On this week's final episode, Liz and Dakota reflect on their time on the podcast. Thank you to everyone who has listened over the years, this has been an amazing journey, and we couldn't have done it without you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Liz and Dakota explore the mysterious story of Gloria Ramirez, and woman who's untimely death caused some major illnesses in the people treating her. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Liz and Dakota look at some of the theories that have sprung up around the strange tale of the Green Children of Woolpit. Was it trauma? Was it aliens? You decide. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please note, this episode's sound has been corrupted - it's not your speakers, it's us. This week, Liz and Dakota get META, asking ChatGPT to write a podcast episode. Will it be good? Will it be bad... you decide. And then listen to us decide if ChatGPT should be used to write more episodes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati…

This week, Liz and Dakota look back at a little remembered time from America's past with a war time plan that was targeted at those whom were deemed "reasonably suspicious" of having an STI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Liz and Dakota take a look at some of the most infamous gods from the Egyptian pantheon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Liz and Dakota take a condensed look at ancient Egyptian religion, including some of their beliefs and practices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Liz and Dakota look at some of the more famous alien and UFO sightings from around the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With all the discussion on the interwebs about possible alien life, Liz and Dakota take this week to talk about the existence of aliens, and some famous UFO sightings that have occurred since WWII. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week is a quicky to give an update to changes coming to The Reluctant Historian Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Liz and Dakota ease back into the swing of things with a quick factoid episode about Valentine's Day Episode Notes https://www.womansday.com/relationships/a4702/10-fun-valentines-day-facts-103385/ https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/valentines-day-ideas/a26863/valentines-day-facts/ https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/vale…

This week, Liz and Dakota look at an urban legend from Quebec and talk about how the actual history of a murderer quickly became something of a ghost story. Episode Notes https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/la-corriveaus-cage-quebec-canada https://www.scaryforkids.com/la-corriveau/ https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/la-corriveau ht…

Welcome back to season three! This week, Dakota shares the story of a medical history/mystery from the French Revolution, the tale of the man who couldn't stop eating: Tarrare Episode Notes https://www.gutenberg.org/files/747/747-h/747-h.htm https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/tarrare/ https://www.wiltons.org.uk/news/155 https://historianandrew.medi…

This week, Liz and Dakota look back at some of their favourite episodes from 2022, recounting memories and zingers, and looking forward to the future. A huge thanks goes out to all of you who have tuned in this year... the podcast wouldn't be the same without you, and we are so incredibly appreciative that you take the time out of your day to liste…

This week, Liz and Dakota delve into some Icelandic Christmas Folklore, learning about the Christmas Witch, a hungry Christmas Cat, and 13 meddlesome pranksters. Episode Notes https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-the-thirteen-yule-lads-icelands-own-mischievous-santa-clauses-180948162/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-icelan…

In a different kind of trivia episode, Liz and Dakota share 15 random Christmas facts. Ranging from Candy Canes to the racist history of Jingle Bells, this episode takes you on a wild ride. Episode Notes https://bestlifeonline.com/christmas-facts/ https://www.berries.com/blog/45-fun-christmas-facts https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christma…

This week's Wicked Wednesday is all about America's first plane hijacking, and the infamous story of Earnest "Larry" Pletch. Not to be confused with Earnest of the Earnest Scared Stupid variety. Episode Notes https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/murderous-story-americas-first-hijacking-180956152/ https://fearoflanding.com/history/i-dont-know-why-…

This week, Liz and Dakota explore what happened aboard the ghost ship the Mary Celeste and share why the salvaging hearings didn't really go according to plan. Dakota analyzes some of his trauma in the meantime. Episode Notes https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/abandoned-ship-the-mary-celeste-174488104/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Celeste…

This week, Liz and Dakota look back at the history of the lost city of Atlantis, and how this myth has had a huge influence on new age beliefs and the Nazis. Episode Notes https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/where-is-the-lost-city-of-atlantis-and-does-it-even-exist https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Earth_from_Space_Stra…

This week, Liz and Dakota look at the literary history of Merlin, tracing his story from Geoffrey of Monmouth to Thomas Mallory, Dakota and Liz learn a lot about this magic man on the way. Episode Notes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Liz and Dakota look at where Halloween came from, and what's it's original purpose for celebration was. With roots in Celtic traditions, Halloween has changed greatly over the centuries. Episode Notes https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#:~:text=The%20tradition%20originated%20with%20the,of%20the%20traditions%20of…

