This episode we celebrate Christmas!  Our special guest is Lexi, the youngest member of our Family making her podcast debut at 7!  We each take turns picking a favorite movie and a favorite Christmas song (well two songs and a spoken word piece.  We discuss their history and what they mean to us.  We also discuss whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie?  All this and some special greetings from special friends (including our good friends at Witches Talking Tarot who not only give us a swell Christmas message but they DO NOT behave, which is, admittedly, part of why we love them) in this very special Christmas episode of the Family Plot Podcast!

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In this episode, we dig into the end of World War II to discuss Operation Paperclip, what began by the German government as an attempt to overturn their fortunes as they were losing the war, eventually became a brain drain as America (among others) tried to hire brilliant scientific minds like Wernher Von Braun away form the Nazi regime.  We also discuss Bob Berdella, pangolins, Bob Newhart and why Operation Paperclip was so very controversial in this man, we did WHAT? episode of the Family Plot Podcast!

Note from Dean:  At some point, during the episode, I say something about Hitler not playing Risk when he was a kid.  It was a phrase from a MUCH longer bit by British comedian Suzy Izzard and I do not believe I properly credited him within the show itself, so I DEFINITELY want to credit him here.  Credit where credit is due and all that.

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In this episode, we talk about some of the email weve been getting at [email protected] and some of the messages on our socials.  Arthur and Laura promise to talk more as we slide into Arthur's Corner to discuss his day.  Then we tear into  the story of Katherine Johnson, how she was such a math whiz that one of her professors had to make courses just for her.  She entered high school at just 10 years old!  We cover her life, how she came to work at NACA which later became NASA, how she got her name on a report, how she enjoyed playing bridge at lunch, We also discuss what Dean made for dinner (meatballs in brown gravy, mashed potatoes made with French Onion Dip instead of milk and green beans) and more in this Laura-chosen, man-we-like-smart-women episode of the Family Plot Podcast!

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In this episode we go way back to the early 1900's to meet a California beauty named Emma LeDoux, recount the shocking murder and 'scandals' she became famous for, and in his corner Arthur explains how he knew he was trans and we give some love and shoutouts to members of the Fam who have either helped us or are having a rough go of it.  So join us as we go VERY old school true crime as we discuss Emma LeDoux!  Let's Learn Something!

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In this episode we return to Dean's senior year and find him sitting in science class watching the shuttle take off just before it exploded 73 seconds later.  We discuss the Challenger itself, the crew, NASA at that time and the launch and what happened.  Arthur also talks Genshin Impact, and we talk about Settlers of Catan in this nerdy yet tragic episode of the Family Plot Podcast!

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In this episode we go back to the 1800;s to meet two Missouri witches.  First we meet the Witch of Taskee who lived in Taskee Station Missouri and astounded those who saw her with her clairvoyance, that came when she was possessed by a spirit that called itself Little Joe.  Josie Forbes was reported far and wide for her abilities, even using them to solve crimes!  Then we head back to the turn of the 19th Century and meet the Wild Witch of Victoria Missouri in one Prudence Bevins, a part Cherokee woman who seemed to be able to curse the locals and when confronted about being a witch would merely laugh.  She was called Queen Bevers and her power was legendary, only occasionally thwarted by the country magic of a local witch charmer.  We cover their histories and the folk tales that inevitably rose up surrounding these two strange figures from Missouri history in this special episode of the Family Plot Podcast!

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TRIGGER WARNING:  There is a brief mention of suicide during our discussion of the hospital's history.  If this is too much for you, feel free to skip this episode.  As Kate from Ignorance Was Bliss used to say, You Matter!  And if you need mental health resources, 988 will connect you with so much.  Thank you

This week we discuss the Indiana State Sanitorium.  In an episode chosen by our very own Arthur, we look into the history of tuberculosis in America, the history of the hospital itself, it's time as a mental health institute as well as the Lee Allen Bryant Psychiatric Center.  We cover it's fall into disrepair and it's many, many hauntings and odd occurences in this spooky fun episode of the Family Plot Podcast!!!

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So in this episode, we once more return to Victorian London where we meet Mary Ann Cotton (nee 
Robson) a lovely wife and mother with the unfortunate curse of having her husbands and children die around her.  Digging deeper,  we begin to discover she is a poisoner with a body count somewhere in the range of 15 to 20, mostly her children, husbands and lovers,  We discuss her life, her history, how easilty arsenic was available to people at that time.  We give our thoughts and along the way even manage to touch on a few other things in this Victorian true crime episode of the Family Plot Podcast!

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This week our final proper week of spooky season, we release a tale of a violent maniac with a literal lust for blood.  We discuss Peter Kurten, psychopath, serial murderer and all around bad guy.  A man whose life was almost a blueprint for creating a serial murderer he committed his first killings at the age of 9.  We cover his life, his crimes and his death in this very dark and bloody episode of the Family Plot Podcast!

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains brief mentions of sexual assault and incest.  If these are deal breakers for you, please feel free to skip this episode.  As always we keep our descriptions of the violence of these assaults to a minimum.

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Welcome to yet another spooky season episode of the Family Plot Podcast!  This week we go to the McPike Mansion in Alton, Illinois.  We talk about the history of this beautiful showplace, how it was built by Henry Guest McPike a Civil War soldier, a man who owned a box making company, produced his own grape that became popular in wine making, was an executive for an Insurance company and even sold real estate.  We cover McPike's history and the home's and then settle down to talk about the spooks that still haunt the place.  Arthur has a lot in his corner after managing to break one foot and sprain the other while dancing in a clean room.  How?  He's Arthur.  And he has more cool tidbits to tell you in his corner (including how he plays the role of Satan in Octoberpod's 'The Satanic Rites of Doctor Frankenstein'!  Then we talk about the ghosts who make McPike Mansion their home in this spooky season episode of the Family Plot Podcast!

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