The Bones and Bobbins Podcast

Latest Episodes:

24 - All is Artificial, All is Brite Dec 24, 2021

Show notes

S02E24: The mind-blowing plot twists of WWII bomber pilot Si Spiegel (and his artificial Christmas trees), and the glittering nostalgia that is a box of Shiny Brite Ornaments

In short, Mr. Spiegel basically WAS his own action movie. And I’m pretty sure Shiny Brite ornaments don’t need an introduction. Just picture a Christmas tree–they’re what’s on it.

Show notes: https://www.bonesandbobbins.com/2021/12/24/season-2-episode-24

23 - From Mary Sachs to Coco Sucks Dec 10, 2021

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S02E23: Mary Sachs, the Merchant Princess of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Coco Chanel, who was very good at both designing clothes and being a horrifyingly terrible person.

Meet Mary Sachs, a single, immigrant woman who bought herself flowers and then built a department store empire that survived two world wars, and Coco Chanel (yes, that one), who is about two thousand percent more problematic and disappointing than we had imagined. Like, seriously, yikes.

Show notes: https://www.bonesandbobbins.com/2021/12/10/season-2-episode-23

22 - Certain Death & The Final Makeover Nov 12, 2021

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S02E22: Historical ways to confirm death and the art and science of modern embalming practices.

It was really hard for people throughout history to tell exactly how dead the bodies of other people were, so some questionable decisions were made in the pursuit of confirmation. (Including one involving invisible ink and a very dramatic reveal!) But, now that we’re a bit better at making sure we’re not burying folks alive, that scientific enthusiasm and creative ingenuity is being applied to methods to make bodies look LESS dead. So we’ve come full circle, it would seem.

Show notes: https://www.bonesandbobbins.com/2021/11/12/season-2-episode-22

21.5 - Halloween Bonus: Trick or Treat, You Decide Oct 29, 2021

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A Halloween bonus episode featuring Natali and the girls. ("The girls" being Natali's delightful and witchy teen daughters, who came to Haley's rescue!)

Once upon a Halloween week weary, a book deadline and a black cat shook things up dearly. So a witch grabbed her kids, all two, and lo chaos did ensue. Consider it a trick though meant as a treat, this episode comes with love and a bit un-neat.

Show notes: https://www.bonesandbobbins.com/2021/10/29/halloween-bonus-season-2-episode-21-5

21 - The First Femmes of Forensics Oct 15, 2021

Show notes

S02E21: Kate Warne, the heroic first woman Pinkerton detective, and Pearl Tytell, handwriting detective and trailblazing forensic document examiner.

When you need a tricky job done, you have to hire the best! As the first lady detective, Kate Warne’s work with the Pinkertons opened new investigative doors for the agency, helped foil a presidential assasination plot, and paved the way for the creation of the CIA. (We’re also told that she did a fabulous southern belle cosplay.) Pearl Tytell’s groundbreaking document investigation techniques exposed fraud in the highest levels of the government and the lowest reaches of backroom business deals and career-ending gossip mills. (She once even uncovered a fake claim to Russian royalty!) At times, her analysis carried more weight in the courts than the opinion of the FBI. From typewriter quirks to ink colors and paper stock, when Pearl was the expert witness, everybody listened!

Show notes: https://www.bonesandbobbins.com/2021/10/15/season-2-episode-21

20 - Living Nightmares Oct 01, 2021

Show notes

S02E20: Slender Man and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Whether written at the dawn of a nation or crowd-sourced on the internet, all urban legends hold within them at least a tiny kernel of truth. Here’s what happens when those distorted stories stop being fiction and become real living nightmares.

(Heads up: The first story involves violence against children. Listen at your own discretion.)

Show notes: https://www.bonesandbobbins.com/2021/10/01/season-2-episode-20

19 - She Walks in Beauty Like a Fright? Sep 17, 2021

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S02E19: Mrs. Margaret Smith-Wilkinson, nicknamed the Countess of Monte Cristo, and Lady Jane Lewson, the possible real life inspiration for Miss Havisham.

Come meet a hotel mogul turned high society con artist (who probably wasn’t a black widow), and the enigmatic walking fire hazard that might have inspired Dickens’ fictional jilted bride; two women whose actual lives are truly the stuff of fiction.

Show notes: https://www.bonesandbobbins.com/2021/09/17/season-2-episode-19

18 - Wicked Stitches Sep 03, 2021

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S02E18: Woven spells, sewing magic, and the history of spinsters.

Is there someone in your life who knits with glass needles, spins their own yarn, sews their own patterns, or dyes their own thread? Yes? Well, we strongly discourage getting on their bad side. You know, just in case they decide to throw that project into the fire.

Show notes: https://www.bonesandbobbins.com/2021/09/03/season-2-episode-18

17 - Whoa, Mama! Aug 20, 2021

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S02E17: Personal Ghost Stories and Haley’s Haunted Mom.

I mean, who doesn’t want to hear stories about a spooky local legend, a whispering apparition, a 1970s UFO, and Haley’s mom talking about the little girl ghost in her hall who looks just a bit too familiar?

Show notes: https://www.bonesandbobbins.com/2021/08/20/season-2-episode-17

16 - Fashion and Function Aug 06, 2021

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S02E16: Sewing spacesuits and the science lab at the Eiffel Tower.

Did you know that the Eiffel Tower doubles as art and science? It’s true! Also true: sewing a space suit is hard, and then your work gets shredded.

Show notes: https://www.bonesandbobbins.com/2021/08/06/season-2-episode-16