Now It's Ruined

In honor of the midterms in the U.S., Kate ruins voting. But to be clear YOU SHOULD VOTE!

This episode just runs over much of the problematic history of voting, particularly in the United States. You’ll also (hopefully) learn how the electoral college works, and why voting still matters even in times of unprecedented gerrymandering. 

CONTENT WARNING: Gun Violence, Racially Motivated Violence
 

References

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqvgrmzdzgr7o

https://www.cnn.com/us/school-shootings-fast-facts-dg

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/guns-remain-leading-cause-of-death-for-children-and-teens

https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/23/bend-oregon-kaylub-giamanco-silver-rail-elementary-school-shooting/

https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/23/us/mississippi-kohen-wiley-fatal-shooting

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suffrage

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disenfranchised  

https://www.britannica.com/topic/election-political-science#ref229014

https://ourworldindata.org/the-rise-of-electoral-democracy

https://guides.library.unt.edu/voting/history-of-voting-America

https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_qualification#United_States_of_America 

https://carnegie.org/article/voting-rights-timeline/

https://wcl.american.libguides.com/voting/history/timeline

https://www.friendsjournal.org/quakers-stopped-voting/

https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/presidential-election-of-1789

https://immigrationhistory.org/item/1790-nationality-act/

https://jgrj.law.uiowa.edu/news/2025/02/struggle-native-american-citizenship-elk-v-wilkins-indian-citizenship-act

https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1851-1900/The-Civil-Rights-Bill-of-1866/

https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11468

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/112/94/

https://jgrj.law.uiowa.edu/news/2025/02/struggle-native-american-citizenship-elk-v-wilkins-indian-citizenship-act

https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2015.190

https://www.americanheritage.com/1922-seventy-five-years-ago-3

https://www.lwv.org/blog/whats-so-bad-about-voter-id-laws

https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/onthisday-bloody-sunday

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act

https://www.justice.gov/crt/about-section-5-voting-rights-act

https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/about

https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/allocation

https://usafacts.org/articles/what-are-the-current-swing-states-and-how-have-they-changed-over-time/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/the-racial-history-of-the-electoral-college-and-why-efforts-to-change-it-have-stalled

https://www.lwv.org/blog/what-one-person-one-vote

https://redistricting.lls.edu/redistricting-101/who-draws-the-lines/

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/three-takeaways-redistricting-and-competition-2022-midterms

https://www.nga.org/governor/elbridge-gerry/ 

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/gerrymandering-explained?ms=gad_stop%20gerrymandering_770379552412_8626214133_186667782880&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=8626214133&gbraid=0AAAAAC8kUVmD7H_3brWkNTRNps_bAfrrE&gclid=CjwKCAjw0fbWBhBkEiwAwJuQ8QO3TU6bVQ0PSOHd3jKWd25qGL9Lr-OPo8pECEUg46hHSErtSLyiOBoCb24QAvD_BwE

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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Larkin runs over the history of Halloween, including some fun (and not so fun) LGBTQ+ traditions, the appropriation of the holiday by the Church, and the surprisingly sexy origin story of Jack ‘O’ Lanterns. Sprinkled with a little human sacrifice and capped off with a discussion of racism and sexism, this episode contains all the miserable Now It’s Ruined hits that will have you going, “Oh my god, and but of course.” 

CONTENT WARNING: Gun violence

References

THEM: “The Long History of How Halloween Became a Sacred Queer Holiday” Oliver Haug, Oct. 26, 2023
https://www.them.us/story/halloween-gay-christmas-lgbtq-history 

Halloween in the Castro: How violence destroyed the best party San Francisco ever had Andrew Chamings,Editor-at-Large Updated Oct 25, 2023
https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/halloween-castro-history-violence-san-francisco-15661253.php 

Halloween: Origins, Movies and Traditions|HISTORY
https://www.history.com/articles/history-of-halloween 

Britannica Editors. "fili". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/art/fili-ancient-Gaelic-poets 

Britannica Editors. "bard". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Mar. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/art/bard 

Term: Vates
https://www.etymonline.com/word/vates 

Pagan Federation
https://www.paganfederation.org/what-is-paganism/ 

Term: Pagan
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pagan 

Empire Versus Tribe: The Roman Empire and the Celts
https://historynet.com/empire-vs-tribe-the-roman-empire-and-the-celts/ 

