But Have You Heard About?

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Get ready to dive into another civics and history lesson with Courtney and our guest this week, Becky!

While we know the Legislative Branch is all about creating laws that have to be passed by the executive...who are these people and how did they get to wield the cool pen? As Becky and I discuss--there's more than meets the vote on the two Congressional houses of the Legislative Branch. Things we cover in this week's slightly fascinating episode:
How did we even get to two parts of Congress? Why can't there be just one?--How the Virginia, New Jersey, and Connecticut Plan literally planned out representation of the Union.
Did we always vote for our direct Senators? Not at all; until the 17th amendment, state legislators decided. It was a whole ordeal and seats would remain empty. Do people still believe we should go back to that system?  Surprisingly yes.
How do we get the numbers of Congressional reps per a state? And why is the total number 435? 
Is gerrymandering kinda illegal, or kinda legal?
How do we fill vacant Senate and House seats? Do we always vote? Is the next person to hold that office chosen by a reluctant sloth? Tune in to find out all of these answers and then some!

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But have you heard about HAARP? Matt and I now have.
The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, or HAARP, is a scientific endeavor aimed at studying the properties and behavior of the ionosphere. "The ionosphere stretches roughly 50 to 400 miles above Earth's surface, right at the edge of space. Along with the neutral upper atmosphere, the ionosphere forms the boundary between Earth's lower atmosphere — where we live and breathe — and the vacuum of space." Sounds super cool and full of science? Yeah, and apparently that scares people into thinking the worst out of a machine and program that was a love child of U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA.) Well, HAARP is known to not let people tour, unlike many other government funded research, and if you've gone to their actual website...very vague. If you're surprised that conspiracy theories can come from this, you haven't been listening to enough BHYHA conspiracy theory episodes.

While the main focus is radio waves, the conspiracy theories that come from government and science combined is out there. Nick Begich Jr., the son of the late U.S. Representative and brother of former U.S. Senator and basically a well known name in Alaska, really spread rumors and theories that included how HAARP controls the weather AND is a mind control device. Whaaaaaat? Yeah, crazy shenanigans. Make sure to tune in to learn which slightly famous former governor also believe HAARP isn't all it's cracked up to be. 

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As I am one to help others understand history, to fully grasp US history you have to also understand the role the government plays and how it interacts with itself. In this first installment of many (I am sure), I am joined again by Anna Maria to kick this off! 

We go over the three branches of government (basic, I know), but then we go into detail about checks and balances between the branches. Do you know how the Judicial branch can check the Legislative Branch? After listening to this, you will know examples you may have learned in a civics class and forgotten, as well as a few times checks and balances were abused. Is our government perfect? Probably not; it's made by man and man is not perfect. But knowing facts and the correct terminology can help you let those internet trolls they've been hoodwinked by their favorite meme they found on the timeline from a former high school classmate that now let's you know you can make $800 a week from home--and it's not a pyramid scheme. 

Also, I sing a song. This may become a thing. I apologize in advance, buuuuut you can stop before the singing. We're probably all lucky that I chose history as the final major. 

What did you think of todays' episode?

Yes, it's November, but it's still spooky season--leaves crunch when you walk on them which scares me if I'm not expecting it. Anyways...

In this episode I am joined by Roxanne to talk about the Conjuring movies and the factuality of those movies. As we discuss; was it real, or were things exaggerated to make that bread? While we are both believers, and share personal stories about how I convinced Roxanne to get a little too close to an old house in New Orleans and a spirit followed her home, you can still be a skeptic about the total extent of those stories. Will I be trying to take Annabelle home with me to be on my bed any time soon? No. I will not. For fun, we go into clowns and how they are or are not scary, but I bring up Wrinkles the Clown (spoilers in the podcast, but go watch it) and I suggest watching it on Hulu. 
Also, we talk a lot about underwear. Like, a lot more than normal. 
AND it's my 30th episode. Thanks for sticking around :)

What did you think of todays' episode?

Throughout quite a few of my episodes, I asked my guests who they considered to be the best and worst president in America; while I knew a lot of my guests would have similar answers (Trump as the worst and Obama as the best), I wanted to put them on the spot to hear their answers. I hope you enjoy this election clip with short opinions from past guests. 
I couldn't let my guests be the only ones to voice their opinions; I dissect quite a few presidents and give pros and cons about the man and their term. Some people honestly really liked Nixon, and he has a couple pros, like trade talks with China, but his con list is longer than the coveted toilet paper roll back in March. Not all of the better presidents were saints; FDR literally turned away Jews that were later murdered in the Holocaust. 
While I didn't have a guest on this episode, I hope you enjoy my facts and quirky side humor in relation to these old men. Maybe one day we'll have a woman, or another not so ancient man as president. 

