Storytellers and best friends Josie Mitchell and Taylor Basso share the stories that live on in infamy: the strange and the familiar, the tragic and the comic—the bitter and the sweet. New episodes every other Sunday; returning from break December 24! Support the show: ko-fi.com/bittersweetinfamy
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#112 - A Spirited Tour of Spiritualism
2:06:27
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Halloween special + season finale! Josie tells Taylor about the haunting history of the modern Spiritualist movement—from the crafty teen sisters who brought it to life, to the high-profile feud between Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that nearly caused its demise. Plus: get dressed up for Jimi (地味) Halloween, Japan's costumed celebration …
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Halloween special! Taylor tells Josie about the 1938 Orson Welles radio play about a Martian invasion that allegedly caused a mass hysteria, and the 1949 Ecuadorean remake that went even further. Plus: flesh out your fall reading list with the world's largest collection of books bound in human skin!By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Guest host Peter Chiykowski tells Josie and Taylor about the pod of orcas who hunted in harmony with humans until a brutal betrayal ended it all. Plus: catch up with Darwin the Ikea Monkey, the stylish snow macaque whose fetching winter coat kept him warm through a chilly legal battle.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso + Peter Chiykowski
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Josie tells Taylor about the Icelandic Phallological Museum, which contains the world's largest display of phalluses, and curator Sigurður Hjartarson's quest for the collection's crown jewel: a human penis. Plus: listen to "Amelia's Song," the mysterious melody that reunited a family across cultures, continents, and centuries.…
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Guest host Erika Jo Brown tells Josie and Taylor about the evangelical Christian fervour that led American missionary John Chau to contact the voluntarily isolated people of North Sentinel Island—with deadly results. Plus: get to know Erika Jo with a harvest-fresh game of Bitter or Sweet?By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso + Erika Jo Brown
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Taylor tells Josie about Alicia Esteve “Tania” Head, the prominent 9/11 survivor who was exposed as a fraud. Plus: a deep dive into the centuries-old history of the ama, Japan's legendary pearl divers.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Josie celebrates Taylor's birthday with a series of infamous party stories, featuring guests of honour from Kim Kardashian to Kim Jong-il. Plus: step into the ring with the Fighting Cholitas, the professional wrestlers crushing stereotypes of Indigenous women in Bolivia.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Taylor tells Josie and guest host Mitchell Collins about '90s nighttime soap queen and tabloid bad girl Shannen Doherty. Plus: a closer listen to hit em, the new musical genre that came to its creator in a dream.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso + Mitchell Collins
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Josie tells Taylor about the muddy line between forgery and art, and how Mexican ceramicist Brígido Lara made it even muddier. Plus: 1972 Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern, his VP pick Thomas Eagleton, and the electroshock controversy that killed their campaign in only 18 days.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Taylor tells Josie about the legend of Slumach's gold, and the curses, killings, and calamity surrounding the mythical lost mine of Pitt Lake, British Columbia. Plus: Pakistani-American artist Shahzia Sikander and the controversial sculpture that lost its head in the culture wars.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Josie tells Taylor about humankind's attempts to communicate the dangers of nuclear waste to our descendants in the very distant future. Plus: the declassified truth about Acoustic Kitty, the CIA's ill-fated attempt to engineer a feline spy.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Taylor tells Josie about Hachikō, the Japanese dog who became a national icon by loyally waiting for his long-dead master, and other very good boys of note. Plus: the long, curly tale of the feral hogs of Ossabaw Island, and the unusual attempts to preserve and study them.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Josie and Taylor present the Melties, celebrating your choices for the best moments of 100 episodes of Bittersweet Infamy. Josie chews so much gum that she becomes unstuck in the multiverse. Taylor's vendetta with an old foe has deadly consequences.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso, Taylor Basso
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Josie tells Taylor about the controversial 2016 CMA Awards performance by Beyoncé and The Chicks, and how it inspired Beyoncé's 2024 album, Cowboy Carter. Plus: it's full speed ahead on the Road to the Melties as Taylor and Josie prepare their ballots for episode 100 of Bittersweet Infamy!By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso, Taylor Basso
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#98 - I Beg That I Have Not Intruded
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Taylor tells Josie about activist Sacheen Littlefeather, her protest on behalf of actor Marlon Brando at the 1973 Academy Awards, the disputes around her claims to Indigeneity, and the history of Indigenous identity fraud. Plus: does Denver's infamous haunted horse statue, Blucifer, have a cousin? Did the Wicked Witch of the West really ruin an epi…
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#97 - URGENT! Exclusive Opportunity
