Unhinged History

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Episode 147 | Google, Help a Sister Out Nov 14, 2025

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This week, Unhinged History honors the achievements of native Americans and their history.
We hear a lot about the Navajo codetalkers of WWII, but how much do you know about the Choctaw codetalkers of WWI that inspired the Second World War version? If you’re like most of the world, you don’t know much. This week, Theresa takes Angie on a romp through history as she shares the origins of the United States using the languages of indigenous peoples to communicate effectively without their messages getting intercepted.
Angie scares Theresa when she also tells a story about the Choctaw. Instead of talking about WWI, Angie zips back to the mid-1800s to share about the first Choctaw lawyer and the first Native American to be admitted to the bar in the United States. James Lawrence McDonald was educated by the government, then used his education to serve his people and help them when the nation didn’t honor its side of the treaties.
These stories pair well with:
Francis Pegahmagabow
Anandi Joshi

Episode 146 | I Speak Menu Nov 07, 2025

Show notes

Apparently, Angie can’t stop thinking about the fall of the Berlin Wall, and today tackles the specific incidents that directly led to its collapse. So if you want to hear how Russian middle managers muff the punt and how that triggers some real drama...
Theresa shifts the focus of history in a dramatic way when she shares the story of Apache warrior, healer, and holy woman, Lozen. She shares her mystical powers of tracking her enemy, her missions with her brother Victorio, and how she joined Geronimo’s forces.

Episode 145 | Are You Missing a Body Part? Oct 31, 2025

Show notes

This week, these two unhinged ladies wrap up the final week of Spooky Season with two perfect stories for the time of year. Theresa kicks off with the story of Wild Bill Hickock and how he was haunted by the death of one of the men he killed in a gun fight, and how his final hand of poker became known as the “Deadman’s Hand.”
Angie digs up a great tale when she regales us with the story of Edgar Allen Poe's death. While his life was far from illustrious, it appears he might have been “cooped.” Cooping was when a group of people attempting to cause voter fraud, kidnapped and beat the victims, then got them drunk and had them vote in accordance with the kidnappers.
This story pairs well with:
Stagecoach Mary Fields
Button Gwinnett

Episode 144 | We Shouldn’t Worry About My Story Oct 24, 2025

Show notes

Way back when King James II was attempting to bring his bride to England, her voyage hit some bad weather. So he blamed witches. Angie shares the North Berwick Witch Trials and how the king later regrets them.
Theresa takes things down a dark path as she wades into some true crime, telling the story of the Lady of Crescent Lake. Come for the terrible relationship where the wife goes missing. Stay for the part where the lake relinquishes her body years later, after it had turned to soap.

This episode pairs well with:
The last witch burned in Ireland
The Haunted Queen Mary

Episode 143 | We’ve Got Legs to Lose Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

We’re deep in Spooky Season, as Angie and Theresa share some tales to get us in the spirit.
Theresa starts things off when she covers the sinking of the Andelana. This four-mast ship was safely anchored in Tacoma, Washington, when a storm hit, sinking the vessel in minutes without witnesses. All 17 men aboard were drowned. Then we have to unpack the tragedies that happen after it sinks...
Angie outdoes herself when she covers Inês de Castro and Pedro (Peter 1 of Portugal). You might have already heard of Inês. She’s the skeleton queen of Portugal. It’s a rather sordid tale involving multiple civil wars fought for love. It’s just unfortunate for Peter 1, that his love lasts longer than his partner’s life span.
These stories pair well with:
The Haunted Queen Mary
Lady Mary Howard

Episode 142 | He’s Built His Retirement Hut Oct 10, 2025

Show notes

This week, Angie explores the adventures of Pyotr Kozlov, a traveler from Russia/Soviet Union who explored large portions of Asia and was falsely reported to have found the tomb of Genghis Khan.
Kozlov led several expeditions uncovering several royal burials and was surprisingly appreciated by the countries in which he worked.
This episode pairs well with: Rear Admiral Robert Byrd
Mary Kingsley

Episode 141 | I’m “Questionable Boundaries” Oct 03, 2025

Show notes

Join us as Theresa kicks off the spooky season by sharing the origins of her favorite book, Frankenstein. She takes us through all the scientific advancements leading to the creation of the favorite creature. From resuscitating drowning victims to using electricity to generate muscle spasms in corpses, science hinted that reanimating the dead was just around the corner.

Theresa also shares some of the darker parts of Mary Shelley’s life that added additional color to the horror and grief in the book.

This episode pairs well with:
The Casquette Girls of New Orleans 14

Episode 140 | He *IS* the Shed Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

Join us this week as we tackle some sketchy history.
Angie starts us with the story of (not quite a founding mother) Eliza Bowen Jumel. She’s born in a brothel, and eventually becomes the wealthiest woman in America. This fascinating woman ends up marrying Aaron Burr later in life and divorces him, using Alexander Hamilton Jr. as her lawyer. Theresa takes us to Japan in the 1100s and regales us with the story of Saitō Musashibō Benkei. This legendary samurai grows up in a series of monasteries, goes rogue, and in his quest to win 1000 swords in battle, becomes the loyal retainer of Yoshitsune. While defending Yoshitsune, Benkei would defeat 300 swordsmen and die standing (and riddled with arrows).
This story pairs well with:
Nell Gwyn - actress and court mistress Miyamoto Musashi

Episode 139 | Coordinating Their Chaos Sep 19, 2025

Show notes

Theresa is back at it. This story has a little bit of everything you expect from one of her stories. WWII. Female spies. A missing leg.
Join us as she shares the tale of Virginia Hall. This renowned spy has an incredible story, and there is so much to unpack. This story pairs well with: Odette Samson and Peter Churchill

Episode 138 | They’re Formal. Classy. Sep 12, 2025

Show notes

Angie continues with her love affair with SAS member Paddy Mayne. Join us as she takes us through his work during WWII. Paddy is quite the hero. While demurely accepting medals for his valor, our favorite Irishman is leading his troops miles behind enemy lines and making the lives of the Axis powers rough.

This story pairs well with: Paddy Mane’s Intro to the SAS

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