Paula Sladewski, a 26-year-old Michigan woman, vanished after leaving Miami’s Club Space during a New Year’s weekend trip. Hours later, her burned body was found in a North Miami dumpster. In this episode of 

Harry, Ayana. “Charred Body of Playboy Model Paula Sladewski Found in Miami Dumpster.” ABC News, 7 Jan. 2010. 

Harry, Ayana. “Murdered Playboy Model Seen on Nightclub Surveillance Video.” ABC News, 11 Jan. 2010. 

“‘I Still Think About It To This Day’: Former Lead Detective On 10-Year-Old Murder Case Of Model Paula Sladewski.” CBS Miami, 7 Feb. 2020. 

Miller, Carlin. “Paula Sladewski Pictures: Murdered Playboy Model’s Lover Kevin Klym Wanted Over Domestic Violence.” CBS News, 8 Jan. 2010. 

“Club Space Says Sketch Isn’t a Staffer.” NBC Miami, 8 Feb. 2010. 

Hamacher, Brian. “Bouncer Disputes Boyfriend’s Tale of Model’s Last Moments.” NBC Miami, 19 Mar. 2010. 

Cardona, Alexi C. “Who Killed Playboy Model Paula Sladewski in 2010? North Miami Police Still Don’t Know.” Miami New Times, 3 Jan. 2020. 

A chilling Michigan urban legend glides through the darkness… The Phantom Skater is said to appear without warning—silent, swift, and gone before you can understand what you’ve seen. Witnesses describe a lone figure skating across frozen ground, empty streets, and icy paths… even when no ice is there at all.

In this episode of F-Bomb: Fables, Fiction, Folklore & Frights, we explore the eerie legend of The Phantom Skater—where folklore meets fear, and the line between imagination and reality begins to blur.

Is it residual energy… a spirit replaying its final moments… or something far more unsettling?

Some say if you see him… he’s already seen you.

#PhantomSkater #MichiganFolklore #UrbanLegends #GhostStories

Hosted and Produced by Tracy Preston, Featuring Todd Preston

Story researched and written by Todd Preston

Orignal artwork by Todd Preston

Original music created exclusively for F-Bomb by Tracy Preston

Sources:

https://99wfmk.com/phantom-skater-hickory-creek-michigan/

https://www.tvi.show/nexus/the-chilling-legend-of-michigans-phantom-skater-a-halloween-horror-story

https://berrienhistory.org

Sound effects from. Uppeat: ice-skater-skidding-to-stop-fascinnatedsound-1-00-02.mp3

What do secret societies, Elizabethan ruff collars, and plague doctors have in common?

Power.

In this episode of Round Robin, we explore the strange, fascinating, and sometimes bizarre ways humans have signaled status, control, and belonging throughout history. From hidden societies operating in secrecy to fashion that literally controlled behavior, this episode dives into how power has always been displayed—whether hidden or impossible to ignore.

Plus, we introduce our new segment: 100 Women Who Changed the World, featuring Alice Ball — a brilliant chemist whose life-saving work was nearly lost to history.

#RoundRobinPodcast #WeirdHistory #SecretSocieties #ElizabethanEra #HistoricalFashion

Hosted and Produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Christine Mulligan, Nina Mulligan, Angela Hoefler and of course my husband Todd Preston

Original artwork by Todd Preston

Original music created exclusively for Round Robin by Tracy Preston

Sources:

“Eleusinian Mysteries.” Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Daftary, Farhad. The Assassin Legends.

“Knights Templar.” History.com.

“Ruff.” Victoria and Albert Museum.

Hunt, Alan. Sumptuary Law History.

Byrne, Joseph P. Daily Life during the Black Death.

Parascandola, John. “Alice Ball and Chaulmoogra Oil.”

National Library of Medicine. “Alice Augusta Ball.”

Full source list available upon request

The Black Hand was America’s first wave of organized crime—and it reached Michigan. In this episode of Malice in the Mitten, we uncover the hidden history of Black Hand extortion, threat letters, bombings, and the immigrant communities caught in the crosshairs. From Detroit to Saginaw, this forgotten chapter reveals how fear spread long before the Mafia had a name.

Historical Note:

#TrueCrimePodcast #MichiganTrueCrime #MaliceInTheMitten #BlackHand #CrimeHistory

Hosted and Produced by Tracy Preston

Researched and Written by Tracy Preston, featuring Christine Mulligan

Original artwork by Todd Preston

Original music created exclusively for Malice in the Mitten by Tracy Preston

Sources:

“Black Hand (Extortion).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

“Black Hand.” Encyclopaedia Britannica,

“Joseph Petrosino.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

“100 Years Later: NYPD Legend Is Remembered.” National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund,

“The Inspiring Rise and Tragic Fall of the Italian Sherlock Holmes.” The Mob Museum,

Delaware, Michael. “Some History of the Black Hand in Michigan.”

Talty, Stephan. The Black Hand: The Epic War Between a Brilliant Detective and the Deadliest Secret Society in American History. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.

A powerful tornado tears through Michigan, sparking a conversation about extreme weather, storm safety, and eyewitness accounts. From there the Round Robin table spins into the unexpected—alligators appearing in unlikely places and the fascinating mythology behind the Chinese Zodiac’s fiery Year of the Fire Horse.

#RoundRobinPodcast #TornadoTalk #AlligatorStories #YearOfTheHorse

Hosted and Produced by Tracy Preston, Featuring Christine Mulligan, Nina Mulligan and of course my husband Todd Preston.