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Josie tells Taylor about the history of the Nigerian prince email scam, and the rise and fall of influencer/fraudster Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, a.k.a. Hushpuppi the Billionaire Gucci Master. Plus: a chess-playing robot attacks a child? A viral chess trend makes it to outer space? The truth isn't black and white in the April Fools' Fact or Fiction Minfa…
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#96 - All 33 of Us Are Safe in the Shelter
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Taylor tells Josie about the 2010 San José mine cave-in in the Atacama Desert near Copiapó, Chile, and the 33 miners whose rescue captivated viewers around the world. Plus: the fatal 2009 accident at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Josie tells Taylor about Florida Man, the memetic everyman whose chaotic antics dominate the headlines of the Sunshine State. Plus: a shambolic AI-generated Willy Wonka live experience leaves parents and kids in a world of pure infuriation.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Bittersweet Romance - Candy Hearts edition! Inspired by the randomly chosen candy heart “CUTIE,” Taylor tells Josie about “Mi Bebito Fiu Fiu,” the viral TikTok anthem based on Peruvian ex-president Martín Vizcarra’s alleged salacious WhatsApp messages. Plus: Josie and Taylor indulge in a racy game of F, Marry, Kill!…
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Bittersweet Romance - Candy Hearts edition! Inspired by the randomly chosen candy heart "HUG ME," Josie tells Taylor about the Chipko movement of 1970s Northern India, where villagers hugged trees to save the endangered Himalayan forests. Plus: learn about the infamous reality TV show, "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?" Are you sure "I do" i…
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Bittersweet Romance! Taylor tells Josie about the turbulent marriage between R&B icon Faith Evans and rap legend The Notorious B.I.G., and the East Coast vs. West Coast hip-hop feud that ended in two of music's most infamous assassinations. Plus: meet the Egyptologist influencer couple whose controversial cosplay is making waves up and down the Nil…
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Bittersweet Romance! Josie tells Taylor about astronaut Lisa Nowak and her most dangerous mission: an overnight drive from Houston to Orlando to eliminate a romantic rival. Plus: Jack and Meg White of award-winning rock band The White Stripes—brother and sister? Married? Neither? Both?By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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In this special episode, Taylor surprises Josie with Bittersweet Ambush, a guerrilla game show with a devious twist, before telling her about the history of game show cheating scandals, including: the quiz show fixing trials of the 1950s; the ultra-gamers that broke Press Your Luck and The Price is Right; and the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? scam…
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Josie tells Taylor about the life and letters of New Zealand writer Janet Frame, who was scheduled for a lobotomy when her debut book won a national prize. Plus: keeping it Kiwi with a report back from Josie and Mitchell's van life honeymoon on New Zealand's South Island.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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New Year's Eve special! Taylor tells Josie about the computer glitch turned doomsday spectacle: the millennium bug, Y2K. Plus: as Steamboat Willie lapses into the public domain, we look back at the colourful history of Disney's Mickey Mouse copyright.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Holiday special! Josie tells Taylor about the anarchic origins of the rowdy annual Santa celebration, SantaCon. Plus: on Christmas Day 1914, a heartwarming moment of peace emerges from the icy trenches of war.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Guest host Amanda Ortiz tells Josie and Taylor about the web of fate connecting the September 11 terrorist attacks, My Chemical Romance, Twilight, and Fifty Shades of Grey. Plus: the local legend of Jim McIngvale a.k.a. Mattress Mack, Houston's best known gambler, philanthropist, and furniture baron.…
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Josie tells Taylor about South Africa's crooked cop turned brazen bank robber, the infamous André Stander. Plus: the stone cold truth about the most iconic novelty gift of the 1970s—the Pet Rock.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Season premiere! Taylor tells Josie about the viral anthem of 2011, "Friday," and the sudden infamy of singer Rebecca Black. Plus: all the gossip from Josie and Mitchell's wedding, including the haunting in hotel room #309!By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Halloween special + season finale! Taylor tells Josie and guest host Mitchell Collins about the scary movie co-written by a child: Nobuhiko Obayashi's infamously eccentric experimental horror comedy, House (1977). Plus: Josie and Mitchell trap Taylor in a fiendish and frightening choose-your-own-adventure story!…
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Halloween special! Josie tells Taylor about three infamous exorcisms, including a convent of hell-raising nuns in 17th century France, a passel of seemingly possessed Pueblo women in the Spanish colony of New Mexico, and the mid-century possession that inspired the classic horror flick The Exorcist. Plus: unearthing the shadowy secret behind Powers…
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Taylor tells Josie about garment-maker/inventor Franz Reichelt and his fateful 1912 flight from the Eiffel Tower. Plus: unmasking Saúl Armendáriz, a.k.a. Cassandro, an iconic and exotic figure in the world of lucha libre (Mexican professional wrestling).By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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#80 - The Mysterious Affair at Harrogate
