That's History, Babe!

We’re hearing strange noises…and no it’s not the sound of our own voices. This week on the pod, we continue our stint in the supernatural with a closer look at the world of spiritualism. Learn how people have tried to commune with ghosts over the ages and explore the social and religious movement that the belief in ghosts spawned in the America of the 1840s and 50s. Bet you didn’t know that ghosts were feminists, did you?? Tangents include the spookiest family in the world: the Kennedys, Abe’s award-winning Halloween costume, and the importance of the follower-to-following ratio on Instagram. SOURCEShttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YOEmznC4WUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlyjACl9GQchttps://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/religion-and-philosophy/spiritualism/https://archive.org/details/historyofspiritu015638mbp/page/n9/mode/2up

Get ready for a spooky scary kickoff to the Halloween season here on THB. We’ve got vampires, tuberculosis, and most terrifyingly of all, the state of Rhode Island!! This week, we’re taking it back to the 1890s to explore the New England Vampire Panic, the story of when families ravaged by the spread of TB looked to a chilling legend from the Old World for explanations and protection, leading to some gruesome solutions. But where do vampire legends come from and how do they relate to our modern visions of vamps? Tangents include Abe’s frequent cemetery walks, Jared’s favorite up and coming punk rock group, and the lasting impact of the Twilight soundtrack (“Bella’s Lullaby” in particular). SOURCEShttps://youtu.be/O7CsRZK_yL4?si=SMdaP78RqNzZChCdhttps://smallstatebighistory.com/the-vampire-case-of-sarah-tillinghast/https://normalaboutit.substack.com/p/an-art-history-tiktokker-is-normalBell, Michael E. 2013. Food for the Dead: On the Trail of New England Vampires. N.p.: Wesleyan University Press.Bockler, Donald. 1998. “Let's Play Doctor: Medical Rounds in Ancient Greece.” The American Biology Teacher 60, no. 2 (February): 106-111. https://doi-org.uidaho.idm.oclc.org/10.2307/4450428.“Body Farms 101: The Curious Case of Decomposing Science.” 2025. My Mortuary Cooler. https://www.mymortuarycooler.com/blogs/news/body-farms-101-the-curious-case-of-decomposing-science?srsltid=AU7gw4VXWxVZTWaGea_xf-V4XtdkM5Y0Hbrok0LXZZA8fGbqWT0PcYmX.Clark, James. 2024. “Tuberculosis Part two: Treatments and cures.” Science Museum. https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/tuberculosis-part-two-treatments-and-cures.Kilgour, Frederick G. 1957. “GALEN.” Scientific American 196, no. 3 (March): 105-117. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24940775.Kuriyama, Shigeshisa. 1995. “Interpreting the History of Bloodletting.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 50, no. 1 (January): 11-46. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24623553.Mahnke, Aaron. 2026. Exhumed: Unearthing the History of the American Vampire. N.p.: Running Press.Ravenel, Mazyck P. 1903. “The Warfare against Tuberculosis.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 42, no. 173 (April - May): 212-219. https://www.jstor.org/stable/983734.Ross, Ian, and Carol U. Ross. 1979. “Body Snatching in Nineteenth Century Britain: From Exhumation to Murder.” British Journal of Law and Science 6, no. 1 (Summer): 108-118. https://doi-org.uidaho.idm.oclc.org/10.2307/1409709.“Tuberculosis (TB).” 2026. World Health Organization (WHO). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis.Tucker, Abigail. 2012. “The Great New England Vampire Panic.” Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-new-england-vampire-panic-36482878/.Twisselmann, Brite. 2009. “Review: Dracula.” BMJ: British Medical Journal 339, no. 7721 (September): 637. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25672649.

In the second installment of our two-part series on the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, things go a little off the rails. Friends record each other’s phone calls, a guy named Starr writes a 1,000 page smut book, the First Lady serves c*nt before a grand jury, and the President of the United States is impeached for only the second time in American history. Trust us…it’s a doozy. Tangents include Abe’s new AMC A-List membership, Jared’s revelations while speaking to an elder gay man, and the inimitable talent of that whacky Scientologist Tom Cruise. SOURCEShttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6UIb9OR8Rwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_ML9zSnSoYhttps://www.c-span.org/clip/interview/user-clip-lindsey-graham-calling-for-clintons-impeachment/4752466https://www.c-span.org/clip/senate-proceeding/dale-bumpers-clinton-impeachment-part-1/4717617https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/20/politics/exiting-job-clinton-accepts-immunity-deal.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20080604172111/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,98988,00.htmlhttps://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20010207/gore07/blame-divides-gore-clintonhttps://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/26/linda-tripp-obituary-2020-448351https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/politics/031598clinton-tripp.htmlhttps://time.com/archive/6733621/theres-something-about-linda-tripp/https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1998/12/decoding-the-starr-reporthttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/11/15/the-secret-war-in-starrs-office

