The Strange History Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The Night People Tried to Trap Lightning Indoors Feb 03, 2026

Show notes

February 3 sits within a long tradition of winter reports involving ball lightning — glowing spheres of electrical energy that drifted through homes and defied explanation. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, Amy explores the strange true history of ball lightning, why people tried to trap it, and how the phenomenon remains one of science’s most stubborn mysteries.
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New episodes regularly. History gets weird here.

Anatole Le Braz & Ankou: Breton Death Lore, Ghost Stories, and the Man Who Interviewed Death Feb 02, 2026

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In this chilling mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, host Amy explores the dark, forgotten world of Anatole Le Braz, the Breton folklorist who preserved some of Europe’s most unsettling ghost stories and death traditions. Traveling to Brittany, France, this episode dives deep into Breton culture, oral history, and the eerie figure of Ankou, the Breton personification of Death who walks the roads at night collecting souls. Through rich storytelling and historical detail, we uncover how Le Braz recorded real eyewitness accounts of ghosts, death omens, funeral mistakes, and spirits returning to correct the living. From villages at the edge of the Atlantic to fireside confessions whispered in Breton homes, this episode reveals how an entire culture lived alongside death—not fearing it, but respecting it. If you love strange history, dark folklore, ghost stories, Celtic mythology, or forgotten European legends, this episode is a must-listen journey into a world where death keeps records and the dead sometimes come back to fix clerical errors.
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New episodes regularly. History gets weird here.

The Bretons: Celtic Origins, Breton Language, Ancient Lore, and the People Who Crossed the Sea With Their Stories Intact Feb 02, 2026

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In this epic mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, host Amy explores the haunting and resilient history of the Bretons, a Celtic people whose identity survived exile, invasion, and cultural erasure. From their migration across the sea from Britain to Brittany, France, to the survival of the Breton language, this episode tells the story of a culture that refused to disappear. Through immersive storytelling, we uncover Breton folklore, ancient customs, standing stones, sea legends, and the powerful myths surrounding death, saints, and the supernatural. This episode dives deep into Celtic heritage, oral traditions, and the quiet resistance that allowed the Bretons to preserve their identity for over a thousand years—often in defiance of empire and modernization. If you’re fascinated by Celtic history, European folklore, lost languages, ancient cultures, or strange history that blends myth with reality, this episode is a must-listen journey to the edge of the land where stories still remember themselves.
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New episodes regularly. History gets weird here.

February 2 – The Night People Measured the Future by Firelight Feb 02, 2026

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February 2, known as Candlemas, was once one of Europe’s most important midwinter prediction nights, when people used candlelight and shadows to determine how long winter would last. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, Amy explores the strange true history of Candlemas, its pagan roots, its role in survival planning, and how fire became an early form of forecasting.
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New episodes regularly. History gets weird here.

February 1 – The Day Movies Were Forced to Follow the Sun Feb 01, 2026

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On February 1, 1893, Thomas Edison opened the world’s first motion picture studio, the Black Maria, a rotating building designed to follow the sun for filming. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, Amy explores the strange true story of early cinema, why movies once depended on daylight, and how a spinning shed helped launch the film industry.
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New episodes regularly. History gets weird here.

January 31 – The Sound Some People Swear Exists Jan 31, 2026

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January 31 closes out the quietest month of the year with one of history’s most unsettling mysteries: the Hum, a low-frequency sound reported by people around the world but rarely recorded or explained. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, Amy explores the history, science, and folklore behind the Hum and why some mysteries refuse to be confirmed — or dismissed.
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🎧 The Strange History Podcast Love bizarre true stories, forgotten scandals, and history’s most unhinged moments?
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New episodes regularly. History gets weird here.

The Dot-Com Super Bowl Graveyard: Startups That Spent Millions and Vanished Overnight Jan 30, 2026

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At the height of the dot-com bubble, internet startups believed a Super Bowl commercial was the ultimate shortcut to legitimacy. Instead, it became a graveyard.
In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, host Amy investigates the rise and spectacular collapse of dot-com companies that spent millions on Super Bowl advertising—only to disappear months later. From Pets.com and eToys to Webvan, Kozmo.com, and Boo.com, this episode explores how hype replaced sustainability, how visibility accelerated failure, and why the Super Bowl became the most expensive mistake in tech history.
We dig deep into internal business models, venture capital pressure, logistics failures, timing disasters, and executive hubris—revealing why these companies didn’t just fail, but failed publicly and permanently. This is not a story about bad ideas. It’s a story about being loud before being ready.
If you love strange business history, dot-com bubble stories, tech failures, or forgotten Super Bowl controversies, this episode is for you.
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🎧 The Strange History Podcast Love bizarre true stories, forgotten scandals, and history’s most unhinged moments?
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New episodes regularly. History gets weird here.

The Super Bowl Startup Curse Part Two: Modern Tech Companies That Rose and Collapsed Jan 30, 2026

Show notes

The dot-com bubble wasn’t the end of Super Bowl advertising disasters—it was only the beginning.
In Part Two of The Super Bowl Startup Curse, host Amy investigates modern tech companies that followed the same dangerous path as their dot-com predecessors. From Quibi’s billion-dollar streaming failure to crypto companies like FTX collapsing under the weight of their own Super Bowl confidence, this episode explores how visibility continues to outpace viability in the startup world.
This episode dives deep into venture capital culture, celebrity endorsements, crypto hype, metaverse ambitions, and pandemic-era overconfidence. It examines why massive Super Bowl exposure still acts as a pressure test that fragile companies cannot survive, freezing optimistic narratives in place just before reality intervenes.
If you’re fascinated by tech history, startup collapses, crypto scandals, business psychology, and the strange patterns hiding behind major cultural events, this episode reveals why the Super Bowl remains one of the most dangerous stages in modern business.
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🎧 The Strange History Podcast Love bizarre true stories, forgotten scandals, and history’s most unhinged moments?
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New episodes regularly. History gets weird here.

January 30 – The Day the Future Suddenly Felt Too Close Jan 30, 2026

Show notes

On January 30, 1925, inventor John Logie Baird demonstrated one of the first successful long-distance television transmissions, allowing a moving human image to be sent through the air for the first time. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, Amy explores the strange true story of early television, why it unsettled audiences, and how the future arrived flickering and unfinished.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-strange-history-podcast--5773362/support.
🎧 The Strange History Podcast Love bizarre true stories, forgotten scandals, and history’s most unhinged moments?
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New episodes regularly. History gets weird here.

January 29 – The Poem That Wouldn’t Let Anyone Sleep Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

On January 29, 1845, Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” was published, instantly becoming one of the most famous works in American literary history. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, Amy explores the strange true story behind the poem’s sudden popularity, its unsettling themes of grief and repetition, and how one haunting word reshaped poetry forever.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-strange-history-podcast--5773362/support.
🎧 The Strange History Podcast Love bizarre true stories, forgotten scandals, and history’s most unhinged moments?
Submit your ideas for The Strange History Podcast
Follow The Strange History Podcast wherever you listen and never miss an episode. 🔗 Listen & Subscribe:
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New episodes regularly. History gets weird here.

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