HILF: History I'd Like to F**k

Latest Episodes:

HILF 117 - The Black Death with Mary Ramos Part 1 [RE-RELEASE] Oct 23, 2026

Show notes

Dawn is joined by celebrated Music Supervisor, Mary Ramos, who has worked on some of the most incredible film scores in movie history! A close collaborator with Quentin Tarantino, she’s had a hand in everything from Pulp Fiction to Django Unchained - and a slew of other favorites in-between.

Join us as we discuss the very beginning of The Black Death, starting with Patient Zero in Italy and then follow us… and the rats, and the fleas… around the world and right to our own back door.

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✅ Follow HILF on TikTok!

🎟️ HILF Public School - the live, interactive version of HILF: First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

🤑 HILF is now on Patreon!

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SILFS (Sources I'd Like to F*ck):

The Great Courses - With Dorsey Armstrong, PhD. Got a library card? Find it via Hoopla or Libby!
Check out this great visual guide to understanding how The Black Death compares to other pandemics.
Read an article about plague bodies being found outside London this decade!
Read Mary Ramos's article in Variety breaking down the soundtrack to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck):

See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
HILF is now on Patreon!
Buy Me a Coffee

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HILF original music by Kat Perkins @katperkinsmusic

HILF 116 - Worst-Ever Days at Work [RECORDED LIVE] Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

Join Dawn for three hilarious stories told live, all centered around one simple question: what is the WORST DAY AT WORK? Dawn and her guests dig into spectacular professional disasters, bad decisions, and the kind of workplace chaos that makes you grateful you can just go home at the end of the day. Recorded live with the HILF crowd at Flappers Comedy Club (in beautiful Burbank, California).

🔗 JOE ROCHE

🔗 KELLEY VROOMAN

--- Read the Gizmodo article from 2010! This discusses the play-by-play detail of the lost iphone prototype story.

✅ Follow HILF on TikTok!

🎟️ HILF Public School - the live, interactive version of HILF: First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

🤑 HILF is now on Patreon!

LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck)

See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
Buy Me a Coffee

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WANNA TALK?

Find us on Instagram or email us hilfpodcast@gmail.com

Theme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins

HILF 115 - The Glencoe Massacre with Joe Roche Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

It was a cold and blustery night in 1692 when the Macdonalds were slaughtered in their beds by a group of rival Campbells who had not only sworn them no harm, but had been their guests for almost two weeks. Dawn is joined by friend and comedy writer, Joe Roche, for the dark tale of the Glencoe Massacre.

🎟️ Get tickets and HILF LIVE! : First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

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SILFS (Sources I'd Like to F*ck):

BOOK: The Glencoe Massacre by John Prebble
PODCAST: BBC In Our Time: The Glencoe Massacre (2010)
VIDEO: Knives in the Dark (Part one of two)
VIDEO: History Hit 'Forgotten Massacre of Jacobite Revolution' - Dan Snow

LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck):

See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
HILF is now on Patreon!
Buy Me a Coffee

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HILF original music by Kat Perkins @katperkinsmusic

HILF 114 - Jonestown [RECORDED LIVE] Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

Join Dawn and some very special guests - including her dear, sweet mom - and a live audience at Flappers Comedy Club (in beautiful Burbank, California). Hear the tragic tale of Jonestown, why you too could have fallen into the charm of Jim Jones, and the stories of hope and resilience among the bloodshed.

🔗 Ryan Ripple

🔗 JB Ball

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✅ Follow HILF on TikTok!

🎟️ HILF Public School - the live, interactive version of HILF: First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

🤑 HILF is now on Patreon!

--- Looking for more historical information about Jonestown? This was my best online resource - An amazing digital archive hosted by San Diego State University (SDSU).

LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck)

See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
Buy Me a Coffee

---

WANNA TALK?

Find us on Instagram or email us hilfpodcast@gmail.com

Theme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins

HILF 113 - Cults with Kat Perkins Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

Dawn is joined by Kat Perkins, one of her best friends (and the voice of the HILF theme song!) for a dive into the dark history of cults. From the strangest real-life rituals, to the made-up cults - and why it's important to know the difference.

🎟️ Get tickets and HILF LIVE! : First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

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SILFS (Sources I'd Like to F*ck):

BOOK: The Penquin Book of Cults, collected by Joseph P Laycock.
Heavens Gate HBO Documentary: Heaven's Gate the Cult of Cults
Heaven's Gate 'Exit Interviews' (WARNING: These are not violent or graphic, but they are the last words of people about to take their lives and should be watched while girded emotionally... Hold a dog or something.)
Rick Allen Ross - Cult 'deprogrammer' who I think is among the most frightening figures I met in this research.

LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck):

See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
HILF is now on Patreon!
Buy Me a Coffee

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HILF original music by Kat Perkins @katperkinsmusic

HILF 112 - King Philip and The Boston Massacre [RECORDED LIVE] Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

King Philip is simultaneously a real historic figure, and an object of early American fantasy. Join Dawn and a live audience at Flappers Comedy Club (in beautiful Burbank, California) to hear the tale of how history reports... and distorts... just like the present does.

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✅ Follow HILF on TikTok!

🎟️ HILF Public School - the live, interactive version of HILF: First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

🤑 HILF is now on Patreon!

---

LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck)

See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
Buy Me a Coffee

---

WANNA TALK?

Find us on Instagram or email us hilfpodcast@gmail.com

Theme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins

HILF 111 - The Odyssey, Part Two with Sam Cowan Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

The journey isn't over, it's only just reached the underworld. Rejoin Dawn and guest Sam Cowan as they link arms to follow Odysseus all the way home. Whether you're preparing for Christopher Nolan's upcoming blockbuster movie, revisiting an old favorite, or experiencing The Odyssey for the first time, this episode explores why Odysseus' long road home remains one of the most thrilling—and profoundly human—stories ever told.

🎟️ Get tickets and HILF LIVE! : First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

🎫 Visit Theatricum Botanicum - Sam performs in Treasure Island, June - October, 2026

✅ Checkout Sam's work as a Personal Trainer!

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SILFS (Sources I'd Like to F*ck):

BOOK: One of many free, online versions of The Odyssey
THE LECTURE: The Learning Company presents Dr. Elizabeth Vandiver. (Hoopla and Libby often have audio versions available FOR FREE!)

LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck):

See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
HILF is now on Patreon!
Buy Me a Coffee

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HILF original music by Kat Perkins @katperkinsmusic

HILF 110 - The Odyssey with Sam Cowan Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

As Christopher Nolan brings The Odyssey to the big screen, Dawn is taking listeners back to the source. Join Dawn and guest Sam Cowan as they get down and dirty with Homer, unpacking the gods, mortals, monsters, and misadventures that made The Odyssey one of the most enduring stories ever told. By the end, you'll be walking into your local cineplex HILF'd and loaded.

🎟️ Get tickets and HILF LIVE! : First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

🎫 Visit Theatricum Botanicum - Sam performs in Treasure Island, June - October, 2026

✅ Checkout Sam's work as a Personal Trainer!

---

SILFS (Sources I'd Like to F*ck):

BOOK: One of many free, online versions of The Odyssey
THE LECTURE: The Learning Company presents Dr. Elizabeth Vandiver. (Hoopla and Libby often have audio versions available FOR FREE!)

LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck):

See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
HILF is now on Patreon!
Buy Me a Coffee

---

HILF original music by Kat Perkins @katperkinsmusic

HILF 109 - The Night Witches, Part Two with Heather Cowan Jun 24, 2026

Show notes

You're back in the cockpit with Dawn and guest, Heather Cowan, for part two of this little-known chapter of World War II history. Re-join these badass fliers through more of their spine-tingling adventures (and misadventures) all the way to victory and beyond.

🎧 HILF EP39 - NAZI KILLERS with Michelle Mosher

🎧 HILF EP60 - AMELIA EARHART with Fallon Morey

🎟️ Get tickets and HILF LIVE! : First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

✅ Checkout Heather's work in Personal Development: Body of Work

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SILFS (Sources I'd Like to F*ck):

BOOK: The Night Witches by Bruce Myles (1981)
More about OPERATION BARBAROSSA from the Imperial War Musuem
One of the only videos I found with interviews of some of the surviving pilots.

LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck):

See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
HILF is now on Patreon!
Buy Me a Coffee

---

HILF original music by Kat Perkins @katperkinsmusic

HILF 108 - The Night Witches with Heather Cowan Jun 17, 2026

Show notes

Climb into the cockpit with Dawn and guest, Heather Cowan, as they get to know some of the baddest-asses from this little-known chapter of World War II history.

🎧 HILF EP39 - NAZI KILLERS with Michelle Mosher

🎧 HILF EP60 - AMELIA EARHART with Fallon Morey

🎟️ Get tickets and HILF LIVE! : First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

✅ Checkout Heather's work in Personal Development: Body of Work

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SILFS (Sources I'd Like to F*ck):