Join Dawn and the hilarious, Kelly Vrooman, as they saddle up with Catherine the Great.  Hear how a young German girl in middle-nobility finds herself the Last Empress of Russia. You'll love the torrid story of Catherine's rise, you'll fall for at least one of her many lovers, and find out why she is well-remembered as one of the HILF-iest HILFs of all time.

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✅ Follow Kelly Vrooman on Instagram.

🎟️ Get tickets to HILF Public School - the live, interactive version of HILF: First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

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SILF's (Source's I'd Like to F*ck) 

• BOOK - LAST EMPRESS OF RUSSIA by Michael W. Simmons (2016, 170 pages) 
• BOOK - CATHERINE THE GREAT, PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN by Robert K Massie (2012, 650+ pages) 
• MEMOIR - THE MEMOIR OF CATHERINE THE GREAT (Published posthumously, 1859. Contains works collected throughout her life, 1750 until her death in 1796)

LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck) 

• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
• Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
• HILF is now on Patreon!
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Find your next favorite podcast on BIG COMEDY NETWORK.

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WANNA TALK? 

Find us on Instagram or email us [email protected]

Theme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins

Podcast art: Designed by Joe Dressel 

Mary Shelley began writing her novel, Frankenstein, in 1816 when she was only 17 years old. Today it remains one of the most-assigned books of all time, finding it's way into classes ranging from Law to Scientific Ethics to Fashion to Politics. As a new film by Guillermo del Toro is set to debut on Netflix, re-join Dawn for the episode that started the podcast! 

Guest, Helen Shephard, is a British TV Host, model and comedian, who has no recollection of ever reading the book - and only cursory memory of the early film versions. However, as the original recording took place right around Halloween, 2021 - she was intrigued by this ubiquitous monster and wanted to know the sexy story about his real origin. 

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🎟️ Get tickets to HILF Public School - the live, interactive version of HILF: First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

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SILF's (Source's I'd Like to F*ck) 

• Mary Shelley's Frankenstein [ Project Gutenberg ]
• More about Guillermo del Toro's take on Frankenstein [ Debuts on Netflix, Nov 2025]

LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck) 

• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
• Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
• HILF is now on Patreon!
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Find your next favorite podcast on BIG COMEDY NETWORK.

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WANNA TALK? 

Find us on Instagram or email us [email protected]

Theme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins

Podcast art: Designed by Joe Dressel 

On a chilly January morning in 1947, officers arrived to what they were told was "a broken mannequin" lying in a field.  They discovered instead, the body of a woman cut completely in half at the waist. She lay naked and drained of blood, her two halves a foot apart, arms draped almost elegantly over her head.

Yikes, right?

Nearly 80 years later, the case remains both unforgotten and unsolved. 

Join Dawn and guest, Kaycee Conlee, as they explore the crime scene and sort through the suspects. 

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🎧 Hear Kaycee's podcast, Wife Support. 

🎟️ Get tickets to HILF Public School - the live, interactive version of HILF: First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

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SILF's (Source's I'd Like to F*ck) 

• 48 Hour Documentary (2004) 
• Steve Hodel who is featured in the documentary above, wrote a book. The Black Dahlia Avenger (there are several editions). 
• Book - Black Dahlia, Red Rose by Piu Eatwell. This one covers both the corruption of the LAPD, and points to suspect Leslie Dillon. 

LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck) 

• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
• Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
• HILF is now on Patreon!
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Find your next favorite podcast on BIG COMEDY NETWORK.

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WANNA TALK? 

Find us on Instagram or email us [email protected]

Theme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins

Podcast art: Designed by Joe Dressel 

It's July 3rd, 2025 and Dawn can hardly contain herself as she invites the audience at Flappers Comedy Club to fall down the rabbit hole of history along with her, LIVE! She is joined in this HILF-ing by two special guests: comedian Lauren Harding, who get's down with King George III; and then by America's favorite step-mom Ryan Keeley who helps Dawn undress George Washington. 

JOIN US AT THE NEXT SHOW!

🎟️ HILF Public School - the live, interactive version of HILF: First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

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LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck) 

• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
• Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
• HILF is now on Patreon!
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Find your next favorite podcast on BIG COMEDY NETWORK.

---

WANNA TALK? 

Find us on Instagram or email us [email protected]

Theme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins

Podcast art: Designed by Joe Dressel 

If you get into a heated conversation on any subject these days (and who isn’t?) it often ends with someone being called a “F*cking Marxist” or “Capitalist PIG".  Join Dawn and comedian, Mary Gallagher, to find out which one YOU might be... and if it's a bad thing. 

Mary Gallagher on Instagram

Mary's upcoming events

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🎟️ HILF Public School - the live, interactive version of HILF: First Thursdays at Flappers Comedy Club - Burbank, CA

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SILF's (Sources I'd Like to F*ck)

• Great Courses Lecture  - The World Was Never the Same: 36 Events That Changed History with Dr. J. Rufus Fears (Listen FOR FREE on Hoopla with your library card!)
• Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
• Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
• Love this stuff? You'll love Freakonomics.

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LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck) 

• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
• Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
• HILF is now on Patreon!
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Find your next favorite podcast on BIG COMEDY NETWORK.

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WANNA TALK? 

Find us on Instagram or email us [email protected]

Theme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins

Podcast art: Designed by Joe Dressel 

Billy the Kid - like Black Beard and Al Capone - is one of those real historical characters whose life was so colorful and dramatic that the facts sound like fiction.  Dawn is joined by actress and comedian, Kerstin Porter, for a ride with one of the most famous figures of the old west. Get to know William H Bonney, aka: William Antrim, aka: Henry McCarty who would forever be remembered as Billy the Kid. 