Ancient Festival of Beltane
https://www.history.com/articles/beltane 

Britannica Editors. "Beltane". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 May. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Beltane 

Irish Folklore: Puca
https://www.wildernessireland.com/blog/irish-folklore-puca/ 

BBC - All Hallow’s Eve
https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/halloween_1.shtml 

Dillon, Myles, Cana, Proinsias Mac. "Celtic religion". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Nov. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Celtic-religion

Nangia, Tamanna. "Halloween". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Sep. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Halloween 

Preston, Charles. "Samhain". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Samhain 

CNN Target Apologizes 
https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/24/business/target-apologizes-halloween-costume-backlash-hnk 

“Samhain to Soulmass: The Pagan Origins of Familiar Halloween Rituals” Beverly D’Silva, Oct 31, 2024 
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20241030-samhain-to-soulmass-the-pagan-origins-of-familiar-halloween-rituals 

“The True History of Halloween Is Even Darker Than You Imagined: Discover what lurks beneath the candy and costumes” Hadley Mendelsohn, Oct 27, 2025
https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/a69149873/halloween-history-origins-evolution/ 

“Empire Vs. Tribe: The Roman Empire and the Celts”  O’Brien Browne, Jan 25, 2017
https://historynet.com/empire-vs-tribe-the-roman-empire-and-the-celts/ 

“How British colonialism determined whether your country celebrates Halloween” Max Fisher October 31, 2013
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/10/31/how-british-colonialism-determined-whether-your-country-celebrates-halloween/ 

Trick-Or-Treating Origins
https://www.history.com/articles/halloween-trick-or-treating-origins 

https://www.boreal.org/2024/11/01/470980/over-80-of-halloween-pumpkins-are-thrown-away-each-year-heres-what-you-can-do-instead 

https://www.nusconnect.org.uk/articles/the-scary-facts-about-halloween-waste 

Archaeology Magazine Archive “Celtic Sacrifice” 
https://archive.archaeology.org/0201/etc/celtic.html 
 

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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We’re opening spooky month with a brand new episode about a man who loved to ruin people’s spooky fun!

Harry Houdini was not only a talented magician and escape artist, he was also a crusader against fake mediums and spiritualists. He spent huge amounts of time, effort, and money debunking frauds and educating the public on their tricks. 

Though we do discuss some of his shortcomings, this episode isn’t a true ruin. But this Halloween marks the hundredth anniversary of Houdini’s famous death, so we decided a discussion of his ruinous streak would be appropriate. 

CONTENT WARNING: Attempted Suicide

References

Follow John Cox/Wild About Harry on Insta and Patreon, and check out his website .

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/houdini-biography/ 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/houdini-houdin/

https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/p/metamorphosis.html

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/houdini-beck/

https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2011/07/houdinis-pets.html 

https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2013/04/the-handcuff-kings-blog-death-of-rival.html

https://auctions.potterauctions.com/_Bean_Giant_Handcuff__Patented_in_1887___Escape_pr-LOT92251.aspx

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/houdini-slander-trial/

https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2015/03/houdinis-escape-from-murderers-row.html

https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/p/the-chinese-water-torture-cell.html

https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2013/12/unpublished-houdini-with-his-baby.html 

https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2011/08/culliton-papers-houdini-and.html

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jack-London

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/jack-london

https://jacklondonpark.com/charmian-kittredge-london-biography/

https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2020/07/houdini-on-equality.html 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/spiritualism-religion

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-very-common-delusion-spiritualism-and-the-fox-sisters-97825064/

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/04/arthur-conan-doyle-secretly-resented-his-sherlock-holmes-creation-says-historian

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arthur-Conan-Doyle

https://arthurconandoyle.co.uk/spiritualist

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/history-you-asked/how-did-sir-arthur-conan-doyle-trick-houdini

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/aug/10/houdini-and-conan-doyle-impossible-edinburgh-festival

https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2026/03/18/medium-harvard

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/houdini-margery-pamphlet/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/harrisburg-telegraph-houdini-curse-death/3064669/

https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/p/j-gordon-whitehead.html

https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/p/edward-saint.html

https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2014/10/halloween-1936-final-houdini-seance.html

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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Our last upcycle before we come back in October is all about The Christmas Rebellion, aka the Baptist War, which started in Jamaica on Christmas Day in 1831.

