Unhinged History

Episode 166 | Get the Red String Ready

This week’s unhinged stories feature two women largely forgotten by history. Starting off strong, Theresa tells the story of Madame Montour, the interpreter who spoke English, German, and several Native American languages. Her work as an interpreter brokered several treaties. We have one small problem with Madame Montour – she is history’s most unreliable narrator. Follow along as Theresa lays out a myriad of conflicting sources. Angie’s story is wildly different, as she regales us with the story of Jane Boleyn, Queen Anne Boleyn’s sister-in-law. Surprisingly, Jane’s story relates to several royal deaths. This woman served three queens in Tudor England before being sentenced for assisting Queen Catherine Howard in her affair.
This episode pairs well with: Sacagawea Nell Gwynn

Episode 165 | Making a Murder Board in My Kitchen

This week’s Unhinged History features two women with outrageous stories. Angie kicks things off with the story of Elizabeth Bathory, you know, the Blood Countess. She’s rumored to have murdered over 600 virgins to bathe in their blood in hopes of maintaining her youth and beauty. But what if all of that was created by the men in her life who owed her money? Angie pulls back the rumors and shares what we know and can prove about this infamous killer. In a delightfully unhinged pivot, Theresa shares the tale of Elvira de la Fuente Chaudoir. This Peruvian/French socialite turned double-agent spied for MI5 and convinced the Nazis move their troops away from Normandy, setting up success for the D-Day invasion. Her antics are legendary. You can hear Theresa on the edge of laughter the entire episode.
This episode pairs well with: Sack of Rome Mehmed II Pope Pius II / Vlad TepesAnother WWII Spy Toto Koopman

Episode 164 | Painting the Town Red, Literally

Some stories just warm you up inside like a Hot Toddy. Today, Theresa starts us off with a story from her comfort era: World War II, as she shares the tale of Soviet sniper, Lyudmila Pavlichenko. This badass earns a sniper diploma before graduating from college, which proves beneficial as she ends up fighting as one of only 2,000 female snipers. While only 500 of these women would survive the war, Lyudmila thrives, racking up 309 confirmed kills. She would then go on to become a friend of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Angie struggles with pivoting as she transitions from this sniper to the French court, as she regales us with the life of the Duchess de Polignac. This woman would serve Marie Antoinette and become her best friend. Learn how this down-to-earth woman deals with the most indulgent time period of France, and dodges the Reign of Terror. This story pairs well with: Maria Bochkareva and the Russian women’s battalion of death Nell Gwynn General Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

Episode 163 | LKGFO

Listen to this week’s episode as Angie tells a story about a man Theresa’s already learned about. She shares the story of Anders Lassen, the incredible Danish man who joined Colin Gubbins’ Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and made the SOE what it was known for.
This episode pairs well with: Paddy Mayne Colin Gubbins Odette Samson The SAS Train Raid You Never Heard of...

Episode 162 | I Found Freedom Instead

What a strange and wonderful mashup of unhinged history stories we have for you today.
When we think of Tudor England, we often overlook the individuals of African descent who lived and worked there. Today, Angie corrects that. Come learn about the various people historians uncovered. Theresa takes a different route as she shares the story of Darius McCollum. Darius loves one thing more than anything else in the world: trains. His love of the Metro Transit Authority has led him to get arrested for stealing trains and buses more than 35 times. Come listen to his tale.
This episode pairs well with: General Harriet TubmanGrunya Efimovna Sukhareva, the Russian researcher who discovered Autism

Episode 161 | In Europia...

What an episode of two indomitable people! Today, Theresa kicks things off by telling the story of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams. Dr. Dan is credited with completing the first open-heart surgery. This was in the mid-1800s, before the creation of rib spreaders, bypass machines, or any other devices that would make his life easier. Even better, his patient survives. To further boost his creds, this incredible human created the first racially integrated hospital and nursing school.
After that, Angie struggles with a transition to tell the story of Ona Judge. The tale begins with Ona being enslaved to Martha Washington, the wife of the first president. Well, after President Washington engages in some shady antics to keep Ona enslaved, she absconds. This gets old, George-y boy, to crash out. The rest, as they say, is history. This story pairs well with Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler Bass Reeves Robert Smalls

Episode 160 | An Ad for the National Parks Service

Today’s mash-up of stories leads to some very unexpected places as Angie shares the story of Belle da Costa Greene. Belle ends up being the first Black female librarian of Mr. J. P. Morgan. This woman ends up being the Pepper Potts to Morgan, as she controls art and literature that gets bought and added to his personal collection. Then, surprising no one, Theresa takes us in a very different direction as she recounts the tale of York, the Black man who accompanied Lewis and Clark on the expedition across the newly purchased land of the Louisiana Purchase. Like anyone who experiences travel, his trek changes him and gives him a sense of accomplishment, forever altering the power dynamic between him and his owner, William Clark.
This episode pairs well with:
Alice Roosevelt Sacagawea

Episode 159 | They Haven’t Repo’ed the Couch Yet

Few white dudes of history have ever earn so much respect from the Black community does, and for good reason. This week, Theresa takes over the entire episode and shares the unhinged life of John Brown. Starting with his early years, raised in a home that was both steeped in religion and abolitionism, John Brown’s path led him to campaign to end slavery.
During his life, he would earn the respect of Fredrick Douglass, as he polarized the nation in their stances on ending the practice of slavery. Theresa continues to share how it was Brown’s post-conviction writing that furthered his cause, and not so much the raid at Harper’s Ferry. This is a solid episode, if we say so.
This episode pairs well with: The attack on Senator Charles Sumner