Synodus Horrenda

Latest Episodes:

Episode 12b "Catch Me When You Can" Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

In the second part of our look at unsolved serial killings, we head back to the Great Depression to look at the Cleveland Torso Murders, a series of twelve murders committed by a man who left dismembered bodies all over the city. We'll look at how the killings strained the city government terrified the populace and led local law enforcement to deadly extremes.

Our primary sources for this episode were:

"In the Wake of the Butcher: Cleveland's Torso Murders" by James Jessen Badal

"Werewolves in Lore and Legend" by Montague Summers

Music in this episode is courtesy of musopen.org

You can support the show on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/SynodusHorrenda where for $5 a month you will receive access to short monthly bonus episodes. We are now offering quarterly Zoom meetings for all Patreon subscribers regardless of how much you subscribe for. You can also follow us on twitter @SynodusPod and on Instagram at SynodusHorrendaPod. We now offer t-shirts at https://synodushorrenda.threadless.com/

Episode 12a "Catch Me When You Can" Feb 19, 2021

Show notes

In this episode we start a new three part series about unsolved serial killings. We begin with one of the most famous unsolved crimes in the Western world, the Jack the Ripper killings. Beginning in August of 1888, the murders would go on to become one of the first serial killer cases to cause a media frenzy, one that would terrify and obsess people the world over.

Our primary source for this episode was "The Complete Jack the Ripper" by Donald Rumbelow.

Music in this episode is courtesy of musopen.org

Episode 11c "What an Artist Dies in Me" Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

In the conclusion of our series on the deaths of tyrants, we look at one of the strangest and most fascinating figures of the last century, Col. Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya from 1969 when he lead a coup that overthrew the country's monarchy, to his death in 2011 as his country descended into civil war.

Our primary sources for this episode were:

"Libya: The Rise and Fall of Qaddafi" by Alison Pargeter

"The Green Book" by Muammar Gaddafi

Music in this episode is courtesy of musopen.org

Bonus: Yuletide Ghost Story, "Revelation From a Smoky Fire" by Robertson Davies Dec 24, 2020

Show notes

In our new Christmas Eve tradition, I present a reading of ghost story, this one from Canadian novelist Robertson Davies, entitled "Revelation From a Smoky Fire." You can find it in his collection "High Spirits," which collects the stories he wrote to read at the annual Christmas celebrations for Massey College at the University of Toronto.

Episode 11b "What an Artist Dies in Me" Dec 09, 2020

Show notes

In our second episode in our series about the deaths of tyrants, we look at the death of Joseph Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union after consolidating power following the death of Lenin and was soon one of the most powerful and influential men on earth. In this episode we look at his last moments, the live of his family and associates, and how his death changed the direction of the Soviet Union.

Our primary sources for this episode were:

"The Last Day of Stalin" by Joshua Rubenstein

"Stalin: The Court of the Red Czar" by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Music in this episode is courtesy of musopen.org

You can support the show on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/SynodusHorrenda where for $5 a month you will receive access to short monthly bonus episodes. You can also follow us on twitter @SynodusPod and on Instagram at SynodusHorrendaPod. We now offer t-shirts at https://synodushorrenda.threadless.com/

Episode 11a "What an Artist Dies in Me" Nov 17, 2020

Show notes

In this new series of three episodes, we look at the lives and deaths of tyrants, starting here with the life of the Emperor Nero, the last member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a man who's name has become synonymous with despotism. I'll be looking at how the popular perception of Nero brushes over the complexity of his character, and I'll be looking at the bloody, backstabbing milieu he was brought up in.

Our primary source of the episodes is "Nero" by Edward Champlin.

Here is the primary source for the intro: https://www.damninteresting.com/the-tyrant-clipperton-island/

Music in this episode is courtesy of musopen.org

Episode 10c "Fate Will Unwind As It Must" Oct 16, 2020

Show notes

In the final episode on our series about deaths that changed history, we look at the life of 35th President of the United States John F. Kennedy. In office for only 1,036 days before his assassination on November 22nd, 1963, he oversaw some of the most momentous events in 20th century US history. We look at his life, career, and how his death might have changed the direction of the civil rights movement, the war in Vietnam and the Cold War.

Our primary source for this episode is "An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy 1917-1963" by Robert Dallek.

This episode includes a track from The Veiled Creature called "Synondus Horrenda," inspired by the podcast, which will appear at the end of the show. You can support the artist at thevieldcreature.bandcamp.com

Other music in this episode is courtesy of musopen.org

Episode 10b "Fate Will Unwind As It Must" Sep 18, 2020

Show notes

Continuing our series on deaths that changed history, we look at the death of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism and one of the most fascinating religious figures in American history. We'll follow his life from a New England that swarmed with tent revivals and utopian preachers to persecution in Missouri, the rise of the church for a small handful to thousands of follows, and finally to his death at the hands of a mob at the jailhouse in Carthage, Illinois.

My primary source for this episode is "No Man Knows My History" by Fawn M. Brodie.

Music in this episode is courtesy of musopen.org

Episode 10a "Fate Will Unwind As It Must" Aug 31, 2020

Show notes

We now begin a new series about deaths that changed history by happening when they did, and look at lives that could have changed history had they gone on just a little longer. In this first episode, I'll be telling the story of Julian the Apostate, the last non-Christian ruler of Rome, and a man who seemed determined to push back the tide of Christian ascendency in the West until his life was cut short less than two years into his reign.

My primary source for this episode is "The Last Pagan: Julian the Apostate and the Death of the Ancient World" by Adrian Murdoch. Special thanks to Michael Duncan of "The History of Rome" and the "Revolutions" podcasts for the recommendation.

Music in this episode is courtesy of musopen.org

Episode 9c "I Speak My Own Sins" Aug 14, 2020

Show notes

In the last part of our series on deaths stemming from mass hysteria, we look at the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, a violent riot that led to the systematic destruction to one of the only wealthy black communities in the country by a mob of angry white people. With a death toll likely close to 300 and the better part of 35 square blocks of a neighborhood razed to the ground, it was one of the most violent acts of mob violence in American history.

My primary source for this episode was "The Burning: Massacre, Destruction, and the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921" by Tim Madigan.

Music in this episode is courtesy of musopen.org

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