Led by enslaved Baptist deacon Samuel Sharpe, The Christmas Rebellion was one of the largest slave rebellions in history, with 60,000 of the island’s 300,000 enslaved people taking part. It contributed heavily to England’s abolition of slavery, a practice that claimed the lives of millions of Africans.

This episode has a bit of information overlap with our full-length hammocks episode (which we put out a few months after recording this), but it is its own unique story!

References

https://jis.gov.jm/information/jamaican-history/ 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus/The-first-voyage 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-were-taino-original-inhabitants-columbus-island-73824867/ 

https://www.embassyofjamaica.org/about_jamaica/history.htm 

https://nlj.gov.jm/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/CHRONOLOGY_OF_THE_SLAVE_TRADE.pdf 

https://www.njstatelib.org/research_library/new_jersey_resources/highlights/african_american_history_curriculum/unit_2_rise_of_afro-americans/ 

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/transatlantic-slave-trade-begins 

https://www.discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/against-slavery/black-resistance-against-slavery/the-maroons-of-jamaica/ 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/buccaneer 

https://www.history.ox.ac.uk/article/how-england-became-the-sweetshop-of-europe 

https://runaways.gla.ac.uk/minecraft/index.php/slaves-work-on-sugar-plantations/ 

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/103864 

https://baptist.ca/about-cboq/what-do-baptists-believe/ 

https://aaregistry.org/story/samuel-sharpe-abolitionist-born/ 

https://blackpast.org/global-african-history/baptist-war-1831-1832/ 

https://wiredja.com/index.php/categories/newsberg/culture/that-kensington-fire-which-started-the-sam-sharpe-war-of-1831-32 

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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Our September upcycle kicks off with the tale of a dramatic ongoing battle to prevent the resurgence of a particularly nasty pest in the U.S.

If you’d really like to challenge yourself, we recommend putting this on while you cook. If you’re still able to eat after listening to Larkin describe festering wounds, flesh-eating maggots, and blood mixed with rotting meat and eggs, congratulations! You’re as voracious as cochliomya hominivorax, aka the Screw Worm. 

Since recording this episode, there have been new sightings of screw worms in the United States, specifically in Texas. Be careful out there!

References

Kursgesagt In a Nutshell - How Nuclear Flies Protect You from Flesh-Eating Parasites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxq60I5RSW8

CDC Screwworm

https://www.cdc.gov/new-world-screwworm/about/index.html

National Library of Medicine

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6346435/

Zombie Deer and the Scientists Behind the War on the Man Eater

Sam Jones, October 24, 2022

https://cals.ncsu.edu/news/zombie-deer-and-the-scientists-behind-the-war-on-the-man-eater/
 

What to Know About the New World Screwworm

D’Lyn Ford, July 30, 2025

https://cals.ncsu.edu/news/what-to-know-about-the-new-world-screwworm/
 

Lab Identification of New World Screwworm

CDC August 23, 2024

https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/resources/pdf/benchaids/NWS-Bench-Aid-2024-508.pdf
 

Charles Coquerel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Coquerel
 

U.S. Beef Cattle Industry

https://swnydlfc.cce.cornell.edu/submission.php?id=1810&crumb=livestock

Video: The Screwworm, Excerpt 2

https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/stop-screwworms--selections-fr/item/6904
 

A flesh-eating parasite has almost reached the US border. Should we be worried?

BBC Tom Howarth, October 17, 2025

https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/flesh-eating-parasite-us

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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On October 22, 1989, a stranger snatched Jacob Wetterling off the street near his home in St. Joseph, Minnesota. For nearly 27 years, nobody knew what happened to him. 

The story takes one infuriating turn after another as police missteps kept Jacob from being found for over two decades. Eventually, the full, tragic story was revealed.

Kate grew up less than an hour from St. Joseph and has been haunted by Jacob’s case for as long as she can remember. When she realized the anniversary of his disappearance coincided with a bonus episode due date, she decided to dedicate that episode to him. 

