Unhinged History

Strange things happened this week. Both Angie and Theresa cover a very specific time in Russian History. Angie starts with the story of Maria Bochkareva, who created and led the Russian Women’s Battalion of Death during WWI. Then Theresa harkens back to the Otsu Incident. In May 1891, Russian Crown Prince Nicholas Alexandrovich visited Otsu, Japan, when he was attacked by the Samurai Sanzo Tsuda....

Ever wonder about extremely niche aviation stories? No worries, we got you. This week Theresa shares the tale of Franz Reichelt, the "Flying Tailor." This man dreams of creating a parachute and believes his invention would work if he could only jump from a higher surface, so he tests his prototype from the Eiffel Tower. He leaves a six-inch crater as his legacy.  Angie surprises Theresa by telling...

Join us this week as Angie shares the unhinged story of Doug Hegdahl. This POW during the Vietnam War single-handedly saved the lives of over 250 men by memorizing their names and info to the tune of "Old McDonald Had a Farm."  This episode pairs well with:  Jesse Owens and Carl Luz Long – WWII  Tootsie Rolls at the Chosin Reservoir

This week, Theresa takes us on a jaunt through history to share about the Wide Awakes, the Republican political movement that elected Lincoln president during the fateful 1860 election.  Started by Eddie Yergason, who made a cloak to wear to prevent his clothes from getting messed up by the torch he'd carry during a rally that Cassius Clay was speaking at, he galvanizes the party.  We might have j...

Cuddle up with a warm beverage and get ready. Theresa kicks things off by sharing the Hatpin Panic, where women at the beginning of the 1900s were using hatpins in self-defense against assault on public transit. It sparks global outrage – against the hatpins, not the assault.  Once you have ordered your new hairpins made of forged steel, Angie tells the story of Lucy Hay, the countess of Carlisle....

This week, Angie and Theresa did deep cuts of history and brought you little-known stories of some mighty women. Angie kicks things off with Yaa Asantewaa. She was the Queen Mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti empire. If you're looking for a strong African queen, we got you.  Not wanting to be outdone, Theresa shares the story of Hajjah Ghazala bint Ammar, an Amazigh Chaoui woman who stood up to the Fr...

Welcome to the 100th episode. We promise to be just as unhinged as ever.  Today Theresa starts us off with the story of Harriet Tubman. Come for the part about the Underground Railroad. Stay for the part where she's awarded the rank of general post-humorously. Angie brings us back to WWII by sharing the crazy life of Jack Churchill – the legend of the man who: carried a sword into battle, played b...

Get ready to discover your new favorite Chinese Queen Consort and General, Fu Hoa. This absolute legend enjoyed battle axes and oracle bones. Listen to Angie share her life around 1200 BC.     Theresa carries the girl boss vibes by sharing the story of Alice "Diamond Annie" and the Forty Elephants. This girl gang was known for two things: Shoplifting Throwing great parties Listen to their methods,...

Whatever you thought we'd cover this week, you're wrong. Theresa starts us off with the disappearance of Agatha Christi. Christi vanishes for 11 days. Was it amnesia? A fugue state?    Angie deals with this troubling story by lobbing her own into the mix. She tells us about George “Skeeter” Vaughan and the Moccasin Rangers. Skeeter is credited with the longest knife throw in wartime, taking out a...

Come with us this week for some fairly unhinged tales. Angie shares the story of the 1901 San Francisco Mint Heist. It's giving Ocean's 11, true crime, and a treasure tax? Theresa picks up the baton and shares the story of Sacagawea. Learn about her tragic background and stay for the mystery around her death.  This episode pairs well with:  Irish Crown Jewel Heist The Maple Syrup Heist Matoaka – t...

We know you listen with the expectation of hearing wild stories and this week, we delivered. Theresa starts by sharing the death of Sioux Chief Sitting Bull and the Massacre(s) at Wounded Knee.   Angie thankfully saves the emotional tone by sharing the meat shortage from the turn of the 1900s in the US and the proposal to import hippos to fill the void with the American Hippo Bill. This episode pa...

Another classic roundup of stories. Theresa kicks things off with the Indian Occupation of Alcatraz and how it influenced reforms positively impacting Indigenous people.  Angie shares the story of Saint Lawrence's martyrdom and whatever you think she's about to say, she isn't. Trust us.  This episode pairs well with:  WWII Hero – George “Skeeter” Vaughan and the Moccasin Rangers   St. Vitus and th...

