In the sixteenth century, witch trials were a fact of life. Women were being hauled before courts across Europe. Confessions were extracted under torture. Executions followed. Into this world stepped Johann Weyer, who looked at all of it—the confessions, the trials, the executions—and said that these women are sick, not sinful. They are patients, not criminals. And the men putting them on trial ought to know better. This episode brings you a story of religious belief and scientific inquiry at the dawn of the modern era, the story of Johann Weyer.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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Albertus Magnus, the thirteenth-century polymath known as the Universal Doctor, had a problem. To some, he was the greatest natural philosopher of his age. To others, he was a dangerous sorcerer who built talking automatons, disguised himself as a midwife to learn forbidden secrets, and wrote books on summoning demons. Was Albertus Magnus a saint, or was he a sorcerer? The answer to this question would help define the very boundary between science and magic. In this episode, I bring you the story of Albertus Magnus and the Mirror of Astronomy.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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In 1785, a scandal broke that would captivate all of Europe, destroy reputations, and help light the fuse of revolution. At its center stood three remarkable figures: an ambitious con artist who claimed royal blood, a desperate prince of the church, and a flamboyant mystic. This episode brings you the story of Count Alessandro di Cagliostro and the Affair of the Diamond Necklace.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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Picture masked figures appearing at your door on a dark winter's evening, their faces hidden behind soot and disguise, ready to perform ancient rituals of death and resurrection. This is mumming, a tradition stretching back centuries. From medieval Europe to its journey across the Atlantic to its dramatic transformation in modern Philadelphia, this episode brings you the story of Christmas mumming and how folk traditions are constantly remade.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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In 1865, German physician and medical writer Justus Hecker published a volume titled The Epidemics of the Middle Ages. In a footnote, he remarked on a strange phenomenon: an outbreak of meowing nuns. In this minisode, I bring you the story of the meowing nuns of late medieval France and the men who told their story.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

Sources

Primary

• Aristotle. History of Animals. Translated by d’ A. W. Thompson. In Aristotle, Complete Works. Vol. 1, 774–993. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984.
• Aristotle. Politics. Translated by Ernest Barker. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977.
• Hecker, J. F. C. The Epidemics of the Middle Ages. Translated by B. G. Babington. London: Woodfall, 1844. 
• Zimmerman, J. G. Solitude. Vol. II. London: Dilly, 1798.

Secondary

• Bartholomew, Robert E. Little Green Men, Meowing Nuns and Head-Hunting Panics: A Study of Mass Psychogenic Illness and Social Delusion. London: McFarland, 2001.
• Bartholomew, Robert E. and Simon Wessely. “Protean Nature of Mass Sociogenic Illness: From Possessed Nuns to Chemical and Biological Terrorism Fears.” British Journal of Psychiatry 180, no. 4 (2002): 300–306.
• Mercer, Christia. “The Philosophical Roots of Western Misogyny.” Philosophical Topics 46, no. 2 (2018): 183–208.
• Penso G. Roman Medicine. 3rd ed. Noceto: Essebiemme, 2002.
• Tasca, Cecilia et al. “Women and Hysteria in the History of Mental Health.” Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health 8 (2012): 110-9.

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Haunted dolls are a cornerstone of folklore and popular culture. Our enduring fascination with them may stem from the fact that they occupy the uncanny valley, where their lifelike resemblance to humans both captivates and disturbs us. This episode brings you the stories of Robert and Annabelle, two of the world’s most famous haunted dolls.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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On June 29, 1987, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the tomb of the late president, Juan Domingo Perón, was desecrated by a mysterious group calling itself “Hermes IAI and the 13," which led some to link the act to Perón’s former minister, known for his involvement with occult groups and mystical practices. This episode brings you a story of political intrigue, violent upheaval, and the occultist who took control of Argentina’s leaders: the story of José López Rega.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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Before microscopes and stethoscopes, before hospitals and modern medicine, there were the cunning-folk, who practiced a kind of magic woven into the fabric of daily life: practical, personal, and deeply rooted in community belief. A missing object, a run of bad luck, or an unrequited love were their concerns. This episode brings you the story of the wise men and women who worked in whispers and who bridged belief and need: the cunning-folk of Britain.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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In the shadow of Puritan New England, where scripture, law, and community shaped every aspect of daily life, a different kind of visionary emerged. Drawing on European alchemical traditions, Hermetic philosophy, and Christian reformist ideals, he believed that nature itself was a sacred text, written by the Creator and waiting to be deciphered. This episode brings you a story of religion, medicine, politics, and alchemy in an age of upheaval and imagination: the story of John Winthrop, Jr.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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In 1764, Fray Juan José Toledo, the priest of the mission church in Abiquiú, New Mexico, wrote a striking letter to the local magistrate. In it, he described an extraordinary spiritual crisis: a surge of demonic possessions affecting the women in his congregation. Viewed through the lenses of gender, colonialism, and religious conflict, this event emerges as a powerful moment of Indigenous resistance, expressed through bodies and language. This episode tells a story of ritual and rebellion: the story of the witches of Abiquiú.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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