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While I say it a lot on this podcast, there are SO MANY amazing stories that deserve not only to be told to a wider audience, but they need to be made into movies. One of those is about Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts. 

On this episode I am joined by two of my Girl Scout sisters, Caroline and Jaymie, to not only reminisce about our time in Scouts, but to talk about how much of a pioneer Daisy was. Born in Savannah, Georgia in 1860, the daughter of wealthy elites, she grew up privileged, but a sickly child. She attended schooling where she was introduced to her future husband through a friend, William Low. As we point out in the episode, her husband was not supportive of her ambitions, even if it started out as education programs for young women. 
After the passing of her cheating husband, she had the fortune of meeting the founder of Boy Scouts, Lord Robert Baden Powell. Through his insistence, she found purpose in her life by starting her own Girl Guides troop in Scotland, and later the first one of 18 girls on March 12, 1912 in her hometown of Savannah. 
Tune in to this latest episode to hear more about Daisy, her life, and Girl Scouts. 

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Another day, another spooky Texas legend explored with Courtney and Erika!

But have you heard about the Goatman's Bridge? Its out in Argyle, Texas, near Denton, and is also called the Old Alton Bridge. Supposedly, the bridge is haunted by a demonic spirit called the Goatman. On this episode, Erika and I talk about the multiple origin stories, especially how you are more likely to be impacted by the demon if you are related to slave holders, or members of the KKK. Maybe find out your ancestry before you go testing the Goatman?

Was the Neiman Marcus story about the Lady in White a marketing ploy, or was it real? There are many variations of the Lady in White/Lady of the Lake--a woman drenched appears by a lake and asks for a ride home with a couple. Once the couple starts to drive they notice she's gone and all that is left is a puddle in the backseat.  In 1953 a  detailed account of the Lady of the Lake legend was included in Dallas author Frank X. Tolbert’s book, Neiman-Marcus, Texas: The Story of the Proud Dallas Store. In this account, a beautiful blonde girl appears on the road near White Rock Lake.  Mr. and Mrs. Guy Malloy, directors of display for Neiman-Marcus, spot her standing as if she had just walked up from the beach. Upon seeing the girl standing in the beams of their headlights Mrs. Malloy said:
“Stop, Guy. That girl seems in trouble. She must have fallen in the lake. Her dress is wet. Yet you can tell that it is a very fine dress. She certainly got it at the Store.”
To learn what else happens, tune into this newest episode of But Have You Heard About. 

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In this special spooky episode of conspiracy theories, we revisit spiritualism to talk about one of the greatest debunkers of spiritualism, and how a friendship soured because of his skepticism.  For those that know, Harry Houdini was not only the greatest escape artist of all time, he was also the staunchest debunker of spiritualism and seances. As a magician, he'd seen it all--and he would call people mediums out for profiting off of people's want to talk to deceased relatives, especially after World War I. In this episode, we talk about Houdini's special relationship with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (the creator of Sherlock Holmes), why his wife Bess had seances after his death, and how Houdini passed. 
It's always a trip on conspiracy theory Monday. 

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Welcome to the very first ever panel on But Have You Heard About! I was joined again by LaToya, her brother Terrence, their childhood friend Nick, and my colleague turned wonderful friend Maria to talk about Jim Crow and how it really never left American culture. Even after the Civil Rights Act of 1964,  white supremacy was and is still impacting our current system of government--whether voter ID laws, gerrymandering, or how we view crime. 

When most people think about Jim Crow, they most likely do not think of the lasting effects. Not just with how the 70s and 80s impacted people of color in America, but even in present day. As one of the panelists put it, racism is in the air we breathe. Until those in power are ready to give up that presumed position of power in our current system, we will continue to have systematic oppression--and it doesn't even need to be called Jim Crow.

What did you think of todays' episode?

Have you danced with the Dancing Devil? Heard the scratches at the Midget Mansion? Or even had your car saved by the children at the train tracks? Well, if you haven't heard the history behind some of these local San Antonio area spooky legends, are you in for a treat.
Erika joins me again to talk about more spooky legends, and we discuss three major San Antonio ones, including if they could be real, where did the stories originate from if they didn't actually happen in San Antonio, and are they just tales to keep young men and women in line with good faith? You don't want to miss this week's update on the spookies!