Unhinged History

Unhinged History strives to bring you the stories you’ve never heard of in your history class, and this week is no exception. Angie kicks off this week by exploring the Silk Road and the heist that liberated silkworms and opened the door for countries other than China to produce this incredibly luxurious textile. Theresa veers off in a wildly different direction as she shares the story of Nakahama...

Look at Unhinged History, we are known for a couple of things. A love of the National Parks Service content, stories you’ve never heard, and banter. This episode is basically more of the same. Theresa takes the entire episode to share the story of Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi and the Battle of Attu. For most of us, we never realized that the Battle of Attu was the only time since the War of 1812 that the...

Angie and Theresa have quite a set of stories to share with you. Kicking things off, Angie shares the wild story of Saladin. This man held it down as the Sultan of Egypt and Syria during the Crusades. Getting his position after a ...ahem series of deaths, he proves to be an incredible ruler, who would give away his vast fortune throughout his life. Theresa veers wildly from this story, as she shar...

What a week where Angie and Theresa do exactly what they do best. Convinced she might run out of spies to cover, Theresa shares the story of Krystyna Skarbek, also known as Christine Granville. Born a literal Polish countess, Krystyna cycles through husbands and lovers before seeing her country invaded by Nazi Germany. Convinced she can fight for her homeland, she becomes the first female spy for...

Today we have a very special guest. The Unhinged History podcast welcomes Jenny Chan, author and podcaster, exploring the atrocities of the Pacific theater during World War II. In this episode, we explore her in-depth study of Chinese comfort women, Unit 731, and so much more. Website: https://www.pacificatrocities.org/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PacificFrontUntold

Ever get stuck in front of the TV watching the bizarre shows labeled as history? This episode is just like that, but only for your ears. We offer nothing for your eyes. Angie kicks things off with the Beale Papers. This story takes us on a journey through history, where we attempt to crack codes and locate a large amount of buried gold, silver, and jewels in Bedford County, Virginia. Theresa is sk...

This week’s unhinged stories feature two women largely forgotten by history. Starting off strong, Theresa tells the story of Madame Montour, the interpreter who spoke English, German, and several Native American languages. Her work as an interpreter brokered several treaties. We have one small problem with Madame Montour – she is history’s most unreliable narrator. Follow along as Theresa lays out...

This week’s Unhinged History features two women with outrageous stories. Angie kicks things off with the story of Elizabeth Bathory, you know, the Blood Countess. She’s rumored to have murdered over 600 virgins to bathe in their blood in hopes of maintaining her youth and beauty. But what if all of that was created by the men in her life who owed her money? Angie pulls back the rumors and shares w...

Some stories just warm you up inside like a Hot Toddy. Today, Theresa starts us off with a story from her comfort era: World War II, as she shares the tale of Soviet sniper, Lyudmila Pavlichenko. This badass earns a sniper diploma before graduating from college, which proves beneficial as she ends up fighting as one of only 2,000 female snipers. While only 500 of these women would survive the war,...

Listen to this week’s episode as Angie tells a story about a man Theresa’s already learned about. She shares the story of Anders Lassen, the incredible Danish man who joined Colin Gubbins’ Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and made the SOE what it was known for. This episode pairs well with: Paddy Mayne Colin Gubbins Odette Samson The SAS Train Raid You Never Heard of...

What a strange and wonderful mashup of unhinged history stories we have for you today. When we think of Tudor England, we often overlook the individuals of African descent who lived and worked there. Today, Angie corrects that. Come learn about the various people historians uncovered. Theresa takes a different route as she shares the story of Darius McCollum. Darius loves one thing more than anyth...

What an episode of two indomitable people! Today, Theresa kicks things off by telling the story of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams. Dr. Dan is credited with completing the first open-heart surgery. This was in the mid-1800s, before the creation of rib spreaders, bypass machines, or any other devices that would make his life easier. Even better, his patient survives. To further boost his creds, this incre...

Today’s mash-up of stories leads to some very unexpected places as Angie shares the story of Belle da Costa Greene. Belle ends up being the first Black female librarian of Mr. J. P. Morgan. This woman ends up being the Pepper Potts to Morgan, as she controls art and literature that gets bought and added to his personal collection. Then, surprising no one, Theresa takes us in a very different direc...