Content Warning: Child Sexual Abuse, Violence Against Children

References

In the Dark Podcast, S1: https://features.apmreports.org/in-the-dark/season-one/

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/23/g-s1-78924/etan-patz-missing-kids-children-legacy

https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-orders-new-trial-pedro-hernandez-man-convicted/story?id=123933826

https://www.apmreports.org/story/2016/09/07/jacob-wetterling#:~:text=He%20liked%20to%20fish%20with,had%20linked%20to%20the%20case.

https://www.fox9.com/news/jacob-wetterling-murder-35-years

https://www.apmreports.org/story/2016/12/30/27-years-wetterling-child-abduction#:~:text=As%20they%20biked%20up%20the,been%20that%20rustling%20sound%20earlier.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Jacob_Wetterling#/media/File:Jacob_Wetterling_map.png

https://www.kare11.com/article/news/timeline-wetterling-cold-spring-and-the-paynesville-incidents/89-596597576

https://today.magazine.mnsu.edu/s/1913/bp21-micro/interior.aspx?sid=1913&gid=2&pgid=1033

https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/support/teamhope

https://amberadvocate.org/amber-feature/advocacy-highlights-family-survival-guide-parents/

dearjacobbook.com

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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We know we said we were going to upcycle, but instead let’s recycle!

Kate and Larkin are joined by comedian and former marine biologist Forrest Shaw (CONAN, Netflix Is a Joke), who enlightens them about plastic and recycling. Plastic has gone from a miracle substance that was meant to save the elephants to the bane of the planet’s existence. But this isn’t all doom and gloom! Forrest wants us all to know that recycling does work (though not as well/often as we’d like it to), and we can all make a real difference by reducing the amount of plastic we use. 

Forrest is currently touring with his science/standup comedy show, The Ocean Hates You. Visit https://www.forrestshaw.net/ or Forrest’s Linktree for tickets and dates!

Follow Forrest on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

Follow The Ocean Hates You on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

References

Recycling History

https://time.com/4568234/history-origins-recycling/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Propaganda Against Recycling

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/plastics-industry-insiders-reveal-the-truth-about-recycling/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Plastic Origins

https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/national-museum-american-history-showcases-celluloid-first-plastic?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.wired.com/story/the-world-is-drowning-in-plastic-heres-how-it-all-started/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Plastic Waste Sources

https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/global-plastics-outlook_de747aef-en.html

Recycling Can Work (And Does Work) : Need To Build and Invest In Better Facilities

https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/improving-markets-for-recycled-plastics_9789264301016-en.html

https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2022/06/global-plastics-outlook_f065ef59/aa1edf33-en.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.epa.gov/smm/us-recycling-infrastructure-assessment-and-state-data-collection-reports?utm_source=chatgpt.com

LIFE Magazine - Throwaway Society

https://time.com/3879873/throwaway-living-when-tossing-it-all-was-all-the-rage/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Oil Companies Suck (General)

https://www.ciel.org/news/fossil-fuel-and-chemical-industry-influence-inc4/

Recycling Stats for PET Bottles

https://napcor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Postconsumer-PET-Recycling-Activity-in-2018.pdf

Holding Producers Of Plastic Accountable

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj8275

Plastic Problem Solutions

https://www.pew.org/en/trend/archive/winter-2022/our-ocean-is-choking-on-plastic-but-its-a-problem-we-can-solve#:~:text=Some%2011%20million%20metric%20tons,by%202040%20without%20ambitious%20action

https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/towards_a_treaty_to_end_plastic_pollution___final_report.pdf

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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Do Cornflakes and graham crackers make you want to touch yourself? No? Good, that’s part of the goal.

Kate takes Larkin on a journey through the history of sexual repression and how it led to a health food movement focused on avoiding the “sin of self-pleasure.” Proponents of this movement included Sylvester Graham and John Harvey Kellogg, who we have to thank for graham crackers and Cornflakes (though it was John Harvey’s brother, W.K., who invented the latter). 

