Softcore History

It's Nova Scotia, Canada. 1878. Am 18-year-old girl named Esther Cox has a traumatic experience. Soon after, a poltergeist starts tormenting her. Dozens of witnesses watch over the course of months as she's stabbed with pins and knives wielded by no one. Matches are lit and dropped to try to burn down her home. A death threat is etched into her wall by an unseen entity, in front of witnesses. This...

The unsolved murders of Andrew Borden and his wife Abby Gray in 1892 have become a bit of American myth and legend. Andrew's daughter Lizzie was the only suspect in the vicious hatchet killings in Fall River, Massachusetts but was acquitted after a botched investigation and trial. We talk about the true story that has been romanticized by the media for over a century. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Host of "The Roman Pattern" Jeremy Ryan Slate joins the show to talk about the parallels he sees between Rome's fall and America's current place in history. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Softcore History Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  for hundreds of hours of extra history content including episodes like this, listener voicemails, movie watch-alongs, and weekly sports episo...

After a Duke refuses to clearly name an heir on his deathbed, a family feud breaks out in Brittany in the midst of the 100 year war. It all culminated into a tournament between the rivaling factions where a 30 on 30 battle royal took place for no real reason outside of hate for the other side. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Softcore History Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for hundred...

Kyle Bandujo, host of the "From Phenom to Farm" and "Big Screen Sports" podcasts, joins the show to discuss the illiterate Polish immigrant who President Grover Cleveland paid to take his place in the Civil War after our (then future) Commander in Chief was drafted in 1863. The man's name was George Brinski. He took $150 to join in Cleveland's stead and suffice it to say his time during...

Constance Fisher was a 20th century mother and paranoid schizophrenic who drowned her three children on two separate occasions. You didn't read that wrong. She repeated the same murder on another set of three kids -- killing six in total -- after she was released from a mental asylum and her husband gave her a second chance at a family. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Softcore History Pat...

One of the most famous stories of the Old Testament is David's slaying of the Philistine giant Goliath. But, that's not even the most impressive thing David did. After taking down Goliath David, at the behest of King Saul, killed and harvested the foreskin of 200(!!!) Philistine soldiers. Somehow they didn't mention this during Sunday school. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Softcore H...

Jack Mandaville joins the show to talk about a forgotten terrorist attack on American soil that helped push the US into war. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Softcore History Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for hundreds of hours of extra history content including episodes like this, listener voicemails, movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.  Rob Fox⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Forget Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy. Forget Jack the Ripper. One serial killer in 16th-century Germany was so prolific and horrifying that he puts all our modern true crime subject matter to shame. Peter Niers confessed to taking the lives of over 500 victims, both while robbing and looting as a bandit and, apparently, for love of the game as well. Not only was Niers a killer, he was also, accordi...

Herbert Hoover is remembered as a total bozo whose term in office is defined by the Great Depression. But, Herbie lived an insanely eventful and rewarding life before and after his time at the White House that included stops in Australia, China, and England. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Softcore History Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for hundreds of hours of extra history content including ep...

Bob Crane was known best for his titular role on the sitcom Hogan’s Heroes. But behind the scenes the man was a s*x addicted freak who filmed nearly every one of his conquests, carried personal p*rn on him at all times, and had nearly nightly gang bangs. And it may have cost him his life. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Softcore History Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for hundreds of hours of ext...

Christian VII of Denmark is a relatively unknown monarch from the 1700s, save for one thing — he loved cranking it. The gooning addiction got so bad his advisors had to hide it from King George III of Great Britain so the monarch would allow his sister to marry the Danish king. Christian was also had a pain fetish, a love for watching executions, and grew up being violently beaten by his tutor and...

In 379 BC, exiled government officials from Thebes devised a plan to retake the city-state from their Spartan captors. It involved a seven man military crew who disguised themselves as high end prostitutes for a winter banquet to assassinate the Spartan governors and military leaders and rally the citizens to fight back. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Softcore History Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠&nbsp...

Much like the French Revolution as a whole, the event that kicked it all off, the Storming of the Bastille, was a sh*tshow that was in no way about what everyone involved claimed it was about. And, as was tradition during the French Revolution, it resulted in the pointless deaths of innocent people, even more violence, and a narrative that didn't align at all with what actually happened. Subscribe...

Gouverneur Morris was an American statesman, framer of the Constitution, and one of the most under appreciated Founding Fathers of the United States. He also had a peg leg, loved messing around with married women, became the minister of France during the Reign of Terror where he actively rode for Louis XVI, and helped develop New York City as we know it. He was a total wildcard. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

The most famous architect in American history might have been agenius, but he was also a real piece of sh*t. After his wife refusedto grant him a divorce, Frank Lloyd Wright ran away to Europe withanother married woman. The love affair was one of the biggest socialscandals of the early 20th Century in America. The pair were in love,but the ending was far from happy. In fact, it was insane. Subscri...

We cover three of history's worst famous fathers who had very different parenting styles. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Softcore History Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for hundreds of hours of extra history content including episodes like this, listener voicemails, movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.  Get 10% off ZIppix Toothpicks with code SOFTCORE at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://zippixtoothpicks.com/discount/SOFTCORE⁠⁠...

In 1962, World Cup host Chile was set to play Italy in their final group stage match. Both sides needed a win to advance to the knockout stage. What ensued, thanks to a pair of Italian newspaper articles calling host nation Chile "backwards," "illiterate," and "full of prostitutes," was less of a soccer match and more of a blood feud. This is the story of "The Battle of Santiago." Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠...

In 1973, the strangest trade broke out between two New York Yankees teammates. This is the career defining story of both Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Softcore History Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for hundreds of hours of extra history content including episodes like this, listener voicemails, movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.  Get 10% off ZIppix Toothpicks with code SOFTC...

Staff Sergeant Ray Lambert hit Dog Green Sector of Omaha Beach with the first wave on D-Day. He was a medic. His job was to save, not kill. But that fact did not prevent him from taking an absolute BEATING on the beach that day. Despite multiple horrific wounds throughout the morning, he never stopped treating wounded soldiers. He might have had the most brutal day of anyone on Omaha Beach who did...

The capture of Fort Ticonderoga early in the American Revolution was a crucial, if militarily uneventful, victory early in America's fight for independence. The capture cut British Canada off from the 13 colonies and supplied important heavy artillery to force the British out of Boston. And it was all accomplished by glory hounds Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, a ragtag group of men more interest...

After the launch of Sputnik, the U.S. needed a response to show they had not fallen behind the Soviets during the Cold War. The Air Force put together a top-secret, very real plan under the name Project A119 to detonate a nuclear bomb on the surface of the moon for the rest of the world to see. Carl Sagan was brought in to do calculations on the blast radius and the Space Race almost went atomic....

The recent release of the UFO Files left out arguably the most exciting human vs. extraterrestrial encounter in American history: when a group of backwoods Kentucky rednecks spent an August night in 1955 fighting off a dozen goblin-like aliens with a shotgun and a rifle from inside their humble farmhouse. This is the story of The Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter aka the Hopkinsville Goblins. Subscribe...

Zhu Houzhao took over the Ming Dynasty at just 14. He was more interested in women, drinking, and pretending to be a soldier than actually running China. He left his royal court in the hands of his eunuch friends as he hung out in his "Leopard Quarter" all day getting wasted with his exotic animals and prostitutes. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to Quince. com/SOFTCORE...

The Assyrian queen Semiramis is one of the most notorious rulers in ancient history. Not just because she was a woman ruling a violent, male-dominated society. And not because she competently ruled the massive empire for years. Mostly, it turns out, because there were some WILD stories about her, um, dating life. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history cont...