Don't Look Now

Where do all the Christmas traditions that are common across the United States come from?  Have we really be doing them for hundreds of years are or they recent inventions?  Come with us as we journey through Christmas Past and see what started many of the traditions we hold dear.

We discuss the history of the Hope Diamond and it's famous curse.  From it's "acquisition" in India by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier to it's acquisition by the Smithsonian, the Hope Diamond has been famous for tragedies that have surrounded it.  Are they part of a curse, or just a false pattern that people have latched on to?

We discuss the violent and sad history of the Hotel Cecil, a great old landmark of Downtown LA.  From it's sad history during the Great Depression to it's most recent, horrifying episode, bad things seem to happen around the Cecil.

We discuss the 1983 disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15 year old girl who lived in the Vatican.  Theories abound on what happened to her on her way to flute lessons in June 1983.

The history of the Ghost Dance movement.  Listen along as we talk about a culture movement in the Paiute Native American tribe that spread quickly across America giving hope to the disenfranchised Native Americans, and troubling the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

The story of Uncle Jerry and the McDonald's Monopoly cheating scandal.  Ever wonder why you never found Boardwalk while playing McDonald's Monopoly?  It's probably due to Jerome Jacobson and his secret distribution of the major prizes for cash, soon to me a major movie near you.

We discuss the history of witchcraft, where the roots of the modern idea of a witch come from, and how technology becomes indistinguishable from witchcraft.

We discuss Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the story, the background to it's conception, and general tidbits.  We also end with a bummer :( 

We discuss the (so famous it's infamous) Salem Witch Trials.  How did several local girls accusing local women of bewitching them turn into a crazed outbreak of mass hysteria?  How does one become a #rampanthag?  Come find out.

Listen as we discuss America's first ghost story, Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  What facts are buried in the fiction?  What does this story have to do with Will freaking out as a kid on the way to visit Jarbelo, KS?  Join us and find out.