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History Lessons for Misanthropes

Mar 14, 2023

In this episode we discuss the 1940s Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr. Born in Austria, she got her start in Germany cinema before fleeing ro the US during the war to escape her marriage. As well as an extensive filmography, Hedy was an inventor who designed military grade weapons solutions. 


Jan 10, 2023

In this episode we discuss the life of Mary Ann Shadd, a teacher, activist, and journalist in the mid-1800s. She was a freeborn black woman who was exposed to the abolitionist movement from a young age, which inspired her to spend her life fighting for the rights of black people in Canada and the United States....


Dec 20, 2022

The last episode of 2022! In this bawdy and often silly episode, we discuss the life of 19th century entertainer, Joseph Pujol, better known as le Petomane. Joseph's skill was that he had a masterful contron of his GI system, and could pass gas in myriad and entertaining ways. We're ending the year with an absurd...


Dec 6, 2022

In this episode, we look at the life and troubled career of Maila Nurmi, who created the Vampira character in 1954. Before creating her iconic glamour ghoul, Maila had a hard time breaking into show business both in Hollywood and Broadway. She struggled with a strict upbringing while not fitting into the expected...


Nov 22, 2022

In this episode we discuss a possession in New France, when a young women named Barbe Hallay was tormented by demons. This is a story of colonization in the 17th century, a land that is trying to keep it's colonial population Catholic in the face of hardships, and a nun who desperately wants sainthood. Was Barbe...