In part one of a two part special, we dig deep into one of the seediest political scandals in American history. A president, an intern, and a nosy secretary with an axe to grind plus a cast of other characters collide against a backdrop of totally 90s irreverence. We’re talking, of course, about THE LEWINSKY SCANDAL. Join us for part one, as we explore the rise of Bill Clinton, his history with women and the early scandals that rocked his administration. We’ll also take a closer look at the life of Monica Lewinksy and her arrival at the White House, discussing how a 22 year old intern became sexually involved with the most powerful man in the world. Tangents include our first ever slumber party, what goes on in a kangaroo’s pouch, and our 30th episode!! SOURCESShow Me The Money: The Clinton EraCBS | 60 Minutes | March 15, 1998Paula Jones Interview 1994Bill Clinton’s Scandal Spiral: How It All Unraveled (S1, E1) | The Clinton Affair | Full Episodehttps://play.aetv.com/shows/the-clinton-affair/season-1/episode-2 Secret Tapes Expose the Clinton Affair (S1, E3) | The Clinton Affair | Full Episode | Biographyhttps://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/13/us/clinton-settles-jones-lawsuit-with-a-check-for-850000.html https://www.npr.org/2016/10/09/497291071/a-brief-history-of-juanita-broaddrick-the-woman-accusing-bill-clinton-of-rape https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/08/06/lewinsky.profile/

The labor pains are radiating through the mic this week on the pod as we explore the story of Nadya Suleman, aka the Octomom; a California woman who in 2009 gave birth to EIGHT BABIES at once. We explore Nadya’s life and origins, the cultural context of her record-breaking birth experience, as well as the misogyny, racism, and classism present across so much of the coverage of Nadya’s story. Tangents include the status of chili (soup, stew, or its own thing??), rainy day activities and our undying devotion to Ann Curry. SOURCESOctomom Natalie Suleman & Teen Octuplets Reveal the Truth About Life With 14 KidsThe Politics of Reproduction: The Troubling Case of Nadya Suleman and the Assisted Reproductive Technology by Dana-Ain Davis (2009)Social Factoring the Numbers with Assisted Reproduction by Bridget J Crawford (2009)"California Medical Board probes octuplet birth", Yahoo News, Feb 6, 2009"Her side of the story" Ann Curry interviews Nadya Suleman

It’s a regular harem in here this week on the pod as we explore the life and legacy of one of the most formidable leaders in European history: Suleiman the Magnificent. Hear about the rise of the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman’s upending of the European political order, and the extraordinary influence of Suleiman’s wife Hurrem, a woman who rose from enslavement to the heights of power in the largest empire since Rome. Tangents include Abe meeting Bernie Sanders on the way to pick up hemorrhoid medication, Jared considering illegal immigration, and nature’s most lethal killing machine: the moose.SOURCESSüleyman the Magnificent, 1987 | From the VaultsHarem Suleiman the Magnificent Documentary | TimelineDede, M. (2026). The Image of Suleiman the Magnificent in Europe. Mukaddime Journal, 17(1), 107–127.Boer, H. R. (Harry R. (1972). Suleiman the Magnificent and the Protestant Reformation. Reformed Journal, 22(8), 11–14.Mclaughlin, D. (2016). Hungary: Unearthing Suleiman the Magnificent’s Tomb. Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, 35(6), OV-15-OV-16.Ágoston, Gábor, and Bruce Alan Masters (2009). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire.Merriman, Roger Bigelow (2013). Suleiman the Magnificent 1520-1566.

This week on the pod, discover a presidential assassination that history forgot! Join us as we discuss the life and death of William McKinley, one of several cornfed presidents from Ohio. We explore McKinley’s presidency, his personal life and beliefs, and how he met his end at the hands of a loner son of immigrants disillusioned with capitalism. Beneath the surface of the McKinley assassination, we dig deeper into the divisions of class, race, and ethnicity that ran through America at the turn of the twentieth century. Tangents include Jared post to r/gayselfie, Bunny and Deidre’s successful cat cohabitation, Stephen Sondheim's Assassins, and whether anyone deserves to die in Buffalo, NY.SOURCESWilliam McKinley and His America by H. Wayne Morgan (2003)“Robert Merry discusses his book President McKinley: Architect of the American Century”, Q+A, C-SPAN (2017) “Eric Rauchway discusses his book Murdering McKinley", Q+A, C-SPAN (2003)“Scott Miller discusses his book The President and the Assassin”, Q+A, C-SPAN (2011)Fine, S. (1955). Anarchism and the Assassination of McKinley. The American Historical Review, 60(4), 777–799. https://doi.org/10.2307/1844919 "An interview with the President's nurses". The Trained Nurse and Hospital Review. 27 (4): 222–223. October 1901.

She may not have been a coal miner’s daughter, but Mary Harris Jones, aka “Mother Jones”, was a ‘coal miner’s angel’. Clamber into the coal cart with us as we learn how an old lady who loved swearing helped miners and their families battle it out in some of America’s bloodiest labor disputes. Hear how Mother Jones came back from not one, but two, life-altering tragedies to become a champion of the downtrodden, organizing and mobilizing working people into mass union movements. Tangents include Jared’s ruined birthday, the finale of Abe’s apartment-moving saga, and RUDE Parisians.SOURCES“The Mine Wars”, American Experience, PBS (2016)"Miner’s Day was born from tragedy, memorializing the dead and honoring the living", West Virginia Mine Wars Museum"Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America by Elliott Gorn", Book TV, C-SPAN, August 1, 2001Feurer, R. (2026). Illinois Coal Miners Fight for Democracy. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, 119(1), 40–43. https://doi-org.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/10.5406/23283335.119.1.10Mari Boor Tonn (2011) “From the Eye to the Soul”: Industrial Labor's Mary Harris “Mother” Jones and the Rhetorics of Display, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, 41:3, 231-249, DOI: 10.1080/02773945.2011.575325