Interview with President Jimmy Carter: Guinea Worm Disease

This 2017 episode examines the practice of British and French monarchs laying on hands to cure sick people from the medieval period to the 18th century. One disease was so often "cured" it came to be ...

4 Nov 202332min

Holly discusses the strange reassurance she finds in examining historical crime stories. Tracy talks about the way Lenormand cartomancy decks differ from tarot.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...

3 Nov 202322min

Lenormand was a fortune-teller in France in the 19th century. She was hugely influential, because despite her work being illegal, very important and powerful people consulted her for cartomancy readin...

1 Nov 202339min

The story of what happened to Pearl Bryan is horrifying and frightening. The scandalous particulars of the events that led to her murder captivated the attention of the U.S. in the late 1800s, but Pea...

30 Okt 202341min

This 2019 episode notes that the Catacombs contain the bones of an estimated 6 to 7 million people, and explains that their history is really two interconnected stories of mines and human remains.See ...

28 Okt 202331min

Holly and Tracy talk about pumpkin carving traditions and techniques. They also discuss Pearl Curran's life and the writing output of Patience.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

27 Okt 202323min

Patience Worth was a popular writer in the early 20th century. But she was a 17th-century ghost, using Pearl Curran as her conduit from spirit realm to printed page. Research: Braude, Stephen E. “Dis...

25 Okt 202339min

Jack-o’-lanterns have become one of the most iconic symbols of Halloween. Their origin story isn’t exactly well documented, so tracing their roots involves some folklore, some agriculture, and literar...

23 Okt 202331min