This week, Liz and Dakota look at a famous beast from Korean folklore: The Kumiho. Taking a peek at a few different tales, they try to understand where this myth came from, and what it represents. Episode Notes https://symbolsage.com/kumiho-korean-nine-tailed-fox/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumiho https://www.astonishinglegends.com/astonishing-l…

This week, Liz and Dakota look at a spooky haunting from Tennessee, thought to be the most well documented American haunting, and maybe the inspiration for Poltergeist, Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch, and The Haunting of Hill House? (okay, we can't verify all that, but Koda is sure that it is). Episode Notes https://bloody-disgusting.com/podc…

This week, Liz and Dakota start spooky season by taking a look at the stories of poisoned Halloween candy, and wondering if there is any validity to the belief that there are marauding murderers out there to get your Halloween candy. Episode Notes https://www.history.com/news/how-americans-became-convinced-their-halloween-candy-was-poisoned https:/…

This episode is a re-release of Season 2, Episode 1: Elizabeth Bathory Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's Wicked Wednesday looks back at England's most prolific lady serial killer, Mary Ann Cotton. Taking you through her crimes, Liz and Koda explore how she was able to get away with so much murder. Episode Notes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ann_Cotton https://murderpedia.org/female.C/c/cotton-mary-ann.htm https://www.britannica.com/bi…

This week, Liz gets really passionate about research, looking back the most devastating manmade explosion in the pre-atomic age. Dakota is bored. Episode Notes https://downtownhalifax.ca/land-acknowledgement https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/halifax-explosion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion https://maritimemuseum.nov…

This week, Liz didn't have time to write an episode, so she's reading from lists of weird historical facts while Dakota loses his mind. Episode Notes https://bestlifeonline.com/historical-facts/ https://parade.com/1099930/marynliles/history-facts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

This week, Liz and Dakota look back at America's first recorded serial killer, and talk about whether he truly understood what a hotel was, or if he was just confused by a motel. Episode Notes https://www.history.com/news/murder-castle-h-h-holmes-chicago https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/enduring-mystery-hh-holmes-americas-first-serial-kill…

This week, Liz and Dakota look at the history of queerness on the wild west's frontier. Episode Notes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_homosexuality Article: Paradise of Bachelors: The Social World of Men in Nineteenth-Century America.” https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-dec-15-la-et-out-west15-2009dec15-story.html https://hornet.…

This week Liz and Dakota get silly looking at the history of the Tomato in Europe and America, and at the story of that time a town put a bushel of tomatoes on trial for being evil. Episode Notes https://www.britannica.com/story/is-a-tomato-a-fruit-or-a-vegetable https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pewter https:/…

This week, Liz and Dakota share some little known Saskatchewan history, the story of the Cypress Hills Massacre Episode Notes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypress_Hills_Massacre https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=1633 https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/cypress-hills-massacre-feature https://teaching.usask.ca/indigen…

This week, Liz and Dakota look at the many different uses for honey - as torture, and as medicine! Episode Notes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compendium_of_Materia_Medica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellified_man https://allthatsinteresting.com/mellified-man https://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-history-moments/lauren-glen?ref=browse_list&l=1 Hoste…

This week, Liz and Dakota talk about one of the most infamous cases of spontaneous human combustion: Mary Reeser. Then they get into theories explaining the phenomenon and whether it actually exists. Episode Notes https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2019/10/17/spontaneous-combustion-in-st-petersburg-the-curious-case-of-mary-reeser/ https://www.hi…

This week, Liz and Dakota look at a secret fraternity from Germany where the believers adhered to the characteristics of a very strange being. Episode Notes https://www.britannica.com/topic/Freemasonry https://www.history.com/news/freemasons-facts-symbols-handshake-meaning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Pug#:~:text=The%20Order%20of%20th…

This week, Liz and Dakota look back at one of the experiments conducted by a member of the secretive Order of the Dolphin, in an attempt to learn about extraterrestrial life. Episode Notes https://allthatsinteresting.com/margaret-howe-lovatt https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/06/how-a-science-experiment-led-to-sexual-encounters-…