Angie takes the entire episode to share the history of the Berlin Wall. Whatever you thought this episode would contain, we highly doubt you have two rival zoos caught on opposing sides of the wall locked in an "animal arms race," the myriad of SNAFUs around spycraft, and David Bowie performing at the Reichstag in June 1987.  Bowie's performance shifted public sentiment around the Soviet governmen...

Whew. This week Theresa takes the entire episode to share the story of Ishi, commonly referred to as "the last Indian." She sets the stage with the start of the Gold Rush and how settlers wiped 2/3 of native peoples off the census of California within two years. Then shares how one feared tribe, the Yahi fought to survive. On Aug. 29, 1911, a starving middle-aged man, walks onto the pages of writt...

Celebrate Halloween with this week's roundup of tales. Angie starts us off with her favorite ghosts said to hang out at the Tower of London. She shares the stories of just her favorites (Guy Fawkes, Anne Boleyn, the princes in the Tower, Lady Jane Grey and her husband Guilford Dudley, and Sir Walter Raleigh). Then if you're looking for reasons to give up sleeping ever again Theresa regales us with...

Spooky Season is in full swing this week. Theresa shares the story of the first legally haunted house in the US that spawned the Ghostbuster Ruling.  Refusing to be outdone, Angie regales us with the investigation into the vampire Arnold Paole. This according to sources, is the most famous vampire. Have you ever heard of him?  This episode pairs well with:  Sarah Winchester and the Winchester Myst...

Firmly leaning into the spooky season, Angie shares Samhain and the Origins of Halloween. Come for the costumes and fire festivals, stay for the carved turnips that look like shrunken heads.  Theresa steals a story from Angie's backyard when she tells the story of Sarah Winchester and the Winchester Mystery House. In typical Theresa fashion, she debunks the myths and breaks hearts regarding the gh...

Spooky Season stories hit differently. This week Theresa shares the story of the Haunted Queen Mary, one of the most paranormal places to visit in the US. Come for the WWII milestones, stay for the tragic death of a crew member.  Angie dips way back into history and tells the tales of the werewolf trials we've had through our past.  This episode pairs well with:  The Haunted Shanghai Tunnels in Po...

Not every story starts out with Angie using Snoop Dogg as a source, but this week's does. Join us as Angie shares the story of Jesse Owens and Carl Luz Long. This unlikely friendship starts at the Berlin Olympics between Black athlete Jesse Owens, and German Carl Luz Long and displays the best parts of humanity and good sportsmanship.  Theresa's story on the other hand is a sharp left turn. She re...

This week's roundup of stories is a happy accident. Today Angie and Theresa bring you two very different stories from WWII. Theresa kicks it off with the Night Witches, the only female combat pilots from WWII. These badasses are from Russia and you're going to love them.  Angie starts by sharing the history of the US paying its soldiers with booze, then explains how the attitude toward alcohol shi...

Today's roundup of history stories you didn't know starts when Angie tells the story of General Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, or as you know him, General Marquis de Lafayette. This man was part of so many plot points of history your head will spin.  To keep up with the craziness, Theresa shares the many Defenestrations of Prague, kicking off the Hussite Wars...

We hope you have handfuls of sweet snacks this week as Theresa and Angie share their stories. Theresa starts with The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 – an incident that would forever coat Boston in a sweet smell.  Angie must have intuited Theresa's story because she tells the story of Tootsie Rolls at the Chosin Reservoir. Her story occurred during the Korean War when a group of Marines known as the...

Whew. What a week! Angie starts us out by sharing Gabriel's Conspiracy. This is the story of a slave living in the late 1700s and his attempt to gain his freedom. To elevate the mood, Angie also touches on Guion Buford Jr, the first Black astronaut.  Theresa takes a sharp left turn and shares the story of the Harlem Hellfighters, the 369th regimen made of primarily Black soldiers who saw more comb...

Look we've all said some things in the past. Sometimes it's Theresa saying stuff like there was a Children's Crusade in 1212. And other times it's Angie regaling us with Count Victor Lustig's cons like a money box or selling the Eiffel Tower.  Either way, this week's tales are unhinged.  This episode pairs well with:  The siege of Caffa That time a man stole a sidewinder missile... How "Lord" Timo...

Sometimes we learn about someone so delightfully unhinged it makes Angie think that Theresa is the modern incarnation of that human. Today, Angie shares the story of Theodore Roosevelt's daughter, Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth. And listeners, you'll have to tell us if she and Theresa are the person.  Theresa turns around and shares the story of Elisabetta Sirani, an Italian Baroque painter during...