Original music created exclusively for Round Robin by Tracy Preston

Original artwork by Todd Preston

On May 27, 2011, Ruth Pyne was found murdered in her Highland Township, Michigan garage—behind a deadbolted door, with no signs of forced entry. Her son, Jeffrey Pyne, was convicted of second-degree murder in a case built largely on circumstantial evidence, disputed timelines, and injuries investigators claimed pointed to a weapon. Years later, the case still sparks debate: was justice served, or did reasonable doubt get buried under inference? In this deep-dive episode, Malice in the Mitten examines what the courts said, what the jury decided, and why some still believe Jeffrey Pyne was wrongfully convicted.

Hosted and Produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Christine Mulligan

Story Researched and Written by Tracy Preston

Music Created Exclusively for Malice in the Mitten by Tracy Preston

Original Artwork by Todd Preston

#MaliceInTheMitten #TrueCrimePodcast #MichiganTrueCrime #OaklandCounty

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akCAlGABltY

People of the State of Michigan v. Jeffrey Bernard Pyne. Michigan Court of Appeals, No. 314684, 29 Jan. 2015. Justia.

Pyne, Jeffrey v. Harry, Shirlee. “Opinion & Order Denying Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.” United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Case No. 2:17-cv-10849, filed 19 Oct. 2018. GovInfo.

“Valedictorian Murder Trial: Jeffrey Pyne Found Guilty of Killing His Mother.” ABC News, 18 Dec. 2012.

“Mother’s Brutal Murder Reveals Dark Family Secrets.” CBS News (48 Hours), 22 June 2014.

“Does the Way Ruth Pyne Was Killed Prove Premeditation?” CBS News, 10 Aug. 2013.

"MI v. Jeffrey Pyne: Valedictorian Murder Trial.” Court TV Trial Archives.

Something moves in the woods… and at first glance it looks like a deer.

But its legs bend wrong. Its eyes face forward. And sometimes… it walks on two legs.

In this episode of F-Bomb Friday, we explore the eerie folklore of the Not-Deer — a creature reported across Appalachia that looks like a deer but behaves like something far more unsettling.

#FBombFriday #Folklore #UrbanLegends #Cryptids #NotDeer

Hosted and Produced by Tracy Preson

Story Researched & Written by Todd Preston

Original Artwork by Todd Preston

Original music created exclusively for F-Bomb by Tracy Preston

Sources:

https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Not_Deer

This week on Round Robin, we spin from ancient legends to modern internet myths. The conversation begins with Michigan’s Nordic Fire Festival in Charlotte before diving into Viking culture, including skalds and kennings, the storytellers who shaped Norse legend.

Then we pivot to the strange world of celebrity death hoaxes and online conspiracy theories, exploring why misinformation spreads so quickly in the age of social media.

Finally, the table gives their Spin Ratings for two recommendations: the Viking adventure classic The 13th Warrior and the documentary Matthew Perry: A Hollywood Tragedy.

From Norse lore to viral rumors, this episode is all about how stories—old and new—shape what we believe.

Hosted and Produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Christine Mulligan, Nina Mulligan and of course my husband Todd Preston

Original artwork by Todd Preston

Original music created exclusively for Round Robin by Tracy Preston

#RoundRobinPodcast #VikingHistory  #NorseMythology #NordicFireFestival #CelebrityDeathHoax #The13thWarrior #MatthewPerry

In October 1959, a woman searching for autumn flowers in Mequon, Wisconsin made a devastating discovery — the remains of a small child hidden in a roadside culvert.

For decades, the child was known only as Case Number 6426. No name. No identity. No justice.

This episode of Malice in the Mitten explores the disappearance of Markku Edward Michael Jutila — born Chester Alfred Brieney — the adoption that changed his life, the parents who fled Michigan, the shocking confession in Chicago, and the 1966 court decision that let them walk free.

In 2024, modern DNA testing finally identified the child. Sixty-five years later, he got his name back.

This is a story about child abuse, cold case investigation, forensic genealogy, and the limits of justice in the 1960s.

Written and researched by Rebecca Hiers

Hosted and produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Christine Mulligan

Original artwork by Todd Preston

Original music created exclusively for Malice in the Mitten by Tracy Preston

#TrueCrimePodcast #ColdCase #DNAJustice #ForgottenVictim

Sources:

https://blogs.mtu.edu/archives/2024/11/23/no-justice-but-peace/

https://blogs.mtu.edu/archives/2024/11/15/he-was-someone/

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/805532/memorial-search?firstname=chester&middlename=&lastname=&cemeteryName=Saint+Marys+Cemetery&birthyear=&birthyearfilter=&deathyear=&deathyearfilter=&bio=&linkedToName=&plot=&memorialid=&mcid=&datefilter=&orderby=r

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/276298738/josephine-a-breiney

https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2024/318/276425499_7c832625-c428-419e-add3-2c40d6fbb2a8.jpeg

https://www.miningjournal.net/news/local/2013/11/century-of-service-to-kids-at-area-orphanage/

https://www.facebook.com/VisitKeweenaw/posts/potters-fields-poor-farmswho-ended-up-at-poor-farms-people-that-were-injured-on-/10157255931740081/

https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/33646468/chester-alfred-breiney

The Smeet Frog of Ypsilanti explores one of Michigan’s strangest local legends — a mysterious creature said to lurk along the shadowed bends of the Huron River. Blending folklore, regional storytelling, and eerie atmosphere, this episode of F-Bomb dives into how myths take root, why strange sightings persist, and what happens when community storytelling turns something small into something unforgettable.

#FbombPodcast #MichiganFolklore #UrbanLegends #CryptidStories #MichiganMysteries #LocalLegends #MichiganPodcast

Hosted and produced by Tracy Preston

Story written and researched by Todd Preston

Original artwork by Todd Preston

Original music created exclusively for F-bomb by Tracy Preston