deep loneliness, which is way to describe its author, Dare Wright. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly talk about Wright's upbringing, the weird relationship with her mother and whether some people should even have children. Theme music: Resting Place by  A Cast...

Readers, we welcome you to this millionth episode of Strange Country. As much as Kelly and Beth want you to drink and be merry whilst listening to this tale of a woman named Carry A Nation, maybe you should get a glass of water and listen earlier than 9 pm. We are getting old people, and really is drinking that good for you? If Carry were alive today she would say def not- and she would also swing...

We like to recognize our firsts, like the first American woman doctor. But sometimes being the first ain't so great especially if you're the first woman executed by the U.S. government. That distinction belongs to Mary Surratt who was executed for her role in the conspiracy to assassinate Pres. Abraham Lincoln and members of his cabinet. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly talk about this firs...

Readers of Strange Country- we have made a milestone- episode 1000! That is a terrible lie, but maybe it will help us in our efforts to become world famous. Also this episode learn how Kelly stays alive everyday along with the other Type 1 Diabetics of the world as Beth and Kelly discuss the discovery of insulin in 1922. Learn all kinds of new things this week including just how many cows it takes...

If your best friend asked you to kill him, would you do it? That's what Raffi Kodikian told the park rangers when they found him in Rattlesnake Canyon, four days past his camping permit. Kodikian said he killed his best friend Dave Coughlin because Coughlin asked him to. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly ponder mercy killings, sinus infections and this sad case in episode 111. Cite your sour...

Robert Tulloch and Jim Parker were like a modern day Leopold and Loeb. The two teenagers believed they were higher beings who could commit murder with impunity. And like their 19th century counterparts, they got caught. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly discuss this ghastly murder that took the lives to two beloved Dartmouth professors in 2001. This episode's PSA: If you think you're a super...

If only Evelyn Nesbit were alive today, she may have really appreciated the Me Too movement, good therapy, and the songs of Aimee Mann. But her life happened during the turn of the Century- not this one- the last one. And guess what? She also was part of the first actual Trial of the Century! Full of misogyny, murder, and velvet red swings. Beth and Kelly of the century's most famous Strange Count...

Around midnight on Dec. 6, someone took an ax to John Hossack's head twice. Ten hours later the farmer and father of nine was dead. His wife Margaret claimed she heard an intruder, but she and the children were immediately viewed with suspicion. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly discuss another "trial of the century" that took place in Iowa in 1900 that rattled the notion of what women were...

Papa Pilgrim brought his giant family to McCarthy, AK to live a simple life, love the lord and escape vice and sin. Or that's what he told the residents who eagerly embraced this new, strange family. What he did in the isolated wilderness was much, much worse. Another gross one for Strange Country fans. Theme music: Resting Place by  A Cast of Thousands . Cite your sources: Kirby, Mark. "Papa Pilg...

When Jemima Wilkinson woke up from a fever in October 1776, she was no longer Jemima, she was a Christ vessel sent by God to warn humanity that the end is nigh. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly talk about the first American-born female messiah and this one isn't murdery or gross as some of the others they've profiled. Theme music: Resting Place by  A Cast of Thousands . Cite your sources of...

After WW2, Americans were not fans of Nazis. It was a time that if someone were to remark there were fine Nazis, that person would get a fist in the face. That's why it was imperative that the military not let it get out that it was hiring a bunch of Nazi scientists, doctors and technologist who had just committed crimes against humanity to work for us. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly talk...

Readers, you know it's true. We love you. In case you are wondering how we came up with that amazing poem, just ask some German man who really is in charge of what you hear each week on Strange Country. That's right we are all smoke and mirrors. No, that isn't true. Because if we were lying to you about our identity and our script writing skills, Kelly and Beth would be throwing up on air and that...

Make sure to grab some five-finger grass (whatever that might be) for this episode because you are in for a primer on powwow healing. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly discuss the hex murder of 1928--yes, you read that right--when one powwow healer killed another powwow healer he thought was cursing him. So add some dust to your coffee and find that pig's bladder and get ready for some magic...