This was a randy one that contains some graphic sexual content, so CONTENT WARNING:: Sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, rape, religious sexual trauma

References

Masturbation euphemisms

https://mashable.com/article/masturbation-slang-euphemisms-list

IVF Ruling

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/the-alabama-supreme-courts-ruling-on-frozen-embryos

https://www.hfea.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-press-releases/2020/new-figures-show-how-different-people-are-using-ivf/

History of sexual repression, particularly regarding masturbation

https://www.jstor.org/stable/27505893?mag=a-brief-history-of-masturbation&seq=1

https://hilo.hawaii.edu/campuscenter/hohonu/volumes/documents/Vol06x17SexualRepressionandMasturbation.pdf

https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-sin-of-onan

https://hekint.org/2023/11/20/samuel-auguste-andre-david-tissot-1728-1797/

https://archive.org/details/b20442348

https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2020/06/anti-onanism-doctor/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evil-deeds/201801/who-were-the-alienists

Hodges FM. The antimasturbation crusade in antebellum American medicine. J Sex Med. 2005 Sep;2(5):722-31. doi: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2005.00133.x. PMID: 16422831.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1743609515312376

Sylvester Graham

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sylvester-Graham

https://scalar.usc.edu/works/maine-vegetarian-history-project/1834-sylvester-graham-riot-in-portland

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cereal

https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/sylvester-graham-and-antebellum-diet-reform

Circumcision

https://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/circumcision-does-not-reduce-penile-sensitivity-research-finds

The Kelloggs

https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Harvey-Kellogg

Loignon, Austin Eli, "Cornflakes, God, and Circumcision: John Harvey Kellogg and Transatlantic Health Reform" (2019). History Dissertations - Archive. 76.

https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/history_dissertations/76/

https://adventist.org/en/beliefs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_G._White

https://www.battlecreekvisitors.org/blog/post/facts-about-battle-creeks-world-famous-health-spa-in-the-1900s/

https://bentley.umich.edu/about/collections-magazine/spring-2018/citizen-grain/

https://sph.umich.edu/pursuit/2022posts/the-impact-of-dr-john-harvey-kelloggs-stand-for-eugenics.html

https://disabilityjustice.org/basic-legal-rights/right-to-self-determination-freedom-from-involuntary-sterilization/

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/buck-v-bell-1927/

https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/unwanted-sterilization-and-eugenics-programs-in-the-united-states/

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/w-k-kellogg

https://www.thefoodhistorian.com/blog/the-real-kellogg-recipe-granula-v-granola

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2025/06/bloomers-and-breakfast-cereal-james-caleb-jackson-and-the-founding-of-a-health-movement/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shredded_wheat

https://www.britannica.com/biography/C-W-Post

Kinsey and De-stigmatization

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1447862/

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-nov-15-he-kinsey15-story.html

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/national-masturbation-month-history

https://www.gonzaga.edu/news-events/stories/the-debate-over-sex-education-and-its-consequences

Good Vibes

https://www.goodvibes.com/?source=pepperjam&publisherId=21181&clickId=5545181938&utm_source=pjn&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=21181&cvosrc=affiliate.pepperjam.21181

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

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Larkin blindsides Kate with a truly upsetting ruin regarding one of the world’s favorite treats. Learn how chocolate went from ritualistic beverage to corporate juggernaut, built on the backs of people who will never have the luxury of tasting it. 

Content Warning: Violence, torture, child abuse

It’s practically impossible to find ethically sourced cocoa products, but here’s the list Larkin mentions: https://foodispower.org/chocolate-list/

References

YouTube Video - Carla Martin: Cocoa Crisis

https://youtu.be/_a4si2TCw0U

YouTube Video - Carla Martin: “What Makes Chocolate Good?”

https://youtu.be/Z3M9Vswd6Js?si=r_jbanxQJhELXlVl

NC State University Cooperative Extension “The Cacao Tree: From Ancient Mesoamerica to Global Chocolate”  Gene Fox, April 14, 2025

https://beaufort.ces.ncsu.edu/news/the-cacao-tree-from-ancient-mesoamerica-to-global-chocolate/

Cook, L. Russell. "cacao". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Jun. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/plant/cacao

Myhrvold, Nathan, Blumberg, Naomi. "chocolate". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/chocolate