Few white dudes of history have ever earn so much respect from the Black community does, and for good reason. This week, Theresa takes over the entire episode and shares the unhinged life of John Brown. Starting with his early years, raised in a home that was both steeped in religion and abolitionism, John Brown’s path led him to campaign to end slavery. During his life, he would earn the respect...

The stories we tell here at Unhinged History are predictable, and today offers no variation from the trend. Theresa begins by telling the story of Elijah Parish Lovejoy. This abolitionist would believe two things in this life: that slavery is wrong, and as a journalist, he had the freedom of speech. These convictions would result in four printing presses getting destroyed by mobs and him getting s...

Sometimes the events covered in Unhinged History are as zany as they are unexpected. Other times, things get dark. This week, Theresa shares the life of Charles Sumner, the senator who was beaten for giving an abolitionist speech. This attack would polarize the country and start it on the path toward the Civil War. Angie apparently didn’t get the memo that Theresa was telling such a tale, because...

Have you ever heard about the enduring mystery surrounding the fate of the Amber Room? You know that massive room crafted with walls of solid amber, gold leaf, and mirrors? Angie starts by sharing the room’s inception and how King Frederick I commissioned it. She talks about how it was gifted to Russia, where it sat in boxes for years before getting reassembled and improved upon. Then Angie goes i...

Whatever you were expecting, this ain’t it. Theresa brings us an unsettling tale about a group of scientists in the 1970s who placed Felicia, a ferret, in a particle accelerator for scientific purposes. Apparently, they needed to clean out the four miles of tubes, and what better way than a diaper-wearing ferret? Angie struggles to find a transition to her story when she pivots to recap the 1527 S...

Buckle up, kids. Today, for no explainable reason, Angie and Theresa swap stories. Angie jumpstarts the episode by telling everyone about the role in the Dutch resistance that Audrey Hepburn played. Theresa takes to the skies when she shares the story about Thomas Fitzpatrick, the man who was drunk and on a bet stole and landed a plane on the streets of the Washington Heights neighborhood in NYC –...

In another week of unexpected history, Theresa kicks things off with a story from Brazil. Meet Antonio Conselheiro, a man crushed by life who turns to following God. He wanders the back country of Brazil, preaching the Good News and fixing churches. He ends up building a community with recently freed Black people who have nowhere else to turn.  Because no good deed goes unpunished, farmers who los...

First off, did you know there is a black market for luxury cheeses? Angie shatters Theresa’s understanding of things when she shares the “Grate Cheese Heist of 2024.” Listen to how a massive amount of artisanal cheese is stolen and unaccounted for. Then Theresa shifts gears and shares the WWII story of Agent Zigzag. This British citizen, Eddie Chapman, moves from criminal to German spy to British...

Old-timey history has tons of greats. Previously, Theresa and Angie lamented not having modern greats, until today. Theresa shares the Great Madison Butter Fire of 1991. Join us as she regales Angie with the tale of 12,500 tons of dairy products going up in flames, releasing a river of cream and melted butter. This blaze took eight days to put out and was quite the event. Angie shifts the episode'...

This week, Angie shares many of the factors that excite her about history. She shares an overview of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed II’s rise to power, and how his path crosses with a young Wallachian prince, Vlad Tepes. Once you add in the socio-political stances of the European kingdoms and the fear of Muslim takeovers, you now see how Pope Pius II funded the military campaigns of Vlad Tepes, who wo...

Whatever you were expecting for today’s episode, this ain’t it. Theresa jumps right into the podcast, telling the story of Cherokee Beloved Woman, Nanyihe (aka Nancy Ward). This woman, from the age of 17, commands respect from her people as she attempts to help them navigate a world of English settlers moving in. Some say she’s the hero, while others view her as a traitor. Angie takes a sharp left...

Each week, we come up with some absolutely bonkers stories, and this week is no different.  Angie shares how Holland dealt with an unpopular Grand Pensionary (think prime minister). Johan de Witt sparked such anger among the crowd that on August 20, 1672, they tore him apart and ate his remains.  Theresa gingerly side-steps the cannibalism and shares how Cherokee Chief Sequoyah fell in love with t...