Before tarot became a tool for fortune-telling and self-reflection, it was a luxury pastime enjoyed by nobles in Renaissance Italy. In this episode, we trace tarot’s surprising journey from hand-painted trionfi decks in the courts of Milan and Ferrara, to its transformation during the French occult revival, and finally to its modern role as a guide for intuition, psychology, and personal growth. Along the way, we meet poets, mystics, rebels, and artists who reshaped the cards into a mirror for the human experience. This is the story of how a courtly card game became a global language of symbolism and self-discovery, and why The Fool’s journey still resonates with us today.

In 1630s France, a convent erupts in convulsions, visions, and blasphemous ecstasies, accusations that lead to one of history’s most infamous possession trials. This is the story of hysteria and desire colliding with politics and power, where faith becomes performance and a priest becomes a sacrifice.  Join us in the journey of how Mother Superior Jeanne des Anges, Cardinal Richelieu, and a town on edge turned a scandal into a saint-making machine.

Journey back to 1487, a Europe ravaged by plague, famine, and a desperate Catholic Church clinging to power. In this haunting episode, we expose how corruption, papal chaos, and mass paranoia collided to create the perfect storm for witch hunts. One book, the Malleus Maleficarum, turned fear into a weapon, unleashed brutal torture chambers, and set thousands of innocents ablaze. From secret sabbats to twisted trials and the lingering shadows of Satanic Panic today, this is the dark blueprint for how power turns fear into fire.

August 31, 1939: a voice crackles over the airwaves: “This is Gliwice. The station is in Polish hands.”

By dawn, German tanks are rolling across the border. But the so-called attack was a performance, complete with props, corpses, and propaganda. Join us as we uncover the Gleiwitz Incident, the staged spark that set Europe on fire.

Step inside the 42-foot ring and trace the circus from Ancient Rome’s Circus Maximus to Barnum’s “Greatest Show on Earth.” Discover how equestrian tricks, freak shows, and animal acts built a global spectacle — and how cruelty, exploitation, and spectacle shaped its rise and fall. We uncover the stories of performers, animals, and women under the big top, and explore how modern circus art transformed from exploitation into artistry.

In this episode, we trace the gritty, budget-driven rise of reality TV from MTV’s The Real World to VH1’s chaotic “celebreality” era. You’ll hear how networks cut costs by ditching writers, actors, and sets—and how that led to megahits like Flavor of Love, Rock of Love, and Megan Wants a Millionaire. But behind the drama was a dangerous lack of oversight. We unpack the shocking true crime that brought VH1’s empire crashing down and forever changed how reality TV is made.

Join us as we expose the deadly truth behind the Followers of Christ—a secretive cult where medical care is forbidden, obedience is demanded, and preventable deaths are buried in plain sight. Survivors speak out, records vanish, and the body count keeps rising.

On the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting, we reflect on the legacy of queer resistance—from medical torture disguised as treatment to the state-sanctioned violence that sparked the Stonewall Uprising. This episode uncovers the sanitized history of Pride and centers the voices so often erased: trans women of color, sex workers, street kids, and the criminalized. Before Pride was a parade, it was a rebellion led by those with nothing left to lose. Their fight wasn't for acceptance—it was for survival.

Bananas: cheap, cheerful... and covered in blood. This week, we peel back the sickly sweet skin of the banana industry to uncover CIA coups, corporate death squads, and a century of colonial capitalism. From United Fruit to Chiquita, it’s not just fruit—it’s a crime scene in a peel. Thanks to Tony Guacamole for the tip.

Before “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and rainbow capitalism, there was the Lavender Scare—a government-backed witch hunt targeting LGBTQ+ federal employees as threats to national security. In this episode, we uncover how Cold War paranoia collided with homophobia, turning queerness into a crime of patriotism. From surveillance and mass firings to one man’s fight that helped spark a movement, we trace the eerie parallels between 1950s propaganda and today’s anti-trans legislation and drag bans. History doesn’t repeat—it legislates.