The Tales We Tell

We lied about this only be two-parts: this week, since Hannah can't stop falling down Alcatraz rabbit holes, she tells Katy more about the deplorable conditions of the prison, including arbitrary rules, the Dungeon, unlawful physical assaults, and a murder trial that highlighted it all for a brief moment in history. The girls get a little ranty in this one (it is prison-reform, after all), go...

In 1946, six men tried what dozens had tried before them, and what many deemed impossible: they tried to escape from Alcatraz. This week, Hannah tells Katy about the Battle of Alcatraz, in Part One of a two-parter on escaped attempts from the infamous "escape-proof" prison. The girls talk glamorous mug shots, Dermot Mulroney look-a-likes, swimming/climbing abilities, prison reform, menta...

Andrew Kehoe was a man whose ego bruised worse than a peach, who took every single inconvenience personally, and who made it everyone else's problem. This week, Hannah tells Katy about this little man, and the evils he eventually committed. The girls talk psychopathy tests, fire safety, taxes, and sweet animal facts (as our end-of the episode palate cleanser). This is both a whiskey episode,...

What if your significant other or child suddenly started acting differently with no explanation? Sure, t could be explained away by any number of reasonable circumstances. Or, they could be a Changeling. This week, Hannah tells Katy the story of Bridget Cleary, a lively, independent young woman in late 19th century Ireland, whose husband believed she had been stolen away by Fairies, and replaced b...

Before there was American Airlines, or Spirit Air, white people were obsessed with finding shortcuts between continents, even if it meant traversing the icy unknowns of the Arctic. This week, Hannah tells Katy about the mystery of Franklin's Lost Expedition, and the men who died trying to chart the Northwest Passage (and were doomed from the start). The girls discuss the best provisions to ta...

If you didn't have a healthy fear of chimpanzees before, you will after this episode. This week, after trying and failing to find a "lighter" topic, Hannah tells Katy the story of Moe: the chimp whose was raised by humans from birth, and who witnessed one of the worst chimp attacks on a human in history. The girls talk all things chimpanzees, and get into their opinions on the ethic...

In 1848 two young sisters, Maggie and Kate Fox, began talking to a mysterious presence that had been making rapping sounds in their Hydesville, NY home, much to their parents' and neighbors' amazement. They couldn't have known that they were setting into motion a religious and social movement that would span centuries, captivate millions, and give a voice to the voiceless. This week...

In the early 1900's, a series of axe murders tormented a small, African American community in Lafayette, Louisiana. And they weren't the only ones. This week, Hannah tells special guest co-host, Jarek, the strange story of Clementine Barnabet, and the horrendous slayings that took place around her. This story is as confusing as it is intriguing, with sacrificial cults, wild accusations,...

On August 10, 2017, independent journalist, Kim Wall, boarded a submarine to interview its owner, Peter Madsen; she would never return to shore alive. This week, Hannah tells Katy the absolutely tragic story of the events that unfolded next, and the brilliant young mind that was lost to the hands of a truly evil man. This one has homemade submarines, unchecked narcissism, a surprisingly competent...

If you’ve been watching/reading the news, you’ve heard of the Gilgo Beach murders, and the decade long search for the killer. This week, Hannah tells Katy the whole story before catching her up on the latest developments. There’s a lot to cover, from the missing woman that started it all (Shannon Gilbert), to the families of the Gilgo Bach Four, to the still unidentified remains discovered along t...

Do you believe we're alone in the universe? In 1996, at least four civilians, and several military personnel had that question definitively answered for them in Varginha, Brazil. This week, Hannah tells Katy about one of the most compelling cases for extraterrestrial existence: the Varginha Incident. The girls talk sunburns, what kind of alien would be the best to have a run in with, granular...

How would you handle your child telling you there was a man in their room in the middle of the night? How bout a demon clown? This week, Hannah tells Katy the story of the LaChance family and their harrowing experience living in the Union Screaming House in 2001. The girls find out (again) that Katy is much braver than Hannah, talk about kids talking to ghosts, and discuss what to do if you'r...

