Notorious Narratives

The Great Chicago Fire of of 1871 in infamous, but on that same October night infernos spread throughout much of the midwest killing thousands. Many factors such as weather and wooden structures led to the fire's ability to spread. But in one town, all contact with the outside world was cut off as a town burned to the ground; taking men, women, children and animals along with it. In this episode, Jen will tell you the tragic tale of the Night the Midwest Burned. 

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At the top of each hour a crowd amasses to watch a show of astronomical proportions. They are there to see one of the world's oldest astronomical clocks. The clock is located in Prague where the medieval masterpiece wisely it sits in front of the Old Town Hall Tower. Each hour it chimes, and a show begins that lasts 45 seconds full of allegorical characters, including death himself. But this hourly show is not the only thing that draws tourists. With tales of magic, murder and mystery this cursed clock's history is a bloody one. In this episode, Robin tells us about the creation of one of the world's most famous clocks.

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While most have heard of the Space Race competitive endeavors of the Cold War many do not know that there was also fierce competition crack the code of how to control man's greatest weapon, the mind. With "Communists" consistently vilified in media, literature and pop culture the fear that a person could be "made a communist" spread like wild fire. The concept of mind control led to a program developed by the CIA in the 1950s that consisted of a series of experiments to delve into ways in which the human mind could be controlled and altered---and MK Ultra was born. In this episode, Jen will tell you about the panic that struck the nation and the unspeakable experiments performed in the name of national security.

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On a hot August night in 1922 the Los Angeles police were called to a private home after a neighbor reported gun shots and the sounds of a woman screaming. Upon entering they found the man of the house, a rich businessman named Fred Oesterreich, lying on the floor, shot dead. They also found a woman locked in a closet, she was Dolly Oesterreich, Fred's much younger wife. The distraught woman told the tale of burglary gone wrong. But the evidence just did not add up. In this episode, Robin tells us truth that was discovered that was far stranger than fiction that involved a love triangle, a sex slave and a murder most devious.

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In this episode, Robin walks us through the meticulous process of Egyptian mummification. This elaborate preparation for the afterlife has been popularized by movies, books and literature, but do you know how it was accomplished? From mud to onions this episode has a lot of surprise ingredients. 

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Murder is as old as humanity but detectives are a much newer concept. It was not until the 19th century that these specialized members of the police were utilized to help solve the most heinous of crimes. One of London's very first detectives was, Jack Whicher, a man whose skilled deductions led to the capture of some of England's most notorious criminals. But all men have their limits and Jack was no different. In this episode, Jen introduces you to Detective Whicher, a man who inspired the fictional Sherlock Holmes and the crime that would be his undoing.

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You may know his name, you may know about his achievements in computer science and code-breaking, but do you know the man? Alan Turing was without a doubt one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century, but he was also a gay man. A gay man who was unashamed of himself at a time when homosexuality was criminalized. In this story, Jen will tell you about the man whose extraordinary brilliance was extinguished by hate.

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At the height of World War II, as darkness descended on the battlefields, a nightmare would appear in German skies. The “Night Witches.” This is the name the Germans gave to the terror that came by night — 80 or so female aviators from Russia dropping bombs from rickety wooden planes that sounded like brooms sweeping the sky. In this episode, Robin tells you the tale of these courageous women who were among some of the wars bravest heroes. 

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When you think of amber you probably think of the casing that held the dinosaur DNA in Jurassic Park or maybe even jewelry. But you probably do not associate amber with building material. Amber was incredibly popular in Europe, especially in Russia and as a gift to Peter the Great, the Amber Room was constructed using several tons of the gemstone. During Operation Barbarosa the room was looted by Nazis, dismantled and sent to Germany, where just before the war's end, it disappeared. The story of the Amber Room is shrouded in curses, conspiracies and rumor. In this episode, Robin introduces us to the lost 8th Wonder of the World. 

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Medicine has a strange history. In the 19th century medical practices were questionable at best and often did not offer immediate relief of the patient's symptoms. This left the door open for a burgeoning industry that would provide quick fixes in brightly colored bottles that promised cures for anything from balding to cancer. These cures utilized a variety of ingredients from the useless to the deadly. In this episode, Jen tells us the story of the Patent Medicine industry. 

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