KERSTIN PORTER on Instagram:

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SILF's (Sources I'd Like to F*ck)

• Book - The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid (1882) by Pat Garrett
• Doc - (With my favorite nerd, Jerry Skinner) Billy The Kid - Youtube 40 min. 
• Do you think Bushy Bill Roberts was the real Billy the Kid? This site does. 

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LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck) 

• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
• Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
• HILF is now on Patreon!
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Find your next favorite podcast on BIG COMEDY NETWORK.

---

WANNA TALK? 

Find us on Instagram or email us [email protected]

Theme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins

Podcast art: Designed by Joe Dressel 

Hear the story of the so-called Scopes Money Trial from 1925, during which Americans debated if evolution should be taught in schools... a debate that continues now, 100 years later. Dawn also answers some of Ryan’s questions which run the gamut from her personal faith to pop-star divas. 

🎧 HILF EP86 - Religion in America with Ryan Ripple 

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In Los Angeles? Join Dawn LIVE for HILF Public School - 1st Thursdays of the month at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank.

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SILF's (Sources I'd Like to F*ck)

• Book - AMERICA'S RELIGIOUS HISTORY Faith, Politics, and the Shaping of a Nation by Thomas S. Kidd
• Book - THE GREAT AWAKENING: A History of the Revival of Religion in the time of Edwards and Whitefiled  by Joseph Tracy
• Read more about The Dark Day from 1780
• PBS American Experience - The Amish in America
• One person's perspective from inside The Prosperity Gospel of today.

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LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck) 

• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
• Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
• HILF is now on Patreon!
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Find your next favorite podcast on BIG COMEDY NETWORK.

---

WANNA TALK? 

Find us on Instagram or email us [email protected]

Theme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins

Podcast art: Designed by Joe Dressel 

Dawn and bestie, Ryan Ripple, take on the easy, non-controversial subject of Protestant Christianity in America. 

As your history books have told you, the earliest colonial settlers came seeking religious freedom, what few discuss is why these denominations were considered 'fringe' back in Europe. Walk with Dawn and Ryan down the holy road from the Shakers of the Revolutionary War, to the Prosperity Gospel of MAGA - and find yourself falling in love with Amish all over again. 

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SILF's (Sources I'd Like to F*ck)

• Book - AMERICA'S RELIGIOUS HISTORY Faith, Politics, and the Shaping of a Nation by Thomas S. Kidd
• Book - THE GREAT AWAKENING: A History of the Revival of Religion in the time of Edwards and Whitefiled  by Joseph Tracy
• Read more about The Dark Day from 1780
• PBS American Experience - The Amish in America
• One person's perspective from inside The Prosperity Gospel of today.

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LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck) 

• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
• Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
• HILF is now on Patreon!
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Find your next favorite podcast on BIG COMEDY NETWORK.

---

WANNA TALK? 

Find us on Instagram or email us [email protected]

Theme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins

Podcast art: Designed by Joe Dressel 

"...education is in trouble, but they can't defund me - I work for beer!" - Dawn Brodey

The first Thursday of every month, fans of comedy and history unite at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank, California whence we drink, laugh and learn stuff in the class you always wished you had!

This episode was recorded live on Thursday, June 5th, 2025 and includes a full 10 minute stand-up comedy set by comedian/historian, Jason Horton - after which he and I HILF Alcatraz.

Then you’ll meet the endlessly lovable, LA Radio and TV Personality - Chuey Martinez. He and Dawn have a blast HILF-ing the Menendez Brothers and Lizzie Borden in a HILF that truly kills…

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SILF's (Sources I'd Like to F*ck)

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LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck) 

• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
• Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
• HILF is now on Patreon!
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Find your next favorite podcast on BIG COMEDY NETWORK.

---

WANNA TALK? 

Find us on Instagram or email us [email protected]

Theme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins

Podcast art: Designed by Joe Dressel 

In Part One of the Manson Family Murders, you went through the law-and-order portion of the history. Now settle in for some of Dawn's favorite mysteries, conspiracies and so much more.

🔔 This is the last episode before HILF Summer Break! Watch social media for updates and events throughout June/July and look forward to the next NEW EPISODE to come out August 6th.         

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SILF's (Sources I'd Like to F*ck)

• Book - Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi
• Book - Choas by Tom O'Neill
• Netflix Doc on book, Choas by Tom O'Neill
• YOUTUBE - Leslie Van Houten Interview
• YOUTUBE - Patricial Krenwinkel Interview
• YOUTUBE - Tex Watson and his spiritual journey while incarcerated.
• YOUTUBE - Susan Atkins Interview (1980's Australia 60 Minutes)
• YOUTUBE - Diane Sawyer Interview with multiple members of the family. (1994)

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LILF's (Link's I'd Like to F*ck) 

• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Histories Greatest Mysteries (multiple seasons)
• See Dawn on THE HISTORY CHANNEL - Crazy Rich Ancients
• Check out HILF MERCH now available on Redbubble! Stickers, t-shirts, bags and more!
• HILF is now on Patreon!
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Find your next favorite podcast on BIG COMEDY NETWORK.

---

WANNA TALK? 

Find us on Instagram or email us [email protected]

Theme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins

Podcast art: Designed by Joe Dressel