In this episode, Liz and Dakota get a little silly looking at the papal bull, "Vox in Rama", and how Pope Gregory IX set out to find witches in his midst. Episode Notes https://medium.com/illumination-curated/did-pope-gregory-ixs-hatred-of-cats-lead-to-the-black-death-327d163adfb2 https://museumhack.com/black-cats-black-death/ https://allthatsinter…

This week, Liz and Dakota look at a strange phenomenon that occurred in the months following the biggest earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan in 2011: hundreds upon hundreds of ghost sightings. Episode Notes https://www.britannica.com/event/Japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-of-2011/Aftermath-of-the-disaster https://www.oprahdaily.com/enterta…

This week, Liz and Dakota look back at the nefarious story of the US government and how they poisoned their citizens during the Prohibition Era. Episode Notes https://slate.com/technology/2010/02/the-little-told-story-of-how-the-u-s-government-poisoned-alcohol-during-prohibition.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

This week, Liz and Dakota talk about a bizarre, if sticky disaster - The Great Boston Molasses Flood. Looking at some of the problems that surrounded the tank's construction, Liz and Dakota imagine what it would have been like to be in Boston at the time of this disaster. Episode Notes https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-molasses-1328678 https://…

This week, Liz and Dakota look back at one of Canada's first serial killers. Also known as the Lambeth Poisoner, Dr. Thomas Neil Cream. Episode Notes https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/05/29/when-canadas-jack-the-ripper-serial-killer-struck-in-ontario.html https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/politics-law/the-evil-deeds-of-dr-cream https://e…

This week, Liz and Dakota look at an unsolved murder from Canada's history, one that has be likened to the Whitechapel Murders of Jack the Ripper. Episode Notes https://www.capitaldaily.ca/news/agnes-bings-1899-murder-victoria-jack-the-ripper https://www.timescolonist.com/archive/historical-police-records-give-glimpse-into-victorias-seamier-side-46…

This week, Liz and Dakota look at one of the most horrific factory catastrophes in America's Industrialized History. Posing the question, what's capitalism got to do with it, Liz and Dakota try to understand how this event came to be. Episode Notes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire https://www.history.com/topics/early-2…

This week, Liz and Dakota take a journey down fashion lane, stopping to look at a few famous fads from the past. Episode Notes https://www.thecollector.com/marie-antoinette-controversial-fashion-queen/ https://sewguide.com/evolution-of-history-of-fashion/ https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion-by-the-decade https://www.fashiongonerogue.com/fashion-his…

In the 1950's, the CIA was deep into using drugs like LSD to see if they could brainwash communist spies. Sound like something out of a badly written spy novel? Unfortunately, it isn't. This week, Liz and Dakota look into the secret history of the American Government's experiments into brainwashing. Episode Notes https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mont…

THIS EPISODE IS EXTREMLY GRAPHIC AND DISTURBING. LISTENER DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED. In 2001, the German courts were faced with a troubling predicament: how to charge someone with a consensual crime that didn't exist. In today's episode, Liz and Dakota look at the disturbing story of Armin Meiwes and Bernd Brandes. Episode Notes https://www.in…

In a follow up to last week's episode, Liz and Dakota take a look at the research behind why diets don't work. This episode relied heavily on Alexis Conason's book Anti-Diet Revolution. Please take a read. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever tried, unsuccessfully, to lose weight? Well you’re not alone. In this week’s episode, Liz and Dakota look back at some of history’s strangest diets. And learn how long diets have actually been around. Episode Notes https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16351761#:~:text=At%20Cambridge%20University%2C%20his%20horror,pounds%20and%20measured%…

We’re back for a late wicked Wednesday, and here to talk about what some people call the most gruesome deaths in history: The Byford Dolphin Incident. This accident occurred far out in the North Sea on an deep sea oil rig, and ended in tragedy. Episode Notes https://talkmurder.com/byford-dolphin-accident/ https://www.google.com/search?q=how+do+deep…

With this month’s discovery of the long lost ship, Endurance, Liz and Dakota were inspired to look at the amazing journey of Ernest Shackelton and his hardy crew as they braved the ice fields of the Weddell Sea and attempted to cross Antarctica. Episode Notes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endurance_(1912_ship) https://www.bbc.com/news/science-envir…