Billionaires cutting costs to make their cool new toy cheaper, and thus causing the watery deaths of others: sound familiar? This week, Hannah brings on special guest co-host Hannah M. to talk about the ship that started it all, and the careless billionaires that haven't changed in 100+ years. It's Titanic conspiracy theories! To say this one is chaotic is an understatement. The girls ta...

If you’ve also been having a shitty week, jump on the bus: this week Hannah embraces the ick and tells Katy about Hadden Clark, a horrendous serial killer with serious and questionable mental health concerns, who claimed to have murdered The Lady of the Dunes, among others. It’s a rough one with plenty of content warnings (graphic violence, animal abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, etc.)  The girls...

A mysterious woman found mutilated in the sands of Provincetown, MA in 1974 set off decades of investigations to determine who she was, and how she had met her grisly fate. This week, Hannah tells Katy about the Lady of the Dunes, and all the various theories about who she is, where she came from, and what happened to her. From mob bosses and serial killers, to badass runaways, and movie extras, t...

In 1989, they say a demon broke the fiery bonds of Hell and escaped through a hole foolishly dug by mortal humans trying to reach the center of the earth; that demon would flit about restlessly until it finally came to rest inside the tiny infant body that would become your favorite podcast cohost: Katy. That story might not have made the rounds on the internet in the 90's, but a similar one...

Buried in the depths of an ancient tomb alongside some of Egypt's greatest Pharaohs, archaeologists uncovered the poorly mummified body of man whose twisted facial expression told of a gruesome death. Officially unidentified, The Screaming Man has been pored over by scientists and doctors to determine who he was, what the cause of his mysterious death was, and why his body was preserved so po...

Weren't you always secretly suspicious of that nice guy in your neighborhood, who loved animals, and was weirdly close with his sister, and that all the other moms loved? Good! Because he might have been Theo Durrant! This week, Hannah tells Katy about the ultimate "nice guy" who had a shocking (or not-so-shocking) change in behavior that resulted in two missing women. It's lon...

Before there was a Broadway song written about her, Theodosia Burr Alston, the only surviving child of Aaron Burr, boarded a ship bound for New York, and was never seen again. This week, Hannah tells Katy (and a bar full of people!) about the mysterious disappearance of Theodosia, her possible run in with pirates, and how it all ties back to a painting in a shack on the beaches of NC. There's...

We're back for Part Two! This week, Hannah concludes this rollercoaster of a story by giving Katy the details of Pam Hupp's life, her various "memory problems", why she has bags of cash lying around, her changing stories to police, and the victims she left in her wake. Katy needed an emotional support astronaut to get through this one, and you may need one too.  So pour the dri...

Get ready for one hell of an emotional rollercoaster: this week Hannah tells Katy about the death of Betsy Faria, and the insane course of action investigators took to prosecute her husband for it. The girls talk environmentally wasteful showering habits, why Katy would absolutely also be implicated in a crime, and why the only polygraphs that should be allowed are the ones Vanity Fair does on Ped...

On February 19, 1945 on the Myanmarese island of Ramree, nearly 1,000 Japanese soldiers met a grisly fate in swampy, crocodile-infested waters. The sounds of their terrible deaths, and the gruesome stories of that night haunted those who were there, and snaked their way through history until we were left with a tale of mythic proportions. But was it true? And if not, is there really anything to fe...

If you find a big, mysterious, red trunk full of poison (and labeled as belonging to someone else), better just leave it alone. French authorities in the 17th century did not do that, and thus began a scandal that would spur a social panic like France had never seen: the Poison Affairs. This week, Hannah tells Katy about the time one woman's tumultuous life (and poor decisions) opened the pub...

On January 28, 1986, 2.5 million school children watched as one of America's most tragic accidents took place on live TV: the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster. Nearly 30 years later, the internet regurgitated a conspiracy theory that postulated that the seven astronauts on the Challenger were still alive due to giant cover-up. This week, Hannah takes Katy through the events of January 28, th...

On a hot September day in Ruwa, Zimbabwe, 62 school children witnessed something that startled, amazed, and terrified them. Leave it to the adults to muddle up what it actually was. This week, Hannah tells Katy about the Ariel School Incident: an account that, if true, is one of the largest mass Close Encounters of the Third Kind. There's bad alien hair cuts, frazzled moms, homemade geiger co...