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Josie tells Taylor about the infamous 1926 disappearance of mystery icon Agatha Christie. Plus: the shocking lost Sesame Street episode that traumatized child audiences, "Snuffy's Parents Get a Divorce."By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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In the final episode of our special British Columbia-centric Bittersweet 604 series, guest host The Established, Shanda Leer tells Josie and Taylor about legendary Vancouver drag queen and activist ted northe, the Imperial Court System, and the Dogwood Monarchist Society. Plus: the real story of professional wrestling's Fake Razor Ramon, BC's own R…
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#78 - Brother XII of the Great White Lodge
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In this road trip special recorded inside a 1970 Volkswagen bus in Jordan River, BC, Taylor tells Josie about spiritualist Edward Arthur Wilson, a.k.a. Brother XII, and the Aquarian Foundation, Vancouver Island's mystical doomsday cult. Plus: the sweetest protest in Canadian history—the Ladysmith chocolate bar strike of 1947.…
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In this road trip special recorded in the forests of Jordan River, BC, Josie tells Taylor about the Militant Mothers of Raymur, who stood in front of speeding trains to make a better world for their children. Plus: a blurry glimpse of two of British Columbia's most elusive residents—the serpentine marine monsters, Cadborosaurus and Ogopogo.…
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#76 - One Book, Two Books, Banned Books, Blue Books
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In this 604 studio special, Taylor tells Josie about children's educator and LGBTQ+ activist James Chamberlain, and his fight against Surrey School District 36 to teach kids that parents come in every colour of the rainbow—featuring an original interview with James himself. Plus: W̱SÁNEĆ elder Dave Elliott Sr., and the thrift store typewriter he us…
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#75 - From the Andes to Israel With Love
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Taylor tells Josie about "En Tus Tierras Bailaré," a musical love ode to Israel performed by three of Latin America's most infamous YouTube stars—Delfín "Hasta el Fin" Quishpe, La Tigresa del Oriente, and "La Pequeña" Wendy Sulca. Plus: Tonka the celebrity chimp, his allegedly fake death, and Scottish actor Alan Cumming's quest to bring the sordid …
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Josie tells Taylor about the superhuman survival story of capsized Icelandic fisherman Guðlaugur Friðþórsson. Plus: Ying Zheng (嬴政), Jing Ke (荊軻), and the wackiest assassination attempt in ancient Chinese history.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Taylor tells Josie about American abolitionist and magician Henry Box Brown, and his most ingenious disappearing act: his escape from slavery. Plus: the stop-and-go story of East Berlin's iconic Ampelmännchen traffic lights.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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#72 - The Night the Hills Lost Time
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Josie tells Taylor about honeymooners Barney and Betty Hill, and their infamous extraterrestrial encounter. Plus: a nautical joyride gone wrong pits three Tokelauan teens against the merciless Pacific Ocean.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Taylor tells Josie about American con artist and automotive entrepreneur Geraldine Elizabeth Carmichael, and her three-wheeled masterpiece: the Dale. Plus: the time 300 to 400 pounds of pasta appeared overnight in the New Jersey woods.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Josie tells Taylor about the embattled production of a Disney cult classic: The Emperor's New Groove. Plus: one mother's quest to secure Hannah Montana tickets for her daughter—no matter the cost.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Taylor tells Josie about the rise and fall of the hippest brand of the '00s: American Apparel. Plus: a menagerie of dolphin midwives and feral zombie hogs—but which ones are actually real?By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Guest host Lucia Misch tells Josie and Taylor about dancer Maud Allan, the fantastical allegations against her, and the spectacular trial that ensued. Plus: a governor steps out with The Nanny, and a beloved band unloads a septic surprise on some unsuspecting tourists—but which one is the truth?By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso + Lucia Misch
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Josie tells Taylor about the mysterious illness infamously known as Havana syndrome. Plus: a household tips column gives some messy advice, and video game vixen Carmen Sandiego takes an unlikely detour through North Dakota—but which one actually happened?By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Taylor tells Josie about the extraordinary life of Indian mathematical prodigy Shakuntala Devi. Plus: SeaPods, the aquatic homes of the future, and the prototype unveiling that went a little left.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Josie tells Taylor about the many fabricated histories of Chinese Wikipedia editor Zhemao (折毛). Plus: the extravagantly wealthy ruler of Mali, Musa I, and his opulent pilgrimage to Mecca.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Taylor tells Josie about the world's best-known constructed language, Esperanto. Plus: Tijuana's "La Mona", the gigantic naked woman you can live inside.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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Josie tells Taylor about the juicy history of the California raisin industry. Plus: the origins of a deadly game—Russian roulette.By Josie Mitchell + Taylor Basso
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