Dearest Readers: Imagine you are having a typical day in your life when the phone rings (right there, we know, we just dated ourselves) and you pick it up (again with the old) and the woman on the line informs you that you have had a twin all your life. You were separated at birth, for the reasons only mad scientists from Nazi Germany can conjure up, and told a lie your whole life until now. It is...

Harry Anslinger wanted to save his bureaucratic machine and he needed an enemy fast--enter marijuana. Thanks to policies he put into place, we've been fighting a futile War on Drugs for nearly 80 years. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly try to stave off their reefer madness as they talk about the impact of Anslinger's life work. Theme music: Resting Place by  A Cast of Thousands . Cite Your S...

Well, well, well, readers Strange Country is now Centenarians in the podcast world! We have made it to our 100th episode. Beth and Kelly pull out all the stops for you Dear Readers as we tell the tale of D.B. Cooper the man who jumped into oblivion in 1971 with $200,000 in a knapsack from a 727 Boeing. Of course we talk about our periods and our dislike of POTUS SCROTUS- it is all related! What ma...

You know what they say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. In this case it's probably best to keep those birds in the bushes and wash your hands immediately. On this week's episode Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly talk about the Parrot Fever Epidemic of 1930 where it seemed Polly wanted more than a cracker...she wanted your soul! Theme music: Resting Place by  A Cast of Thousands...

Hey Dash Hounds- You're still here? That means you managed to listen to Strange Country's longest podcast ever, and still come back for more. Or you skipped that one for later- we understand. It is time now dear readers to sit back relax and enjoy Kelly and Beth unwind and eventually get to the topic of play in the Victorian Era. We glean our research from Therese Oneill's, Ungovernable a wonderfu...

Whew! Mueller Report Part 2 is here and, readers, this is the longest one and the most obstructy. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly nearly didn't make it, but like a good marathon partner, Kelly dragged an exhausted Beth over the finish line, diarrhea running in rivulets down her legs. Slog through this with us and it will be worth it because then you'll know the president obstructed justice...

It's Mueller Time, readers. Beth spent the last week reading the entire Mueller Report so you didn't have to. But you should. Really. Go read it. Now. I'll wait. Get ready for Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly to mangle some Russian names, attempt terrible Russian accents and get really, really angry. Total exoneration? This ain't it. Theme music: Resting Place by  A Cast of Thousands . Cite...

Dear Theodosia, what to say to you? Plenty--on today's Strange Country. Co-hosts Beth and Kelly discuss Theodosia Burr Alston, the daughter of Alexander Hamilton's dueler Aaron Burr, her squicky relationship with dad, and her disappearance in 1813. Get ready for some really amazing sound effects in this episode. Theme music: Resting Place by  A Cast of Thousands . Cite your sources: Cote, Richard....

Today on Strange Country we dive into the terrible tale of the SS Eastland Disaster. Have you ever heard if it? If you aren't from Chicago ( Yes we will mention Da Bears), and you don't have a passion for macabre maritime disasters, then this story is probably one you have never heard before. Why? Find out on this 94th episode lovingly handcrafted for your listening pleasure by your favorite frien...

Chang and Eng, conjoined twins from Siam, arrived in America in 1829 to tour as curiosities. Why are we compelled to gawk at those who appear "abnormal"? Is it a manifestation of our own inner anxieties? Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly tackle these questions, which lead to some bizarre tangents on pooping and farting that should not be missed. Theme music: Resting Place by  A Cast of Thous...

Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly want to keep things light and frothy with this week's episode so that's why they're talking about. . . abortion. They talk about some really dope laws that have been passed recently, discuss abortion's history, and wonder how women dying unnecessarily is considered "pro-life." Theme music: Resting Place by  A Cast of Thousands . Cite your sources: Abbott, Kar...

Hey Dash Hounds! (Why do we call you that anyway? Listen to today's episode and you'll find out) It's baseball season and high time Kelly and Beth took a swing at a good old-fashioned baseball story full of death, sadness, and inappropriate jokes. Listen to today's episode as we retell the story of the 1920 Pennant Race between the Yankees (have you ever heard of them?) and the Cleveland Indians (...