NIH National Library of Medicine: Samanta, Sharmistha et al. “Dark chocolate: An overview of its biological activity, processing, and fortification approaches.” Current research in food science vol. 5 1916-1943. 15 Oct. 2022, doi:10.1016/j.crfs.2022.10.017 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9589144/

University of California Botanical Garden at Berkley: “Does Chocolate Grow on Trees?” December 5, 2025

https://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/learn/garden-stories/does-chocolate-grow-on-trees/

History.com Article “History of Chocolate” History.com Editors. May 27, 2026

https://www.history.com/articles/history-of-chocolate

Yucatan Magazine “The Misunderstood History of the Great Aztec Empire” Carlos Rosado van der GrachtMay 19, 2025

https://yucatanmagazine.com/aztec-history/

Indigenous Mexico “Mexica or Aztec: How the Mexicas Were Renamed” 

https://www.indigenousmexico.org/articles/mexica-or-aztec-how-the-mexicas-were-renamed

Aztlán (Aslan)

Tenochtitlan (Tenochiclan)

Huizilopochtili (hoo-ee-chlee-oh-potchli)

Cornell University Library: Online Exhibitions “When Money Grew on Trees”

https://exhibits.library.cornell.edu/chocolate-food-of-the-gods/feature/when-money-grew-on-trees

Cornell Botanic Gardens “For the Love of Chocolate”  Sarah Fiorello February 13, 2024

https://cornellbotanicgardens.org/for-the-love-of-chocolate

World History Encyclopedia “Sugar & the Rise of the Plantation System” James Hancock, June 18, 2021

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1784/sugar--the-rise-of-the-plantation-system/

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University “Chocolate History” 2015

https://ansp.org/press-room/press-releases/2014/chocolate-history

Lowcountry Digital History Initiative - College of Charleston “Voyage of the Echo: Trials of an Illegal Trans-Atlantic Slave Ship - Historical Context: Abolishing the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade” 

https://ldhi.library.cofc.edu/exhibits/show/voyage-of-the-echo-the-trials/historic-context--abolishing-t

ResearchGate “The bitter and sweet of chocolate in Europe” Carla D. Martin, January 2015

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290471791_The_bitter_and_sweet_of_chocolate_in_Europe

ResearchGate “From Cocoa Farms to Candy Chutes” Dr. Carla Martin & Kathryn Sampeck. January 8, 2021

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375717625_From_Cocoa_Farms_to_Candy_Chutes

The Tufts Daily “Dr. Carla Martin discusses politics of chocolate” Abigail Feldman February 5, 2016

https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2016/02/dr-carla-martin-discusses-politics-chocolate-gives-samples-chocolate

Digital Commons: Sackett, Marjie (2008) "Forced Child Labor and Cocoa Production in West Africa," Human Rights & Human Welfare: Vol. 8: Iss. 1, Article 34. 

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/hrhw/vol8/iss1/34/

The Washington Post “Cocoa’s child laborers: Mars, Nestlé and Hershey pledged nearly two decades ago to stop using cocoa harvested by children. Yet much of the chocolate you buy still starts with child labor.” Peter Whoriskey & Rachel Siegel, June 5, 2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/business/hershey-nestle-mars-chocolate-child-labor-west-africa/

Bureau of International Labor Affairs - ‘The Department of Labor’ Exposing Exploitation in Global Supply Chains 

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/supply-chains/cocoa

Food Empowerment Project “Child Labor and Slavery in the Chocolate Industry” 

https://foodispower.org/human-labor-slavery/slavery-in-the-chocolate-industry/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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In honor of America’s 250th birthday, Kate ruins one of the most consistently idealized figures in American history: George Washington.

Content Warning: Violence, gore, slavery, genocide, and rape

Support Kate’s Series: https://www.dogoodpoints.com/fund/meat-cute-series

Ken Burns documentary, The American Revolution: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23864638707&gbraid=0AAAAAooDyp12zonjrN5VFMNZ7Gpx9qeJ9&gclid=CjwKCAjw0dPRBhAPEiwAE5vTTn5usyE90QRx1DmrrCX8SyT92PBZkYbv64z7M6U_ZKkEtlkFpvil4hoCwREQAvD_BwE

Mount Vernon Slavery Database:

https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/slavery-database

Complete Reference List

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.